Vols HC Josh Heupel offers strong response to major misconception about Tennessee's football program

Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel didn't mince words on Monday while responding to a question about a major misconception about his offense.

During his weekly press conference on Monday, Heupel was asked about the talk outside of the building that Tennessee's offense is a version of the "Air Raid", which was popularized by the late Mike Leach and former Kentucky Wildcats head coach Hal Mumme (Heupel played under Leach for one season at Oklahoma in 1999).

Heupel quickly suggested that it's "laughable" to call Tennessee's offense a version of the Air Raid.

"That's kinda laughable, to me, to be honest," said Heupel. "You look at our ability to run the football since we've been here. Statistically, over close to the last decade, we've always ran the ball really efficiently and effectively. We have balance. We do create big plays in the pass game. We create those things in the run game, too.

"I was proud of the physicality that we played with (against NC State) on the offensive line. Our tight ends, our running backs played that way, too. Same thing on the other side of the football. You look at the way our front seven played at the line of scrimmage. That was a big part of the football game."

Most of the talk about Tennessee's offense being an Air Raid offense comes from opposing fan bases, uninformed media, and opposing coaches that like to use the negative connotation around the Air Raid to recruit against the Vols.

(Side note: It's bizarre that there's a negative connotation around the Air Raid as it is. The best quarterback on the planet, Patrick Mahomes, came from an Air Raid offense. Players make plays. Scheme helps, but players are elite or they're not. Scheme doesn't change that.)

Air Raid offenses traditionally don't run the ball much. Tennessee, meanwhile, averaged more rushing attempts per game than passing attempts in each of Josh Heupel's first three seasons in Knoxville (and the Vols are averaging more rushing attempts than pass attempts so far this season).

Just because Heupel's scheme gets the ball to players in space doesn't mean that it's an Air Raid offense. It just means that Heupel's scheme, combined with the elite players on his roster, creates situations where there's a lot of grass without defenders. If Heupel didn't have great players, the scheme wouldn't be nearly as effective. It isn't a cheat code. Heupel's offense requires discipline (perhaps more discipline than most offenses) and a high level of execution to be successful.

The Vols are extremely competitive, they're elite in the trenches, and explosive at the skill positions. No shortcuts involved. Just hard work and dedication.

Related: NC State HC Dave Doeren explains how Josh Heupel and Tennessee surprised his team in blowout loss to Vols