The Vols totaled 677 yards (452 rushing, 225 passing) against Missouri.
Tennessee entered the contest after losing at Florida. Against the Gators, first-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel executed mesh in his play-calling, a concept he has steered away from since implementing a veer and shoot scheme at Missouri and UCF.
Tennessee’s mesh play at Florida can be viewed below.
Ahead of playing at Missouri, Heupel discussed how Tennessee is evolving offensively.
The Vols’ in-season evolution has included various plays Heupel was a part of when serving as Oklahoma’s quarterback in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense during the 1999 season.
“You’ll see a combination of stuff as we continue to grow offensively,” Heupel said on last week’s SEC teleconference. “In year one, you try to get your kids the base understanding of base concepts, of what you are doing, and continue to integrate things into your repertoire, into your game plan that are needed to attack certain things that you see defensively.
“Those things become a natural part of what you are doing, as you continue to grow, just kind of an evolution of who you are and where you’re going as an offense.”
Another example of Tennessee’s continued offensive evolution in-season came on the Vols’ first play from scrimmage at Missouri.
One of Leach’s plays with Heupel at quarterback in the Air Raid offense was Ace Rip Arc. Tennessee executed Ace Rip Arc on its first play and it can be viewed above.
Ace Rip Arc is when the quarterback takes a one step drop, looking for outside leverage by the slot receiver. The quarterback’s job is to get the football to the receiver as quick as possible.
Depending on the side a quarterback throws to, the X and Z-receiver’s responsibilities are to cut block the cornerback.
The Y and H-receivers execute the arc route, going three steps parallel with the line of scrimmage.
The running back serves as protection for the quarterback as a blocker.
Against Missouri, quarterback Hendon Hooker took a quick step and passed the football to Cedric Tillman, the Z-receiver. Princeton Fant lined up as the Y-receiver and served as a blocker for Tillman.
Running back Jabari Small served as an extra blocker.
The only difference in execution for Ace Rip Arc from Heupel as a head coach at Missouri, compared to him as a player, is catering to his current player personnel.
Heupel switched the responsibilities for the X and Z-receivers in being the passing targets, while the Y and H-receivers blocked. The switch allowed for 6-foot-2, 240-pound tight end Princeton Fant to become a blocker for Tillman, catering to Tennessee’s personnel.
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