KNOXVILLE — Tennessee is scheduled to return to the practice field Aug. 17.
The Vols will play a 10-game conference-only schedule that will kick off Sept. 26. The revised schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic will be released at a later date.
Tennessee enters the 2020 campaign with a six-game winning streak. The Vols concluded last season with victories over South Carolina, UAB, Kentucky, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Indiana.
With Tennessee only able to have two spring practices before college athletics were halted due to the coronavirus pandemic in March, the Vols will benefit with leaders returning throughout its offensive unit. The unit has continuity under Jim Chaney as he enters his second season as the Vols’ offensive coordinator.
Chaney is an experienced coach that has coordinated many Power Five offenses dating back to his time at Purdue under then-head coach Joe Tiller. At Purdue, Chaney was co-offensive coordinator alongside Tim Lappano as the Boilermakers showcased a basketball on grass offense.
Chaney went on to become an assistant with the St. Louis Rams in the NFL from 2006-08. His time in the NFL gave Chaney experience where he has since implemented basketball on grass philosophies mixed in with pro-style schemes, providing the ability to have success in a short field and short-yardage situations.
“Jim’s a sharp guy,” Lappano told Vols Wire. “He believes in being able to be physical and being able to spread the field and create some matchups for you, too.
“At the end of the day, he knows you have to be physical. No matter what scheme you are playing, you better be physical, or you are not going to go where you need to go — and it all comes down to that. No matter what system it is, you have to be physical.”
Chaney’s first year at Tennessee resulted in a season-opening loss to Georgia State. Lappano served as Georgia State’s wide receivers coach from 2014-16 and as interim head coach for two games in 2016.
Lappano understands the importance of how Chaney was able to get the best out of his players during the second half of the Vols’ 2019 season. The result was winning six consecutive contests and players now having confidence going into the upcoming season and being able to compete for championships in Jeremy Pruitt’s program going forward.
Pruitt and Chaney were able to recruit to their offense in its 2020 signing class. Tennessee will have incoming freshmen that will be able to help continue transform its offense with speed and play-making abilities.
“There is nothing like instilling confidence in players,” Lappano said. “You can’t understand how much confidence those guys get going into the offseason. When you have won six in a row toward the end of it, you are on your way. Just keep building, just keep believing in your philosophy and don’t stray away from it — and recruit to it. They will have a lot of success there.”