The Five Best Offensive Players Tennessee Will Face This Fall

SEC football never fails to impress fans each year, and this year should be no different. The number of talented players on SEC teams is consistently through the roof, so an SEC matchup is never a guaranteed win, no matter the opponent. The Vols have their hands full with teams like Georgia, Alabama, and Florida every season, and in 2021, another challenge is added to the schedule in Ole Miss. This means that the Vols will now have to face rising star and early Heisman candidate, Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral, in addition to Alabama offensive stars Bryce Young and Evan Neal, and Georgia offensive stars J.T. Daniels and Zamir White to round out the five best offensive players Tennessee will face in the fall.

Alabama QB Bryce Young

Five-star sophomore quarterback Bryce Young will presumably start under center for the Tide in 2021 after sitting his freshman year behind Mac Jones. The dual-threat California native got some experience during his first year, playing in nine games and recording 156 passing yards and a touchdown. Granted, Young does not have the experience that some of the other players on this list have, but his upside is significant. Young came out of high school as the nation's top-ranked dual-threat option, throwing for 4,528 yards, 58 touchdowns, and a mere six interceptions with a 72.6 completion percentage as a senior at Mater Dei High School. He also led Mater Dei to a championship game his senior year, capping off his high school career with 13,250 passing yards, 152 passing touchdowns, 1,084 rushing yards, 26 rushing touchdowns, and a state championship win off of two appearances.

Young's ability to sling it all over the field while also being a threat with his legs will keep any defense honest, and unless Young busts in 2021, Tennessee will have their hands full with yet another star Alabama quarterback.

Young will have plenty of weapons to help him succeed in year one, making it all the more challenging for the Vols when they go toe to toe with the early Heisman candidate in Week 8 of the 2021 season.

Georgia QB J.T. Daniels

The second player on this list is also a quarterback and is also from Mater Dei High School, Georgia, junior QB J.T. Daniels. Daniels was the bright spot in a struggling quarterback room for the Bulldogs in 2020, throwing 1,231 yards with 10 touchdowns and only two interceptions in four starts under center. After a lot of uncertainty surrounding the position in 2020 with Jamie Newman opting out, Daniels will now begin Week 1 as the de facto starter for the Bulldogs.

Daniels impressed during his freshman year at USC in 2018, starting in every game he played. Daniels redshirted in 2019 after a season-ending knee injury in the season opener and then transferred to Georgia in the 2020 offseason.

At Mater Dei, Daniels completed 751 of 1,101 passes for 12,014 yards and 152 touchdowns. If the 6'3", pro-style quarterback from Santa Ana, California, lives up to his five-star rating in his second year with the Bulldogs, Daniels could give the Vols plenty of fits in Week 10 of the 2021 season, especially considering Daniels has a stellar option out wide in George Pickens.

Ole Miss QB Matt Corral

The third player and last quarterback on this list is Ole Miss QB, Matt Corral. The redshirt junior gunslinger completed 231 of 326 passes for 3,337 yards and 29 touchdowns with 14 interceptions in 10 games with the Rebels. Going into year four with the Rebels, Corral is a rising star in the SEC, as his high octane 2020 performance, which is the only year he has started every game for the Rebels, has put him on the map as a dark horse Heisman candidate. Corral has the most experience of any QB on this list, and his incredible arm strength makes opposing defenses tread lightly.

Tennessee and Ole Miss will face off in Week 7, the first time in the regular season since 2014. This time around, the Rebels will have a four-star pro-style quarterback who could create a lot of problems for the Vols defense like he did against Alabama in 2020.

Alabama OT Evan Neal

The first non-quarterback on the list is Alabama junior offensive tackle, Evan Neal. Neal earned Freshman All-American recognition in 2020 by anchoring the right side of the Tide's offensive line that blocked for the Power 5's No. 1 scoring offense. Neal started every game for Alabama a year ago and will be the leader of the offensive line for the presumed No. 1 team in the country to start the season. The 6'7" five-star tackle played high school ball at IMG Academy in Okeechobee, Florida, and was dubbed as one of the best players in the state in high school by all major recruiting outlets.

Alabama is known for having a stellar offensive line, and Evan Neal should be a stalwart for the Tide and a nightmare for opposing defenses in 2021, including Tennessee in their Week 8 contest in the fall.

Georgia RB Zamir White

Georgia junior running back Zamir White closes out the best five offensive players Tennessee will face this fall. White got his chance to start every game for the Bulldogs in 2020 after sitting behind D'Andre Swift during his freshman year, and he finished with 779 rushing yards on 144 carries and 11 touchdowns. White had three 100-yard performances last season and will look to have his first 1,000-yard season for the Bulldogs in his first 14-game season as the sole starter, a feat that is a commonality in Athens as the Bulldogs have had a 1,000-yard rusher all but two years in the past decade.

The Laurinburg, N.C. native has great vision, breakaway speed and is not afraid to put his head down. The Vols will have their hands full in Week 10 of the 2021 season against the Bulldogs, as Georgia's offensive big three of J.T. Daniels, Zamir White, and George Pickens are some of the SEC's best offensive weapons.

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