CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Tennessee

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Josh Heupel.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 2021, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 38–6; lost vs. Pittsburgh 34–41; won vs. Tennessee Tech 56–0; lost at No. 11 Florida 14–38; won at Missouri 62–24; won vs. South Carolina 45–20; lost vs. No. 13 Ole Miss 26–31; lost at No. 4 Alabama 24–52; won at No. 18 Kentucky 45–42; lost vs. No. 1 Georgia 17–41; won vs. South Alabama 60–14; won vs. Vanderbilt 45–21; lost vs. Purdue 45–48+56−28Won 38–6 vs. Bowling Green+32Bowling GreenLost 34–41 vs. Pittsburgh-7PittsburghWon 56–0 vs. Tennessee Tech+56Tennessee TechLost 14–38 at No. 11 Florida-24No. 11 FloridaWon 62–24 at Missouri+38MissouriWon 45–20 vs. South Carolina+25South CarolinaLost 26–31 vs. No. 13 Ole Miss-5No. 13 Ole MissLost 24–52 at No. 4 Alabama-28No. 4 AlabamaWon 45–42 at No. 18 Kentucky+3No. 18 KentuckyLost 17–41 vs. No. 1 Georgia-24No. 1 GeorgiaWon 60–14 vs. South Alabama+46South AlabamaWon 45–21 vs. Vanderbilt+24VanderbiltLost 45–48 vs. Purdue-3Purdue
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsBowling GreenW 38–⁠676%
Sep 11vsPittsburghL 34–⁠4147%
Sep 18vsTennessee TechW 56–⁠088%
Sep 25at11FloridaL 14–⁠3822%
Oct 2atMissouriW 62–⁠2438%
Oct 9vsSouth CarolinaW 45–⁠2066%
Oct 16vs13Ole MissL 26–⁠3152%
Oct 23at4AlabamaL 24–⁠5212%
Nov 6at18KentuckyW 45–⁠4231%
Nov 13vs1GeorgiaL 17–⁠4122%
Nov 20vsSouth AlabamaW 60–⁠1470%
Nov 27vsVanderbiltW 45–⁠2188%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsPurdueMusic City BowlL 45–⁠4846%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Purdue 48–⁠45 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 91st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
511–⁠378
Coach
Josh Heupel
Elo
1538 +57 this season
SP+ rating
17.5 No. 10 of 130; offense No. 7, defense No. 47
SRS
8.7 No. 29 of 130 in FBS
Returning
31% of last season’s EPA, No. 123 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 16 roster talent No. 19 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Alex Golesh
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 130
  • Defense82nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted7th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted76th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2649%1.3011th of 130
Defense0.1743%1.3582nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.27 off
0.15 def		49% off
41% def		—7th off
76th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.3own 3113% allowed
Defense4.2own 2818% caused

CORE rating 9.8, 35th of 130 (offense 10.9, defense 1.1).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsHendon Hooker QB2,945 yds
Passing touchdownsHendon Hooker QB31 TD
Rushing yardsJabari Small RB792 yds
Rushing touchdownsJabari Small RB9 TD
Receiving yardsCedric Tillman WR1,081 yds
Receiving touchdownsCedric Tillman WR12 TD
TacklesJeremy Banks LB128 tkl
SacksByron Young DL5.5 sacks
InterceptionsJaylen McCollough DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Aaron Willis LB★★★★No. 137
Kaidon Salter QB★★★★No. 143
Kaemen Marley ATH★★★★No. 155
Walker Merrill WR★★★★No. 342
Julian Nixon WR★★★★No. 348

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.938
Running backs13.00.872
Receivers43.50.873
Offensive line23.00.877
Defensive line13.00.864
Linebackers14.00.939
Defensive backs13.00.889
Athletes and specialists33.30.897
Whole class143.40.889

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 2Alontae Taylor CBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 3Velus Jones Jr. WRChicago Bears
Rd 5Matthew Butler DTLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 6Cade Mays OGCarolina Panthers
Rd 6Theo Jackson STennessee Titans

Roster 122

The 2021 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 72 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 10

The 2021 portal
Joe Milton III QB★★★from Michigan
Juwan Mitchell LB★★★from Texas
Brandon Turnage CB★★★from Alabama
JaVonta Payton WR★★★from Mississippi State
Hendon Hooker PRO★★★from Virginia Tech
Caleb Tremblay DL★★★★from USC
Chase McGrath K★★★from USC
DaJon Terry DL★★★from Kansas
Kamal Hadden CB★★★from Auburn
William Mohan LB★★★from Michigan

Transfers out 37

Eric Gray RB★★★★to Oklahoma
Henry To’o To’o LB★★★★to Alabama
Wanya Morris OT★★★★to Oklahoma
Ty Chandler RB★★★★to North Carolina
Key Lawrence S★★★★to Oklahoma
Jahmir Johnson OT★★★to Texas A&M
Deandre Johnson DE★★★to Miami
Kaidon Salter QB★★★to Liberty
Quavaris Crouch LB★★★to Michigan State
Darel Middleton DL★★★to West Virginia
Greg Emerson DL★★★to Memphis
Jarrett Guarantano DUAL★★★to Washington State

And 25 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠014–⁠11
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠22
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠311
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠318
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠421
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠4
Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
LSU3–⁠56–⁠7
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
Missouri3–⁠56–⁠7
Florida2–⁠66–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.