Tennessee Football: Final 2014 Position Grades for the Vols

The Tennessee Volunteers' 2014 regular season is in the books, and now the team is preparing for a matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2.

The Vols did well to achieve a 6-6 record in 2014, and considering how many freshmen head coach Butch Jones played throughout the season, it took some serious overachievement from a few position groups for the team to break even on the year.

Of course, those overachieving groups were also paired with units that simply didn't live up to expectations, whether it was because of youth, inexperience or injuries—or in some cases, all three.

No matter how it happened or how good or bad certain aspects of the team were this season, the fact remains that Tennessee reached its goal of getting to a bowl game and will get all the rewards, including 15 extra practices the players and coaches so desperately need. 

To break down which groups were the biggest helps or hindrances to the Vols' postseason goal, here are position grades for each unit on Tennessee's 2014 team. 

Offensive Line: F

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Tennessee's offensive line in 2014 was worse than the 2010 version, which was heavily criticized as being one of the worst in school history.

It couldn't open up running lanes, it couldn't pass block and it couldn't protect Justin Worley or Joshua Dobbs.

The bad news is that this group still has one more game to play before an entire offseason of conditioning and practice, but the good news is that they should experience significant improvement by the time the 2015 season kicks off.

Although past success is no guarantee of future success, a quick glimpse at the Vols' offensive line improvement from 2010 to 2011 shows that miracles can happen.

The 2010 unit finished 116th in the country and gave up 41 sacks but improved to a respectable 34th in the country in 2011, giving up only 18 sacks for the year, according to cfbstats.com. That was accomplished while also playing a more difficult schedule.

Make no mistake—offensive line coach Don Mahoney has his work cut out for him to get his unit in SEC shape by next season, but don't be surprised if the unit looks reborn in 2015. 

Running Backs: C+

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The Jalen Hurd and Marlin Lane Show didn't exactly light up the SEC in 2014, but it wasn't a total disaster either, despite both players running behind one of the most inexperienced offensive lines in the country.

Hurd rushed for nearly 800 yards while missing almost two complete games, while an injury-prone Lane added 279 yards of his own.

Despite putting up fairly pedestrian numbers, one thing Hurd brought to the table was his ability to fall forward and gain extra yards. Play after play, Hurd got hit right at the line of scrimmage and turned would-be losses or gains of a single yard into four- or five-yard gains. 

Hurd's ability to keep moving his feet after contact and fall forward to pick up extra yards was a huge reason why Tennessee was able to sustain drives this season, especially when the passing game struggled. 

If the offensive line can become even average in the SEC next season, Hurd should have no problem breaking 1,000 yards—especially with the addition of JUCO All-American Alvin Kamara. 

Tight Ends: C

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The tight end position was barely used in 2013 due to a lack of depth and talent at the position.

The additions of Ethan Wolf and Daniel Helm was expected to remedy that problem in 2014, and it looked like both would play big roles in the offense through the first half of the season.

Then, either due to injuries or Tennessee's porous offensive line, the unit's catches and overall productivity dropped significantly.

Both Wolf and Helm showed that they have the chops to be high-quality SEC tight ends, but Helm recently decided to transfer, leaving the position once again thin and inexperienced heading into 2015. 

Wide Receivers: C

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After being one of the weakest positional units in 2013, Tennessee's wide receiver corps entered 2014 with big expectations.

Every starter returned, and it looked like Marquez North was set to have a breakout year.

Then the injuries started piling up. Not only did two starters in North and Josh Smith suffer season-ending injuries relatively early in the year, but other players also battled nagging injuries that either sidelined them for a few games or limited their potential in others.

The end of the regular season didn't spell the end of the injury bug, either, as Jason Croom recently had a season-ending leg injury in bowl practice.

Only Pig Howard made it through the year without suffering a limiting injury of some kind. Howard was Tennessee's most reliable wide receiver this season, but his production can't make up for the loss of dynamic players like North, Smith and Croom.

Overall, this unit performed well below expectations, and wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni's biggest concern heading into next season should be keeping everyone healthy for what could be a breakout year. 

Quarterbacks: C+

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The Vols' quarterback situation looked much improved at the start of 2014, as senior Justin Worley finally hit his stride in games against Utah State, Arkansas State and Georgia. 

But an injury late against the Bulldogs in Athens affected his accuracy, and he never truly recovered. Another injury against the Ole Miss Rebels effectively ended his career as a Vol.

Nathan Peterman, Worley's backup, played for barely half a quarter against Alabama before Joshua Dobbs replaced him.

Dobbs looked sensational against Alabama, South Carolina and Kentucky, but Missouri's stout defensive line and injuries to the wide receiver corps against Vanderbilt brought him back down to earth.

While Tennessee is better off with a mobile quarterback like Dobbs at the helm, the passing game still lacks the ability to hit big plays and keep defenses honest.

The Vols hit a few big passing plays on the year, but almost all of them started at or near the line of scrimmage. Any attempts at going over the top of a defense resulted in overthrows or near-interceptions. 

Without that final dimension of the offense, the Vols will continue to struggle against elite defenses in 2015.

Defensive Line: A

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Tennessee's defensive line this season could easily have been just as porous and paper thin as its offensive line.

Both units replaced every single starter from 2013, and there was plenty of doubt about this group heading into the season. But the line actually improved from last season, mostly due to the potent pass rush combination of Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt.

Danny O'Brien and converted defensive end Jordan Williams also stepped up and filled the shoes of departed starters Daniel McCullers and Daniel Hood admirably, with each recording at least one sack and four tackles for loss.

Next year's defensive line will be even better, with Barnett, Maggitt and O'Brien returning. The unit also adds elite defensive tackles Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle—both 5-star recruits, according to 247Sports. 

What was once a unit with disastrous potential is now the team's strongest asset heading into 2015. 

Linebackers: B+

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Tennessee's linebackers benefited through 10 games of the season from the leadership of senior A.J. Johnson, one of the Vols' most prolific tacklers in recent history.

His suspension after the Kentucky game hurt the unit in matchups with Missouri and Vanderbilt, but it's hard to call 2014 anything other than a success for this group.

After relying on Johnson to do nearly everything in the middle of the field in 2013, the unit got a big boost with the return of Curt Maggitt in a hybrid linebacker/defensive end role and the promotion of Jalen Reeves-Maybin from special teams star to starting linebacker.

The Vols will continue to miss Johnson when the team takes on the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 2, but additional playing time for players like Jakob Johnson and Kenny Bynum will help fill his full-time absence in 2015. 

Secondary: B-

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The Vols secondary was hit and miss in 2014.

The group had a tendency to come down with clutch turnovers, but it also had a tendency to give up huge plays at inopportune times. Games against Alabama and South Carolina particularly stand out, as no player in Tennessee's defensive backfield had an answer for Amari or Pharoh Cooper.

The two Coopers burned the Vols en route to record-breaking performances. Although Tennessee's secondary played fairly well throughout the rest of the season, those two games proved that the unit is still plagued by a lack of speed—something that can only be addressed with recruiting. 

Special Teams: A

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Tennessee's special teams unit was excellent almost all season.

Despite losing the productivity and accuracy of kicker/punter Michael Palardy, freshman Aaron Medley and redshirt senior Matt Darr stepped in and filled those roles without a hitch.

Medley made 76 percent of his field goals for the year, including a game-winner against South Carolina, while Darr averaged 42.5 yards per punt.

The biggest change, however, came from the return and coverage units for punts and kickoffs.

Not only did Tennessee not give up a single returned kickoff or punt for a touchdown, but it managed to add one of its own when Cameron Sutton took a punt to the house against Vanderbilt during the last regular-season game of the year.