The 2024 Citrus Bowl between #17 Iowa and #21 Tennessee is rapidly approaching -- kickoff is set for 12 PM CT in Orlando, FL on January 1, 2024.
To get a better grasp of things from the Tennessee side of things, we hit up our colleagues at VolReport, the Rivals site specializing in all things Tennessee. Managing editor Noah Taylor gave us the scoop on the 2023 Vols.
1. What's the overall feeling about Tennessee's season this year? Three of the four teams that beat the Vols this year are playing in New Year's Six bowl games, so for the most part, Tennessee only lost to some very strong teams this year. Is there a feeling that this season was a missed opportunity or did it go largely as expected?
NOAH: I think "missed opportunity" is a good way to sum it up. I don't think it should be considered a failure by any means, but there were some disappointments. Maybe not so much in the teams they lost to but how they lost. Tennessee looked in position to win its first game in The Swamp in 20 years against Florida but the Vols kind of no-showed in the first half and their come back came up short.
They had a two-score lead on Alabama at halftime and then got shut out in the second half. They weren't very competitive at Missouri which took the wind out of their sails for the Georgia game. I think everyone thought 8-4 was the floor for this team, so it wasn't a complete shock.
2. Tennessee is going to be missing a large number of players due to injuries, NFL Draft opt-outs, and the transfer portal. Can you give us the big picture look at how that's going to impact the team? Which position units are most impacted?
NOAH: I think the biggest position it will impact the most is the secondary. Tennessee lost two starters there to the transfer portal. In the long term, nobody views those as massive losses, but I think for this game it will be interesting to see how some of those freshmen corners and safeties will perform with a shortened rotation.
3. On the topic of new-look position units, what can Iowa fans expect from the Tennessee backfield with new faces at QB and RB?
NOAH: Jaylen Wright is, I think, the biggest loss offensively. Tennessee's offense really leaned on him heavily this season as the passing game took a step back. He rushed for more than 1,000 yards--the first Vols' RB to do that since 2015. Jabari Small, who had a ton of experience will be out as well. The coaching staff feels good about the rest of this room.
Dylan Sampson has had some really strong performances the last two seasons, he was just in a crowded room. Now, he'll get his first opportunity to be the main guy back there. He was key in the Vols' 33-27 win at Kentucky earlier this season, especially late in that game.
Cam Seldon, the freshman, had a really good spring and has shown flashes with limited carries this season. He's also played some special teams. He'll jump into that No. 2 spot behind Sampson. Khalifa Keith is another freshman that could see more carries.
At quarterback, that's the position all eyes will be on. Nico Iamaleava will be making his highly anticipated first start. There was an expectation that he wasn't going to be red-shirted and that he would get some meaningful snaps this season. It just didn't work out that way because some games ended up being a little closer than anticipated.
But this will be a big test for him against a nationally recognized defense. The offense will look a little different with him back there but the supporting cast helps. Much of Tennessee's OL will be available as well as two veteran TEs. Much of the WR corps are guys he's worked with since the spring and is comfortable there.
4. WR looks like it's been a relative strength of Tennessee's offense this year -- who are the names to know there and how will they factor into Monday's game?
NOAH: It was expected that Tennessee would take a bit of a step back here after Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman departed for the NFL after last season but I think this group struggled a little bit more than people thought they would early on. There were some dropped passes, the playbook was less aggressive compared to the previous two seasons under head coach Josh Heupel.
I think part of that was on the WRs and Joe Milton III. They ran into some adversity early in the season with Bru McCoy going down with a season-ending injury. Dont'e Thornton Jr., the Oregon transfer, was hitting his stride in November before suffering an injury. But it's a group that seemingly got better as the season went on.
Squirrel White leads the way out of the slot. He had a very impressive freshman season a year ago and really stepped up with some of the injuries this year. Ramel Keyton is a veteran playing in his last game; he's one of those guys that struggled in the first half of the season but looked really good in his last game against Vanderbilt. A couple of freshmen in Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod had a lot put on their shoulders, too this season and have played well at times.
5. Iowa and Tennessee tend to play at very different offensive tempos. How do you see that factor impacting this game?
NOAH: I think the slow pace will affect Tennessee. This offense has struggled a lot this season and I think breaking in a new quarterback will play a factor. I think when you play Iowa, win or lose, it's going to be ugly regardless and I see the Vols having to play to that level.
6. What should Iowa fans know about the Tennessee defense for this game, especially the front seven -- who are the standout players there?
NOAH: The defense has struggled overall in the last half of the season after a really good start but the front has been the most consistent. Tennessee is really good at stopping the run. Off the edge, sophomore James Pearce Jr. has had an incredible season. Veterans Omari Thomas and Omarr Norman-Lott make up the interior. Tyler Baron on the other end is a loss. He was playing well but was one of those transfer portal exits. Most of that unit will be available, though.
7. The defensive secondary looks like another position unit that's been hit hard by departures -- how will that unit look in the Citrus Bowl and what are you expecting from those players?
NOAH: Tennessee will only have two starters available in this game in corner Gabe Jeudy-Lally and safety Jaylen McCollough. There's going to be a lot of younger guys playing because of all the players that have hit the portal. Freshman Rickey Gibson III is expected to start opposite Jeudy-Lally.
At STAR, sophomore Jourdan Thomas will likely start in place of Tamarion McDonald. He and walk-on Will Brooks can also fill in behind McCollough in the safety rotation. Sophomore Andre Turrentine should start at the other safety position.
A lot of these guys have had to play at different points this season, which I think helps. It also helps that Iowa's passing game shouldn't put too much pressure on them.
8. Special teams has been a key factor in most of Iowa's wins this season -- can Tennessee negate Iowa's advantages in the kicking game?
NOAH: I think what could potentially help Tennessee here is Dee Williams. He has been electric the last two seasons with the ball in his hands. He has one punt return for a touchdown this season and it was in the kind of game that this one could end up being.
Back on Oct. 14, the Vols were locked into a defensive, low-scoring struggle against Texas A&M and Williams scored to give Tennessee the lead in a 20-13 finish where the Vols passed for just 100 yards. If he can get his hands on a ball, that could potentially leads to a score or at least very good field position in a game where Tennessee likely won't have to reach the end zone too much to win.
9. Finally, prediction time -- who wins this year's Citrus Bowl and what's the final score?
NOAH: I've liked Tennessee in this game from the beginning. I think having the quarterback change does affect the game but I think the Vols have enough firepower offensively to make one or two plays that they need in a low-scoring game. I think that's the difference. I'll go Tennessee 17, Iowa 13
Thanks again, Noah. You can check out all of the Tennessee coverage from Noah and the rest of the crew at Vol Report over at VolReport.com.
The 2024 Citrus Bowl between #17 Iowa and #21 Tennessee is set for 12 PM CT on ABC on January 1, 2024.
