An inside look at the offense of the Tennessee Volunteers.

Offensive Line

In Greek mythology, 12 titans ruled the world before the Olympic gods took over.

In Tennessee, five titan linemen rule the offensive line. Standing at average height of 6-foot-2 and weighing an average of 307 pounds, these players rule the line of scrimmage.

Unlike the Greek Titans, the titan-like offensive line of the University of Tennessee, have yet to be taken over. Only four times this season has the Volunteers’ line allowed their quarterback to be sacked.

Yet that number is somewhat of a disappointment. Tennessee returns all five offensive linemen from last season. The most inexperienced member of this line is left tackle Chris Scott. The junior has 19 starts in his career. Last season, this line allowed only four sacks in 14 games.

Grade: A+

Quarterback

Coming into the season, quarterback Jonathan Crompton had only one start, and that came in 2006.

As a starter, the junior has completed 52 of 123 passes with two touchdowns. However, Crompton has thrown four picks in four games.

The Volunteers’ 175 passing yards per game ranks as the No. 96 passing offense in the nation. Tennessee has faced challenging defenses though, as Florida ranks No. 9 in the nation, and Auburn comes in at No. 12 in pass defense. Against those defenses Crompton threw for 229 yards and one interception.

The last time the quarterback found the end zone was against University of Alabama at Birmingham when he threw both of his touchdown passes for the year.

However, NIU might not see Crompton. The Associated Press reported that quarterback Nick Stephens began to take an equal number of snaps with the first-team offense Tuesday.

Grade: C+

Running Backs

Running back Arian Foster is a philosophy major. Full back Kevin Cooper is a recreation and leisure studies major.

You have to imagine those conversations off the field are quite different. But on the field the two talk the same language – running.

Foster leads the Vols rushing attack with 263 yards this season. However, Tennessee started to transition him as a third-down back in its last game against Auburn.

A possibility to take over a majority of the rushing duty is junior Montario Hardesty. The tailback has 144 yards this season and four touchdowns. Sophomore Lennon Creer could also see an increase in action. Creer has 116 yards on the ground and two touchdowns for the Vols.

Grade: B

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

By far the most inexperienced position on the offense for Tennessee is the wide receivers and tight ends.

Before this season, only starting wide receiver Lucas Taylor had started a game for the Vols. Second receiver Gerald Jones and tight end Luke Stocker are both taking over the lead roles for the first year.

Taylor has led the group with 15 catches for 199 yards. However, the senior has yet to find the end zone.

Jones has reached the end zone twice this year, but his longest catch has only been 20 yards. In total the sophomore has 13 catches for 133 yards.

The 6-foot-6, 245 pounds Stocker has yet to play a large threat in the passing game. The tight end has seven receptions for 60 yards in four games.

Grade: B