The putdown of Tennessee football reached ninth place in Southeastern Conference media projections and no place in a few national top 25s.

The down forecast is based on Nico’s departure, offensive line reconstruction and obvious uncertainty among receivers. The knockout is that rival defenses have caught up with the Josh Heupel offense.

Let us attach some possible validity. Ninth in the SEC? I doubt it. Josh won’t stand for ordinary. He’s in the process of preventive adjustment.

In September, maybe after the Georgia game, peek behind Tennessee’s statistics and see what you can find. Decide if Josh imported a secret weapon or just did a favor for an old friend.

Heupel added Seth Littrell to his staff in February as senior analyst for the Vol offense. Several fans thought it was a good idea for the head coach to do something.

Seth Littrell

Tennessee’s 2024 passing attack (if you can call it that) ranked 93rd in yards per game. That was primarily short stuff, 54th in yards per attempt. It was good against Kent State, not so good against top opponents, awful at Ohio State.

Nico threw a grand total of four touchdown passes against ranked teams.

Play-calling was criticized. Some called it predictable. Some blamed drops. Some blamed sacks. Some said all the above. Worse yet, some said the show was boring.

Critics discounted the 10 victories and playoff appearance as logical success against an advantageous schedule. I thought results were pretty good. OK, a couple of plays made a wonderful difference.

In my next book, anytime the Vols beat Alabama and Florida in the same season, they will get a special chapter.

Outside noises do not noticeably disturb Heupel. He has a very strong contract. He kept his cool during and after last season. The Iamaleava clan caused some grief but the coach didn’t blow a gasket over Nico’s tactics. In fact, he had a great response, nobody is bigger than the program, and said that included him.

Maybe he believes some of what he is hearing, that whoever ends up as the Tennessee quarterback will be OK if young receivers are better and the line is functional.

Bringing in Littrell really could be a bonus. He was a head coach for seven seasons at North Texas State. He resurrected the Mean Green from 1-11, produced three winning seasons, topped out, regressed and got fired.

His record says five bowl appearances. It does not emphasize 0-5.

Heupel and Littrell share Oklahoma roots. Seth was the fullback and a captain in undefeated 2000 (national championship) when Josh was quarterback and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

After his NTS adventure, Littrell rejoined the Sooners as offensive analyst. Brent Venables promoted him to offensive coordinator and QB coach before last season. He lasted seven games. The Oklahoma offense was inept.

See you later, Seth. He avoided welfare. Buyout was $2.6 million.

We curious observers eagerly await what a difference Littrell might make in the Volunteers. Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, another Oklahoma guy, is sure to listen. He heard Heupel say what great trust he has in Seth.

“His knowledge, expertise, his understanding of some of the things that we do offensively – he has the ability to bring some creative things that are maybe good additions to what we’re doing. …

“Seth has been great for us since he got here in February, and we expect him to be a big part of what we’re doing.”

Heupel says he values Littrell’s experience as a head coach.

“He’s the kind of guy that’s going to be clear in his communication to me.”

All those words are just window dressing. It is old teammate talk. What matters are results, maybe 9-3, good but not playoff probable. This will be a very young Tennessee team with a new quarterback and four new starters in the offensive line. All receivers are higher in potential than production.

Those who think they know say there is no way to overcome the loss of Nico. We’ll see if Seth Littrell brings a miracle cure.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com