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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Heading into Saturday’s huge rivalry game against Florida, senior quarterback Justin Worley says he can feel a difference in the air on campus.
“You can feel the tension in the air, everybody knows it’s Florida week on Twitter,” he said. “It’s Florida hate week, everyone knows that, and you can tell that. We’ve just got to take it as the next game in our long journey.”
Worley, who was briefly injured in Saturday’s game against Georgia, says he will be completely healthy for the showdown with the Gators.
“[My elbow] is a little sore. It’s a typical bruise,” he said. “Little bit of discomfort when I throw, but nothing major. I should be 100% by Saturday.”
As a precaution, he will be wearing a padded sleeve to prevent further injury to his throwing elbow, but he says it will not affect his ability to attack Florida’s secondary.
“It doesn’t affect it at all,” he said after wearing the orange sleeve at Tuesday’s practice. “It fits so tight that you don’t really notice it’s there. It’s not necessarily just a fashion statement, it’s there for protection.”
The veteran quarterback, who has shown exceptional leadership throughout the season, says he would love to be the quarterback to break the losing streak against the Gators.
“It would be huge,” he said. “I think we’ve been searching for that win, and we might have been pressing for that win. I think we just need to go out there and play our game, not worry about what’s happened in the past between these two teams, and just go out there and execute.”
THE BUILDING OF A MATURE HURD
Freshman tailback Jalen Hurd is anything but a typical freshman. While he performs like a veteran on the field, his coaches and teammates says he behaves like one off the field, as well.
“I think his maturity, his approach each and every day to the game, the ability to take the coaching to the game is, very, very tough, just his whole mental approach,” said coach Butch Jones.
“He is very, very mature and has consistency in approach each and every day. He is never too high, he is never too low. You know what you are getting every day with Jalen Hurd. He is very prideful, he takes pride in his performance, wants to be the best he can possibly be, he is always working his craft. I can’t say enough about him because, again, the biggest thing is probably he is very, very mature for his age.
“And it is standard and expectations. Here is a young man who missed his senior year of high school football and he has all these expectations placed on him and not very many individuals his age could really handle all those expectations, the scrutiny he is under each and every day. He has done a great of handling all the clutter and the distractions and really the focus.”
Hurd gives all credit to his parents and coaches, who he says made him the person he is today.
“Great parenting. Definitely great parenting,” he said. “My parents always treated me like an adult. They let me make adult decisions and do stuff myself. I think that helped me grow and mold, and definitely the coaching and everything – everybody getting me acclimated to the team.”
And as far as the high expectations that followed him here, he says he has never thought twice about them.
“I don’t really focus on any expectations, I just focus on that game, and that game only,” he said. “It’s just football, and I love it, so going out there and playing is just natural to me. “
PEARSON BACK IN ACTION
Could the Vols have junior receiver Von Pearson back for Saturday’s game? Butch Jones said is its a possibility after Pearson, who has missed the last two games, went through some drills on Tuesday.
“Von Pearson actually practiced a little bit today,” said Jones. “He got in some conditioning, did some different things. We will know a little bit more his availability for the game come Saturday. Still don’t know yet. But it was great to have him out there.”
Pearson suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Vols win over Arkansas State on Sept. 6.
Another Vol receiver who has been sidelined with a similar high-ankle sprain will miss his second game in a row. Sophomore Josh Smith ‘will be out this game,’ Jones said Tuesday.
ONE LAST SHOT FOR WILLIAMS
Over the last three seasons, senior defensive lineman Jordan Williams has been to the Swamp twice and has taken on Florida in Neyland Stadium once. With the rivalry game in just four days, Williams is reminiscent of growing up in Gainesville and contemplates what it would mean to win in his final year of eligibility.
“The Florida game is a big game every year,” Williams said. “Even the sign in our room says beat our rival. It is a rivalry game. It’s a big game. Being from Gainesville, I feel like I really have to prove myself.”
“I remember growing up and all I heard on the radio all week was about the Tennessee and Florida game, so it’s definitely a big deal. It’s my last time to go through it.”
This will be the first year that Williams will be a major part of the defensive scheme. With a bigger role, he’s excited to take on the Gators.
“It’s exciting,” Williams said. “I feel like the thing I have to keep doing is playing my game. I’ve been playing pretty good, just keep playing my game and doing what I’m doing.”
Williams believes that the confidence that this year’s team bears makes the week leading into the rivalry game different than prior seasons.
“You just have to trust in the process,” Williams said. “Believe in the process and trust what we’re doing, what the coaches have us doing, the plays we’re running and the way our team has been performing. As long as we keep doing what we’ve been doing we’ll be just fine.”
“How well we’ve played as a team, our brotherhood and camaraderie , it’s a great feeling going in. I think we’re ready.”
CAST-FREE CROOM STEPS UP
With two wide receivers still recovering from high-ankle sprains, Team 118 is taking full advantage of their talent and depth to make impact plays. In last week’s game, redshirt sophomore Jason Croom had one of his best career performances, in a week the Vols needed him.
After a tough game against #4/3 Oklahoma, Croom bounced back for a career-high four catches for 60 yards against #12/13 Georgia and his first touchdown of the season.
“Jason Croom stepped up and made some big time plays for us at critical stages of the game,”Butch Jones said.
Prior to the Georgia game, Croom had a cast on his hand removed, allowing him to play knowing he was capable of more.
“When you’ve had to play in a cast and you’re a wide out, you have to overcome some things, but Jason’s play is very encouraging,” Jones said. “A lot of confidence was built there. He’s made those plays in practice. He made those plays in training camp. We’ve really challenged him to play like a big wide out, own the ball in the air, play big. He was able to do that Saturday. We’re going to need much more of that down the stretch.”
Croom’s big game was confidence booster and something that his teammates see as a major positive leading into the rest of SEC play.
“It was huge,” Justin Worley said about Croom’s big game. “You always talk about being confident while you’re playing. For him to go out there and have the game that he had is huge. To have that touchdown to end the first half and have some big catches to convert some third downs was huge for him.”
Having never heard a complaint while his hand had a cast, fellow wide receiver Josh Malone sees his teammate’s importance of playing big.
“It was important,” Malone said on the comeback performance. “I knew Croom was going to bounce back after Oklahoma. Croom has a big role for us. I expect for him to come out and play big every week.”
Croom’s devotion to playing the role of a big wide out for his team will allow him to improve down the stretch. He’s now committed to “violently using my hands when blocking, leaning into a defender going up.”
The resiliency preached on the field makes Croom want to be better not just for himself, but for his team.
“We preach resiliency out here all the time. It was a snap and clear thing. I had a bad game previously. I emphasized that I wasn’t going to do it like that again. That was the worst I ever played in my life and it just so happened I played my best the next week.”
ELEVEN WORKING AS ONE
One large factor in the Vols’ national-leading defensive third-down percentage this year has been the young men in the backfield. Tennessee’s defensive backs have been tasked with a lot entering SEC play, tackling top-ranked receivers in open space, traveling into hostile opponent environments and forcing turnovers to provide opportunities for their offense. So far, this group has already proven their ability to thrive off that energy and each other but above all, execute.
“We’re focusing on 11 working as one,” freshman Todd Kelly Jr. said. “That’s 11 players working as one unit, making sure we’re on the same pace, have the same call and are all playing together. If we have 11 guys working as one, then we’ll be able to execute.”
Among the group, Kelly Jr. continues to learn quickly alongside fellow defensive backs Cameron Sutton and Brian Randolph, each of whom have made big plays and interceptions for the Vols this year. Kelly Jr. also got his moment last Saturday, recording his first-career interception against the Georgia Bulldogs.
“It was awesome. I really didn’t know what to do,” Kelly Jr. said. “After it, I got up with the ball and I kind of just stood there before everybody jumped on me. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any points off the turnover and that’s what it’s all about, creating points off of turnovers.”
Among the teammates to greet him after his turnover were Sutton and Randolph. According to Randolph, the interception was a proud moment and marked a milestone event for the true freshman’s career.
“You could tell he was very happy about it and I was happy for him,” Randolph said. “You feel like you’re a part of the team making plays like that. He came out like a veteran, not too big-headed about it. He came back out there and is practicing just as hard as he ever did.”
Their camaraderie has steadily built confidence and with confidence comes production. This week, the group will prepare for long-time SEC foe Florida and with every rep, they know they’re closer to becoming the reliable defense that Tennessee’s Team 118 needs them to be.
“When you’re confident, when you know what you’re doing out there and you’re playing for the guys to your left and your right, you don’t want to let each other down,” Sutton added. “That brings out the maximum potential in our game. We have a strong belief in each other. When we know we have each other’s backs, it shows out there on the field.”
SOUND BITES
Here are sound bites from #Team118:
HEAD COACH BUTCH JONES
»(On Florida’s offense)
“The challenge in preparing for Florida’s offense is they are very,very dynamic, they are very, very explosive, they are very balanced. They do a great job of putting the ball in the hands of their playmakers. We fully expect the wildcat package, we fully expect them to run the quarterback. You have to prepare for everything. We have watched video of the backup quarterback, his high school video, he is a very talented young man. So you try to prepare for everything but because of the gamut of what they do offensively it is a challenge just from a time standpoint. So they really challenge and they do a great job. So you have to be prepared for anything and everything. But again, they present a lot of matchup issues. They are very talented, they have great team speed. Like I said, [Jeff] Driskel can run the football, the backup quarterback can run the ball. They have shown wildcat in the past. So you have to be prepared for anything and everything. But it is also a time demand as well, you are challenged by time as well.”
»(On the team’s emotion after the loss at Georgia)
“You are always disappointed, especially, if you really invest in victory and we expect that. We don’t want them coming in here, we want it to linger a little bit, we want that to affect them a little bit on Sunday. When you invest as much, when you expect to win and you don’t, you are disappointed. That is part of taking pride in your performance. But also it is a great teaching opportunity. When we came back Monday, `Hey, it is time to go now.’ Let’s learn from it and it is a new week. Every week is a new season. I have liked our approach so far this week, it is early but I have liked our approach. But when you see a team that hurts after the game, you know it means something and it does. It is, again, understanding that one play could be the difference between winning and losing. You never want to live with the pain of regret. They way you live with the pain of regret is not to prepare yourself throughout the course of the week, both mentally and physically.”
FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK JALEN HURD
»(On bouncing back after fumble)
“It’s just something that you’ve got to move forward from, something that’s not going to happen again. I work on it every day in practice – ball security – all the time. We’re just working out butts off getting ready for Florida.”
»(On “running angry”)
“I don’t know about `angry,’ but I just try to get all those yards that I can. If I run `angry’…you could say that, I guess.”
»(On handling his increased work load)
“It’s just a mentality. You’ve got to come out here and give your all, no matter how many carries they give you. That’s something, that’s what I wanted. That’s why I came here, I wanted to play early.”
FRESHMAN WIDE RECEIVER JOSH MALONE
»(On building his confidence at Georgia)
“It was very important, it was my first start so I was a little nervous. Getting off to that quick start really settled me in quick and I just kept playing like I knew I could.”
» (On the game slowing down for him since Utah State)
“The game is slowing down a lot. I am starting to get really used to the game speed, it was my first SEC game, this past week. It was very fun and it is starting to slow down and I am starting to get really comfortable out there.”
FRESHMAN DEFENSIVE BACK TODD KELLY JR.
»(On transitioning from special teams to starting defense)
“The coaches said, if you’re able to make plays on special teams then you’ll be able to make plays on defense. If you think about it, special teams is just stops in the open field. So it’s kind of an easy transition going from special teams to defense because being at safety, you’re playing in an open field, trying to make open-field tackles and making plays in space. That’s what it’s all about.”
» (On preparing to face Florida’s quarterback Jeff Driskel)
“He’s a great athlete and they run a lot of different formations and different schemes, motions and things of that nature. We’ve had to do a lot of preparation, he’s a great player and hopefully we’ll be able to make plays on him. It’s all about awareness in the back end. So, you’ve got to be aware of doing your job. We say, if everybody does their job, then we’ll be perfectly fine.”
SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER MARQUEZ NORTH
»(On the change in tempo this season)
“The tempo has changed dramatically since last year, the tempo wears everybody out. The tempo is a good thing for us because we are a very well conditioned team. It just wears people out in the fourth quarter.”
» (On his position on the depth chart)
“It would mean a lot, a program win. We are big rivals too so it is a intense matchup with both of us.”
SENIOR QUARTERBACK JUSTIN WORLEY
»(On Florida’s front four)
“They’re big and they’re fast. It’s what we expect out of Florida every year. It’s the same type of defense they played last year, they’ve got some studs out covering our wide receivers, as well. We’re expecting another big test. We’ve just got to go out and execute now.”
» (On the team “learning to win”)
“I think the way we bounced back after the fumble in the endzone, to put a drive together and go out and score, regardless of what the score was on the scoreboard, I think that’s showing some signs of our youth developing, and showing some signs of the character we have on this football team, not giving up, not quitting on the game. Hopefully now it’s putting together a game-winning drive, not one that’s bringing us from behind.”
SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER JASON CROOM
»(On the team’s increased tempo)
“It’s our edge. We practice on that. We preach it every day. Just us knowing what we’re doing allows us to move faster.”
» (On how this year’s team is different going into the Florida game compared to prior seasons)
“We’re able to go in there and we know what we’re doing. It’s not too much to think about now. We work on our game plan all of the time. We’re watching more film. We’re a new team. We go out there with a different approach.”
SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE BACK CAMERON SUTTON
»(On getting excited to face top-level SEC receivers)
“Every receiver in the SEC is a challenge and every other receiver we go against is a challenge. It’s just our job to use our techniques that our coaches teach us throughout the week and they’re preparing us well to go out there and showcase our skills on Saturday.”
»(On where he feels he has improved the most this year)
“I think my leadership role. Just staying on the young guys and with that one year I had last year, it’s knowing what to expect from teams. This year, I’m able to tell them what tendencies to look for, to get more film study, take care of their bodies and things like that. Just with that one year that I’ve been through and learning from the mistakes I made, it also teaches those young guys so they won’t make the same mistakes.”
SENIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JORDAN WILLIAMS
»(On the Georgia loss)
“It was a little emotional watching it again and seeing how close we were. We were just a few plays from winning or losing. The thing is it’s not surprising. What coach says all the time, there’s just three or four plays were winning or losing. We have to put it behind us. We have a new week. We’ll use it to push us this week.”
»(On what he sees from Florida)
“They play pretty good, solid across the line. They have a pretty good size across the line, and they play well together.”
»(On if this year feels different leading into the Florida game)
“It definitely feels different. Last year you could see guys weren’t 100 percent in confidence. This year, I feel like everybody is on the same page.”
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