#VolReport: Vols Prep For Alabama

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With #4 Alabama headed to Rocky Top this weekend, Head Coach Butch Jones is preparing Team 118 to face yet another Top 5 SEC opponent and a strong Alabama defense. Following last week’s Ole Miss game, several members of the Vols’ offensive unit, including linemen Marcus Jackson, Coleman Thomas and quarterback Justin Worley, left Oxford feeling less than 100 percent.

On Tuesday, Jones continued his practice with a watchful eye. It was practice as usual for most of his team, while others began the afternoon with precautionary rehabilitation.

“[Justin] is making progress and we’ll see how it goes,” Jones said. “Just like everyone, he’s out there for practice but again, we’ll see.”

Jackson and Thomas are working on getting back to full strength.

“Marcus [Jackson] was out there and did what he needed to do. The rest was getting the rehabilitation that he needs,” Jones said. “Coleman [Thomas] rehabbed the entire practice, so I think Marcus right now is a little bit ahead of Coleman in terms of availability. We fully anticipate Marcus going through full practice tomorrow. With Coleman, we’ll have to wait and see how it goes after tonight’s rehab and into tomorrow.”

With the possibility of the offensive line seeing more fluctuation, the message to the team this week was clear: Be prepared to step in, step up and take advantage of the opportunity.

“The message is, `Prepare yourself’,” Jones said. “I see a hunger, I see an excitement but again, we’ll know a little bit more tomorrow. It’s business as usual with video study and practice.”

TOPPING THE BILLBOARD CHARTS

In an effort to get the best talent in the state of Tennessee and to spread the Tennessee football tradition, new midstate billboards were unveiled on Monday.

“The mid-state area is a very, very strong recruiting base for us but the entire state of Tennessee is a very strong recruiting base for us,” head coach Butch Jones said. “But again, you look at the individuals, particularly this past year’s recruiting class from the midstate area, they are all making an impact on our football team. There is great high school coaches there, there is great players. We want individuals that want the opportunity to represent their home state institution and if they don’t, we wish them well. But they are going to watch us win a lot of football games down the road.”

Nashville native and freshman Jalen Hurd is proud of the new additions, which read “The Mid-State Stars: Giving Their All for Tennessee.”

“That’s pretty awesome,” Hurd said. “I’m from Nashville and for that to be up in Nashville is amazing.”

Derek Barnett learned about the billboards on Twitter and feels pride in representing the Vols as an in-state athlete.

“Nashville is a great place with a lot of great athletes,” Barnett said. “Me and a bunch of my friends came from there, so I think it’s cool. I see the billboard and I think there’s a lot of talent still there right now. Being from that area I feel like I need to keep representing myself and this program well.”

Jones emphasizes the importance of recruiting in state and what it means for a Tennessee student-athlete’s future.

“There is something unique and special when you represent your home state institution,” Jones said. “It is something that brings value, not just for three, four, five years of your career, it brings a lifetime value. That is where the Vol For Life program comes in. That is where you leave your legacy.

“You will end up working in this state when you get your degree from the University of Tennessee or you get your degree and go play in the National Football League and come back, you are going to make Tennessee your home. Everyone knows who you are, you see the treatment that our former players get in this state, their relevance, the magnitude of being a Vol For Life is very, very important to us.”

SATURDAY SOLD OUT

Saturday’s game vs. Alabama is officially sold out. It marks the third sellout of the season along with the Utah State game on Aug. 31 and the Florida game on Oct. 4.

With the crowd of 102,455 on hand for Saturday, it will mark the first time since the 2007 season that Neyland Stadium drew three or more crowds of that size. The attendance for a sellout has fluctuated over the last decade due to construction and seating adjustments at Neyland. In 2007, Tennessee welcomed more than 104,000 on five occasions.

STORIED RIVALRY NEW FOR SOME

The Tennessee-Alabama rivalry is one of the most storied in all of college football. With a large number of new players, Butch Jones has the task of instilling the importance of the rivalry to his young team.

“I’ve spoken about how we have to get back to making it relevant,” said Jones. “They understand the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry. A lot of these individuals, we talk about the mid-state, they’ve grown up on this rivalry. They understand the magnitude of it.”

Jones pointed out that the rivalry is important to more than just the team.

“This rivalry means so many things to so many people. Our former players, our students, everyone that’s attended these institutions, there’s a pride involved with it.”

Jones believes the importance of the rivalry will never change, regardless of recent history.

“I believe it’s one of the best rivalries in all of college football. It didn’t take me very long to figure that out,” he said. “So, in terms of the importance to us, it’ll always be there. Everything, too, is educating the players on the importance of the rivalry and we do that.”

One of the newest members of the rivalry is familiar with the history as he grew up in the Volunteer State.

“Tennessee-Alabama there is nothing like it,” said freshman tailback Jalen Hurd. “I just hope to make an impact on the game.”

The Vols will be playing in front of yet another sellout crowd on Saturday. Jones and junior Brian Randolph both firmly believe the home crowd affects the team’s performance and can have an impact on the outcome of the game.

“I think our crowd has provided a great home field advantage for us; 102,455, our student body, everyone’s been great,” Jones stated. “The third down, everything, I think it’s just creating that atmosphere.”

Like Jones, Randolph is looking forward to the home field advantage Vol Nation provides.

“Oh yeah, playing at home always give us some extra energy, give us some juice,” said Randolph. “Especially in the second half, I believe that will be evident. We will be coming out with a lot of energy playing in front of our home crowd. It’s definitely good playing at home.”

SOUND BITES

Here are sound bites from #Team118:

HEAD COACH BUTCH JONES

»(On the defense trying to do too much sometimes)

“We always talk about pressing all the time. When you press, you have the anxiety, that sometimes will be your emergency break. So again, just do your job, focus on your job. I think sometimes they want success so much that they try to do their job and someone else’s job and that is when you get hurt. Just focus on the bullseye. Focus on your eye disciple. But overall, just do you job, execute your assignment and play great team defense. Also, great team offense as well.”

»(On Jalen Hurd)

“The running back position is one of durability. All the great running backs in this game have tremendous durability and you have to have mental toughness. And again, you’re getting hit on every single snap, whether it’s in pass protection to running the football. It takes a little bit different mindset to play that position but Jalen has it.”

»(On today’s practice)

“I thought we probably had the best Tuesday practice we have had in a very long time. We finished strong. Tuesdays are a workmanlike mentality, a lot of the individuals don’t even show up until 2 o’clock in the afternoon after a long day of classes but I thought the attention, I thought the small details of improvement. I thought it was one of the better Tuesday practices we have had.”

FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK JALEN HURD

»(On facing Alabama’s highly touted defense)

“I’m very excited. We play great defenses every week, though, and we’re just going to take this like another week and try to get a `W.’ … We’re definitely not happy with what we’ve produced, so we’re just trying to focus on the small details and the small fundamentals going into Alabama.”

»(On the confidence level of the offensive unit)

“We have to work hard and we just have to work harder and harder each week. We’re definitely not happy with how we’re playing so we’re going to work harder and harder to progress … we do [need some big plays] and I take that upon myself to make bigger plays than what I have been.”

SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER MARQUEZ NORTH

»(On Josh Malone’s performance against Ole Miss)

“He had a real good performance. He’s a young guy playing as a freshman. He has taken over with the mental aspect of it, so he’s improving.”

»(On Alabama’s defensive backs)

“They’re very physical with an NFL scheme. They’re very talented. It’s an SEC defense every week. It’s a war each week.”

»(On what the offense has been working on)

“We’ve been working on the specific details of each play, and how we’re doing things. We’re getting real detailed with it.”

FRESHMAN DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DEREK BARNETT

»(On facing Alabama’s offensive line)

That’s a good team. I see big guys up front. They’re all big – 6-5, 6-6, in the 300s. So I see a physical team up front … last week they were big as well. Physical. So back-to-back we’ll have two physical ballgames. Gotta be ready to play.”

»(On his play-making abilities)

“I’m confident in myself. God gave me a bunch of abilities so I feel like I can make a play at any moment. I just try to play hard every play and have a clear mindset so if I mess up I just try do better on the next play.”

»(On his relationship with Corey Vereen)

“He’s very consistent and if I don’t know something I’ll talk to him and ask him what I need to do. He just talks to me about football and the little things in being successful … He’s a football nerd. He’s really intelligent and he loves the game of football.”

JUNIOR DEFENSIVE BACK BRIAN RANDOLPH

»(On the Alabama offense)

“They definitely have a lot of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. They can run the ball. They can pass the ball. As you know, the quarterback can run and pass. That just creates an extra running back that we have to worry about.”

»(On what Alabama does well on film)

“They just do well with their play calls. They carry out, they execute, all their play calls as well. You’re never going to see them loafing in the back end. Running or passing, you can’t really get a good pick up on whether it’s going to be a run or a pass because their receivers are doing the same thing. They’re going full speed. Also, their running backs are very hard to get on the ground. They break a lot of tackles.”

SENIOR LINEBACKER A.J. JOHNSON

»(On what the defense can do to take the next step and improve)

“Probably cause more turnovers. We can play a little harder, play more together but probably the big thing is causing more turnovers. We haven’t been generating those a lot and that’s something that Coach has been stressing. I know that will help.”

»(On why the defense has been more disruptive in the back field this year)

“It’s all about the calls that Coach puts us in. They’ll go through the film, scheme it up through the weekend and get the game plan right. Then, we all focus in on the game plan and it all flows together. We play better that way.”

SENIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JORDAN WILLIAMS

»(On the Alabama offensive line)

“They’re a solid offensive line. They have some big guys and they play well together. I mean combos and stuff like that, they play well together. It’s going to be a tough week.”

»(On Alabama’s mobile quarterback)

“A running quarterback is something you definitely have to account for when it’s something that can throw defenses off a little bit. We trust our coaches. We trust the game plan. They’re going to put us in the right position.”

JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN MACK CROWDER

»(On adversity of line this season)

“It’s been a little tough but the great thing about offensive line is that were all brothers up there and we stick together no matter what, we’re basically family. That goes for Coach Mahoney too. Every day we just come with a positive mind set. We all know that no matter what he has our back and he’s going to have a great plan for us the next week. We just listen to him and keep our heads up.”

» (On concern of depth)

“”I am not very concerned because I have all the faith in the world in those guys who are going to be stepping up and playing and if we do have any issues this game, there are other guys who are going to step up and do their job also.”

SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DANNY O’BRIEN

»(On success up front)

“We have the intensity to get after the ball. I think that is something AJ [Johnson] really helps with his defense. We just have a different aura about us. We are really just trying to get after offenses and attack offenses instead of just sitting in our gaps. We are trying to go out there and make plans.”

»(On being undersized but effective)

“Me, Jordan Williams, Owen Williams, and Trevarris Saulsberry hold each other to a high standard. I mean when you are an undersized guy, you have to play with leverage and I think that’s something we’ve done really well as a Defensive Line. We’ve gotten under guys pads and denting the gaps, just really trying to get in there and open up the holes for the linebackers so they can do what they do.”