#VolReport: Worley Out For Year

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach Butch Jones announced that senior quarterback Justin Worley will undergo surgery for a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder and will miss the remainder of the season. The injury likely ends his Tennessee career. Worley had started the first seven games of the 2014 season before being sidelined at the end of the Ole Miss game on Oct. 18.

“Justin Worley is out for the rest of the year,” Jones said at his Tuesday post-practice media availability. “He will undergo surgery, but he is still going to be around the team. And now he goes from Player Worley to Coach Worley.”

Worley had started the first seven games of the season and completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,579 yards with 12 touchdowns. In his career, he played in 24 games with 17 starts. He threw for 3,556 yards and 23 touchdowns.

“I give Justin Worley all the credit in the world,” Jones said of Worley’s attempt to return this season. “He tried anything and everything to rehabilitate his shoulder back. He just could not get the velocity that he needs, so he’s out for the rest of the year.”

Worley continued to show great support for his teammates on the sidelines this past weekend at South Carolina, when he knew he couldn’t play in the return to his homestate.

“He was on the sideline for the game in civilian clothes and street clothing,” said Jones. “He did a very good job of being there. He was at practice today. Again, he’s very, very excited about the victory. He’s a true team player and a great-character young man, as we all know, and it’s very, very unfortunate.”

TRUE BELIEF IN EACH OTHER

Coming off of the biggest win of the season at South Carolina, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones says the win was a huge step taken for his football program, and another step taken towards earning a bowl bid.

Extending the season into the post-season, he said, would be extremely important for the growth of his young team.

“It helps you develop your football program even more,” he said. “The individuals we just spoke about, about really trying to step up and add depth. It really adds almost the equivalent of having another spring ball for these individuals. And then the other thing is it lets your football team be together. This is a very, very close knit football team. You don’t go on the road and have a 0.9 percent probability of winning the football game where we were and win the football game if your team doesn’t believe in each other and you don’t have great team chemistry.

“So it is another opportunity, more time, this team has a life expectancy that is about over with and we talk about that all the time. So we are trying to prolong that life expectancy of this football team.”

Freshman offensive lineman Jashon Robertson said the come-from-behind win was an amazing experience for him and the team, as well as his mother, who was celebrating her birthday.

“It was an incredible experience,” he said. “A good team win for everybody – the offense had the defense’s back, the defense had the offense’s back, and we played complementary football at times.

“It was just very enjoyable, especially with the…it was my mom’s birthday weekend, and so it’s kind of a nice little gift to her for her to be able to watch the game and enjoy the game, so it was a lot of fun.”

Freshman running back Jalen Hurd says the win has given the team an incredible feeling – one that they don’t want to lose during the last three games of the season.

“You just remember that feeling and how good that feeling felt,” he said. “You just thrive off of that. We’ll go into recovery with a focused mindset [this week] and in everything you do, we’ll be focused.”

OPEN WEEK: REST AND FOCUS FOR THE VOLS

With the Kentucky game in view, senior linebacker A.J. Johnson and freshman running back Jalen Hurd are taking full advantage of the open week, refueling their bodies and staying mentally focused for the remainder of the season.

“We got away from what we were doing early on in the season,” Johnson said. “Getting people off the field on third down, we got away from that the last two games. This off week came at a good time. We’re going to get stuff corrected and get everyone fueled up.”

As a running back on the rise in the Southeastern Conference, Hurd has quickly learned the value of rest, recovery and weekly preparation. “This is the SEC and you know you’re going to take a beating as a running back,” Hurd said. “That’s true with any running back in the SEC so you need time to recover. I now have a routine every week of what I do workout-wise, cold tub-wise, stretching, getting massages and stuff like that. It has to be a routine and something you do every day.”

Johnson is also focused on treating his body this week and getting game ready for the remainder of the season. Head coach Butch Jones limited his play in practice today in order to allow the senior to rest.

“I’m just getting my body right, with treatment and stuff like that,” Johnson said. “I’m an older guy now so I’m not going to be like, I want to go out and bang people at practice. I want to be smart and get my body right. I’m glad Coach Jones did that. He knows what he’s doing with the team and getting us fresh and ready to go for the game against Kentucky.”

With three games left for the Vols in regular season play, Hurd notes that a complete tune up will ultimately help his team prepare for their next opponent and keep bowl game aspirations within reach.

“It is good to have a bye after a week like [last week] because going into overtime [against South Carolina], that was a really, really long game for a lot of us,” Hurd said. “I think we’re putting pressure on more people. I’m glad this came at a good time just so we can be able to finish off well.”

DESERVING DOBBS

Running back Jalen Hurd has produced record runs in his short time at Tennessee. This weekend at South Carolina, he shared the lanes and the success with new starter Joshua Dobbs, who set a Tennessee quarterback rushing record with 166 yards against the Gamecocks. And Hurd could not have been more proud of his teammate.

“He’s amazing,” Hurd said of Dobbs. “He has definitely stepped up in the leadership role and has done very well at it to come into the game and excel like you’ve seen. Now, you really don’t know who’s getting the ball specifically. It’s a different look and he can pass, as well. His game was outstanding.”

For each of the quarterbacks this fall, working with the running backs group has been an important piece in creating chemistry within Team 118’s offense. In Hurd’s opinion, Dobbs’ leadership and talent has been present since Day One and the praises could not have come soon enough.

“He’s a leader, just like all of our quarterbacks. He’s a great guy,” Hurd added. “He deserves every bit of it.”

SMITH, YOUNG INJURY UPDATES

In addition to the news on Justin Worley, Butch Jones updated the media on the status of sophomore receiver Josh Smith.

“Josh Smith, contrary to reports, is not going through surgery,” said Jones. “Not right now. He’s going through a full examination in the next couple of days to determine if he does need surgery. If that full examination comes to play, that it would help his progression, then he will have surgery.

“But right now we’re waiting on a full examination where they actually put him under, do a full MRI, do some different things to see if surgery is needed.”

Also, Jones said senior returnman and running back Devrin Young isn’t close to returning.

“Still, the ribs are healing,” Jones said of Young, who has been out for the last three games. “He’s still nowhere ready to be game ready yet.”

SOUND BITES Here are sound bites from #Team118: FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK JALEN HURD »(On quarterback Joshua Dobbs contributing to the offense) “”Josh being able to run the ball like he does really helps me a lot and they have to respect his running game. He’s a leader, just like all of our quarterbacks. With him having that run threat, you really have to respect me and then respect him as well. It’s just a different look but he can pass as well. Like you said, his game was outstanding and for him to do that, it really helps out the entire team.” JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER PIG HOWARD »(On the potential to get to a bowl game) It would mean a lot, not just to the program but to the fans. It’s been a very long time since we have approached a bowl game. It would be great for these seniors as well. For a guy like me, I’ve never experienced a bowl game. Just to get Tennessee to back to where it should be.” »(On the attitude of the team heading into the open week) “Still have mental focus, poise. Let’s not get too caught up with that win. We still have a job we need to do. That should be expected, to win. Just to stay focused and get our bodies recovered.” »(On the Curt Maggitt and Derek Barnett sacks in overtime) “Our defense has been playing great all season so we kind of knew they would have our back. Plus, in that situation, it’s crunch time. We had the opportunity to come back and kick that field goal. We put the pressure on South Carolina and we knew our defense was going to bring us home. We had faith in them. Just seeing those two sacks, those two plays they made, that made a lot of momentum for third down. It was success after that.” FRESHMAN DEFENSIVE LINEMAN DEREK BARNETT »(On the team’s energy going into practice this week) “The energy is great coming in from this weekend. We celebrated and had a great plane right back home. We came in and watched film on Sunday, were very critical of ourselves and we had a lot of mistakes that we now need to correct this week. This week is just another work week for us, more mentality than it is physically. We’re still getting after it in the weight room and on the field.” »(On having a bye week following the win at South Carolina) “I kind of wish there was another game this week. But it’s good that this week is a bye week so we can fix our mistakes and everybody can get healthy. I’m going to sit down with my coaches and they’re going to continue to teach me so I’m ready to go next week. We all just want to be ready to play next week.” FRESHMAN KICKER AARON MEDLEY »(On his improvements in kickoffs) “I think it’s just the mentality, going throughout a season and getting more comfortable with it. A.J. [Johnson] came up with `Light `em up,’ so we’ve just had that mentality through every kickoff.” »(On the overtime win) “At the beginning over overtime, I told myself it was a new game. The things that I had done prior didn’t matter. I went out there with a lot of confidence. I just knew I had to make it for the team.” SENIOR LINEBACKER A.J. JOHNSON »(On the win at South Carolina) “We always had confidence. We always knew what we could do. It was just the mentality of fighting and never giving up.” »(On if the defense feels like they can relax because of offensive success) “We don’t want to relax. We still want to be better than we were and pick up our game. Dobbs has been doing a tremendous job back there, but we just have to pick it up and help the offense more.” »(On the one game at a time approach) “Everyone knows that’s the main goal, getting to a bowl game. At the same time, you have to take each week at a time. If we take each week at a time and get that win, we’re going to get to a bowl game. That’s the last thing we’re worried about. We’re going to go to a bowl game.” JUNIOR LINEBACKER CURT MAGGITT »(On Derek Barnett) “It’s great to have another D-end who can get after the passer, too, just so you can feed off of each other and affect the quarterback together and get opportunity sacks. I think me and Barnett and Vereen, we all complement each other’s game.” »(On continuing momentum into next week) “We’re just going to focus on this week. We’ve got a bye week, but we’ve got to win this week, and that’s recovering and getting our bodies well and getting ready and watching extra film. So, that’s how we’ll start – by winning next week, by winning this week. We’ve still got the same mindset as `one week at a time.” FRESHMAN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN JASHON ROBERTSON »(On the offensive line’s strong performance Saturday) “It meant a lot to us. You know, we’ve just tried to stick together and mold, work hard in practice, and do the best that we could to fix a lot of the little things and everything. Of course we haven’t `arrived’ or anything, we still have a lot of things we can improve on, that we’re going to continue to improve on, so we’re just looking forward to winning this bye week and playing next week.” »(On the importance of the open week) “It’s nice, you know, resting our body a little bit, getting back healthy in some ways. That’s very nice. And [it’s not] a mental break, we still have watched our film and are preparing for the next opponent and everything….but it’s nice.” FRESHMAN TIGHT END ETHAN WOLF »(On recent rushing success) “Well, Josh obviously brings a new dynamic to the game and allows us to open some things up, but our offensive line played a heck of a game. They played hard, physical – out-physical’ed their defensive line, I believe – so it was a big step that they made. They’re finally starting to click and great things are starting to happen. So it’s good to see what they’re able to do when they’re all meshing together and playing hard.” »(On overcoming obstacles during the course of the game) “Coach Jones came into our meeting room on Monday and said that Vegas odds were 0.9% that we had a chance to win the game when we were down 14 [with less than five minutes to go]. We definitely overcame the odds, and we reverted back to our training, our conditioning in the summer and spring ball and all the hard work that we’ve put in this past year. It definitely was a huge payoff, and we just stuck to it and grinded through it.”