KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee prepares for its final SEC road game of the season as the Vols take on Missouri on Saturday at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
After a 24-0 win over North Texas this past week, the Vols (6-4, 3-3 SEC) head into their final two games already bowl-eligible. It is the earliest that UT has recorded its sixth win since 2007.
“It’s evidence of how far we have come in a short period of time, and it’s not propaganda,” head coach Butch Jones said. “It’s real, and it is also a compliment to our players and everyone in our football organization. In a very short period of time, with how special Tennessee is and when you get the right people on board and your players believe in each other and they keep grinding, good things will happen. There is a lot to play for.”
Tennessee will go to a bowl game in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. The Vols are determined to finish the regular season strong.
The team will have a tough task on their hands as Missouri (5-5, 1-5 SEC) is still chasing bowl eligiblity and the Tigers will be fired up for Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel’s final home game. Pinkel announced last week that he would resign following the conclusion of the season for health reasons as he was diagnosed this past May with lymphoma.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Pinkel, not just as a coach but as an individual as well,” Jones said. “I remember being a young coach in the Mid-American Conference, and he was the head coach at Toledo. If you look at everywhere he has been, he has won.”
Defense Emphasizing Turnovers This Week
Tennessee is coming off of its most impressive defensive showing in recent years. UT’s 24-0 win over North Texas was the Vols’ first shutout since a 45-0 win over Austin Peay on Aug. 31, 2013.
With two games left in the regular season, there is still room for improvement for the defesnse. Jones wants the defense to generate more turnovers. Tennessee has 12 takeaways on the year, but after starting the season with six turnovers forced in the first three games, the Vols managed just six over the next seven contests. The Big Orange’s last takeaway was Malik Foreman’s key forced fumble at the end of UT’s win over South Carolina on Nov. 7.
“These games are going to come down to field position, taking care of the football, great play on special teams and not beating ourselves,” Jones said. “Part of that is generating some momentum plays and generating some turnovers. We always talk about being turnover conscious. We have our Maxim 1 period, and we saw what happened a couple of weeks ago with Malik Foreman. We need to continue to generate ball disruptions and also tipped balls.”
Scouting the Scout Team
Every day in practice there is a group of players that put in a lot of work, but that never shows up on game day, at least not yet.
Players that redshirt a year are not just waiting until the year is over, they are working every day. Defensive lineman Darrell Taylor and offensive linemen Venzell Boulware and Drew Richmond are not playing in games this year, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t contributing to the team.
“Darrell Taylor’s doing a tremendous job for us right now,” Head Coach Butch Jones said. “He continues to grow and develop in the strength and conditioning area. He’s doing a great job on scout teams for us. His body’s exploding right now, and he’s getting better.”
“I see Venzell Boulware developing every single day. I see Drew Richmond developing every single day. With the developmental lifts, practices, all the extra sessions, I think that is helping.”
The scout team is responsible for modeling what the opposition does in the week preparing for a game. They study the habits of some of the best college football players in the country and bring that into practice where they go up against the Tennessee starters.
“You think about it. You get to block Derek Barnett all the time on scout team. You get to do some of those things. All of the individuals that are redshirting right now are doing a really good job with that part of it.”
“You learn so many valuable lessons on scout team,” Jones said. “These individuals, when they start playing, they always look back at their experiences. A great illustration that we have is Kendal Vickers. You talk about the development of your players, where Kendal Vickers is at from a size standpoint and from a playing standpoint, I really believe he is developing into the player he is today because the scout team was a big part of it. We challenged him. That is where his toughness was born. That is where his competitiveness was born.”
One of the team’s that Tennessee is trying to emulate in developing players is their opposition this upcoming week. Missouri has been able to redshirt players which has helped them win the SEC East each of the last two years.
“They’ve had the luxury in their football program to be able to go and redshirt players, develop them in the weight room, develop them on scout teams, work their fundamentals, and their details,” Jones said. “Year two to year three in their program, you look at all their players and it’s like they keep popping up – all these great players, particularly in the defensive front. We’re hoping that we’re to a point in our program very soon that we can do that.”
Vols Eager to Face Tough Missouri Defense
The Vols will again face one of the nation’s top defenses this Saturday against the Tigers.Tough, stingy defenses have been a staple for head coach Gary Pinkel during his tenure at Missouri, and this year is no exception. The Tigers boast one of the best defenses in the SEC and the country, ranking among the nation’s leaders in a handful of categories. Entering this Saturday’s contest, Mizzou is tied for fourth in tackles for loss per game (8.7) and ranks fifth in scoring defense (14.7 points per game) and eighth in total defense (297.7 yards per game).
Tennessee is looking to build off its strong defensive performance against North Texas. UT limited the Mean Green to only 199 yards of total offense, marking the fewest total yards allowed since giving up only 142 against UT Martin on Sept. 4, 2010.
“It doesn’t matter who we are playing. We never want to give up the points,” redshirt senior defensive back Brian Randolph said. “Going against another great defense is definitely a challenge for us. We always want to be the best defense every Saturday.”
Head coach Butch Jones praised the Tigers’ defense, saying they are one of the best the Vols will have to face this season.
“It is going to be a great challenge for us. They play a multitude of different looks in terms of the back end of their defense schematically. Also, on their front seven, they are deep and experienced,” Jones said. “It’s a complete defensive football team when you look at the front seven and the back end. That shows with their tackles for loss, their stats and what they are doing this year.”
SOUND BITES
- Junior QB Joshua Dobbs(On Missouri having extra determination on their last home game)
“Yeah I think any time a team steps on the field, especially their home turf, they’re going to have some extra juice. So we have to come ready to play and I mean we’ve played in hostile environments before so this will just be another one and a great opportunity to go out and play the game of football. I’m very excited for the opportunity.”
(On what impresses him most about Missouri’s defense)
“Just all-around, they are a very solid defense, a very well-coached defense and a very disciplined defense. That’s how they’ve been since we’ve played them. They start upfront strong and are very experienced in the secondary. They lead the SEC in a lot of categories so we all have respect for them and they do a very good job on the defensive side.”
- RS Senior Brian Randolph(On playing at Missouri in Gary Pinkel’s final home game)
“It’s always a challenge playing on the road in the SEC with SEC players and the atmosphere. That is a little bit of an advantage for them. Whenever you go on the road in the SEC, you are pretty much expecting a challenge. With emotions, I don’t know much for them, but I know they are going to give us their best shot regardless of the situation.”
(On opposing team having a good defense)
“It doesn’t matter who we are playing. We never want to give up the points. Going against another great defense is definitely a challenge for us. We always want to be the best defense every Saturday. We have to trust in our offense in that they can put some points up for us.”
- Junior DB Cameron Sutton(On the defense posting a shutout vs. North Texas)
“Shutouts are hard to come by. There are so many different challenges that an offense can throw at a defense and they can put the defense in many different situations to make plays and we were able to do thatSaturday. We could always cause more turnovers and give the offense a chance to put more points on the board.”
(On Missouri’s defense putting pressure on Tennessee)
“Defenses are there to stop the other team from scoring points. So there is pressure every week not just this one. As secondary, we are the last line of defense so anything that gets behind us is a touchdown so we have to limit plays. Our defense is doing a good job of getting a lot of pressure up front and our linebackers are doing a great job at the second level so we have to keep coming together and come out with a win this weekend.”
- Junior LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin(On Darrin Kirkland Jr.improvements)
“He’s playing a lot faster, he’s playing a lot more confident. He’s communicating a lot better and I think he finally beat me in tackles per game. I know that’s been something that he’s been trying to do so he’s definitely going to keep getting better. He’s nowhere near his ceiling yet.”
(On Derek Barnett’s increase in sacks)
“That’s just the type of player he is. At the beginning of the season, he wasn’t getting that many sacks but he just kept working and staying consistent with it and didn’t get down on it. Now you’re starting to see his numbers coming in.”