Tennessee Vols: How to Climb Back to the Rocky Top

The thing about college football is until the season is over, every week you have to prove yourself again. This Saturday night, BYU will come to Knoxville with renewed expectations of winning in SEC country. For the coaches and players, what do you do? How do you prepare for what you’re about to face the next time you take the field in Neyland Stadium on national television? Here are five things that Tennessee needs to do in order to rebound from the most embarrassing loss in school history:

1. Own It

For most of the game, Tennessee was playing at half-speed. Georgia State, which was vastly out-gunned in terms of talent, resources, athleticism, and fan support, believed they could win from the opening kick. The Volunteers seem to be treating this opening game as if it were an NFL preseason game. It backfired and now they paid $950,000 for Georgia State to make them the laughing stock of football across the country. Even Tennessee fans are making fun of the program at this point.

Tennessee hasn’t had success in nearly a decade. The dominance of the 1990’s and early 2000’s seems like ancient history. Peyton Manning has entered the NFL and retired and Tennessee hasn’t won another SEC Championship since his rookie year with the Indianapolis Colts. The fans deserve better. You can’t keep punching a fan base in the gut and expecting them to keep coming back over and over.

The players, coaches, and staff need to own up to the fact that they are to blame for the defeat to Georgia State. The Panthers are not better than Tennessee at any position. In fact, Georgia State may not even be better than any of Tennessee’s backups as far as talent and athleticism are concerned. There is no reason for a program like Tennessee to ever lose to Georgia State, a program that had only been playing football for 10 seasons. Quit lying to the fans and media. Do not say “the better team won” because we know they didn’t. The team with the better coaching staff won. The team with the more prepared team won. The better team lost because it was set up to fail.

You can’t change the past. What has happened cannot be changed. You can take it, learn from it, and never allow it to happen again. Use the past to change the future.

2. Remove the Cancers

Tennessee must have a toxic locker room situation in order for the culture to become this bad. It was the opening day of the college football season yet the majority of the team didn’t seem to care. How can you not be fired up for your home opener in the first game of the college football season? You’ve been practising all spring and summer for this moment! The culture has been toxic under other previous head coaches in the past at Tennessee but it appeared that Jeremy Pruitt had established a healthy, competitive culture. This is obviously false. The toxicity reared its ugly head.

The coaching staff needs to go through and prune the roster. Any signs of a cancerous attitude or culture need to be eliminated. This may mean cutting some players with talent. Talent is great but if it kills your football team to have that talent on the team, it’s not worth it. Cut the head off the snake!

Before every game, the team runs out and slaps a sign that reads “I will give my all for Tennessee today.” I hope that sign has been removed. Not one person on that football field in orange gave their all for Tennessee on Saturday. That includes the coaching staff. The sign should be taken down until further notice. Rocky Top needs a culture rebuild. Taking away iconic pregame rituals and having to earn them back would be a step in the right direction. Do not let anyone in Knoxville take anything for granted.

3. Get the Ball to the Best Players

Last year, Tennessee fans complained as the offense was stagnant at many times throughout the season. This was especially true with back-to-back blowout losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri to end the 2018 season last year. Too many times the Tennessee coaching staff failed to get the ball into the hands of its best playmakers on offense. In the offseason, new OC Jim Chaney promised to identify the best players on the team and constantly feed them the ball. The Volunteers ran over 70 plays on Saturday against Georgia State. Only 23 touches for the top players on offense–RB Ty Chandler, WR Marquez Callaway, and WR Jauan Jennings. That’s less than 1/3rd of the total plays went to these star players. Despite that, all of these players scored the only touchdowns for the Volunteers during the game. It isn’t rocket science, GET THE BALL INTO THE HANDS OF YOUR BEST PLAYERS!

4. Speed It Up!

Tennessee plays way too slow for modern college football. In an era where the flash and dash of teams like Oregon, Oklahoma, and Ohio State run their offenses as fast as possible, Tennessee moves at a snail’s pace on offense. If the players can’t pick it up as quickly, dumb down the playbook. The offense is allowing way too much time for the opposing defense to rest and adjust the alignment. In the prime time game the same night, Auburn and Oregon displayed speed and quickness on offense. Auburn even used a faux huddle to prevent the Oregon defense from making adjustments at times during the game. The Volunteer offense invites the defense to make adjustments. Quit making it easy on the opposing team.

On defense, the Volunteers constantly looked lost and confused throughout the game. Many times players were out of alignment or running onto the field late. One of the crucial Georgia State touchdowns was caused by Tennessee running onto the field late and being misaligned. The play could’ve been stopped easily but Pruitt didn’t call a timeout. This wasn’t the only score that should’ve been prevented by better coaching. Tennessee forced a 3rd down stop only to give it up for having 12 men on the field.

Both sides of the ball have to speed up their game. The time for walk-throughs is over. There is no preseason in college football. You must go full speed every game. Jeremy Pruitt seems like a 1990’s coach stuck in the modern-day world.

5. Turn Up the Pressure

Tennessee should come ready to play on Saturday night against BYU. I would expect a fired up team from the kickoff. If this team can’t get up to defend their sense of pride, nothing will ever wake up this team or the coaching staff. You are the laughing stock of all of college football. Will you let this define you?

The defensive line got no push against Georgia State. That was not a talent issue but a “want to” problem. I have a feeling after this week of practice, Jeremy Pruitt will have his team’s “want to” a lot higher than it was against Georgia State or he will not be employed very long. This game against BYU now means more than anyone ever thought it would.

It’s time to win back the Big Orange fans on Rocky Top. There’s a fine line between love and hate. Give the fans a reason to cheera and they will. Play hard. Play fast. Give your all for Tennessee.

Players to Watch against BYU

Jauan Jennings #15 WR
Jennings is the vocal leader of the team. I expect his pride to shine through. He may get a few personal foul flags in the game due to the emotion and fire in which he plays. That’s fine with me as long as he shows passion for the game and Tennessee football. 

Marquez Callaway #1 WR
Callaway scored a touchdown but was held in check for the most part against Georgia State. With dreams of an NFL future, I expect Callaway to come out and demand the football the next game. 

Ty Chandler #8 RB
Chandler was the best offensive player on the roster last year. If Chandler got the ball, he scored. For some reason, Chandler would have several games where the coaching staff wouldn’t get him the ball. This was another one of those games. I expect the veteran RB to take control this game against BYU.

Aubrey Solomon #98 DT
The Michigan transfer was all the buzz in the offseason. Against Georgia State, Solomon looked like an average Sun Belt lineman not a Big Ten or SEC caliber player. It’s tough to shake a first impression. The 5-star bust of DL Kahlil McKenzie isn’t long forgotten. To gain the favor of the fans, Solomon will need a big game against BYU.

Nigel Warrior #18 S
The outspoken leader of the defense owned up to the loss after the game. Expect Warrior to be a vocal leader throughout the week and during game day and he personally tries to right the ship in the secondary.

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