The Tennessee Volunteers had a rough start to the 2016 season last Thursday as they trailed the Appalachian State Mountaineers for most of the game and ended up squeaking out a 20-13 overtime victory. Head coach Butch Jones knows things must change and the must to do so very quickly.
The Volunteers face off against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway in front of what is expected to be the largest college football crowd in history. Jones talked about how they are going to have to get better and fast.
“We have to get better in a hurry,” Jones said. “The sense of urgency has to pick up, and I’ve seen that already.”
Jones noted that most of the team’s problems started with the offensive line. This is certainly not a good thing since Bud Foster’s Hokies defense has more sacks than any other FBS team in his two decades of coaching.
“The five individuals that give us the best chance to win the game, those are the five that will start the game,” Jones said. “Just like any week, every position, they are competing for it, and it’s who has the best week of practice.
“We’re going to be challenged with a very disruptive (Virginia Tech) front that causes you communication problems. We’re going to see every blitz known to mankind.”
If the Volunteers don’t change something very quickly, this team will go from an SEC contender to pretender very quickly. They meet up with the Hokies on Saturday at 8 p.m. EST.
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