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So far, so good.
Butch Jones has his Tennessee team at 2-0 to open the 2014 season following a 34-19 win over Arkansas State. The Vols looked strong on both sides of the football, totaling 415 yards on offense and holding the Red Wolves to a 4-of-17 third down efficiency on defense.
Tennessee was disciplined in Week 2, called just twice for penalties. In Week 1, the Vols were flagged six times– all on the offensive line– with five coming in the first half of their 38-7 win.
“Looking back at the Arkansas State game, I see progress, I see progress in a number of areas,” Jones said during his weekly press conference. “I see improvement. We spoke about the Power of One and where we can control the controllable. We have been able to do that, that is why were are 2-0 against two very good, quality opponents. That is the other thing, we have played two quality opponents.
“When you look at one turnover in two games, when you look at two penalties last week, our red-zone efficiency, our third-down efficiency offensively and defensively, the ability to not kick field goals in the red zone but score touchdowns.”
In regards to preparation, Jones had his team ready for Saturday’s contest. Quarterback Justin Worley has shown more poise and confidence through two games than he’s shown in all four seasons in Knoxville.
From a play calling standpoint, the senior quarterback has been given the green light to throw downfield in 2014 and his numbers have skyrocketed. Last season, Tennessee’s offense relied heavily on screen passes, which may have been caused by a lack of personnel at skill positions. With more talent at wide receiver, Jones has called for more deep passes and spread the ball to 11 different wideouts.
Jones also made changes to the rushing attack. In Week 2, Jalen Hurd saw the majority of carries out of the backfield and led Tennessee with 83 yards and his first career rushing touchdown. Hurd was named the SEC Freshmen of the Week for his performance, the first Volunteer back to win the award since Arian Foster in 2005. Jones is definitely grooming Hurd to be the feature back in Tennessee’s offense early into his college career. He’s handled Hurd’s maturation extremely well and monitored his carries successfully.
Defensively, Jones has his team playing with a certain kind swagger not seen in years past. The “Orange Swarm” are gaining a new level of confidence each game, which will be necessary as Tennessee enters a tough schedule beginning with No. 4 Oklahoma on Saturday.
The Vols have held their opponents to under 200 yards passing in each of their first two games and Jones’ staff has done an excellent job getting the proper rotations on and off the field. Owen Williams provided a boost to the defensive line off the bench with five tackles and two sacks on Saturday.
“It was good, great to see. He had about three plays in a row, back-to-back-to-back, that really impacted the game. That’s the thing that we really focus on. How are you impacting the game when you’re on the field? Are you making impactful plays? He was able to do that and I think he’ll really gain some valuable confidence from that.”
Jones will have his hands full this Saturday at Oklahoma. Facing a national powerhouse, the matchup may provide the best example of where Tennessee truly stands in its rebuilding process.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
