In the last eight quarters plus an overtime period, the offensive numbers couldn’t be much gaudier.
Ninety-five points; 63 first downs; more than 1,100 total yards — 598 of which have come through the air.
But there is one additional statistic worth noting in the breakdown of Tennessee’s recent success.
It’s zero — as in the number of catches from Preseason All-SEC selection Marquez North in UT’s wins against South Carolina and Kentucky.
“Marquez had dinged his shoulder up a little bit earlier in the week,” head coach Butch Jones said at Monday’s press luncheon. “We had the luxury — the game (against the Wildcats) afforded us to pick our spots with him.
“… Could he have played more? Absolutely, but it was just one of those situations where we were at the stage of the game where we didn’t want to risk anything.”
Despite starting at wide receiver in victories over the Gamecocks and Wildcats, North has spent the better part of two weeks donning a green no-contact jersey in practice, giving way to fellow pass catchers Alton “Pig” Howard, Von Pearson and Jason Croom in the process.
But while UT’s offense has hardly missed a beat without their Freshmen All-SEC wide receiver snagging passes, Jones certainly doesn’t want to make North’s absence any longer than it has to be. The 6-foot-4, 221-pound sophomore is currently second on the team in receiving yards (320) and co-leads the Vols with four touchdowns through the air.
“We’re going to try to get him back and be as healthy as you can possibly be for this stretch run,” Jones said, “so we weren’t going to risk anything.”
Gotta lay my Mack down: After having Marlin Lane fall awkwardly on his left leg during the Vols’ win over Kentucky, it was confirmed on Sunday’s episode of “The Butch Jones Show” that starting center Mack Crowder suffered a high-ankle sprain and was still having his left knee evaluated.
On Monday, Jones updated the latter of the two.
“A little bit with his knee, (Mack has) a knee sprain,” Jones said. “Right now I would say he is probably questionable for the game. We will see how he progresses throughout the course of the week.”
Should Crowder miss Saturday’s game against Missouri, Jones confirmed that his immediate replacement would be reserve lineman Dylan Weisman, who checked in at center after Crowder hobbled off.
Even so, Jones added that UT has “a number of options” at the center position and could lean on a plethora of offensive lineman to help fill any necessary voids.
“We’ve had a lot of individuals take repetitions at center,” Jones said. “Marcus Jackson will be available. Coleman Thomas played center in high school. He’s been gaining reps at center as well. Again, during the work week or bye week, we actually played Coleman at center as well.”
The Todd return: With starting safety Brian Randolph suspended for the first half of Saturday’s game against Missouri, Jones shined light on who would be his immediate fill-in.
“Todd Kelly Jr. will take his place,” Jones said. “I think he did some good things (versus Kentucky). He was forced into a challenging situation. T.K. prepares every week as though he is the starter. He’s very cerebral so I thought he did really good things.”
In UT’s win over Kentucky, Randolph was ejected early in the third quarter following a helmet-to-helmet on Wildcats quarterback Patrick Towles. The action warranted a targeting penalty, which results in an immediate ejection and a first-half suspension of the next game if the penalty occurs in the second half of the current contest.
“It’s unfortunate,” Jones said. “Brian wasn’t being malicious. He was playing with great effort running to the football, quarterback slides, he had already left his feet so he was actually going low. We teach them in the quarterback slides, and he hits him above the shoulder. But you know, it is the rule. It is a point of contention and a point of emphasis. You will have to sit out for the first half.”
Following Randolph’s ejection, Kelly Jr., who started two games earlier in the season but has played sparingly in recent weeks, finished with one tackle in the win over Kentucky.
