As soon as the clock expired at EverBank Field on Jan. 2, Tennessee fans immediately began asking questions about the Vols’ 2015 football season.

“Could the Vols win 10 games next year? Would UT finally win the SEC East this year?”

Some of the more optimistic Vols fans began to wonder whether Tennessee could be a dark horse playoff contender.

Yet if they listened to Tennessee head coach Butch Jones’ press conference on Monday, they might have considered pumping the breaks on their lofty expectations for the upcoming Tennessee football season.

“This spring will present, as we all know, many challenges,” Jones said. “I think it’s a snapshot still of where we’re at in our football program in terms of depth. We’re not there yet. We’re still a couple recruiting classes away but we’re going to be forced to be creative in the way we practice.”

The principal reason for the lack of depth, Jones said, is that nine players will not participate in practice this spring.

Derek Barnett, Jason Croom, Alex Ellis, Marcus Jackson, Jakob Johnson, Darrin Kirkland Jr., Curt Maggitt, Danny O’Brien and Kyle Phillips will not practice in the spring due to injuries. This leaves Tennessee with only five defensive linemen available for the spring practices.

“The biggest setback (of spring practice) are the injuries,” Jones said. “Having nine individuals out and having a number of individuals that are day to day, that really hurts the progress of your football team.”

While the injuries on the defensive line clearly affect how the defense practices in the spring, Jones was quick to observe the injuries’ impact on the development of the offensive line.

It will be difficult for the offensive line to improve during the spring without trying to stop two of the SEC’s most vaunted pass rushers, Barnett and Maggitt. Jones also noted the injuries prevent the offensive linemen from participating in situational football.

Jones admitted the injuries forced him to be creative with practices. The product of his creativity: two practice formats for the spring.

On practice days — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays — the injured players will mainly lift. On days when the team doesn’t practice, the injured players will go through walk-throughs and participate in activities Jones said “simulate the mental repetitions.”

Jones said this practice format will ensure no injured players get left behind in spring practice.

“We have to make sure that Darrin Kirkland continues to progress,” Jones said. “We have to make sure Jakob Johnson continues to progress and all the individuals that are injured.”

Aside from mentioning the different practice format, Jones listed his expectations for spring practice on both sides of the ball. On defense, he wants to create more turnovers. Offensively, he wants to create more explosive plays.

The host of injuries and the overall lack of depth haven’t prevented Jones from being optimistic about the upcoming spring practice, however.

“If you look on the positive side, it also allows for many opportunities,” Jones said. “We are night and day from where we were spring one. Just our work capacity, our mentality, our players doing the extra. They understand the culture, they understand the standard. They understand the expectations.”

Two of the reasons for Jones’ optimism lie in the backfield.

Running back Alvin Kamara, the top junior college prospect and former Alabama player, will be one of the newcomers in spring, but Jones said he is already developing a leadership role. In addition, starting quarterback Josh Dobbs already has an established leadership role.

“Josh has been driven,” Jones said. “He’s just got that different look in his eye. And the other thing is, in terms of confidence, he’s leading others. He’s not setting the example, he’s leading them vocally. He’s been very demanding. He set up all the offseason throwing on his own. So he’s really taken ownership in that position.”

Dobbs’ leadership role is probably why Jones wants him to work on better protecting himself when running the football. He doesn’t want the team leader to suffer a debilitating injury.

“Coach (Mike) DeBord came in and right away, three things when he runs the football: touchdown, first down, get down,” Jones said.

In the midst of all injuries and the optimism for the upcoming spring practice, Jones and his football team still have set a goal for themselves. The goal, though, might not be as specific as the goals set by the fans.

This goal doesn’t include winning the East or dictating the number of games the team must win. It’s much simpler.

“We have basically one goal and that is to be a better football team every time we step into the Anderson Training Center,” Jones said. “Everything else will take care of itself. We have to work on being a much better football team. I spoke about it earlier, everyone is responsible for their own self-determination. If every individual in our football program improves individually then we improve collectively as a football team.”

Extra Point: Another cause of optimism for Jones resides in the weight room in Anderson Training Center.

Jones said the Tennessee football team experienced significant gains in strength and conditioning.

Seventy-five percent of the team set personal records in the weight room in the offseason. The players raised their squat PR by an average of 50 pounds and their PR bench press by an average of 25 pounds.

Considering Jones said the goal for the season was self-improvement, he was happy with the offseason results in the weight room.