Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season to No. 1 Georgia this past Saturday. The high-caliber Tennessee offense couldn’t get anything going against the dominating Georgia defense. In the loss, starting quarterback Hendon Hooker was only able to throw for 195 yards, and he also threw one interception. Georgia’s defense was able to dominate and get to Hooker, sacking him six times.
The crowd was also an issue for the Vols. Sanford Stadium showed up and showed out last Saturday.
“I don’t think we handled the environment well,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “There were a lot of things we didn’t do at a high level.”
The Vols have three more games left in the regular season. Following the loss, Tennessee moved to No. 5 in College Football Playoff rankings. The team has a lot to play for the next three games if they want to go to the playoffs. To keep motivation high, the team is using the loss against Georgia as their main motivation.
“Last week is certainly motivational to get back and get right,” Heupel said. “Getting these guys focused hasn’t been a problem.”
This Saturday’s game against Missouri will also be Senior Day. The team has several seniors that are looking to go undefeated in Neyland Stadium. The seniors have meant so much to Heupel and the rebuilding of the program. After the NCAA violations, many players left for the transfer portal, however, a small group stayed and bought into Heupel’s game plan.
“These guys are a part of resurrecting it (the program) and building cornerstone pieces,” Heupel said. “The gratitude that I have and my staff has can’t be understated.”
The seniors that did stay on the team — even though they were recruited by someone else — quickly became Heupel’s guys. This helped them buy into the program even more.
“We get to dictate who we are,” Heupel said. “They are my guys and will be my guys forever.”
Heupel also said that he has learned so much from the group of guys he puts on the field every Saturday.
Running back coach Jerry Mack also joined Vol Calls to highlight his group of guys. Jabari Small had a quiet performance against the Bulldog defense. After averaging around 73 points per game, he only had eight rushing yards last Saturday. Jaylen Wright put up 69 yards on the Georgia defense as well.
Mack’s team has had to put up with dominating defenses like Georgia and Alabama. The coaches expect the running backs to be able to pick up linebackers and take on hits from the opposing teams.
“Right now, we’re pretty healthy,” Mack said. “The guys have done a good job at taking care of their bodies.”
The running back locker room has improved significantly since last season. Mack attributes this to the guys putting on weight and becoming stronger and faster.
“The style of offense we play … guys are gonna take some hits,” Mack said. “We want a guy that would have the opportunity to get bigger.”
