After suffering its first loss of the season last Saturday, a 19-14 defeat to the Arkansas Razorbacks, Tennessee is looking to bounce back… quickly. With an upcoming schedule chock full of SEC opponents, the Vols are hurriedly preparing to right the ship.
In order to move forward, the Vols spent this week going over what went wrong… and how they can fix it in time for their next game, Saturday night at home against the Florida Gators.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Jayson Jenkins knows there is work to be done before the Gators come to town.
“We try to play our hardest and then just the things that we got to clean up… definitely we feel like we could be more physical in the line of scrimmage,” Jenkins told the media on Tuesday. “And, you know, that’s going to be the main emphasis going forward… just winning in the line of scrimmage, winning that battle in the trenches.”
Jenkins had a breakout game against Oklahoma this season, logging career highs with 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack in addition to a safety. Against Arkansas he had 0.5 TFL. As some fans worriedly murmur over the shocking loss to the Razorbacks, what does Tennessee have to do to prepare for the Gators?
“(Florida is) very well coached. It seems like on tape that they work very collectively as a unit and that they are on all their keys and everything, pointing out where the pressure coming from, all that,” Jenkins said. “So, we just got to just knuckle down on the details this week and just play our ball, really ultimately just playing our ball. The brand of football that we know and that we play.”
Former Florida Head Coach Steve Spurrier has already taken a shot at the upcoming Tennessee-Florida matchup. Spurrier said on Pat Dooley’s Another Dooley Noted Podcast on Monday, “We’re certainly capable of beating Tennessee. If Arkansas can beat them, we can beat them.”
Historically, it’s true. Florida leads Tennessee in wins 32-21. Most recently, the Vols lost to the Gators last season, 29-16 in Gainesville. Though currently unranked, the record shows Florida is not an opponent to overlook. Jenkins knows if they can slow down the run game, they have good odds at taking down another SEC foe.
“That’s the thing we emphasize on stopping the run,” Jenkins said. “Nobody’s going to just try and run the ball on us. You know, as a unit we have an understanding of that. And in those short yardage situations, you really got to just knuckle down and not let them get the yards that they want. So that’s the mindset.”
Coming back after a loss is a challenge, no matter how strong of a unit you are. It stings, and it’s a full week until you can get back out on the field to prove yourself. But, dwelling on the past is not part of the game plan.
“You go back on that Sunday and Monday, look at the film, look at the things that you could have done better,” Jenkins explained. “And then ultimately, you gotta move on from it.
“We have an opponent here coming in this week. You know, that’s a good opponent and we respect that about them. And I’m sure we’re going to get their best. And you know they’re going to get our best as well.”
