It’s been a rough few years for University of Tennessee football fans. The Volunteer program is certainly accustomed to success and it’s been 30 years since Tennessee has had a stretch of mediocrity like the one that they find themselves in now. And while winning is obviously the most important part of building a successful program, that’s not the only thing that has waned in Knoxville over the last five years. The program has lost its’ identity and that has frustrated fans almost as much as the losses. The root problem of this identity crisis is the turmoil over the last seven seasons. Four coaches in six years – all with very different styles and systems – will do that to a program.
But Tennessee fans are optimistic. They see a young team, a team that is still learning, a team that is still struggling to get to a winning record. They also see a team with a different attitude, a different dimension, a different way about their business. Fans of the Volunteers are starting to see the new identity of the Tennessee program – and they like it.
Here is what the fans think they see and what they are really seeing.
They know their team is young, but they think they see an energy to the team that hasn’t been there for several years. Though the team is certainly short on experience, it isn’t using that fact as an excuse. When head coach Butch Jones or any of the players discuss youth, they discuss it in terms of factual statistics not in terms of lowering expectations. They see the players hustling on defense and putting forth great effort on offense.
What they are really seeing here is the influence of Jones, highlighted by discipline and high energy. Jones has firmly imprinted his identity on this team and nowhere is that more evident than in their discipline. The defense is making open field tackling and sticking to their assignments on defense. The offense is executing well with the traditional hallmarks of a well-coached offensive team: precision and assignment blocking. Yes, there were notable lapses in the secondary against Oklahoma and clearly the offensive line still needs to develop. But these are clearly learning experiences.
Even off the field, the discipline comes through. This team has behaved around Knoxville better than previous teams and their commitment in the film room, weight room, summer sessions and classroom is evident. Jones’ high energy approach is clear in practice and on game days. The ubiquitous bullhorn controls the tempo and transitions of practice. The program has revamped the game day experience with several public relations hits such as its “Third Down For What” stadium track and “Circle of Life” pregame routine. Attendance is up and fans are happy in Knoxville. Jones’ energy and creativity on the recruiting trail are nationally recognized. He has built a fence around Tennessee and has had great success in Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, particularly for a team without a winning record since 2009.
But we’ve seen this before. Lane Kiffin brought in NFL-caliber coordinators and a personality to the program not seen since the Battle days of the early ‘70s. We all know how that worked out. There was as much lawlessness as there was talent and Kiffin tarnished a program generally respected by most other fan bases with his Spurrier-esque brashness and un-Spurrier like success. Derek Dooley was a return to SEC traditionalism. While Dooley was a casualty of the damage done by Kiffin, the bottom line is he wasn’t able to get as much performance from players as their potential promised. Many viewed him as a return to the conservative Fulmer identity without the record of success.
So is this new, emerging identity here to stay? Tennessee, for the first time in a generation, has a chance to forge a new and successful identity. The SEC is surprisingly wide open now with Georgia, South Carolina and Missouri looking like Top 10 teams on some Saturdays and struggling to beat Vandy and losing to Indiana on others. Florida clearly isn’t the Florida of old, and Tennessee is clearly better. But the Vols have to take the next step. They have to translate the energy, effort, discipline, talent and opportunity into wins. Teams don’t forge identities during 5-7 seasons.
This week’s Georgia game is very important. If Tennessee is able to answer the bell during a noon start on the road and knock off Georgia, the momentum could easily carry over to next week’s game at Neyland Stadium against Florida. And if Tennessee beats Florida, Jones will have bona fide status in Knoxville not seen since early in the Fulmer era.
But Tennessee fans should be cautious. Developing and forging their identity will not be easy. It’s just as likely Tennessee loses at Georgia and is unable to beat the Gators. Momentum works both ways. Those key qualities that have opened the door to an opportunity for this team to take the next step could just as easily dissipate in another 5-7 season, especially down the stretch with a bad loss to Kentucky or Vanderbilt.
Can Tennessee take the next step, here and now? They certainly have the talent and the landscape in the SEC East is ripe for Tennessee success. Will they? That is an entirely different question altogether. We just simply don’t know enough about this team. The next two weeks are pivotal for the Jones era of Tennessee football. No, neither game is make-or-break for the program or Jones himself. But the next two weeks do present an opportunity for Tennessee to reclaim what it has so desperately missed over the last decade: wins and an identity for Tennessee football.
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