Midweek Updates

Photo Credit: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

It's officially Florida week! The second week of our Midweek Updates covers the big game this Saturday, the release of the Vols' 2019 schedule and Jeremy Pruitt's weekly press conference from Monday.

Tennessee Takes on Florida in Primetime

The Vols and the Gators will clash under the lights of Neyland Stadium on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:00 and the game will air on ESPN. The last time the 2 teams met in Knoxville, Tennessee broke their 11-year losing streak in dramatic fashion. This season is monumental, as it marks the 20th anniversary of Tennessee's 1998 national championship season. Players from the 1998 squad will be honored before the game and the entire team and staff will be on the field at the conclusion of the first quarter. 

Dan Mullen, Florida's new head coach said that the team has played Rocky Top this week during practice, so that they can "get used to it." Sadly for him, he is blind to the fact that playing the Vols' unofficial fight song over a speaker during practice will not help his team overcome the 102,455 fans that are screaming the song at the top of their lungs. You simply cannot prepare for the amount of noise that Neyland creates, especially in a night game against arguably our biggest rivals. Through 3 games, Tennessee has tied last season's total of 4 completed passes of 50 yards or more. Explosive plays will help the Vols knock off the Gators on Saturday.

Tennessee's 2019 Schedule Is Released

The Vols 2019 football schedule was released on Tuesday. There is not a non-conference game against a team from a power-5 conference, but there are 2 bye weeks. Also, Tennessee plays 7 of their first 9 games in Neyland Stadium. Here is the full schedule...

August 31: vs. Georgia State

September 7: vs. BYU

September 14: vs. Chattanooga

September 21: @ Florida

September 28: Bye Week

October 5: vs. Georgia

October 12: vs. Mississippi State

October 19: @ Alabama

October 26: vs. South Carolina

November 2: vs. UAB

November 9: @ Kentucky

November 16: Bye Week

November 23: @ Missouri

November 30: vs. Vanderbilt

Pruitt's Monday Press Conference

Jeremy Pruitt began his weekly press conference by saying, "After watching this past week's game, when you look at it offensively, it's probably the best game we've played this year in terms of putting more plays together. It's the first time that we've made a lot of penalties, turned the ball over and put the ball on the ground on five different occasions. We had the penalties putting us in bad yardage on third downs, but we did put several plays together. As far as average yards per play, it was somewhere in the plus six range which is our best for the season. We've got to eliminate the penalties and take care of the football." He depicted how, although the Vols accumulated over 500 yards of offense, there are still some things to clean up before the Florida game. As Tennessee enters a brutal 5-game stretch of SEC games, he added, "It probably does matter who you play, but there's a big deal of things that we need to improve on that has nothing to do with who we're playing. It's about us and the things we can control." Pruitt definitely has the team in the right mindset.

Pruitt has been impressed with Jarrett Guarantano this season, stating, "When you talk about quarterback, the most important thing is managing the offense and being efficient at running the offense. You have to make sure you're in the right plays, manage the shot clock and make sure that we get out checks operated and communicated. I think he has done a great job of getting the ball out of his hand. I think he is a playmaker." Guarantano has developed into a true leader this year.

One of my favorite quotes from Monday's press conference is when Pruitt was asked about the depth of the SEC. He showed that his sole attention is on this weekend's game, saying, "You can ask me in November, and I'll have a little better idea. I'm just really focused on who we've got this week, which is Florida. I haven't looked at a whole lot from the other teams." I was really proud of this answer. Tennessee finally have a coach that is all about winning!

This is Pruitt's first time experiencing the Tennessee-Florida rivalry as a coach. He commented, "When I was growing up, it was always the first big SEC game of the year. When I was growing up, I always loved to watch it – always a lot of passion with both fan bases, a lot of tradition. I'm thankful to have the chance to be a part of it." He'll look to not only be a part of it, but end up in the win column as well.