Midweek Updates

Photo Credit: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee upset Auburn on Saturday, but their attention now turns to No. 1 Alabama.

Guarantano and Phillips Win Awards

Jarrett Guarantano's stellar performance in the upset of Auburn on Saturday was rewarded by being named the Maxwell Award National Player of the Week, as well as the SEC Offensive Player of the Week. He completed 21-32 passes for 328 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no interceptions. This is the most passing yards in a game by a Tennessee quarterback since Josh Dobbs' total of 340 against Vanderbilt in 2016. Jarrett is 16th in the nation with 9 yards per pass attempt and is fifth in the SEC with a completion rate of 64%. Additionally, defensive end Kyle Phillips logged a career-high 9 tackles and a forced fumble against the Tigers. Phillips' play earned him the honor of SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week.

No. 1 Alabama Comes to Knoxville for the Third Saturday in October

Tennessee's win over Auburn on Saturday gave the Vols their first road upset over a ranked team since their 51-33 victory over No. 10 Georgia in 2006. The team will be energized as they prepare to take on Alabama inside of Neyland Stadium this Saturday. The fans will be loud and the players will be motivated. I'm not predicting another upset, but hey, if the Vols take any sort of lead in the second half, anything can happen. I believe in Pruitt and I always have hope that Tennessee will win on any given Saturday, even against the nation's top team. It will be a much closer game than the national media expects.

Pruitt’s Monday Press Conference

Coach Pruitt began his weekly press conference by discussing the victory over Auburn and looking ahead to the Vols' matchup with Alabama, saying, "It was good to get a win this week on the road. I think our kids are excited. I know our fan base was, but it's like we told our players, we've got 24 hours to celebrate and enjoy it. Then it's time to move on to Alabama. When you talk about Alabama, first of all you talk about the rivalry. This game means a whole lot to a whole lot of people. It's a very important game, not only because it's the next one, but because of the tradition that comes with this game. I think we've got to do our part to create this rivalry again. It's not been much of a rivalry the past few years. We have to uphold our end of it." Pruitt later said the game is "a great measuring stick to play probably the best team in the country right now, so our players will be looking forward to it."

Some unfortunate news for the Vols this week is that Jonathan Kongbo, who had an interception against Auburn, will miss the rest of his redshirt senior season. Pruitt spoke about this, stating, "It's why we practice the way we do. I hate it for Kongbo. He's moved around since we have been here and he's worked really hard. He's been a guy that's tried to do everything we've asked him to do. He's going to graduate this semester, so he's done a really good job academically. It's unfortunate. It's one of those deals where you would like if we're going to have targeting fouls, you would like to have some of those cut blocks being reviewed. Not saying that it was legal or illegal, but you look at it, and we had some guys that finished the game there. With Deandre Johnson, Jordan Allen, Austin Smith, we have guys that have been working hard and have taken a lot of reps this year. Now they'll get an opportunity."

Pruitt also discussed Jauan Jennings' impact and leadership this season. He said, "We're 10 months here and Jauan Jennings has done everything that I've asked him to do since I've been here. He's one of my favorite guys. Guy competes, works hard. He loves the University of Tennessee, has passion for it. He's healthy. I've said all along; the guy had a bad knee injury. He just got started practicing in fall camp and it would take him a while to get his legs back under him. He's closer to being healthy, so it's good to see that. It's good to see him be able to go out there and compete because I think he's a guy that has an impact on the other players on our team so I'm glad for him." Jauan has done a great job of being a team leader since rejoining the Vols.