Ahh, yes. Spring practice. The hopes, dreams and aspirations of championships dance through the minds of coaches and players alike while the air is filled with the sweet aroma of unbridled expectations. Fresh starts and new beginnings.
For Tennessee, 14 newcomers join the ranks and begin their own journeys on Friday as the team looks to improve on a disappointing 5-7 campaign last season. Here are some of the highlights from Jones’ press conference on Thursday.
One of the areas Jones has harped on since his arrival is improving the team’s overall strength. He’s pleased in the direction Strength Coach Dave Lawson has the team heading.
“One of the goals of going into the off-season is we, make no mistake about it, we must become a much stronger football team and football program, not just physically but mentally. Right now, when I talk about great strides- last year at this time, we had zero individuals in our football program that could squat over 600 pounds. Right now we have nine.”
With just 13 seniors on the roster, Jones is tasked with molding this young team into winners. He says its much different than coaching a team full of upperclassmen.
“You can start a lot faster. Your pace will be a lot faster, but I like it. It’s invigorating, I know for me and our entire staff, because they’re eager, they’re willing, they have no bad habits right now. They hang on every word that you say, so that’s the exciting thing. We only 13 seniors right now in our football program, so when you have an older veteran team, you can go a little bit faster. You can push them a little bit that much more.”
For the first time in several years, the entire Tennessee coaching staff from the previous season remains intact. This aids in player development and reinforces the family message that Jones is selling to recruits.
“It’s huge,” Jones said of the staff remaining together. “You can’t put a value on it because it’s so significant. You win with consistency and continuity, consistency and messaging. We have a term in our football family called `all-aligned.’ Everyone must be all-aligned in everything they say. If you go speak to our receptionists, if you go speak to our trainer, our equipment personnel, our coaches, our strength staff, they all speak the same language. We are all on the same page. We have it now and I’ve said it: you win with consistency and continuity.”
Jones said there was “no time table,’ for naming the starting quarterback.
“We will chart, film and evaluate everything. We will evaluate how they are in team meetings, in the classroom and how they perform in individual drills. Every rep is a valuable rep. You don’t know how many reps you are going to get so you better make sure you make the most of every single rep. Every rep is for a championship. Each rep is for the becoming the starting quarterback. Has there been a timetable set on who our starting quarterback is? No, there are no timetables. That person will emerge.”
The team is replacing every starter on both the offensive and defensive lines. But Jones sees the situation as an opportunity, not a problem.
“Everything we know in this conference starts in the interior of the offensive and defensive fronts. It’s going to be the development of our front seven defensively and replacing many individuals. It’s going to be a great opportunity for individuals to step up and it will be a great opportunity for the rest of our freshmen when they get here in June. Offensively speaking, in the offensive line as well. A lot of our mid-year enrollees are offensive linemen, so that’s been great to get them going, get their strength levels improved and continue to progress as we move forward.”