In Friday’s column, I empty out the notebook with 10 Things I Think I Think on Tennessee-Florida.
1. For the first time this season, Jeremy Pruitt had to worry about a 70-man travel roster. Although Tennessee’s depth still isn’t at a point where Pruitt has to make a slew of tough decisions, the choice to bring Bryce Thompson and Jeremy Banks is noteworthy (and why they’ll both play tomorrow) because the Vols still can’t afford to simply bring two guys just to sit on the sideline and just watch.
Here’s an educated guess at what the travel roster will look like, with a couple maybes tossed in, too. The obvious spot to leave a couple guys at home is on the defensive line, where Tennessee could instead opt to bring an extra offensive lineman or a walk-on or two who are backup special teams players.
Quarterbacks (3) — Jarrett Guarantano, JT Shrout, Brian Maurer
Tailbacks (4) — Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan, Eric Gray, Carlin Fils-Aime
Receivers (8) — Marquez Callaway, Josh Palmer, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Johnson, Tyler Byrd, Ramel Keyton and Cedric Tillman, Jacquez Jones
*** Maybe — Jerrod Means
Tight ends (5) — Dominick Wood-Anderson, Austin Pope, Andrew Craig, Princeton Fant, Jacob Warren
Offensive lineman (11) — Jahmir Johnson, Wanya Morris, Trey Smith, Ryan Johnson, Brandon Kennedy, Jerome Carvin, Darnell Wright, Riley Locklear, K’Rojhn Calbert, Marcus Tatum, Jackson Lampley
Specialists (4) — Joe Doyle, Paxton Brooks, Brent Cimaglia, Riley Lovingood
*** Maybe — Jake Yelich
Defensive lineman (13) — Darrel Middleton, Savion Williams, Greg Emerson, Kurott Garland, Latrell Bumphus, Aubrey Solomon, John Mincey, Matthew Butler, Ja’Quain Blakely, Kingston Harris, Elijah Simmons
Linebackers (11) — Darrell Taylor, Kivon Bennett, Deandre Johnson, Quavaris Crouch, Roman Harrison, Daniel Bituli, Henry To’oto’o, Will Ignont, Jeremy Banks, Shanon Reid, JJ Peterson
*** Maybe — Solon Page
Defensive backs (11) — Nigel Warrior, Theo Jackson, Alontae Taylor, Warren Burrell, Shawn Shamburger, Trevon Flowers, Bryce Thompson, Kenneth George, Jaylen McCollough, Cheyenne Labruzza, Tyus Fields
*** Maybe — Kenny Solomon
2. Now, I did not pick Tennessee to win Saturday, but I do believe the Gators are imminently beatable and this is Jeremy Pruitt’s best chance the rest of the season for a “signature win.” It doesn’t matter if the Gators aren’t really a Top 10 team. They have that number by their name. Win on Saturday and you get all the cache that comes with an upset like that. Suddenly the loss to Georgia State becomes part of a new narrative of Pruitt getting his team to respond to adversity. Win and in two weeks Neyland won't be full of red and black and plenty of recruits might have their interest in the Vols renewed. So while a loss is expected Saturday, Pruitt has A LOT to gain with a victory.
3. Tomorrow’s noon start should be an advantage for Tennessee — so long as the Vols make it one. I’ve covered many a noon kickoff in The Swamp and the students and alumni make a sleepy crowd. The Vols must capitalize and jump on the board early. That’s been a helluva struggle the last three seasons (1-2 vs. Florida) though. Tennessee has been outscored 53-9 in the first half since 2016 — 24-0 in the first quarter. If that trend continues Saturday, then it’s hard envision a path to an upset.
4. In the loss to Florida last season, Guarantano had statistically one of his worst games of his career. In 52 snaps, he completed just 38.9% of his passes for 164 yards and two interceptions — he had one the other 11 games combined in 2018. It’s beyond obvious that the Vols need Guarantano to be sharp Saturday if they want to spring the upset, but one potential reason for optimism could be Florida’s press-man defensive philosophy. Guarantano had all sorts of trouble reading zone coverages with Georgia State and BYU dropping eight defenders. That’s not typically Todd Grantham’s style — especially since Guarantano isn’t much of a threat with his legs. Florida’s coordinator is going to bring pressure and challenge his guys 1-on-1 on the outside. With Tennessee’s trio of big-bodied wideouts, that’s a favorable matchup for the Vols.
“They do line up and they just say that they are better than everybody they face and they do a good job of that,” Guarantano said this week. “CJ Henderson and Marco (Wilson) are really good cornerbacks. I think we are up for the challenge this week.”
5. Jauan Jennings has been Tennessee’s best wideout so far this season, and the senior could wreak the Gators again Saturday like he did in 2016. In his career, Jennings is averaging 21.5 yards per catch against UF, with eight receptions for 172 yds. Former UT commit Trey Dean is Florida’s main nickel cornerback and ordinarily would matchup against Jennings. But if Henderson is ruled unavailable, then Dean is a candidate to flex outside and play on the boundary (where he did for half his snaps last week vs. UK), meaning a freshman — Jaydon Hill, Kair Elam or Chester Kimbrough — would be responsible for Jennings. That’s a win for Tennessee.
But even if Grantham opts to keep Dean on Jennings, then Jim Chaney has real options on the perimeter. The Vols’ veteran wideouts could be facing off against a freshman or 1-on-1 against Marco Wilson, who has really struggled so far this season. The junior simply hasn’t been the same since returning from his ACL injury in 2018. As a freshman in 2017, Wilson was among the best in the SEC, allowing less than 44 percent of targets completed. He gave up 17 catches all season two years ago. Through three games in 2019, Wilson has allowed nine of 10 balls to be caught, while also committing three penalties, per Pro Football Focus. Marquez Callaway and Josh Palmer, who hasn’t had a breakout game yet this season, should be salivating over this matchup.
1. For the first time this season, Jeremy Pruitt had to worry about a 70-man travel roster. Although Tennessee’s depth still isn’t at a point where Pruitt has to make a slew of tough decisions, the choice to bring Bryce Thompson and Jeremy Banks is noteworthy (and why they’ll both play tomorrow) because the Vols still can’t afford to simply bring two guys just to sit on the sideline and just watch.
Here’s an educated guess at what the travel roster will look like, with a couple maybes tossed in, too. The obvious spot to leave a couple guys at home is on the defensive line, where Tennessee could instead opt to bring an extra offensive lineman or a walk-on or two who are backup special teams players.
Quarterbacks (3) — Jarrett Guarantano, JT Shrout, Brian Maurer
Tailbacks (4) — Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan, Eric Gray, Carlin Fils-Aime
Receivers (8) — Marquez Callaway, Josh Palmer, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Johnson, Tyler Byrd, Ramel Keyton and Cedric Tillman, Jacquez Jones
*** Maybe — Jerrod Means
Tight ends (5) — Dominick Wood-Anderson, Austin Pope, Andrew Craig, Princeton Fant, Jacob Warren
Offensive lineman (11) — Jahmir Johnson, Wanya Morris, Trey Smith, Ryan Johnson, Brandon Kennedy, Jerome Carvin, Darnell Wright, Riley Locklear, K’Rojhn Calbert, Marcus Tatum, Jackson Lampley
Specialists (4) — Joe Doyle, Paxton Brooks, Brent Cimaglia, Riley Lovingood
*** Maybe — Jake Yelich
Defensive lineman (13) — Darrel Middleton, Savion Williams, Greg Emerson, Kurott Garland, Latrell Bumphus, Aubrey Solomon, John Mincey, Matthew Butler, Ja’Quain Blakely, Kingston Harris, Elijah Simmons
Linebackers (11) — Darrell Taylor, Kivon Bennett, Deandre Johnson, Quavaris Crouch, Roman Harrison, Daniel Bituli, Henry To’oto’o, Will Ignont, Jeremy Banks, Shanon Reid, JJ Peterson
*** Maybe — Solon Page
Defensive backs (11) — Nigel Warrior, Theo Jackson, Alontae Taylor, Warren Burrell, Shawn Shamburger, Trevon Flowers, Bryce Thompson, Kenneth George, Jaylen McCollough, Cheyenne Labruzza, Tyus Fields
*** Maybe — Kenny Solomon
2. Now, I did not pick Tennessee to win Saturday, but I do believe the Gators are imminently beatable and this is Jeremy Pruitt’s best chance the rest of the season for a “signature win.” It doesn’t matter if the Gators aren’t really a Top 10 team. They have that number by their name. Win on Saturday and you get all the cache that comes with an upset like that. Suddenly the loss to Georgia State becomes part of a new narrative of Pruitt getting his team to respond to adversity. Win and in two weeks Neyland won't be full of red and black and plenty of recruits might have their interest in the Vols renewed. So while a loss is expected Saturday, Pruitt has A LOT to gain with a victory.
3. Tomorrow’s noon start should be an advantage for Tennessee — so long as the Vols make it one. I’ve covered many a noon kickoff in The Swamp and the students and alumni make a sleepy crowd. The Vols must capitalize and jump on the board early. That’s been a helluva struggle the last three seasons (1-2 vs. Florida) though. Tennessee has been outscored 53-9 in the first half since 2016 — 24-0 in the first quarter. If that trend continues Saturday, then it’s hard envision a path to an upset.
4. In the loss to Florida last season, Guarantano had statistically one of his worst games of his career. In 52 snaps, he completed just 38.9% of his passes for 164 yards and two interceptions — he had one the other 11 games combined in 2018. It’s beyond obvious that the Vols need Guarantano to be sharp Saturday if they want to spring the upset, but one potential reason for optimism could be Florida’s press-man defensive philosophy. Guarantano had all sorts of trouble reading zone coverages with Georgia State and BYU dropping eight defenders. That’s not typically Todd Grantham’s style — especially since Guarantano isn’t much of a threat with his legs. Florida’s coordinator is going to bring pressure and challenge his guys 1-on-1 on the outside. With Tennessee’s trio of big-bodied wideouts, that’s a favorable matchup for the Vols.
“They do line up and they just say that they are better than everybody they face and they do a good job of that,” Guarantano said this week. “CJ Henderson and Marco (Wilson) are really good cornerbacks. I think we are up for the challenge this week.”
5. Jauan Jennings has been Tennessee’s best wideout so far this season, and the senior could wreak the Gators again Saturday like he did in 2016. In his career, Jennings is averaging 21.5 yards per catch against UF, with eight receptions for 172 yds. Former UT commit Trey Dean is Florida’s main nickel cornerback and ordinarily would matchup against Jennings. But if Henderson is ruled unavailable, then Dean is a candidate to flex outside and play on the boundary (where he did for half his snaps last week vs. UK), meaning a freshman — Jaydon Hill, Kair Elam or Chester Kimbrough — would be responsible for Jennings. That’s a win for Tennessee.
But even if Grantham opts to keep Dean on Jennings, then Jim Chaney has real options on the perimeter. The Vols’ veteran wideouts could be facing off against a freshman or 1-on-1 against Marco Wilson, who has really struggled so far this season. The junior simply hasn’t been the same since returning from his ACL injury in 2018. As a freshman in 2017, Wilson was among the best in the SEC, allowing less than 44 percent of targets completed. He gave up 17 catches all season two years ago. Through three games in 2019, Wilson has allowed nine of 10 balls to be caught, while also committing three penalties, per Pro Football Focus. Marquez Callaway and Josh Palmer, who hasn’t had a breakout game yet this season, should be salivating over this matchup.
