University of Tennessee Athletics
Game Week Presents
August 31, 2015 | Football
Aug. 31, 2015
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --Training camp is officially in the rear view mirror for Team 119.
As game week dawns, Butch Jones said Monday at his first weekly press conference of the 2015 regular that he is eager to see how his team deals with the transition of the daily focus of training camp to the routine of game week. How the Volunteers take the lessons learned on and off the practice field will be crucial in successfully making that transition.
"Like we spoke about when training camp began, this will tell us a little bit more about the maturity, the growth, and the development of our leadership on this football team," Jones said. "You know, the mental effort, the mental intensity that it takes to prepare, but also your body. The sleep, the nutrition, the hydration that it takes to play winning football, and really get your mind ready to go. On top of that, the blocking and tackling for a full game. That's another point where you've got to condition your mind and the mental conditioning part of it, of a full game of blocking and tackling, and executing and playing with a very high level of intensity."
The Volunteers have prepared for this week for the entire offseason. From the moment they returned from the TaxSlayer Bowl, players and coaches had the focus on the season opener with Bowling Green. But no matter the level of preparation, the first game of a season is always a bit of a mystery.
No amount of conditioning can fully prepare a receiver for running routes at game speed for four quarters. No amount of time in the "Circle of Life" can fully prepare an offensive lineman to stand up to a furious pass rush for 90-plus plays. No noise over the loudspeakers can give a true feel for the noise of a sellout crowd. That is where the intangibles of leadership come into play.
"As we all know, [the] first game is the game of unknowns, [we] expect the unexpected," Jones said. "It's the first time that our team will truly take the field as Team 119. How do we respond to playing in a different environment, [and] all those things that are associated with that?"
And they face an up-tempo offense in Bowling Green, a team that will provide the same type of offensive challenge that Tennessee will face several times in Southeastern Conference play.
"Guys are in great shape and understand their assignments out on the field," defensive back Cameron Sutton said on dealing with the Falcons' tempo. "It just comes down to making plays."
Tennessee played a nation-leading 23 freshmen a season ago and, though experience on the roster continues to grow, the Vols will once again rely on freshmen to contribute right away.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings was the only true freshman listed as a starter on the depth chart released Monday, but nine first-year players were listed as backups on the two-deep. Included in that number are backup quarterback Quinten Dormady and offensive linemen Venzell Boulware, Chance Hall and Jack Jones.
Bringing along those players in key spots has been a focus for the returners as the Vols transition form training camp to game week.
"Constant encouragement, constant guidance from the guys that have played to help them understand how to prepare for games," quarterback Joshua Dobbs said of the challenge of leading the newcomers. "We're pushing the younger guys and teaching them how to prepare to play."
When the team arrives in Nashville on Saturday, they will find many familiar elements of home. Jones said there was a plan in place for a Vol Walk as the players enter Nissan Stadium. Once inside, they will hear the familiar sounds of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band.
It will provide a familiar environment, but now, it is game on for real. What happens next is on the players themselves.
"How are these individuals going to react when the spotlight goes on?" Jones said. "You're playing for real now, and there's a score on the scoreboard and everything's about winning the football game."
