Pruitt, Vols Ready to Close Out the Week

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In three days, the Tennessee football team will kick-off the 2018 campaign in Charlotte, North Carolina in the Belk College Kickoff at Bank of America Stadium and head coach Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols are ready to close out the week strong.

"We try to close all the way until the game starts then try to take advantage of every opportunity that we have," said Pruitt.

Finish the week was the message that Coach Pruitt preached today.

"There's several guys that are competing out there. Jauan (Jennings) wasn't there in the spring and he's been banged up in fall camp. In the last week, from him, you've kind of seen a guy that's hungry to play [because] he hasn't played in a while," stated Pruitt.

Despite playing just one game last season due to injury, Jennings is still considered a big-time player for the Vols. He has 746 career yards receiving with his breakout season coming in 2016 when he finished the year with 580 yards while scoring seven touchdowns.

"Marquez Callaway hurt his knee this summer, so he was a little bit limited early on in camp. Josh Palmer is a guy that's taken a lot of reps. Brandon Johnson, Jordan Murphy, Cedric Tillman, Tyler Byrd — a lot of those guys have. So, I feel confident in our wide receivers. I think they compete really hard every day. They compete out on the perimeter and I've liked what I've seen in the last week."

Johnson returns as the top receiver from a year ago after finishing with 482 total yards receiving, followed by Callaway who finished the year with 406 yards receiving and five touchdowns.

"From what I've seen, I like what I've seen out of our guys," stated Pruitt. "From where we were at nine months ago to where we're at today physically and mentally, I like the direction we're headed."

Following 23 fall camp practices the Vols are trying to close out the week strong before their big match up against No. 17/20 West Virginia on Saturday.

The game will be broadcasted live on CBS with Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson calling the action and Jamie Erdahl on the sideline. The game is slated for a 3:39 p.m. kickoff at Bank of America Stadium.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Marquez Callaway

Jordan Murphy

Josh Palmer

Cedric Tillman

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