Vol Report: Vols Focused on Road Test at Kentucky

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Following a homecoming win over UAB, the Vols spent Tuesday in full pads focused on their return to SEC play on Saturday at Kentucky.

"We focus on the most important game," senior linebacker Daniel Bituli said. "The most important game is the next game. We can't overlook Kentucky, because they're a really good team. They like to run the ball and they're a really established program."

Bituli has collected 43 tackles and a pair of sacks after missing the first two games of the season. As he prepares for his final three games in Orange and White, he is reminded that no game in the SEC should be overlooked.

"We've seen in the past how intense the games have been, so what we can't do is overlook a team," Bituli said. "We're in the SEC and every team is really good, every team has a whole bunch of talented guys. We've just got to focus in on our assignments and worry about Kentucky. That's it."

Focusing one week at a time, the defense has been on a dominant trend the last four weeks. The Vols have held opponents to 318.5 total yards of offense, 18.3 points per game, 100.5 rushing yards per game, and 3.2 yards per rush since defeating Mississippi State.

"We've been improving a good bit, we've just got to focus on attention to detail and clean football," said junior defensive lineman Matthew Butler. "We've never had a problem with toughness. We've never had a problem with going hard and effort, but maybe an issue we had was just clean football and attention to detail. We've been improving in that and we're going to continue to."

Butler recorded a pair of tackles last week, totaling 26 on the season. In the last four games, the junior has collected 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and a sack.

"Automaglia"
Junior placekicker Brent Cimaglia leads the SEC and is tied for third in the nation with 18 field goals made, while his 90.0 field-goal percentage (18-of-20) and total points scored (78) lead the SEC.

"I mean right now, I'm just focused on Kentucky," Cimaglia said. "I'm not focused on anything in the future right now. I'm just going to go out there, one kick at a time and just hope it goes in. First off, I just want to give a big shout-out to Riley Lovingood and Joe Doyle, and the guys on the line. Without them, I wouldn't be able to do anything or be able to kick."

Last week against UAB, the Nashville product went 3-for-3 in field goals. His second field goal of the night was a 48-yarder, his seventh make of 40 yards or longer. On his third and final field goal of the night, he made a 53-yarder to set a new career-long, and tie the eighth-longest make in school history. He is perfect from 50-plus yards this season adding a 51-yarder to the ledger as well. Cimaglia also moved into first place in program history in with a 78.26 field goal percentage after this past weekend.

New Kid, Instant Impact
This season, the Vols added junior defensive lineman Aubrey Solomon, a transfer from Michigan, to the roster to help provide a spark to the unit.

"The real question is, why wouldn't I choose Tennessee?" Solomon said. "Tennessee, they have legends here, Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt, Coach (Tracy) Rocker, Coach D.A. (Derrick Ansley), coaches like that. The coaching staff they have, the atmosphere here – it's incredible. It's unbelievable, so the real question is why wait? Why not choose Tennessee?"

Solomon has made an instant impact, starting six of the Vols' nine games this season. The junior has collected 23 total tackles and a pair of sacks to date. In the Vol's 30-7 Homecoming win over UAB, Solomon filled the stat sheet with four tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, and his first career fumble recovery.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Daniel Bituli

Matthew Butler

Brent Cimaglia

Joe Doyle

Riley Lovingood

Aubrey Solomon

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