Vol Report: Tennessee Upperclassmen Ready for the Road

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Tennessee redshirt senior wide receiver Jauan Jennings knows the Volunteer football team will play in front of an atmosphere that can only be described as "crazy" on Saturday at Noon against No. 9/8 Florida inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

However, the Murfreesboro, Tenn., native also expects he and his teammates to match the Gators' energy on the field when the game kicks off.

"The level it's going to be is crazy," Jennings said. "We're going to have lots of energy. We've been having lots of energy since that last game I told you all we were going to come out with energy. This whole team's ready. We're fired up. Like I said, it's a road game, going into 'The Swamp' – Florida. How else can you put it? It's an SEC game. We're going to go out there and give our all and that's all that matters."

The Vols are coming off a 45-0 victory over Chattanooga to move to 1-2 on the season, while Florida will welcome UT with a 3-0 mark and a Top 10 ranking. Tennessee hasn't won in Gainesville since 2003 and the Florida has won over 83 percent of its home games since 1990.

"I know that we're going to have to have a great week of practice in order to prepare for it," quarterback Jarrett Guarantano said. "'The Swamp's' not an easy place to play in. We know that. We're going to have to do a lot of communicating during practice and we're going to have to be very vocal with all our different things – whether it's hand signals or it's just me calling out different things that I see."

Guarantano tossed a career-high three touchdowns last weekend, including his fourth of the season to Jennings, who has emerged as the emotional leader for the Vols this season. He has 99 receptions, putting him one catch away from becoming the 22nd Vol with 100 career grabs.

Following Florida, the Vols face two more Top 10 teams in a three-week span with No.3 Georgia coming to Neyland Stadium on Oct. 5 and No. 2 Alabama hosting the Vols on Oct. 19. Mississippi State, who just dropped out of the polls, travels to Knoxville on Oct. 12.

Jennings and the rest of the Vols are taking each week, one day at a time and one play at a time. As their head coach Jeremy Pruitt preaches, they are not focused on the scoreboard.

"Literally," Jennings said. "You go out there and you focus on that one play and only that play. You just collectively bring it together and you bring, collectively, a bunch of good players together, and then once you do that, you look at the end of the game and you can say did you give you're all or not. Then you go from there."

Road Vols
Tennessee proved it can win a road game against a ranked team under Pruitt last season when the Vols defeated the No. 21-ranked Tigers at Auburn, 30-24 – also a Noon game.

Guarantano (328 passing yards vs. Auburn), Jennings, senior linebacker Daniel Bituli, redshirt senior Darrell Taylor and senior safety Nigel Warrior have all played in big away games in front of hostile crowds.

Bituli and the rest of the Vol veterans plan to tell UT's younger players to stay calm and trust their coaching.

"Just playing within yourself and just focusing on that," Bituli said. "We obviously go into the games really prepared with Coach Pruitt and his coaching staff doing a great job. We've just got to trust ourselves and know that we can make those plays"

Jennings didn't play in the Vols' 26-20 loss in their last trip to Florida in 2017 as he was injured. He did throw a touchdown pass to Joss Dobbs in "The Swamp" as a true freshman in 2015, however. He also caught the go-ahead touchdown against the Gators in the 38-28 win in Neyland Stadium in 2016.

"I'm definitely excited," Jennings aid. "It's been a minute since I've been in 'The Swamp'. To go back brings a whole lot of memories back and I just can't wait to compete."

University of Tennessee Athletics

Vol Report: Tennessee Upperclassmen Ready for the Road

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Daniel Bituli

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Darrell Taylor

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