KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee football team wrapped up its third practice of the week on Wednesday night inside the Anderson Training Center indoor field with a conversation about the Vols’ 13 seniors.

“I just talked to our team about it, we have 13 seniors on our football team that, really since we’ve been here, have tried to do everything that we’ve asked them to do,” head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. “They’ve been really good leaders. A lot of them have sacrificed, they’ve moved around different positions, but they really bought in to the team.”

Led by four defensive linemen, the seniors will be honored for Senior Day prior to Saturday’s contest. Starting at the 24-minute mark on the clock before kickoff, the student-athletes will be introduced with their immediate families and will pose for photos with coach Pruitt.

“I think they represent what the University of Tennessee is all about. I know it’s their last game in Neyland and I know they’re excited about the opportunity to play one more time there. We talked a little bit about that and I think our kids are excited for them,” Pruitt said.

McCLAIN HONORED AS LEGEND OF THE GAME
Fifty years ago, Lester McClain became the first African-American to play football for the Tennessee Volunteers. His first game was September 14, 1968, when the sophomore wingback from Nashville suited up against Georgia. On Saturday, he will be honored as the Vols’ Legend of the Game.

He played three years for the Big Orange, totaling 70 receptions for 1,003 yards and 10 touchdowns, while adding two rushing scores. He ranked fifth in Tennessee history in receptions at the conclusion of his career in 1970 and was a part of the 1969 SEC Championship team. McClain played in three bowl games – the Cotton Bowl, Gator Bowl and Sugar Bowl.

FOUR VOLS NAMED TO PFF COLLEGE TEAM OF THE WEEK
Led by outside linebacker Darrell Taylor’s monster four-sack performance, a conference-best four Vols were named to the PFF College SEC Team of the Week following Tennessee’s 24-7 victory over No. 11 Kentucky on Saturday. Taylor, cornerback Marquill Osborne and safety Micah Abernathy were all named to the PFF College SEC Team for the defense, while center Ryan Johnson collected PFF College honors for the offense.

Osborne was also named to the PFF College National Team of the Week after coming off the bench to tally two interceptions and a pass breakup in the fourth quarter of the win over the Wildcats.

Taylor was named the Chuck Bednarik Award National Defensive Player of the Week and the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week as well as the SEC Player of the Week.

13 SENIORS TO BE HONORED 
Tennessee’s 2018 Senior Class:
• DB Micah Abernathy – Atlanta, Ga.
• DL Paul Bain – Powder Springs, Ga.
• LB Dillon Bates – Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
• QB Keller Chryst – Charlotte, N.C.
• WR Malik Elion – Memphis, Tenn.
• DB D.J. Henderson – Lyman, S.C.
• DL Alexis Johnson Jr. – Atlanta, Ga.
• DB Todd Kelly Jr. – Knoxville, Tenn.
• OLB Jonathan Kongbo – Surrey, B.C.
• RB Madre London – Little Rock , Ark.
• LS Jesse Medford – Burlington, N.C.
• DE Kyle Phillips – Nashville, Tenn.
• DL Shy Tuttle – Midway, N.C.

Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt Wednesday Press Conference Transcript (Nov. 14)

Opening Statement:
“I just talked to our team about it, we have 13 seniors on our football team that, really since we’ve been here, have tried to do everything that we’ve asked them to do. They’ve been really good leaders. A lot of them have sacrificed, they’ve moved around different positions, but they really bought in to the team. I think they represent what the University of Tennessee is all about. I know it’s their last game in Neyland and I know they’re excited about the opportunity to play one more time there. We talked a little bit about that and I think our kids are excited for them.

“Had a good week of practice, working hard to improve, trying to eliminate mistakes that we made last week. We’re playing against a really, really good football team. Defensively, (Missouri) stops the run. Got good linebackers, good playmakers on the back end, really exotic stuff on third down. Offensively, they can run the football. They can throw it, got a dynamic quarterback, got playmakers on the outside, lots of experience up front, big men, really good tight ends, good runners, so we have a tremendous challenge.”

Where has Jarrett Guarantano shown the most progress and ability to limit interceptions:
“Sometimes when you play quarterback, you can make really good throws and maybe somebody drops the ball and you get an interception. You look at it vice versa. Sometimes you might make a really poor throw and the other team doesn’t catch the ball. You can talk about protection, receivers running incorrect routes. There’s lots of things that go into it. I think Jarrett’s just got to continue to stay within what we’re asking him to do, take what the other team gives him, don’t hold onto the football, get it out of his hand.”

On the seniors buying in and laying a foundation:
“I think everybody in our program was hungry and from the first day we got here, really led by our senior group, our guys have really bought in to what we’re trying to get done. It’s not been easy. We’re a long way from being where we want to be, but we are making small steps and we’ve done it the entire year. Sometimes it hadn’t showed on Saturdays, but if we keep working hard in practice and in the classroom, preparing the right way, I think we’ll see progress. I think these guys have done a really good job up to this point doing it the way we ask them to do it and we’ve got a couple of weeks left here that we need to finish and do it the right way.”

On what he looks for in offensive and defensive line recruits:
“I think every position, you probably have a size and speed criteria. If you’re talking about d-linemen, the bigger probably the better. You want guys that have twitch, that are instinctive, that have power, can bend, can play blocks the right way, can go from playing the run to playing the pass, can play multiple positions. O-linemen, you’re looking for guys that can slide their feet, re-direct, play with power, and then you talk about all the intangibles. Are they competitive, do they play with toughness, are they dependable? Do they have a positive impact on their teammates? There’s lots of things that go in to it, are they good students, are they leaders? So, a lot of those things you can see on tape, sometimes you can see in person. You see them in camp, but the more information you get, probably, the more chances you have to be accurate.”

On the injury status of Bryce Thompson and Trevon Flowers:
“Trevon practiced every day last week. We just decided on Saturday to give him one more week. Bryce has practiced every day this week, so those guys I would expect to be ready to go.”

On designating time at the end of practice towards the younger players:
“Really, it was Coach Fulmer’s idea. I thought it was a great idea. We’ve never done this at any of the other places I’ve been. You’re talking about 15 to 20 minutes at the end of practice and it’s for the guys who play on the scout team, and maybe [for] our twos, it’s a chance to get extra work. We cut back a little bit with our first groups to allow practice time to be able to do that, and just kind of go back and focus on fundamentals. We go back and just reiterate the foundation, you know a lot of these guys that play on the scout team, sometimes they’re servicing somebody else, so it’s a chance to go back and seam in a little bit of a foundation so they have one moving forward.”

On how the coaching staff has grown throughout the year:
“Any time you bring people together from all different stops that’s never worked together, you’re going to get better the longer you’re together, obviously. I think that over the last 12 weeks we’ve started to figure out a little bit who the guys who have play-making ability [are], maybe where our weaknesses are at, so really try to focus on the things that we do well and maybe not do some of the things that we didn’t have a lot of success doing. I think our guys have done a good job with that. We’ve got to continue to do that, we’ve got to improve every week, and I think our guys work well together.”

On why Brandon Johnson’s numbers have been down this season:
“I don’t know much about what happened before. When you send three receivers or five receivers or two receivers out on a route, you have certain things that you’re looking for. Maybe you’re looking for two-high beater or one-high beater or man-to-man or two-man or maybe it’s pressure, and sometimes it just so happens the ball gets in somebody else’s hands. Now you can always say, ‘hey, we’re going to run these plays to make sure this guy touches the football’, but I didn’t realize his numbers were down.”

On Missouri’s prolific offense:
“With the exception of really Alabama and Kentucky, these guys – I think they scored 29 on Georgia – they’ve scored 29 or more points against everybody they’ve played except two of the best teams in the league, and Georgia’s one of the best teams in the league defensively, so is Florida. They’ve scored points, so not a whole lot of folks have slowed them down.”

On Missouri’s offensive line:
“I think they play hard. They’re big men, have athletic ability. They have a lot of experience. You can tell they play well together. Very few mental errors. They make you beat them, they get on the right folks, they play the right way, so they get to leaning on folks. Then you’ve got a quarterback back there that can move in the pocket, he can extend plays and he can throw it all over the field. It puts a lot of stress on you defensively, so they’re very balanced offensively. I don’t think they’ve given up many sacks this year, so they’ve kept the pocket pretty clean for the quarterback. They’ve done a really nice job.”

-UT Athletics