KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football freshman linebacker Quavaris Crouch could have went to college nearly anywhere in the country as the No. 1-rated prospect in North Carolina during a prep career that saw him rush for over 3,000 yards as a high school junior while recording 14 sacks.

The Charlotte, N.C., native chose Tennessee because of head coach Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols’ staff’s track record for preparing defensive players for the NFL and his desire to be a foundational piece of something special.

“I saw all of the players (Pruitt) put in the league and Coach (Chris) Rumph as well,” Crouch said. “So, I did my research on the guys…I knew coming in that I had a good defensive staff that could help me become the best defensive player I could be.”

Crouch’s message to fans, recruits and college football is simple during the Vols’ first bye week of the 2019 fall campaign.

Don’t sleep on Tennessee.

“For any recruit out there who questions Tennessee, don’t, because you can come here and get ready to play with us to build something,” Crouch said. “It takes time to build stuff, the world wasn’t built in a day either. I feel like everything takes time and as long as you keep working with the right mind set and attitude then success will come along the way.”

Crouch and the Vols got back to work this week with four practices, heavily emphasizing fundamentals, following the loss at Florida.

He is one of 17 true freshmen who have played through Tennessee’s first four games this season. Crouch has appeared in every game as a reserve outside linebacker and totaled seven tackles with three hurries and two pass breakups. The 6-1, 246-pounder has even shown potential as a short-yardage running back, bursting through the Gators’ defensive line for a four-yard rush on 3rd-and-1 to pick up the first down on his first career carry.

While he enjoyed getting an offensive touch, what Crouch is really excited for is when he gets his first sack and continuing to learn the outside linebacker position.

“I’m really focused on playing outside linebacker and learning and getting better with Coach Rumph and DT (redshirt senior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor)” Crouch said. “I’m learning as much as I can and getting better.”

The Vols have over 22 first- or second-year players in their two-deep, and four true freshmen have cemented themselves as starters, including linebacker Henry To’o To’o and cornerback Warren Burrell – who have both started all four games – and offensive linemen Wanya Morris (three starts) Darnell Wright (two starts).

Pruitt Doesn’t See Any Quit in his Squad
As he has said since the start of fall camp, Pruitt like his football team and he has seen vast improvement from Year 1 to Year 2.

“There’s lots of things where we need to coach them up better, we need to play a little better, we need to be a little more opportunistic on both sides of the ball,” Pruitt said. “But our guys are working hard, and they’ll continue to do that. I don’t see any quit in this group. These guys, I think, are fighters. We have to keep them healthy, so they have a chance to fight.”

Offensive Line Rounding into Form
Tennessee’s offensive line graded out as having its best performance of the 2019 season against a Florida defense that entered the game as one of the nation’s best.

During his bye week press conference, Pruitt explicitly called the offensive line one of the main positives following the Florida contest.

“I felt like we had four offensive linemen that played winning football in that game, and that’s the first time since we’ve been here that we’ve had that,” Pruitt said. “These guys continue to progress up front which is a positive sign.”

Joining freshmen Morris, at left tackle, and Wright, at right guard, on the line against the Gators were redshirt senior center Brandon Kennedy, junior left guard Trey Smith and redshirt sophomore right tackle K’Rojhn Calbert.

“Brandon Kennedy has gotten better every week because he is a fifth-year guy,” Pruitt said. “Brandon has not played a lot of ball because he has been hurt for most of his career. His play on Saturday was his best game. Trey Smith continues to improve, which you would think he would as the game goes. Riley Locklear is another guy that continues to improve. Our guys are working hard and getting better up front, every one of them. We have to continue to do that and build upon that.”

Smith, who captured Freshman All-America honors in 2017, has been a pleasant surprise for the Vols after his career was in jeopardy after he missed the final five games of the 2018 season because of blood clots. However, Smith’s specialized medical plan has enabled him to play all four games in 2019 and he continues to improve.

“There’s a lot of trust in this group,” Smith said. “As brothers, we love each other. We go to work with each other, we have each other’s backs on the field, whenever BK (Brandon Kennedy) has a guy and he’s lingering, I’m going to try to knock them out. Wanya (Morris) has got a guy, he’s lingering, I’m going to try to help them out. We all have each other’s back out there for sure.”