JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Tennessee football team spent Monday night practicing in helmets after visiting the Mayport Naval Base during the afternoon.

The Vols completed their second of four practices at Hodges Stadium in preparation for the 75th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Vols Navy
To start the day, Tennessee spent time with several U.S. naval officers who guided the Vols’ tours of the USS Indianapolis and the USS Billings ships.

UT players had a chance to learn about the ships’ functions and weaponry, while also taking turns in the captain’s seat.

“It’s a great opportunity for those guys,” said head coach Jeremy Pruitt. “It’s something that they probably never did before. I was hoping they would put life jackets on some of them just in case, but it sounds like everything went pretty smooth.”

Reducing Turnovers
Back on the field, it was back to business for the Vols who are focused on keeping control of the ball against an 8-4 Indiana team. Pruitt and his staff emphasized continuing to reduce turnovers, which helped the team have a spectacular turnaround during the 2019 regular season.

“That’s one of the first things we preach offensively is taking care of the football,” Pruitt said. “I haven’t looked at it for this season, but last season, if you didn’t turn the football over, you had somewhere between like a 78-82 percent chance of winning the football game, so obviously turnovers reflect who win and loses a game.”

The Vols had an even turnover margin in 2019, compared to a minus one margin in 2018.

“It goes back to preparation from the coaching staff, down to the players,” Pruitt said. “Everybody made a conscious effort to do a better job with the ball. I feel like with the defense, even though the last couple of games we haven’t gotten any turnovers, there were several games there in that stretch that we did get some.”

Jeremy Pruitt Practice Transcript – Dec. 30 

On how bowl prep in Jacksonville has been going:
“Our kids have been focused the entire bowl prep. It was a good first day.”

On how reducing turnovers since the beginning of the season changed the direction of the season:
“It definitely helped. That’s one of the first things we preach offensively is taking care of the football. I haven’t looked at it for this season, but last season, if you didn’t turn the football over, you had somewhere between like a 78-82 percent chance of winning the football game, so obviously turnovers reflect who win and loses a game.”

 On how the team was able to reduce its number of turnovers this season:
“It goes back to preparation from the coaching staff, down to the players. Everybody made a conscious effort to do a better job with the ball. I feel like with the defense, even though the last couple of games we haven’t gotten any turnovers, there were several games there in that stretch that we did get some.”

On how Brandon Kennedy looked during the first practice in Jacksonville:
“About like we thought. He’s 24 days out now. He’s about ready, but he’s a guy that has had several injuries before, so he’ll know if he’s ready to play or not. We’re giving him a few extra looks just to see.”

On offseason coaching changes in college football:
“Well you know in this business, everybody is always wanting better opportunities. And, if you do a good job, sometimes those opportunities present themselves. I want all of the guys on our staff, guys that want to be coordinators or be head coaches, we’ll always support them and help them in anyway possible just like we do the players. It’s part of the business. Usually all that takes place after Signing Day and bowl games.”

On the team’s trip to Jacksonville’s Mayport Naval Base on Monday:
“It’s a great opportunity for those guys. It’s something that they probably never did before. I was hoping they would put life jackets on some of them just in case, but it sounds like everything went pretty smooth.”

On Jarrett Guarantano not having to wear a brace on his left hand anymore:
“Well it should help in the quarterback-center exchange. He’s been that way pretty much for the entire bowl prep. We really haven’t talked about it a whole lot because wearing the guard or the brace that he had on didn’t affect him a whole lot. But I’m sure it will help him when it comes to ball handling.”

On the period during the two months between the two signing periods from a recruiting standpoint:
“Well we area recruit. It’s important for me that you define the areas for the coaches, that way you build relationships. So, you do know about 21s, 22s, 23s. You kind of know the lay of the land. I think it’s important for the area recruiter to get the position coach, the head coach and the coordinator involved in the prospects that they’re recruiting and that’s kind of our philosophy.”

On how much new stuff you expect from opponents in bowl games:
“Well you get the extra time, so obviously with more time there’s opportunities to do some extra things. But, when you look at bowl games, most teams do the things that they do. As a coach you want to go back, and the things that you’ve been pretty good at you want to make sure that you continue to do that. To me it seems like a lot of times in bowl games if you look at offenses you can go back and look at their explosive plays over the course of 12 or 13 games and you’ll see a lot of them in succession – I’m talking about calling them in the bowl game – which might be a little bit different than you would see during the regular season.”

On how Emmit Gooden is doing from a rehab standpoint:
“Well he’s about five months now, so he’s progressed really well. Emmit’s done a nice job in the rehab and our medical staff has done a really good job with him, so he will probably be ready for spring.”