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 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.”

Tennessee Player Media Availability Transcription (Sept. 17)

Jauan Jennings, Sr. WR

On if he’s excited to playing at Florida on Saturday:

“Definitely. I’m definitely excited. 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.”

On how he would describe his play so far this season:

“I’ve made a few plays, but I just want to get better each week, as the games go. Like I said, BYU week – that was round two. This is round four and I’m just coming out to do the best that I can and to the best of my ability.”

On how Jarrett Guarantano bounced back on Saturday:

“He’s definitely bounced back and he’s ready to go. JG, I tell him every time that he’s the leader of this team. We need him, and he’s been vocalizing his leadership on this team. He’s ready to play. I tell him all the time – I’ve got his back and he’s got mine. So, no worries there.”

On how the team can get through a tough stretch in the schedule:

“One play at a time. Literally. 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.”

On how the energy is going into Saturday’s game at ‘The Swamp’:

“It’s going to be crazy. The level it’s going to be is crazy. 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.”

Jarrett Guarantano, R-Jr. QB

On how much the win against Chattanooga will help him moving forward:

“A lot. We were having different meetings last week. We kind of had a different setup and going through the meetings and going through different things last week – it actually helped me last week.”

On the team’s excitement level this week:

“It’s very high. I know that we’re going to have to have a great week of practice in order to prepare for it. 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.”

On playing with a rotating offensive line each week:

“I knew that it was going to be like this going into the season. It’s really not my call. I trust and believe in Coach Chaney and Coach Friend. I think they’re always going to put out the best five.”

On how the different setup for meeting helped him last week:

“We tried to dig deep into each other’s minds – myself and Coach Chaney. I think that we did a good job with it. It was very effective. Every single play, we had a thought process through it and we went through it. I think that it helped me a lot and it also helped him get into my mind.”

Daniel Bituli, Sr. LB

On the importance of discipline when facing the Florida offense:

“It’s really important. We’ve got to come in and watch some film as much as we can. We know Coach (Dan) Mullen has a history with Coach Pruitt. They’ve been going at it for a couple of years. We’ve got to listen to Coach Pruitt this week on the things that we get during the game. We’ve just got to prepare and gain that confidence that we need.”

On what he tells the younger players when going into an SEC road game:

“Just staying calm and just using your attributes to go out there and make some plays. With me being in there, I’ll be able to handle setting the front and making all these adjustments. So, just playing within yourself and just focusing on that. 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”

On what makes Darrell Taylor go off in big games:

“He’s a real competitive guy. He goes hard each and every day. He’s one of those guys that, even if we don’t have an assigned workout, he’s in there in the workout room doing a quick pump because he obviously takes care of his body. He just wants to go out there and make some plays for the team as much as he can. We all see that on Saturdays.”

On much pride he takes in getting the defense set up:

“A lot of pride. We’re the engine of the defense. We’ve got to get everything set up, so just getting the front set up as fast as possible so we can read the whole offensive formation is really important to us and we take pride in that.”

On how much easier it is to communicate on the road:

“It’s really good. With it being quiet on third downs, we can communicate better than we can in Neyland Stadium when it’s really rocking. Coach Pruitt can make some adjustments on the sideline and we can hear him. So, just being able to have that quietness to go out there on defense is really good and we really don’t mind it.”

Theo Jackson, Jr. DB

On the importance of forcing five turnovers against Chattanooga:

“Every week Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt harps on getting turnovers. Since the first two games, when we only came up with one, he really emphasized that we, against Chattanooga, needed to get more turnovers. He challenged us to get five and we got five. So, this week with conference play starting, we really need to get more turnovers to create better situations for ourselves.”

On having Daniel Bituli back:

“It’s always good to have a veteran player back. It created some comfort up front for the players, and it was just good to have him back.”

On his message to young guys playing conference games for the first time:

“I would say take care of your body and get into film as much as possible, because any little mistake can cause a big play or something to go against you.”

On preparing to play against the speed of Florida:

“Every guy is fast. On every other team, they have some fast guys, but with Florida everybody has decent or good speed, so we just have to play faster and harder against them.”

Brandon Kennedy, R-Sr. OL

On what makes Florida’s pass rush effective:

“Well, I think it’s important that we just have to prepare for everything in the game as far as our run and pass.”

On what stands out about Florida’s defense:

“Obviously, up front they’re pretty stout, they have a good defense, and I think they’re fundamentally sound.”

On what kind of statement the offensive line could make against Florida:

“I think it’s very exciting starting SEC play. Every game that we play in the SEC is a big game, so I’m just excited.”

On how the offensive line has improved from the first game until now

“I think just not making the little mistakes as far as communication is where we improved at the most.”

UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Senior defensive back Nigel Warrior earned a spot on the PFF College National and SEC Defensive Team of the Week after his performance in Tennessee’s 45-0 win over Chattanooga last Saturday.

The College Park, Georgia native was stout in coverage all afternoon and intercepted the only pass sent his direction, nearly returning it for a touchdown. It was the second-career interception for the preseason All-SEC third team selection.

Warrior’s pick set up set up UT’s third touchdown of the game, a 12-yard pass from Jarrett Guarantano to Jauan Jennings that put the Vols ahead 21-0 midway through the first quarter. Warrior also added a pair of tackles in the shutout victory, Tennessee’s second under head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

The entire PFF College Offensive and Defensive National Teams of the Week can be seen HERE.

The Vols hit the road for the first time this season as they travel down to Gainesville this Saturday to open SEC play in “The Swamp” against the ninth-ranked Florida Gators at noon ET on ESPN.

UT Athletics

Opening Statement:
“When you look at Florida this week, there’s a lot of familiarity with the coaching staff there. I’ve coached against Dan (Mullen) for a long time and I’m very familiar with Todd Grantham. Christian Robinson was a GA for us at Georgia. If you look at them, they’re very well-coached. To start with, offensively, they are replacing some guys up front, but they’re doing a really nice job. They probably lost their quarterback this past week, but the backup has come in there and done a really fine job, which would probably be expected from a guy who’s been in the program for a while, a lot of maturity. These guys have really good skill players from tight ends, to running backs, to wide receivers. They spread the ball around, they’ll hit you with RPOs. They’re really stubborn when it comes to running the football. They’ve always done a very nice job running the football and being creative in how they do it. Now they’ve got really good playmakers at wide receiver, so they can get the ball out there and they can hurt you with runs after the catch, screens, or throw the ball down the field. Defensively, Todd continues to do a really good job up front. They lead the country in sacks. They’re playing really well in the red area. It’s not surprising they have really good players at all three levels. They’ve got experience, they’ve got depth. When we look at them in the kicking game, Freddie Swain is a kick returner. With their punter, field goal kicker, and kickoff guy, probably is as good of a combination as anybody in the conference. They’ve got really good speed to play on teams, so we will definitely have our hands full.”

On how different their offense is without Franks:
“They ran their offense: same plays, nothing different. They might’ve even executed better. Obviously, they scored more points there in a short period of time, but as a guy that competed for the quarterback job, [he’s] very talented and has experience.”

On the decision to start Kenneth George Jr., over Alontae Taylor against UTC:
“We’re just playing the guys who practice the best week in and week out. Kenneth practiced really good last week, and whoever practices the best this week will play this week.”

On what he  plans to do to neutralize Florida’s pass rushers:
“The first thing is we need to be able to run the football. If you can run the football and stay ahead of the sticks a little bit so they can’t pin their ears back and go. We’ve got to be able to run the football. We’ve got the be creative probably with different things and protections. Whether we’re chipping or leaving a back in or something like that. We’ve got to be efficient offensively. We’ve got to get the ball out of our hand and know where we’re going with the ball and spread it around.”

On if DB Bryce Thompson will travel to Gainesville:
“I’ve not decided that.”

On Trey Smith and where he’s at:
“Trey’s playing really hard. We’ve altered practice a little bit to help his development—being really light on Mondays and Thursdays, and then on Tuesdays and Wednesdays he does not participate. Just like anybody that’s not getting to practice, he makes some mistakes out there, but the guy is playing hard and continues to improve each week.”

On his thoughts on the offensive linemen after watching film:
“We’re going to the right folks. We might not be taking the right path to get there so to speak. There are lots of things technically that we need to cleanup, but the positive is there are very few mental errors.”

On his evaluation of the defensive line and where he wants to see them:
“I think Aubrey Solomon has played really well. The rest of the guys—you can kind of put them in a group there—there’s not much difference in them. We’ve really got to continue to improve up front, and we will. Most of those guys have very little playing experience. If you look at them, a lot of the guys that we’re playing were not even here during the spring, so they are going to continue to improve, and they’ve got to improve to reestablish the line of scrimmage a little bit. We’ve got to be better at pass rush, and we’ve got to get more push up the middle. We’ve just got to continue to work hard at that position.”

On if going into the Florida game as underdogs gives the team a different mentality:

“Well, it didn’t help us those first two games, did it? So, I don’t think that has much barring on the game. We’ve got to go out there and play good football, clean football, play hard, play tough, be relentless, and play for four quarters. And, we’ve got to practice that and create the right habits during the week.”

On how he would evaluate the way that Darrell Taylor has played and how important it will be to get pressure off of him on the other side:

“I think Darrell can play better. Unfortunately, he had a little bit of an injury during fall camp that really has been going on since July, so he didn’t get to practice as much as we would have liked to have practiced him. But he’s getting healthier and healthier. He’s a guy that can be a really good player, and he needs to do that all the time. He’s improved every game, and I expect him to continue to do that.”

On how the team will game plan for Florida QB Kyle Trask:

“Well last year for them, at one time, it was close enough that there was a quarterback battle (between Trask and Franks), talking about who was going to be the starter, even into the season. So, this guy is plenty capable, we saw it the other night. They were very efficient in what they did. They didn’t really change much of who they are. The guy is plenty capable. He’s a big, strong guy that’s got a good arm and he’s physical in the run game.”

On what he thinks it will be like for the true freshmen playing on the road in Florida:

“It’s about execution. Knowing what to do, how to do it, and why it’s important to do it that way, getting prepared throughout the week. You create the right habits during the week, and to me it’s fun going on the road. I like going on the road. You find out who you are. Everybody is against you. You see a little bit about your character. It’ll be good for us.”

On how the team is going to lean on the experience playing Florida last year in preparation for this week:
“Well hopefully we learned a lesson that if you turn the ball over six times it’s hard to win. So, last year’s game will have no bearing on this year’s game. We’ll have a good plan. We got to get our guys ready to execute the plan, play the right way and do it for 60 minutes.”

On how the defense plays when LB Daniel Bituli is out there vs. when he isn’t:

“Daniel is guy that we have a lot of time invested in him, starting with last spring, two springs now, two fall camps, so you know when you come into a program and you spend that much time with guys to develop to get them ready to play and then they can’t play, there’s a difference. Will Ignont doesn’t really play the money position, but he hadn’t played money for us, that’s why we moved Jeremy Banks over to create some more depth, but it’s obvious that he has some experience there playing, whether it was with us or before us. The game slows down a little bit and probably takes a little bit of pressure off the other guys as far as making calls and adjustments.”

The biggest difference in Austin Pope this year and how important he has been to the run game and the protection on offense:

“Austin has kind of quietly done his job. He’s played really well through three games. We got to continue to get that productivity out of him. He’s a guy that has been in the program for two years and he kind of knows expectations, he’s willing and we just got to continue to get the same type of production.”

On Tennessee’s special teams so far this season:
“Brent (Cimaglia) has done a nice job on field goals. Riley (Lovingood) snapping and Joe (Doyle) holding, those three together have done a really nice job. Paxton (Brooks), except for kicking it out of bounds the other day, has had a touchback on every kick. Joe has punted every time except for one, Paxton punted one the other day. The guys have executed very well there, and we have to continue to do that because the guys back there receiving the balls are more and more capable of putting points on the scoreboard.”

On the upcoming stretch with three of four games against top 10 teams:
“You just have to worry about the team that you’re playing. You’re not playing all four of them at one time. We’re playing Florida this week. We’ll focus on Florida and then whoever is after that.”

On Dan Mullen’s coaching style at Mississippi State and Florida:
“Dan does what all good football coaches do. He figures out what he has. He’s done it a little bit differently over the last 10 years each year. To me, that’s what a good football coach does. He figures out who his playmakers are and what the best part of his offensive team is, and he focuses on that. They continue to do that.”

UT Athletics