Five takeaways from Butch Jones’ weekly press conference

Butch Jones took the podium once again at Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio for his weekly Monday press conference. This week features the possible relocation of the Florida game, the quarterback competition and a preview of the Volunteers matchup with the Gators.

Jones still expects visit to The Swamp

Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones opened his press conference by making a statement regarding the hurricane. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by hurricane Irma,” said Jones. However, it is still unknown whether the game will actually remain in Gainesville. Officials want to make a decision on the game by Tuesday, according to a GoVols247 report. Still, Jones made it evident in his press conference that they were preparing to make a trip to The Swamp.

Quentin Dormady finally takes the throne?

Jones once again made the statement that Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano would “continue to compete” throughout the season. Yet, in the depth chart released by Tennessee, it no longer lists Dormady and Guarantano as co-starters. Dormady has officially taken over the job at starting quarterback according to the depth chart. “Quentin continued to improved and his accuracy, but we have to take care of the football,” stated Jones. Dormady tallied 194 yards passing for two touchdowns and one interception in Saturday’s 42-7 win over Indiana State.

Vols have to improve quick

Now with two of its four out-of-conference games out of the way, Tennessee’s schedule will only get tougher as they’re to play Georgia and Florida in a three-week span. Jones realizes the improvements his team has to make to have success going forward. “I do think we did show some progress from week one to week two,” said Jones. “But we have to get better in a hurry, our players understand the level of competition.” The Volunteers will need to see solid improvement from the first two weeks, especially headed into the toughest patch of the schedule in the coming weeks.

Line of scrimmage debacle explained

This picture shows that the Tennessee defensive line was lined up over a yard off the line of scrimmage against Indiana State. There is also evidence that the Vols did this against Georgia Tech. Jones throws it up to the odd offenses they played in the first two weeks. “We’re always a yard off of the line of scrimmage, we’ve seen some very non-traditional offenses,” stated Jones. It is unclear exactly why the defensive line continues to line up so far from the ball, but according to Jones it is commonplace.

Injury Update

According to Jones, tight end Eli Wolf is listed as questionable for the Florida game. However, receivers Tyler Byrd, Latrell Williams and Josh Smith will all be ready for Florida on Saturday. Defensive back Baylen Buchanan and linebacker Austin Smith will also return to give more depth to the Vols defense heading into a crucial game.