Vols' Bowl Eligibility Enough Motivation Vs. Vandy

Tennessee Needs A Sixth Win To Extend Season

  • Wednesday, November 26, 2014
  • Special to Chattanoogan.com
Tennessee coach Butch Jones addresses the Vols after Tuesday's practice.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones addresses the Vols after Tuesday's practice.
photo by Tennessee Athletics

With bowl eligibility riding on their final game of the season, it's only fitting that Tennessee’s Volunteers should face storied rival Vanderbilt seeking a pivotal sixth victory on Saturday in Nashville.

For many, this weekend bears a heavy importance, as the all-or-nothing circumstances surrounding this Vandy matchup could mean the end of their collegiate careers or a memorable, long-awaited bowl appearance.

Senior defensive tackle Jordan Williams recalled his last two games against Vanderbilt, both losses for the Vols, and is determined to go out with a win in his final game facing the Commodores.

"It's definitely going to be a rivalry and a tough game," Williams said. "Their program has improved and they're a good opponent. We have a lot going on but we just have to focus on getting that next win. Win number six; that's our main focus right now."

Senior status is not the only crucial factor for the Vols this week. The program is striving to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2010, and the Vols know they need to prepare for this game with just as hard - if not harder - than any week thus far.

"We should have enough motivation to win the game and to get win number six," coach Butch Jones said following Tuesday's practice. "Our players know what is at stake. That doesn't even need to be discussed."

Defensive back Brian Randolph added that with the amount of importance placed upon Saturday's game in Nashville, every player wants to performance to the best of their abilities not only for each other, but for the program and earning back the winning edge in the state of Tennessee.

"[Vanderbilt] came out to play and they got us the last two years," Randolph said. "We're just trying to worry about this year. We're not trying to look back and cry over spilled milk. We come to play every week. We're going to go out and play the best that we can."

VOLS THINKING OF BERRY

Following the announcement that Eric Berry was having a mass in his chest tested for lymphoma, Jones and members of the Vols spoke about the their support for the VFL on Tuesday.

"Our thoughts and our prayers are with Eric and his entire family," said Jones.

Jones said the program is still considering how they could honor Berry on Saturday, but haven't made any final decisions.

"We are in the process of evaluating some things," said Jones. "We will know a little bit more later in the week. We want to obviously respect Eric and his family. We have been in constant dialogue and communication."

Eric's freshmen twin brothers Elliott and Evan have continued to practice with the Vols and know the importance of the Tennessee family as a support system.

"Evan and Elliott, they are practicing, they are doing everything," said Jones. "Vol for Life is all encompassing and it is very, very important to us and they are here going to classes and practicing and their teammates have been there for them. So it has been a family coming together."

A pair of fellow Atlanta-area natives have Eric in their thoughts and prayers.

"One, as we all were, I was shocked," said quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who grew up in Alpharetta. "I've been praying for their family, of course with Evan and Elliot, I've been discussing with them and just praying for them and praying for Eric. So, we wish him a speedy recovery and we hope for the best for him."

Kennesaw native, junior Brian Randolph values Eric's importance to the program.

"You can definitely feel it has a presence with the team and Coach Jones saw that," said Randolph. "We all brought it up, had a couple of words about it and said a prayer for the Berry family."

Playing safety, Randolph has long had his eye on Eric's play on the field.

"I got to see some of his games and when I was in middle school at the time, I always watched Eric Berry," Randolph said. "He's been in my life for a long time, watching and looking up to him. That's probably a big reason why I came to Tennessee was because of him."

Dobbs admires Eric's community involvement and knows there are many supporting him in his fight.

"I think he's a great person," said Dobbs. "He's a high character guy and he shows that on and off the field. I know he does a lot of stuff around the community with his youth camps back in Georgia and here in Knoxville. So, very high character guy and definitely a guy we're happy came from Tennessee."

DOBBS READY TO SNAP AND CLEAR

Coming off of Saturday's loss to Missouri, Dobbs says the Vols’ offense is ready to get back on the field and shake off last week's performance against Missouri.

"It will be exciting," he said. "Every time we step on the field, we try to have a great performance and show what we've got, so we're excited to brush off last week's loss and get back on the field and compete again and show what we can do on offense."

Dobbs said that he and his teammates have adapted to Jones’ "snap and clear" mentality, and have focused all of their attention on the Commodores.

"It's always easy to come back. We talk about a snap and clear mentality, positive or negative," he said. "Positive gain, negative gain, positive play, negative play. Snap and clear because what you did in the last game won't affect what you do in the next game. So we've just got to come out and continue to prepare, continue to get ready for Saturday. We've got a big game ahead of us with Vanderbilt, big rival, so very excited."

Dobbs says the offense has been working on setting the tone early in the game, and hopes to start quickly against Vanderbilt and put points on the board early.

"Not only myself, but as a team, we've just got to start faster," he said. "We had good field position for most of the night (against Missouri), especially in the first half, so when we've got good field position like that, we've got to do a better job of putting the ball in the end zone instead of settling for field goals. So that's something that's a point of emphasis, it's always been a point of emphasis, but we'll definitely improve on that going forward."

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)

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