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By no means is Butch Jones' job on the line this Saturday, as the Volunteers had one of the worst SEC rosters upon his arrival and are now well on their way to becoming one of best in only three seasons under Jones. However, if the Vols lose to Florida for the 11th consecutive season, those who question Jones' game day ability will have even more ammunition to use against him.
Jones remained as stoic as ever Wednesday as he fielded questions on the importance of the upcoming game against the Gators. The leader of the Vols pointed out his players understanding of what this game means but said no extra motivation would be taken from last year's close lose at home to Florida.
"Our players know what is at stake. They understand the challenge that we are facing going on the road, first SEC game, hostile environment, very talented football team and very physical football team," Jones said.
"It's going to be hot. All of those elements they understand. The players that did play in the game, they understand the intensity of the game, the physicality of the game, and that has probably been more [impactful] than anything."
The Tennessee coach also spoke of the challenges that await for his team, as the Gators certainly aren't lacking in talent, especially on their defense.
"Great, great team speed; a very, very good defense," Jones said. "They may be the best defense we've faced since we've been here and they're very, very deep. They play 10 defensive linemen. I really, really like their linebackers. They really flow to the football - they're downhill linebackers. Very, very physical. And we all know about their secondary."
Jones also talked about lessons learned from the Oklahoma game and how his team is still learning to win at a high level.
"Is it part of your players just having a killer instinct? Can you develop it? And I thought both, but you have to be in those situations to develop it," Jones said. "Once you're in those situations, what do you take from those situations? How do you learn from it, and how do you move forward? We need to move forward from it obviously, and learn from those situations, because as we all know, this football team's going to be involved in a lot of close games coming down to the wire the rest of the season."
