Vols aim to reduce mistakes vs. 49ers
KNOXVILLE — Drew Richmond did not have to ponder the question long.
In the aftermath of Tennessee’s 27-24 loss at South Carolina last week, the redshirt junior offensive lineman knew exactly how to respond when asked about coach Jeremy Pruitt’s message to the team after the game.
“That it’s about us,” Richmond said.
Tennessee’s schedule is one of college football’s most extreme this year. The Volunteers have played or will play six teams that have been ranked in the national top 10 at some point this season, but the slate also included games against East Tennessee State of the Football Championship Subdivision and a winless University of Texas at El Paso squad, and this week the Vols will be visited by Charlotte, which finished 1-11 last season.
Through it all, the message from Pruitt has rarely deviated.
“We have to correct us,” Richmond said. “It’s not the other team.”
That’s the opportunity today’s 4 p.m. homecoming game against the 49ers (4-4) provides. Tennessee (3-5) will have a chance to correct the penalty woes and other problems that contributed to its demise at South Carolina.
“We’re embracing it and handling it very well,” senior defensive lineman Paul Bain said, “because when we click on the film, all we’re seeing is our mistakes and good teams capitalizing on those mistakes. A good competitor is always going to take advantage when one competitor makes a mistake.”
If recent history is any indication, Tennessee’s tangle with Charlotte could be a harbinger of what’s to come. The Vols looked sloppy in a 24-0 win over UTEP on Sept. 15. They followed that performance by turning the ball over six
times in an embarrassing 47-21 home loss to Florida, their first Southeastern Conference game under Pruitt’s direction.
Again, a Conference USA foe is coming to Neyland Stadium before a crucial SEC East contest. Kentucky visits Knoxville next week in a game that will be key for Tennessee’s hopes of reaching bowl eligibility.
“We’ve got a great opportunity,” Pruitt said. “We’ve had two weeks in a row here where we’ve come out on the wrong side. Our players are looking forward to getting back out on the field on Saturday. We’ve had several good weeks in a row of practice, but we’ve got to be able to take it to the field.”
For Richmond and Tennessee’s offensive line, pass protection is the problem that needs to be
addressed. With Bain and Tennessee’s defensive front, it’s stopping the run.
With four losses of 26 or more points, Tennessee’s struggles have been evident — but Bain said the
team understands Pruitt’s obsession with introspection.
“We keep our confidence because we know since we work every day together what it can look like when we all work together perfectly,” Bain said. “We know how special we can be. So when you have that image in your head and you have that confidence about you, you can have that swagger about you each week. And when you see how good it can be, it’s frustrating when you have those same mistakes that keep us from being good to great.”
That’s what an otherwise routine game against Charlotte represents for the Vols — an opportunity to fulfill the image this team has of what it can be.
“It’s about us,” Richmond repeated again before boarding the team bus after the loss at South Carolina. “We beat us. We can’t have penalties, we can’t drop balls, can’t have missed assignments. Can’t do it.” Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.