By Abraham Bates
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The conveniently timed bye week for the Tennessee Volunteers coincided nicely with a short fall break at the University of Tennessee. With that out of the way, the Volunteers look forward to this upcoming weekend when they host the Arkansas Razorbacks inside Neyland Stadium.
Two weeks after a close call against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, quarterback Joey Aguilar and the rest of the Vols’ offense look to get back on track and play a more mistake-free style of football against the Razorbacks.
Despite averaging 51 points per game through the season so far, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle recognized that there is still work to be done.
“We’ve done a good job, but we’ve also got a lot to improve on. There’s just a lot on the field that we’re leaving in every ball game,” Halzle said. “There’s a lot more we can do. You know, the last ball game, we left a lot in the tight zone.”
Outside linebackers coach Levorn Harbin spoke about the defensive line, specifically Caleb Herring, Joshua Josephs, and Jordan Ross, and how they have developed and improved over the season despite losing first-round talent James Pierce Jr to the NFL in the spring.
“I told [you guys] in the spring, you want to be a first-rounder. In order to be a first-rounder, you gotta get production,” Harbin said. “Only way you’re gonna get production, you gotta do it the right way. It’s no shortcut getting to production.”
Harbin also touched on how his players look to contain Arkansas quarterback Taylon Green, who has thrived this year as a passer and as the Razorbacks’ leading rusher.
“We don’t need Superman out there. We need for everybody to do their job versus a very athletic quarterback. You guys remember Vince Young, Michael Vick, that’s what [Green] reminds you of, just a taller, longer version,” said Harbin.
Defensive back Edrees Farooq added on Green, “He’s a talented QB, he’s a person that we really have to [focus] on and read our keys and do what we need to do.”
Offensive guard Wendell Moe Jr., who transferred to Tennessee from Arizona in the spring, has been a part of a shuffled offensive line over the past few weeks, with highly-touted freshman tackle David Sanders Jr. being out for the first few weeks of the season.
When asked about his transition from one side of the offensive line to the other, Moe Jr gave credit to himself and teammate Jesse Perry, who filled in for Sanders while he was out with an injury.
“Going from left to right doesn’t really matter to me, because I believe that I need to do that to progress to the next stage,” Moe Jr said.
Running back Star Thomas touched on the run game, specifically how he feels that the running backs need to let the game come to them more than they go try and make a play.
“I feel like we just, we gotta let the game come to us. Like, I feel like [we’re] so angry cause we put in so much work during the week, and we be overexcited to make a play,” said Thomas. “I feel like we’ve been doing a good job, but I feel like we should all just let the game come to us.”
The Volunteers look to improve to 5-1 on the season against the Razorbacks at 4:15 p.m. ET this Saturday at Neyland Stadium.