Nearly every media pundit from Paul Finebaum to Colin Cowherd penciled the Tennessee Volunteers as a Southeastern Conference champion and College Football Playoff seed, prior to the start of the 2016 season.
Behind head coach Butch Jones, the Vols fell short for a fourth consecutive time but according to one of its veteran players, it shouldn’t happen this fall. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Kendal Vickers made one thing clear in his portion of interviews on Monday for SEC Media Days: Tennessee is “very hungry” for the upcoming fall campaign.
Vickers was one of the team leaders in tackles for loss (six) and sacks (2.5), while having 38 total tackles through 13 games. Despite a hot 5-0 start that featured a 34-31 win over Georgia off a Hail Mary pass, the Volunteers would lose four of its last eight games – to limp to a 9-4 finish.
Tennessee was hurting with injuries after its meeting versus Texas A&M; however, the 49-10 beatdown it suffered at the hands of Alabama disrupted the program’s morale down the stretch. Since arriving to Tuscaloosa as the Tide’s coach in 2007, Nick Saban has defeated the Volunteers in 10 straight matchups.
With the exception of 2009, 2014 and 2015, none of the meetings between Tennessee and the Tide have been close. In fact, Saban’s Alabama teams have outscored the Volunteers 286-75 in games that don’t include the 2009, 2014 and 2015 seasons.
“This game is still a rivalry,” Vickers said on Alabama-Tennessee. “Alabama certainly thinks it’s still a rivalry. “We have to make sure that we do everything in our power to end their streak.”
Inside the 49-10 drubbing of Tennessee against Alabama were 594 yards offensively for the Crimson Tide, including a staggering 400-plus yards rushing. The combination of quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Bo Scabrough each had 100 yards and four touchdowns combined.
“We have to show discipline as a defense,” Vickers said. “And I don’t think we were as disciplined as we could have been. We have fixed that and we’ve been working hard all offseason. That can’t happen again.”
The departures of Derek Barnett, Corey Vereen, Jaylen Reeves-Maybin and Cam Sutton to the National Football League certainly doesn’t make matters easier for Tennessee, but Vickers chooses to not dwell on the pieces missing.
“We got guys that want to work and want to be great,” he said.
The guys that were on our team last year were great, but they aren’t here anymore and we have to deal with it. We have some great players on our team now that can step up and play those roles. It’s gets tiring to hear all the guys that we lost, but once the first kickoff comes, it’s time to roll.”
Even after losing to Vanderbilt in its season finale, Vickers did not bite his tongue when he mentioned that Tennessee can be the best team in the conference.
“It’s takes work,” he said. “I don’t know how far we are from being the best team, but I know we have the ability to be the best team in the SEC. As long as we keep working, we will get there.”
Looks like the “brick by brick” mindset has moved from Jones to his players.
Following the hype from 2016, the focus will be on Tennessee ability to thrive in the aftermath of losing marquee talent to the next level. Vickers and the Vols also must travel to Alabama.
Stephen M. Smith is a managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
