UT Vols coaches want more from defensive front

photo Defensive line coach Steve Stripling and defensive grad assistant Chase Gibson watch the Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium in this 2013 file photo.

KNOXVILLE - Had the fourth quarter gone differently for Tennessee's defensive line, Steve Stripling's answers on Wednesday might have been different.

Instead, Stripling had a different take on the progress the Volunteers were making in recent weeks.

"I'll be honest, I thought we took a step back against Georgia," he said after Wednesday's practice. "I thought we were making some great headway up to that point. We've had a great week of practice, and as I mentioned, it's been the focus just do my job: 'I don't have to do everything.'

"I thought, when you go back to the Oklahoma game, our guys did a good job of doing their job and just worrying about their responsibility, so we've got to get back to that.

"If I do my job, and the warrior to my right does his job and so on, we'll do good defensively."

It'll be important that Tennessee does rediscover that mentality on Saturday against Florida, whose strength on offense is running the ball with a tailback tandem of Kelvin Taylor, the son of former Gators great Fred Taylor, and Matt Jones, the 6-foot-2, 226-pound senior who ran for 156 yards against Kentucky three weeks ago.

The Vols limited Oklahoma to 146 rushing yards and held Georgia to 155 through three quarters before Todd Gurley's 129-yard fourth quarter undid Tennessee's upset efforts.

Tennessee had three sacks of Georgia's Hutson Mason, but Stripling wants to see improvement in the Vols' pass rush.

"If you can know when it's pass before the ball's snapped it really helps," he said. "We're just not experienced enough and not sharp enough right now to make that distinction. That's obviously an area we've got to improve."

Pearson update

On his radio show on Wednesday night, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said receiver Von Pearson ran some routes in Wednesday's practice, and the Vols hope his health continues to improve over the next couple of days to the point where he'll play against Florida.

"The thing we don't want to do is push him before he's ready to go," Jones said. "We need him. It'll be kind of a wait-and-see."

Welcome Wolf

Tennessee didn't have to wait long to reap the benefits of Ethan Wolf's return, as the freshman tight end caught a pass on the first play of the game against Georgia.

He went on to catch five passes for a team-high 69 yards.

"It's great to have him back," tight ends coach Mark Elder said. "Obviously he's a good football player for us and made a couple of really nice plays for us catching the football. Had his ups and downs with the blocking stuff, but it's great to have him and add another guy to the mix."

The Bulldogs often defended Wolf with a linebacker, and the Vols hit him on a couple of patterns down the seam.

"I think he does a nice job with the passing game along with the running game," Elder said. "He has good hands and does a decent job with his routes. Still developing some of those areas, but certainly it's great to have him."

Watch the blitz

Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said opposing defenses are blitzing the Vols "just as much as I would expect" so far this season, and offensive line coach Don Mahoney said his inexperienced group must improve its communication.

Georgia cranked up the pressure on Tennessee quarterbacks Justin Worley and Nathan Peterman in the second half of that game, and some communication issues led to sacks and quarterback hits.

Florida figures to follow the blueprint of bringing pressure.

"We have got to communicate," Mahoney said. "If there's a time where we assume, look what can happen on a given play. That's always got to be of the utmost, being completely dialed in every single play and communicating every single play. That was one area that we need to make strides in this week."

Against Georgia, Tennessee averaged 6 yards to go on the six third downs it converted, while the 11 failed conversions averaged 10 yards on third down

"As much as it's pressure, it's putting ourselves in bad situations," Bajakian said. "We have to be efficient on first and second down to avoid third-and-long situations, because the pressure, sure, it comes on all down-and-distances. But when it's third-and-long, they pin their ears back and get after you."

Noon blues

Tennessee is expecting to host an impressive list of unofficial and official visitors, headlined by undecided four-star linebacker Ricky DeBerry (Mechanicsville, Va.) and four-star Florida State tailback commit Johnny Frasier (Princeton, N.C.), for Saturday's game, but the Vols certainly would've preferred a later kick time.

"Any time you get an opportunity to play on national television, it's a tremendous opportunity for your football program," Vols coach Butch Jones said on Wednesday's SEC coaches' teleconference. "We have one of the best fan bases in the country.

"In a perfect world, to be able to get everybody here and enjoy the festivities of what really makes college football very special, sometimes it's nice to have a late game, but we can't control that."

Tennessee tidbits

According to Vegas Insider, Tennessee is now a 2.5-point favorite against Florida after the Gators opened as a 1-point favorite, and this was brought to Jones's attention during his turn on Wednesday's teleconference. "Your the first person that's told me that," he replied. "I don't even look at that. I don't think that's a factor one bit." ... Former Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen, who was 2-1 as a starter against Florida with road wins in 2001 and 2003, will be honored before Saturday's game. ... Secondary coach Willie Martinez said safety LaDarrell McNeil is playing the best football of his career.

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