KNOXVILLE -- Jashon Robertson received his welcome to college football long before he found himself pass-blocking on a third-and-long at Oklahoma or paving the way for a fellow freshman at Georgia.
That moment came in camp for Tennessee's starting right guard, not long after he switched from defensive tackle.
"One of my first plays that I pulled to kick out somebody," Robertson recalled with a smile after the Volunteers wrapped up Tuesday's practice, "I kicked out Curt [Maggitt]. It was a pretty physical collision. I was like, 'I've never hit nobody that's played that physical before.' That was kind of my wake-up to college football.
"I've been enjoying it and loving it every day, and I've enjoyed the process and working hard and being together with the offensive line."
Now is probably as important a time as ever for Tennessee's new-look unit up front to stick together.
The Vols have allowed 14 sacks during their current three-game losing streak and sit last in the SEC -- below even allergic-to-offense Vanderbilt -- in rushing offense.
The concerns Tennessee's coaches had entering the season have come to fruition, as an offensive line that's started an all-freshman right side of Robertson and Coleman Thomas the past three games has hampered an offense that has potential at its other positions.
It's been a baptism by fire for Robertson, a 6-foot-3, 304-pounder out of Nashville, and he acknowledged some of those struggles after playing in the first two SEC games of his career.
"There's been a lot of ups and downs," he said. "The SEC has a very small margin of error, so the things I've done in practice and the wrong steps that I've taken and everything, sometimes it's been exposed in games because of the small margin of error.
"I knew it was going to be difficult. It's a league with a lot of talent and a lot of guys that play hard. I've never had the chance to play in the SEC before, so I didn't know what to expect. I've been doing the best I can as far as preparation and attitude."
Not all of the sacks Tennessee has allowed during its losing streak fall on the offensive line. There have been communication issues leaving blitzes picked up incorrectly, and sometimes a tight end or running back has made the crucial mistake.
Teams have targeted the tackle tandem of Thomas, a high school center, and Kyler Kerbyson, a more natural fit at guard, by either bringing blitz after blitz off the edge or simply using speedy, athletic defensive ends -- like Florida did with Dante Fowler on Saturday -- to disrupt things.
The group may not carry the most confidence into Saturday's game against UT-Chattanooga, but Vols coach Butch Jones scoffed at that notion Tuesday.
"I think when they say lack of confidence, I think that's an excuse," Jones said. "If you're a competitor, and you work exceptionally hard, you build confidence in your body of work throughout the course of the week, doing everything necessary to play winning football. When somebody says a lack of confidence, I think that's an excuse.
"These players have great confidence. They demand from themselves. They expect to do well, and it's work in progress."
For Robertson, that work includes coming in, reviewing his mistakes and pinpointing the one that occurs most frequently for his focus on that specific day.
Certainly Tennessee's offensive linemen want to improve their performance, particularly with the defensive lines at Ole Miss, Alabama, Missouri and Kentucky still on the schedule, and quarterback Justin Worley praised the unit for how it went about practice Tuesday.
"They've done a great job," he said. "I told them before we started scout periods today that every rep counts and we need to make every rep matter. We win games by the way we practice, so I think they responded well. They responded to Coach Mo [line coach Don Mahoney] getting on them and Coach Jones getting on them, and they've come out and responded well."
Offensive linemen typically are prideful, so it makes sense that mood among the Vols is more positive than the external perception of the team's biggest weakness.
"The offensive line, we came today with a huge appetite," Robertson said. "We were hungry. We practiced hard, tried to finish every play and do everything that we can to get better. Offensive line, we take a lot of pride in the things that we do, and we just came out here today and tried to bust it and work as hard as we could."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.