KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee defensive tackle Danny O'Brien has been reinstated to the program and will practice today as the Volunteers begin to prepare for their trip to Florida, head coach Butch Jones said at his weekly news conference on Monday.
O'Brien missed the games against Oklahoma and Western Carolina for violation team rules.
The redshirt junior was a starter last season and started the season opener against Bowling Green in Nashville.
Jones said O'Brien would have to "earn everything," including his spot on the 70-player travel roster and his starting job for the game against the Gators.
"I don't want to consider it (his) last chance," Jones said. "We're in this profession to help young adults become adults. For any situation, you look at it as was it poor choice or poor character? Danny has done everything that we have asked of him since we have been here. It means something to him.
"All I can say is he's back, he's reinstated. He understands the perimeters and guidelines. It's an honor and a privilege to represent this great football program, state and university. He understands that."
Owen Williams and Kendal Vickers started both games in O'Brien's absence, and his return should further bolster a defensive tackle rotation that includes freshmen Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie.
Alton's absence
Wide receiver Alton "Pig" Howard led Tennessee with 44 catches in 2013 and 54 receptions in 2014, but he's gotten off to a slow start as a senior.
Howard has just one catch and two rushing attempts in two games after he served a one-game suspension for the season opener.
The Vols are hoping to get him more involved in the offense moving forward.
"I think it's a flavor of the game a little bit," Jones said. "Alton also tweaked his ankle a little bit, so in terms of playing time, he missed some valuable repetitions there because of that. He should be fine. Then it's just taking advantage when your number's called, so there's a lot of things that go into it.
"We have to get him going because he is a big part of our offense. He's very explosive, and we consider him one of our playmakers on offense. There's been a lot of circumstances behind the why of not much production, but we're working on changing that."
Pressing matter
The Vols expect to see plenty of press coverage by Florida's cornerbacks on Saturday for a couple of reasons.
The first is that's how the Gators have always played regardless of the defensive coordinator, and the second is Tennessee struggled with it in the loss to Oklahoma.
Jones said Tennessee will design some schemes to help its wide receivers beat that aggressive coverage, but on many plays it'll be up to the wideouts to win their one-on-one matchups.
"There's only so many things you can do," Jones said. "Obviously you try to gain some formational advantages and some different things that way. They have to make a decision: Are they going to commit to that, or are they going to commit to the run.
"We'll do some different things maybe with some different personnel groupings and some formations and try to give our receivers some relief a little bit.
"But at the end of the day, when you play a man-coverage football team, it comes down to me against you and being able to adapt and adjust to the ball in the air."
Arkansas time (almost) set
Tennessee's home game against Arkansas on Oct. 3 will be a night kickoff, but the television designation and starting time won't be determined until after this week's game.
The Vols and Razorbacks will kick off either at 7 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2 or at 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
Ole Miss-Florida and Mississippi State-Texas A&M are the other two games awaiting finalization.
Injury notes
Safety Max Arnold (knee) is expected to return to practice today and could be available for Saturday's game at Florida, but running back/kickoff returner Ralph David Abernathy IV (ankle) is still a couple of weeks away from returning, according to Jones.
Receiver Jason Croom faces another few weeks on the shelf, too. He had his knee scoped the Friday before the season opener. He was still on crutches as of the Western Carolina game.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.