KNOXVILLE - For the first time since 2005, Tennessee will enter a football season ranked in the top 10.
The Volunteers landed at No. 9 in the Associated Press poll unveiled Sunday morning after being ranked 10th in the coaches' poll released earlier this month.
While appreciative of the lofty slot at which they'll start the season, the Vols realize the ranking is largely meaningless.
"We haven't put anything on the field yet, so all this is just hype right now," offensive tackle Brett Kendrick said Monday. "We're excited for the season obviously, but there's not really a go-to response. We're working every day to be the best we can, and I think we can be really good."
Tennessee began last season ranked 25th in the AP poll and finished 23rd after going 9-4.
The Vols hadn't cracked the top 10 of any poll since midway through the 2006 season, when many of their current players were in elementary school.
"That's a huge deal, but like I said, we haven't started the season yet," Kendrick said. "Later on in the season we'll look up and see what we're ranked then, but right now we're just trying to make every day count."
Tennessee entered the 2005 season ranked third but flopped to a 5-6 record - Phillip Fulmer's first losing season as coach - after quarterback problems and crunch-time failures spoiled having one of the nation's stingiest defenses.
The Vols were ranked in the preseason AP poll the following three years but failed to crack the initial rankings for a seven-year stretch ending last year.
"We've come a long way since my freshman year," said Kendrick, a fourth-year junior. "It's crazy how far we've come. It's definitely a compliment to the hard work we've put in.
"Obviously we had some down years in there, especially throughout my high school career, but you know, since I got here Coach (Butch) Jones has really turned this program around. It's starting to feel like Tennessee football again."
Battles with Barnett
Tennessee's offensive tackles have had their hands full this month blocking the Vols' talented and deep group of defensive ends every day in practice, and they strongly believe they'll be better off for it.
Kendrick and Derek Barnett tipped a cap to each other for their daily battles.
"Brett's a good ballplayer," said Barnett, who's coming off a pair of 10-sack seasons. "He has good hands, has a good punch. He picks up on a lot of my moves, so I have to try to switch it up on him a lot. Brett's a real good ballplayer."
Facing one of the SEC's best defensive lineman so often has helped Kendrick prepare for a season he'll enter as Tennessee's starting right tackle.
"It's been tough," he said. "Barnett, he's a great player. He's got plenty of moves, so I don't know exactly which one's coming, but we've taken a lot of one-on-one reps together and a lot of reps in team (periods), and it's been great getting to play against him. He's a spectacular player, and it's been really fun."
No disrespect
Construction began at Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday as crews begin to transform the NASCAR track into a football stadium for Tennessee's clash with Virginia Tech on Sept. 10.
The speedway's website even has a live streaming "Construction Cam" for anyone who wants to monitor the progress.
The Vols instead will be focusing on their opener against Appalachian State, which is coming off an 11-win season, the program's first bowl win and wins in 17 of its last 19 games.
"You respect every team that you step on the field with, because anything can always happen on any given day," Tennessee wide receiver Josh Malone said. "Appalachian State's one of those teams that has a tradition of winning, so in my eyes they're just as good as any other team in the nation."
Tennessee has played similarly strong lower-conference opposition in Utah State and Bowling Green in the past two season openers and won both games by a combined 60 points.
"If you go out, especially for a team like Appalachian State, and don't take them seriously," Malone said, "they can come up and beat you, especially if you let them hang around and stick around."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.