Wiedmer: Vols' Jones made right call regarding Kelly

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones encourages his players as they run off the field during the first half an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones encourages his players as they run off the field during the first half an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Over the past six or seven weeks, the Big Orange Nation has found at least four reasons to want Tennessee football coach Butch Jones fired, and immediately if not sooner. Those reasons are losses to the universities of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, whose Southeastern Conference teams have humbled the Volunteers by a combined score of 127-36.

But on Wednesday evening, his job security seemingly already up in smoke, any rational Tennessee fan should have been intensely proud of Jones for putting the personal responsibility to act responsibly above the short-term good of his team.

With what would seem to be a must-win game at Kentucky on tap for Saturday night, Jones suspended the one offensive player who seemed to have the best chance to KO UK - junior running back John Kelly.

It seems that Kelly and freshman linebacker Will Ignont (who also was suspended) were pulled over on the Strip - Cumberland Avenue, as it's officially known - at 10:45 p.m. Tuesday for a headlight being out on the car Kelly was driving. When Knoxville police approached, they allegedly smelled marijuana.

Kelly later was charged with possession of a Schedule VI substance and given a city citation for the missing headlight and for not having proof of insurance. Ignont was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. The two are scheduled to be booked at the Knox County Sheriff's Office on Nov. 7, four days before the Vols play at Missouri.

Reasonable adults can argue, and have for decades, over the addictive powers of pot/Mary Jane/weed/laughing grass/Ganja/Acapulco Gold/wacky tobacky/etc. And despite early claims and fears that it was a "gateway drug" to more addictive and destructive narcotics, it's now at least partially legalized in 29 states and the District of Columbia.

And whether you think that's right or wrong, in great portions of eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and southwest Virginia, complete legalization might make it those areas' No. 1 cash crop, since they have the perfect growing climate for it.

But in Tennessee it remains illegal to sell it or use it. Beyond that, if Kelly had been cited for public intoxication rather than marijuana, should his penalty have been any less? If for no other reason than the last thing Jones needs is a video to surface of his players drinking in public, his actions - as well as the actions of his players - must speak louder than words.

The Big Orange fan base - however unreasonable some may believe it to be - has a right to expect the players and the coaches to be "all in" for the rest of this disappointing season. Go to class. Be early, not on time, to practice. Stay out of trouble at all times.

Maybe that's unreasonable. Whatever their ages - and Kelly turned 21 earlier this month - they are still, at heart, kids, and kids will make mistakes. But those mistakes also have consequences, as Jones has long preached during a five-year tenure that hasn't always made Volniacs happy on the field but almost always has made them proud off the field and in the classroom.

Cynics already have taken to social media to proclaim this is a copout, that Jones is suspending Kelly to give the coach an excuse if UT loses to UK for just the second time in 33 years. On the flip side, imagine the heat that will rise under Wildcats coach Mark Stoops' vaguely warm seat should Big Blue fail to win without Kelly on the field.

And maybe Jones did suspend both Kelly and Ignont to give him an excuse. After all, when now-injured receiver Jauan Jennings faced similar charges in January, punishment was handled internally with no suspension for the opener against Georgia Tech, the game in which he was injured.

But that was then and this is now and maybe if for no other reason than this team has seemed quite different in its demeanor all season - less focused and driven, if nothing else - Jones opted to send a loud message rather than a subtle one.

"Members of our football team have a responsibility to represent the University of Tennessee in a first-class manner," Jones said in the released statement. "I met with John and Will and they understand their actions were unacceptable."

In a Tennessee season that has been almost completely unacceptable on the field, the suspension of Kelly and Ignont was a first-class decision in every way, and one that more coaches should more willingly embrace.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com

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