KNOXVILLE – There’s no shortage of favorite phrases for Tennessee’s football program, but one particular three-word expression is getting plenty of early-season work.
Playing most of the first four games without three of its best defenders will have such an effect.
Without key players Cameron Sutton, Darrin Kirkland Jr. and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, the 11th-ranked Volunteers have been forced to rely on the likes of Baylen Buchanan, Colton Jumper and Cortez McDowell more than anyone expected going into the season, and those players have delivered when pressed into action heading into today’s game at No. 25 Georgia.
“They believe in one another,” defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said Wednesday. “They come to practice every day. They prepare as hard as anybody. I got a text from Colton at 6 o’clock this morning asking about a Georgia formation. These guys are preparing hard.
“They’re a part of our team and a part of our family, and it’s a next-man-up mentality. Whether it’s been Baylen Buchanan, whether it’s been Colton, whether it’s been Cortez or whether it’s been whoever – you name it – those guys have really done a good job and will have to continue to do a good job, because it certainly doesn’t get any easier as we head into October.”