KNOXVILLE – Don Mahoney found out fairly quickly that his Tennessee offensive line was going to be just fine.
It took all of one play, to be exact.
Three injuries up front, including two suffered in the first half against Georgia, prompted the Volunters’ offensive line coach to plug freshmen Jack Jones and Chance Hall in at right guard and right tackle, and the duo played the rest of that game and started last week at Alabama.
Mahoney admitted Tuesday that the play and poise of Jones and Hall have “really surprised” him, and he pointed to a moment in the second quarter against Georgia when he knew at least one of the freshmen would do OK.
“I saw it the first play against Georgia that Chance went in,” Mahoney recalled. “It was a situation in which he had a critical decision to make on the given play called, and he didn’t flinch. He came off (the field) and I looked at him and smiled. We didn’t convert the third down, but I smiled to myself and said we’re going to be just fine.
“I was excited for him. Coach (Mike) DeBord said that week, ‘If we run into a situation, Mo, I feel good about if we’ve got to go to Chance. I feel good about the week of practice he’s had.’ I said, ‘I do, too.’ He put the work in over time, but that week of practice really helped himself.”
Jones and Hall have helped solidify an offensive line that’s been down multiple starters the past two weeks.
Guard Jashon Robertson was hurt against Georgia and didn’t play last week, and Brett Kendrick missed both games entirely and won’t play Saturday night at Kentucky.
Those injuries, plus Marcus Jackson’s season-long absence, finally forced Jones and Hall – two players the coaching staff raved about during spring practice and preseason camp – into the lineup, and they have performed admirably.
“They fought. They fought until the game was over,” quarterback Josh Dobbs said Monday. “I love seeing that. Obviously we all have things to improve on, but I love seeing them come out and compete and competing to win.
“They were out there from the beginning (with) a good look in their eyes that they were confident and ready to go and motivated to play hard.”
The Vols ran for 339 yards in those games and scored both the winning touchdown against Georgia and the go-ahead touchdown in Tuscaloosa by running right behind the two freshmen.
Mahoney said Tennessee hasn’t had to cut down any of its playbook to accommodate the two rookies.
“They’re very mature freshmen,” offensive coordinator DeBord said. “Their approach, all their preparation, everything – they’re very mature that way. Being in here in the spring was big for them. That really helped them a lot, because they knew the system a little bit more than, say, someone coming in right at training camp.”
The 6-foot-4, 318-pound Hall didn’t play his senior season of high school in Virginia due to an Achilles’ tendon injury, but he and Drew Richmond, a former five-star recruit who’s redshirting this season, appear to have bright futures as book-end tackles.
Jones played tackle in high school, but he’s settled in at guard, where the Vols love his combination of competitiveness, toughness and intelligence.
“We land the plane in Alabama, and we’re heading to the hotel and he’s hitting me up with questions about scenarios that he’s playing through in the game in his mind,” Mahoney said.
“You want everyone to think that way, but here he is as a true freshman bringing up different scenarios in the game and he’s playing the game (mentally). That’s what’s allowing him to have the opportunity that he does right now. He’s competitive, he’s smart and he’s going to continue to get stronger.”
There have been and will be freshman moments for both players as they continue to remain in the starting lineup.
Left tackle Kyler Kerbyson said after the 19-14 loss to the Crimson Tide that Hall took allowing the game-sealing play pretty hard. Ryan Anderson simply beat him around the edge, hit Dobbs and forced a fumble that Alabama recovered.
Dobbs said he saw Hall working out by himself Sunday.
“Plays like that, they’re going to take it hard, but I’ve seen still a positive attitude,” Dobbs said. “He came in yesterday wanting to learn. I’ve seen him around the complex today, and he’s trying to get better and get prepared to play on Saturday.”
That kind of response has impressed Mahoney.
“He’s never satisfied,” he said. “He’s disappointed in how the game ended. They’re hard on themselves a little bit, to an extent where you’ve got to keep things in check with them. Their demeanor and maturity’s been outstanding.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com