University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones answers questions from media at the University of Tennessee Football Media Day Thursday, July 31, 2014, in Knoxville, Tenn.KNOXVILLE – Without hesitation, Butch Jones conveyed his confidence.
His Tennessee football team had just completed a week that began with the suspension of two defensive players amid an investigation into an alleged rape and sexual assault and ended with Saturday night’s 29-21 loss to No. 19 Missouri, and for his second season as coach to end in a trip to a bowl game, the Volunteers must win at Vanderbilt next Saturday.
A young team that’s shown plenty of fight all season will have to do it again one more time with everything on the line.
“They’ll pick themselves up,” Jones said Saturday night. “I think you saw it today. This is a resilient group of kids. We started seven true freshmen in an SEC game versus a team that may very well represent the Eastern Division (in the SEC championship game). This is a resilient group. They take pride in their performance. They bring it every day.
“Hopefully our fans are proud of what they see in terms of their work ethic. There’s a never-give-up (attitude). We could have folded again there, and we’re fighting, scratching and clawing for those onside kicks twice. I love our kids, and they’re resilient.”