KNOXVILLE – Austin Johnson thought he owed his Tennessee football teammates a game-changing play, and he gave the Volunteers one early in the fourth quarter against Florida.
Johnson, who whiffed on a tackle that allowed the Gators a first down on a fake punt in the third quarter, stripped Florida’s Jeff Demps to keep UT in the game with 13:16 left.
The Vols trailed 24-10 when Johnson cleanly ripped the ball from Demps’ hands before the Florida speedster hit the ground near midfield.
Momentum swung back to UT, and the Vols quickly cut the deficit to 24-17.
“I had to do it,” Johnson said. “I had to get one back for my guys.”
Officials initially ruled Demps down on the play, but Johnson sprinted to the sideline and screamed at UT’s coaches to challenge the call.
“I did not need to see a replay. I knew I got it out,” Johnson said. “I just kept telling the coaches to challenge it, and luckily enough, they challenged it.”
First-year UT coach Derek Dooley said he didn’t need to see the replay.
“I felt like we had the ball, and I was going to challenge it no matter what,” Dooley said. “And then when I saw the replay, it was no doubt. The ball came out.”
Johnson’s forced (and recovered) fumble didn’t completely take the sting out of the fake punt, though. The former fullback had a clear shot to stop Omarius Hines for a turnover near midfield, but the Gators’ receiver slipped past him for a 36-yard gain to the Vols 25.
“It didn’t hurt us too bad, but every play matters … and it was killing me,” Johnson said. “I missed the tackle. I just missed it. I knew it was going to be close, but I knew he wasn’t quite at the first-down mark.
“Missing that tackle hurt us and hurt me, and it won’t happen again.”
‘Tough plowing’
UT’s coaches left preseason camp feeling fairly comfortable with the Vols’ first five offensive linemen.
One of those five, center Cody Pope, didn’t dress Saturday after suffering a stinger and a concussion in last week’s loss to Oregon.
Another one of those five, redshirt freshman guard JerQuari Schofield, left Saturday’s game early with an injured foot.
Junior college transfer Darin Gooch, a sophomore, stared at center, and true freshman James Stone filled in for Schofield.
Those were unquestionably factors contributing to UT’s 29 yards on 23 rushing attempts against the Gators.
“We had some young guys in the middle,” Dooley said. “We had freshmen and a new guy at center in there, and [Florida is] good up front. They’re big and physical, and they were packing the box.
“It was tough plowing out there. Sometimes it gets like that.”
Reliable Reveiz
Nick Reveiz, a 5-foot-10 walk-on turned starting middle linebacker, led the Vols with 14 tackles and recovered a fumble.
“He put his heart out there every snap,” Dooley said. “That’s Nick. He’s going to do it every week. He’s a great leader. He’s a great example.”
Sophomore safety Janzen Jackson responded from a poor performance against Oregon to collect nine tackles for the Vols, and preseason All-SEC senior defensive end Chris Walker added eight stops. Sophomore weakside linebacker Herman Lathers had seven tackles, and sophomore safety Prentiss Waggner had six.
This and that
Florida center Mike Pouncey, a converted guard, continued his shotgun snapping problems midway through the first quarter. On a third-and-13, he delivered a worm-burner that Gators quarterback John Brantley recovered for a 15-yard loss near midfield. Florida bounced back nicely with a punt downed at UT’s 1-yard line, though.
The Gators still haven’t scored in the first quarter this season. UT, like Miami (Ohio) and South Florida, held Florida scoreless through 15-plus minutes.
Senior wide receiver Denarius Moore, walk-on senior safety Tyler Wolf and defensive tackle Vic Thomas served as the Vols’ game captains. Thomas also started for the first time this season. Tailback Jamal Lewis and linebacker Kelly Ziegler were honored Saturday as UT’s legends of the game.
Photographers at Saturday’s game shot with purple ribbons around their lenses in honor of longtime, Knoxville-based photographer Wade Payne, who is still in a Knoxville hospital after suffering a heart attack last week.
Contact Wes Rucker at wrucker@timesfreepress.com or 865-851-9739. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/wesrucker or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tfpvolsbeat.