KNOXVILLE — Football season is here for Tennessee.
Butch Jones kicked off the season with a press conference late Monday morning, some six hours before the Volunteers take the field to begin their preseason preparations.
“We’re looking forward to starting our journey today,” Jones said ahead of his fourth season as Tennessee’s coach. “As we all know, it’s a long journey. It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon.
“And every day is critical. We put a lot of work into this, a lot of work that really started since we walked off the field in Tampa, I believe, 213 days ago.”
Will the journey end in greatness?
Tennessee is the favorite to win the SEC East in 2016, and the Vols have the veteran team and talented roster required to reach that level.
The Vols will have to make tangible progress from last season, particularly when it comes to closing games and delivering in tight contests, to wind up there, and Jones was proud of his team’s “workmanlike” approach to their offseason work.
Despite hearing for eight months about expectations, the Vols have their own set of objectives.
“When your internal expectations are very high, it doesn’t matter what the external expectations are,” Jones said. “Our expectations are very high. To me, it comes with meeting your full potential in your program. Every player, the program — we always have high expectations. We expect to compete for championships.
“That’s why you compete, but you have to follow the process and it’s a journey. The more time you spend talking about winning championships and expectations, you’re wasting time. That’s taking you away from the task at hand, and that’s being a better football player and a better football team.
“We’re worried about ourselves and just being better each and every day. Where it leads us to is where it leads us. We want expectations high. That’s why you come to the University of Tennessee, that’s why you coach here and to me that’s a compliment of our program. Now it’s what you do with it.”
Tennessee tidbits
*Safety Todd Kelly Jr. will switch jersey numbers and wear No. 24 this season to honor Knoxville native and 15-year-old Fulton High School student Zaevion Dobson, who courageously lost his life last year while shielding three girls from gunfire during a gang-related shooting in Knoxville.
Jones and the team gave Dobson’s family a signed jersey last December, and Zaevion was awarded with an ESPY last month for his courageous act.
Kelly wore No. 6 the past two seasons.
*Jones said every player will be on the field for tonight’s practice, though some will be more limited than others.
Defensive tackle Shy Tuttle (leg) will be “very, very limited,” Jones said.
The coach said the Vols would “build our way up” with wide receiver Jauan Jennings (knee), who’s expected to be fullly healthy “very shortly,” according to Jones.
*Defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie, Jones said, is down to a “slim 315 pounds.”
*Jones declined to identify which newcomers will make immediate impacts, but he bragged on the group for its approach this summer, when the freshman class earned a 3.09 grade-point average.
“I really like this freshman class and all of our newcomers,” he said. “I think they’re different in terms of their mentality, and I think it’s a byproduct of our older players. I’m excited about them.”
*Jones had no update on the status of suspended defensive tackle Alexis Johnson.
More coverage practice ahead online and in Tuesday’s Times Free Press.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.