KNOXVILLE – On his way to the media scrum awaiting him after his team’s first full-pads practice of the preseason on Saturday afternoon, Tennessee coach Butch Jones stopped to have a conversation with wide receiver Josh Malone.
The biggest season of the former five-star recruit’s career with the Volunteers begins in less than a month.
Produce another year like his first two and Malone will go from mercurial to enigmatic.
He’s determined to change the trajectory of what remains a promising career.
“That’s what we were just talking about here,” Jones said. “It’s just consistency overall in everything. He wants to do it, and he’ll do it. I’ve been proud of him, and when a person is driven like he is and wants to do it, usually the results come as well. He’s very grounded.