Vols don't follow signs in this morning's practice

KNOXVILLE - When the University of Tennessee football team exits its locker room inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center, there's a large mural surrounding the door that leads out to Haslam FIeld, where the Vols practice.

The mural features second-year coach Derek Dooley's favorite motto: "Relentless pursuit of continuous improvement."

The Volunteers, however, didn't take that sign with them on the field for this morning's practice.

"That's our sign, that's what we stand for and I told the players, there's not a parentheses under it that says, 'When I feel like it,' unless somebody wrote it this morning," Dooley said. "But that was about the mentality today: 'I don't feel like it, so I'm not going to do it.' It was not the start that we needed mentally.

"We are a very immature team when it comes to working, and we have to learn that nobody really cares how you feel. When you're in the fourth quarter and you're tired and you're hurting, the 102,000 [fans] that paid money to come see you doesn't really care how you feel, nor does the guy lining up next to you. The only way to be able to perform in those circumstances is when you don't feel good, you've got to overcome it mentally. We're still working on that."

The Vols return to the practice later this evening for their final practice before fall-semester classes begin Wednesday. After taking Wednesday off, the Vols return to practice on Thursday in their new morning-practice format, when the player will start practice at 9 a.m. and attend classes in the afternoon.

"I think it's going to help the players manage their weeks better," Dooley said. "They're going to get in bed earlier. They're going to eat better. And they won't be oversleeping for class because they have practice, so I just feel like it will be a better routine for everybody. Time will tell."

Odds and ends

The Vols continue to manage linebacker Greg King (knee) and defensive end Ben Martin (consecutive Achilles tendon injuries), as both players were rested Tuesday morning. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson (knee), tailback/receiver Rajion Neal (knee) and Dontavis Sapp (finger) also remained out of practice.

More coverage online and in Wednesday's Times Free Press. Follow Vols beat writer Patrick Brown on Twitter for continual updates.

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