KNOXVILLE - Call it forward-thinking football.
During the preseason, Tennessee coaches put their offensive linemen through a lot of cross-training, working players at different positions during practice. They did so not only to find the best group up front but to have players prepared in the event one might be needed at a position other than his best fit.
As it turns out, that may come in handy as the Volunteers prepare for their bowl game.
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt noted Friday afternoon that fifth-year senior center Brandon Kennedy had knee surgery after the 28-10 victory over Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale last month - Pruitt referred to it as "a little procedure" - and it's not yet known if Kennedy will be available when the Vols (7-5) take on Indiana (8-4) in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Jan. 2 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Kennedy, who missed most of last season because of a knee injury, is the only Tennessee offensive lineman who has started every game this year.
There was a lot of mixing and matching this preseason, and offensive line coach Will Friend attributed it to there just not being one standout player. In retrospect, it has provided the Vols with multiple options at multiple positions - and yet they are roles the players feel comfortable filling.
"I love playing guard, but I know I'm capable of playing tackle if I need to," said Trey Smith, a 6-foot-6, 325-pound junior. "Just a little proper practice of stuff I needed, just getting ready to actually play the position and understand it. Also, to play tackle I need to lose a lot of weight. That's one thing I'm going to do next time."
It's been a work in progress this season for the Vols and their offensive line, the team's most highly criticized position group a year ago. During the past month, though, the unit has held up to help Tennessee put together a five-game winning streak.
"Nobody's really just jumped out and said, 'I'm the guy. Hey, you can't get me off the field, really,'" Friend said in August. "They've all had days. But also we would like to play as many people as possible, and that's kind of always been my philosophy and Coach Pruitt's, too. The more people you play, the more you can wear down a team and the better it is for building your program, that guys get experience. That's easy.
"The hard part is finding enough guys that can go in and allow you to be competitive. I feel like we have, we've improved that, whereas a year ago we were just trying to find five that could go out there. I think we've improved that part, and we will play a lot of people."
Should Kennedy not be available, the Vols have sophomore Jerome Carvin, junior Riley Locklear and redshirt freshman Ollie Lane as options. Tennessee would prefer to have its rock in the middle of the line available, but because of the cross-training, the Vols know they have other options.
"I think at the beginning of the season we had a lot of continuity," Kennedy said prior to the Vanderbilt game. "A lot of guys played, and I think later on in the season that's come back and been good for us."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.