VOL REPORT: TENNESSEE BEGINS PREP FOR FLORIDA; SPECIAL TEAMS CONTINUE TO SHINE

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 23-ranked Tennessee football team began preparation for No. 24/25 Florida on Monday as head coach Butch Jones and several student-athletes met with members of the media before an afternoon practice.

Tennessee (2-0, 0-0 SEC) and Florida (0-1, 0-0 SEC) will meet for the 47th time on Saturday, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The game will air on CBS and Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Allie LaForce will be calling the action.

Jones thanked the University of Tennessee administration and support staff for assisting players' families who were affected by Hurricane Irma, and said he is preparing Team 121 to play in Gainesville.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Irma," Jones said. "We've been very pleased that we were able to take care of our families that needed the appropriate help. We have a number of families still in town right now and that's been great. I'm very appreciative to our administration and to our entire football family.

"We fully anticipate playing the game in Gainesville, but (Athletics Director) John Currie is on top of things. He's handling all the communication, so we're just getting ready to prepare a football team."

Jones was pleased with Tennessee's effort on third down on defense in the 42-7 victory over Indiana State on Saturday that moved the Vols to 2-0. UT did not allow ISU to convert on 11 third down tries, but Jones said the team will need to play with more physicality moving forward.

"In terms of the game [against Indiana State], there are things we were pleased with as a coaching staff, " Jones said. "Defensively--third down conversions--we were able to get off the field. For us defensively, we were 11-of-11 on being able to get off the field. I thought we improved our tackling from Week One to Week Two. We were able to have individuals gain valuable repetitions, whether it was on offense, defense or special teams. We have more to improve upon and we have a lot of work to do with this football team. It starts with our overall physicality. I didn't think we played to the level of physicality that's up to our standards and our expectations. We did not take the ball away defensively and that's a by-product of playing physical football. Same thing on special teams and then offensively, we turned the football over twice: one that led to a score and one that was in the red-zone or scoring zone. We played a lot of newcomers on special teams this game. It was great to be able to evaluate and put their football identity on video. It's also them understanding that the expectations never change by the way we play special teams here at Tennessee."

Special Teams Ranks Among Best in Nation

True freshman Ty Chandler returned the opening kick for 91 yards and a touchdown against Indiana State, marking the Vols' 11th special teams score since 2013.
"It was great to get a kickoff return for a touchdown," Jones said. "That's something we pride ourselves on here. That's our 11th kickoff return and or punt return for a touchdown since we've been here. That's pretty remarkable."

Chandler collected SEC Freshman of the Week honors following the game.

With 11 touchdowns on kick returns and punt returns, Tennessee is now tied for fifth-most amongst FBS schools since 2013. In kick returns alone during that time span, UT's five scores rank seventh.

Since 2015, the Vols have scored nine kick or punt return touchdowns, ranking second only to Alabama (10). The program's five kick return TDs tie for second behind San Diego State (7).

"I think that's a direct correlation to all the hard work that we've put into it and that ownership and responsibility that comes with playing winning football on special teams," Jones said.

Quarterback Pressure Focus Point for Defense

The Vols held the Sycamores to just 93 passing yards last Saturday while stymying their third-down offense. A key to that defensive production was the UT's 11 tackles for loss that totaled 37 yards.

"Well, it's always a focal point because the structure of a defense is built upon impacting the quarterback," Jones said. "I believe Indiana State threw three drop-back passes. When they did throw the three drop-back passes, we were able to impact the quarterback."

Tennessee will look to continue its production on defense as it prepares for Florida's explosive offense.

"We can do that by being gap sound, playing physical, getting off blocks and playing the ball in the air," Jones added.

Tennessee vs. University of Massachusetts Game Time Announced

It was announced on Monday that Tennessee's Sept. 23 game against the UMass Minutemen will be a 12 p.m. ET kickoff. The matchup will be aired on SEC Network.

Fans can still purchase tickets for the contest between the Vols and UMass. Tickets may be purchased online via AllVols.com or by phone by calling the Tennessee Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-332-VOLS.

The student-ticket request period begins Wednesday, Sept. 13 and runs through Thursday, Sept. 14.

University of Tennessee Athletics