The Tennessee Volunteers (4-5, 1-4 SEC) host the Kentucky Wildcats (5-5, 2-5) on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. Like Tennessee, Kentucky is in its second year under head coach Mark Stoops and looks to make its first bowl game since the 2010 season.
Head coach Butch Jones commented on the Vols’ upcoming matchup during his weekly press conference Monday, praising the Wildcats’ progress.
“I am concerned with us and the progress that we are making,” Jones said. “Again, it is the fine details, it is the consistency that we talk about each and every day. But they have done a good job. Mark [Stoops] has done an exceptional job there. Being at Cincinnati, knew all about the Kentucky program. A lot of the players on their team, we recruited when we were at Cincinnati.
“I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and what he is building there. But all our efforts are on how can we continue to make Tennessee a better football program, minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day and that is what we focus on.”
Stoops was hired by Kentucky on Nov. 27, 2012 after the Wildcats went 2-10 overall and winless in SEC games. Jones accepted the job at Tennessee 10 days later.
The Wildcats have improved in Stoops’ second year winning more games than the previous two seasons combined. Jones praised Kentucky’s uptempo offense, including quarterback Patrick Towles, whom Jones recruited while coaching at Cincinnati.
“Everything starts with the quarterback, Patrick Towles,” said Jones. “Know all about him. Even though he is from Kentucky, he is from Highlands but that is right across the river in Cincinnati. So we were involved in the recruitment of him. He is a winner. He has won numerous state championships. So it is going to be a great challenge for us.
“The major difference we believe in their offense is their speed. They have really improved their overall speed, especially on the perimeter. They have some bigger-bodied guys up front. They are scoring a lot of points. They are going to playing with a lot of up tempo, fast-paced, so we have to be ready. Again, that is why the communicative aspect is imperative in moving forward.”
Jones also credited the Wildcats defense, saying his team will have to “play through four downs” against the veteran unit.
“Defensively, older, veteran group upfront. Have done a very good job, Jones said. “They are down by seven to the No. 1 team in the country entering the fourth quarter. Again, they have improved their speed in the back end. They are +8 in turnover margin. Getting back to offensively, I think they are one or two in country in fourth downs. They have gone for it 20 times. So again, not just playing third down, we have to have the mindset to play through four downs of football.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
