Former Vol WR Jayson Swain on Butch Jones: ‘It’s time for results’
By Cody McClure
Published:
Jayson Swain, a former Tennessee wide receiver (2003-2006) and current morning radio host on 1180 WVLZ in Knoxville, is ready for Tennessee to take the next step under Butch Jones.
Swain joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday, according to a report from GoVols247.
He said fans are “not happy” and “have every right not to be happy” after the Vols’ 26-20 loss to Florida last Saturday.
“Tennessee for the last four years, five years has been building. Tennessee fans, they want to see Tennessee take that next step,” Swain said. “Nine players suspended for Florida, opportunity right there on the table for Tennessee, and came up a little bit short. Next week is an opportunity to go out there and play well against a good Georgia team. The SEC East is still open, but fans right now are rightfully upset, and I understand why they are.”
Swain noted that he agrees with the notion that it’s time for Tennessee to stop making excuses for not winning. He recalled a time when he was a player for the Volunteers:
“You’re the Tennessee program. You’re top-10 [all-time] in wins. You don’t care if you’re playing three games in 13 days or two games in one day. You say, ‘Let’s put the ball down. We’ll play you in the parking lot, we’ll play you in the backyard, we’ll play you on your field, my field. It doesn’t matter.’ In 2005, my Tennessee team went down to LSU, we had to fly the day of the game because there was no hotel rooms because of Hurricane Katrina and because of Hurricane Rita. We go down, we fly down the day of the game, we’re down 20-something points, we come back and we win, and then we go to class the next day. Then we played Ole Miss and we played another team, and that was three games in 13 days, and I didn’t even know about it until someone brought it up last week.”
“You don’t make excuses. You know, in football games, guys get hurt, the weather changes, bad calls are against you, but you’re Tennessee, you don’t make excuses and you don’t look for an excuse,” Swain added. “That’s why people are upset. That’s why people are at this point, because it is Year Five … It is time to get it done. There’s no more excuses. It’s time for results.
Swain said he and Tennessee fans are aware of the fact it takes time to climb out of the dumpster, as well.
“We understand. We’re smart. We understand that it takes time to rebuild from the Dooley years. We understand that. We’ve been patient, and we should continue to be patient to a certain extent, but, again, it’s Year Five.
“One. Two. Three. Four. Five. It’s Year Five, Paul. Five.”
Year Five, PAWWWWWL!
Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.
