It has been a rough start to the season for Tennessee, which just lost to Florida by 26 points in its conference opener to fall to 2-2.

But instead of letting the losses weigh them down, the Volunteers are clearly motivated to get better.

During a Monday news conference, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said a large group of his players showed up to the team facility Sunday to watch film.

“I’m walking through the offices, and our offices are littered with our players watching tape. I had no idea they were up there. There’s a group of guys that had them in there, talking about players and being leaders. I guess they organized it. That’s the first time I’ve seen that, but I saw some ownership during the game the other day that excites me about moving forward.”

Baylen Buchanan said he and his fellow defensive backs decided after the game that they needed to get together to watch film as soon as possible. The other position groups followed suit, leaving junior defensive lineman Kyle Phillips impressed by the team’s leadership and determination in the face of adversity.

“We’ve definitely improved that,” Phillips told reporters. “At first, kind of a little tough going in the first [game] of the season, but I think that each game we’ve pretty much been building off of the leadership. I think we’ve been getting better each and every game.

“I think we’ve just got to keep improving, especially me as an older guy, to keep on pushing our teammates.”

The Volunteers’ uphill battle continues with a road game against No. 2 Georgia at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, but we should still be able to see if their leadership is starting to pay off.