Tennessee coach Butch Jones told reporters after Saturday’s spring game that the Vols were without 24 players, which obviously impacted the format and switched the focus away from Xs and Os to aahhs and woes!

Saturday’s game had the feel of a wedding rehearsal, party on the way, endless possibilities.

There was just enough football to be impressed with John Kelly, for instance, Preston Williams and several linebackers. But the day was a two-hour salute to how far and how quickly Jones’ Vols have come — and using some of the great Vols players and teams of the past — where they still want to go.

The Vols closed last season with an emphatic Outback Bowl victory in Tampa, and the sweat hadn’t dried before MVP Jalen Hurd talked about a return trip — for the national championship.

Tennessee hasn’t backed down from those expectations. If anything, the Vols have doubled down.

At various points this spring, Jones talked about the expectations, the building blocks, not only surviving success but building on it.

Saturday, each of the four captains introduced told the packed house at Neyland Stadium to get their hotel reservations ready.

“We’ll see you guys in Florida,” Joshua Dobbs said.

The Vols returned 17 starters, so spring takeaways aren’t as abundant as with a young team, but Jones obviously found areas of concern.

He started with Dobbs — one of the safer bets in the SEC.

Williams, the Vols’ most improved player this spring, emerged as the deep threat the Vols have lacked, but Jones wasn’t satisfied.

No football coach ever is.

He told reporters afterward that the passing game still needs work. There were too many drops, too many overthrows, too many missed opportunities.

He raved about Williams’ emergence, however, which stemmed from a deeper commitment to excellence.

Alvin Kamara’s maturation was another highlight. He, too, was voted a permanent team captain. He’s now not only a threat on the field, but an unquestioned motivator of men off it.

The best news for Jones and his Vols is that those who missed parts of spring — or the spring game — are expected to be back and ready. That includes captain Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who turned down a shot at the NFL to chase a championship.

He, too, told the crowd that Team 120 was ready to put the Vols back on top, back where they belong.

Jones finished the day with a reminder, an outlook, a mindset that has put them on a a championship path.