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Tennessee Football: Butch Jones, Joshua Dobbs bringing Vols back to national prominence

By Chris Schultz

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Back to the Rocky Top: Tennessee Football returns to prominence.

Six National Championships. 13 SEC Championships. The twelfth most wins in the history of college football. Not many schools post this type of resume’ on the gridiron, but Tennessee fans are all too eager to add to it. Prior to last year’s 7-6 record, the Volunteers haven’t had a winning season since 2009. However, we are now witnessing the rebirth of the UT Football program behind the efforts of Butch Jones.

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Since arriving on campus three years ago, Jones has reignited the fire in Knoxville with a winning season, bowl victory and a pair of top-10 recruiting classes. Beyond that, many believe Tennessee is on its way back to the top of the SEC East standings. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit predicted LSU would meet the Volunteers in the SEC Championship Game and the most surprising part of that statement was Herbie picking LSU.

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With all the hype surrounding the UT program in 2015, Jones’ biggest task will be to make sure his team is ready for what’s ahead.

Along with all the preseason praise comes the target on your chest. Tennessee will be tested early and often. In Week 2, one of this year’s best non-conference games, Oklahoma comes to town in what could be a season-defining game for both teams. Add that to a never easy SEC schedule which includes a trip to Alabama, and it’s easy to see why they got their work cut out for them. Thankfully, the Volunteers return 18 starters from last season, including quarterback Joshua Dobbs.

Dobbs took the starting job from Justin Worley last year having showcased not only his strong arm, but his ability to run. The Tax Slayer Bowl MVP was 4-1 last year with a combined 1.675 yards of offense. He will be handing the ball off to sophomore Jalen Hurd who collected 1,120 all-purpose yards in his first season.

Dobbs also has a lot of talent at wide receiver with which to work including Pig Howard, Marquez North, Von Pearson and Josh Malone. Alton “Pig” Howard has 111 catches in three seasons which is thirteenth all-time in program history, but is suspended for the season opener.

The defense should be stronger with the returning duo of defensive end Derek Barnett and senior Curt Maggitt. This means bad news for the opposing quarterback as they combined for 21 sacks last season. Senior Brian Randolph is also back who contributed immensely in the secondary with 88 tackles, third among defensive backs in the SEC. The Vols must work on stopping the run should they look to improve upon a defense that is on the rise and with true freshmen Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle, the Vols have the pieces to shore up that area.

The Georgia Bulldogs will be a tough challenge, but with South Carolina, Florida and potentially Missouri vulnerable, it’s time for Tennessee to take back the division that belonged to them for so long.

All programs experience a drop-off. Alabama and Notre Dame are proof of this and have since recovered their winning ways. You can only keep powerful programs down for so long before they get back to the top of the mountain. Sometimes the climb can be grueling, but it’s clear the passion is back for the Orange and White.

Vol Nation is extremely excited about the upcoming season. The time has come for the Tennessee Volunteers to reclaim their throne.

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