Tennessee coach Butch Jones: Sometimes I think of us as an expansion team
By Jack Crosby
Anyone that closely watches the SEC can see that Butch Jones is building something special in Tennessee. You might not get the Alabama or Georgia fans to admit it, but it’s the truth. Jones, since coming down from Cincinnati, has begun to create something special, and that’s because he has a precise plan for rebuilding this Tennessee program.
More from College Football
- Jim Harbaugh facing 4-game suspension over NCAA violations
- College football neutral site games in 2023: Full list
- College GameDay announces surprise Week 1 destination
- College football analyst warns Oklahoma that Texas is doing better prep for SEC
- College Football Playoff national championship game locations for 2024, 2025 and beyond
And he doesn’t like to keep it a secret, he loves to tell you just how he’s doing it, mainly because he’s so proud of where the Vols are going.
Firstly, and not surprisingly with Jones, he credited the people around the program for its recent successes on the recruiting trail and on the practice field.
“We have great momentum,” Jones explained. “We have the greatest resource of all – people. You couple people with the vision of what’s going on at Tennessee, the new dormitory, the new football complex, but I also think it’s what Tennessee can be and what it will be.
“Everything in life is about timing, and this is the right place at the right time.”
Next, he delved right into the rebuilding of the program, and explained how, at this moment, the Vols are sort of like an expansion team, which was an interesting way to put it.
“We’re going through the realities of building a football program,” Jones said. “Sometimes, I think of us as an expansion team. But our players have done a great job. They’ve really embraced everything. Our older players are really mentoring the younger players. The whole key for us is how we manage the natural adversities that a football season brings about.”
No doubt whatsoever that Jones has Tennessee headed back in the right direction. The only question now is, how far can they go?