Randy Sartin, USA TODAY SPORTS
The Tennessee Volunteers have had their troubles in recent seasons. The program that produced Peyton Manning and won a national championship after Manning left has not been in contention for the SEC title in nearly a decade.
In fact, Tennessee last won the SEC Eastern Division title in 2007. That came under Phillip Fulmer. There have actually been three other coaches at Tennessee since Fulmer was fired (Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley and current head coach Butch Jones).
Jones has restored some of the Tennessee pride during his two seasons in Knoxville. When Jones took over the program, the Vols had experienced three straight losing seasons under Dooley and the talent level in the program was severely lacking. Jones has done an outstanding job of recruiting, bringing in the type of players who can compete in the always tough SEC.
His first season in Knoxville was a struggle, as the Vols went 5-7 in 2013. But last year was much better, as Tennessee returned to a bowl for the first time in four seasons and finished 7-6 overall.
Now, Tennessee appears to be ready to take the next step in its development. Jones has put together a team with solid talent on both sides of the ball. He has identified Josh Dobbs as his quarterback and Tennessee appears to be ready to compete for the SEC East title.
The East does not appear to have a dominant team heading into the 2015 season. A number of teams should be in contention for the title, and there’s no reason Tennessee shouldn’t be one of those teams. If they are, Jones should get the majority of the credit, and the Tennessee fan base will be thrilled to be back where they belong.
Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
