KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 38-30 final score almost undermines the roughness of Tennessee's loss to Georgia State last Saturday. On Wednesday, Jeremy Pruitt said his team has responded positively and are committed to executing better for this Saturday's game against BYU.
"We had a pretty good practice out there today, had a lot of energy," Pruitt said.
Pruitt thinks a football team improves the most from week one to week two. Part of that improvement will come from having linebacker Daniel Bituli on the field. The senior missed last week's game with an injured knee. He practiced on Wednesday.
"There might be a chance that he could give us some snaps," Pruitt said.
Senior wide receiver Jauan Jennings is doing what he can to ensure the Vols are better than they looked against Georgia State. On Tuesday, he took full responsibility for the Vols' lack of energy in their first game.
"This week and from here on out, that's what I'm going to focus on doing is making sure this team knows we have a lot of fight left in us and we're not going to give up," Jennings said.
Jennings, along with other leaders on the team, held a players-only meeting on Sunday. Pruitt said it was good to see that his leaders step up in that role.
Many fans showed frustration with Vols offensive line after Saturday's game. Georgia State forced three turnovers and sacked Jarrett Guarantano four times. Pruitt and the coaching staff are still looking for the best five players to plug in as the offensive line starters.
"We’re going to play as many guys as it takes for us to have success. If that’s five, if it’s 10, it’s eight. That’s what we’re going to do," Pruitt said.
Saturday's game against BYU kicks off at 7 p.m. and airs on ESPN.