There has been plenty of optimism in Big Orange Country because the Vols return 19 starters and Butch Jones has done a good job recruiting.
But this is still a team that went 7-6 last year and its only three SEC wins were against teams that went 5-19 in the conference. So you don't want to get too carried away.
“Expectations are high,” said Tennessee coach Butch Jones at SEC Media Days. “But anything worthwhile takes some time to build.”
Tennessee wasn’t very good on the offensive or defensive lines and that contributed to the losses.