Tennessee fourth-year football coach Butch Jones doesn't need to think too far back to when his Volunteers were so irrelevant that it was evident in the empty seats at SEC media days in Hoover, Alabama.
That was only 2013, when the downtrodden Vols and their unknown coach were afterthoughts. Now, after some heavy lifting on the recruiting trail and gradual-but-continual improvement on the field, UT is the favorite to win the SEC East.
The new commanded attention was evident in the packed house of media members who listened to Jones speak on Tuesday.
Expectations in Knoxville are high, but they don't make Tennessee shy.