Florida Gators 2015 opponent preview: Tennessee Volunteers

The scene in 2014 was classic. The University of Tennessee organized a “checkerboard” scheme for their fans and Neyland Stadium was electric as the Florida Gators came to town. Tennessee was in the driver’s seat leading 9-0 before freshman Treon Harris led the Gators on two scoring drives to send the Vols home unhappy.

That Tennessee team was young but they were hungry to end a string of nine consecutive losses to Florida. They didn’t end the decade of futility but the Volunteer faithful truly believe that 2015 is their year to end the streak and take down Florida.

Butch Jones has been building his roster “brick by brick” and, while Tennessee is still young in some areas, they return an experienced roster with 10 starters coming back on offense and eight more on defense.

Is this the year Tennessee ends the streak or can the Florida Gators make it 11 in a row against their SEC East rival? One thing is for sure, this game is a crossroads for both team, with the winner gaining much needed momentum for a tough October stretch and the loser left to pick up the pieces and try to salvage the rest of their season.

 

Opponent: Tennessee Volunteers

 

When and Where:

The Florida Gators will host the Tennessee Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, September 26.

 

All-Time Matchup:

Florida leads the series 25-19

 

Last Matchup:

The Gators beat Tennessee 10-9 in Knoxville.

 

Key Returners:

QB | Josh Dobbs | JR

(112-177, 1,206 yards, 12 TD, 8 INT / 104 carries, 469 yards, 8 TD)

The aerospace engineer major takes over the Vols’ starting quarterback job for his junior season. Dobbs was set to redshirt last season but came in against Alabama and started the final four games of the season.

Dobbs is a dual-threat quarterback who has shown elusiveness to his running style. Dobbs also has a very good pocket presence and a good arm. Tennessee fans are all in on the quarterback from Alpharetta, Georgia but he won’t be doing it alone on offense.

 

RB | Jalen Hurd | SO

(190 carries, 899 yards, 5 TD)

The Tennessee native was the jewel of Butch Jones’ 2014 recruiting class and Hurd showed out as a freshman leading the team in carries and yards. Hurd has shown that he can be a workhorse — he carried the ball more than 20+ times in a game last season — and also that he can be explosive. Hurd ended his freshman season with a 16 carry, 122 yard and two touchdown performance against Iowa. At 6-3 and 220 pounds, Hurd’s size makes him tough to bring down and his speed is very good for a player that big.

 

LB | Jaylen Reeves-Maybin | JR

(101 tackles, 11 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT)

Reeves Maybin tied for the lead with 101 tackles including 63 solo tackles. He also had 11 tackles for a loss, two sacks and an interception. With the departure of A.J. Johnson and Curt Maggit spending a lot of his time at defensive end with his hand in the ground, Reeves-Maybin is poised to have a breakout season for Tennessee in 2015.

Other key returners: WR Pig Howard, WR Josh Malone, WR Marquez North, DE Derek Barnett, LB Curt Maggitt, LB Jaylen Reeves-Maybin, Cameron Sutton

 

Key Losses:

RB Marlin Lane, QB Justin Worley, DB Justin Coleman, LB A.J. Johnson, DL Jordan Williams

 

Matchup preview:

Tennessee came in to the game against Florida following losses to the Oklahoma Sooners and Georgia Bulldogs and needed a win badly. The close loss to the Gators took the wind out of their sails and left a sour taste in heir mouth. Returning 18 starters from a season ago, Tennessee is one of the most experienced teams in the SEC and many believe that this is their season to finally contend in the East and potentially get back to Atlanta.

Their matchup with Florida will determine a lot of that early on in the season. This will be a closely contested game between rivals and the winner will get a huge momentum bump the rest of the way. I didn’t buy into the hype when Florida traveled to Knoxville a few years ago and ESPN’s College GameDay Followed, but I’m drinking it now. This is the best Tennessee team that Florida will face since the decade winning streak has started.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC