We all heard the grumblings during the Tennessee Volunteers' 2-3 start. College football "experts" openly wondered about head coach Butch Jones' work in Knoxville, debating about whether or not he's the right guy for the job. After Saturday's 38-31 defeat of the #19 Georgia Bulldogs, all the critics have been shut up -- hopefully for good. Here's 3 Reasons Why Butch Jones Is The Right Coach For The Vols.
1. Competitive Fire
Jones' teams may not sport the marquee names which dominated ESPN headlines week in and week out. However, there's a heck of a lot of fight inside each and every one of the guys in Butch's locker room -- a credit to just how demanding Jones can be of his guys on the field, in practice, and as men off the field. Nobody wants to let Butch down. You could see it on the faces during the team's three losses to Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas -- games lost by a combined total of just 12 points. Jones is a born leader. His guys show the effects of that in every game and every practice.
2. Work On The Recruiting Trail
The Vols came in at a respectable #20 in 247Sports' overall recruiting rankings back in 2012 -- one year before Jones was hired to take over the team. Fast forward to this past year's recruiting class, and the Vols were 4th. That's a MEGA-jump from good work on the trail to fantastic, nationwide recruiting awesomeness. Jones knows how to connect with this generation of players, selling the program's tradition and forward-thinking mentality in equal doses to lure top recruits to Tennessee.
3. An Undeniable Connection
Want a surefire way to get kicked out of a Knoxville bar (and or punched in the head)? Get drunk and start railing on Jones. Win or lose, Vols fans are loyal to him. That's because the culture has changed dramatically at UT since he took over for Derek Dooley. While the wins haven't come yet like everyone has been hoping for, Jones has built a strong foundation at Tennessee which will last for years to come.