The 2016 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. This was the program's 120th overall season, 83rd as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and 25th within the SEC Eastern Division. The Volunteers played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee and were led by fourth-year head coach Butch Jones. They finished the season 9–4, 4–4 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the Eastern Division. They were invited to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Nebraska 38–24.
Offseason
Departures Departures of scholarship players from the 2015 team.
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Ref Darrell Miller 15 DB 5'10 178 Sophomore Cedar Hill, TX Left the program Tommy Townsend 27 P 6'1 195 RS Freshman Orlando, FL Transfer Joe Stocstill 47 TE 6'2 234 RS Senior Lewisburg, TN Retired Ray Raulerson 64 OL 6'4 287 RS Freshman Tampa, FL Transfer Dontavius Blair 74 OL 6'7 294 RS Junior Anniston, AL Transfer Cody Blanc 83 WR 6'2 206 RS Senior Knoxville, TN Graduated Neiko Creamer 88 TE 6'3 233 RS Sophomore Wilmington, DE Transfer Marquez North 8 WR 6'3 229 Junior Charlotte, NC Left for 2016 NFL draft Ralph David Abernathy IV 5 RB 5'6 185 RS Senior Atlanta, GA Graduate transfer Von Pearson 9 WR 6'3 183 Senior Newport News, VA Graduated Ladarrell McNeil 33 DB 6'1 215 Senior Dallas, TX Graduated Brian Randolph 37 DB 6'0 209 RS Senior Marietta, GA Graduated Chris Weatherd 42 LB 6'4 225 Senior Carrollton, TX Graduated Alex Ellis 48 TE 6'5 240 RS Senior Delmar, DE Graduated Curt Maggitt 56 LB 6'3 246 RS Senior West Palm Beach, FL Graduated Mack Crowder 57 OL 6'2 295 RS Senior Bristol, TN Graduated Owen Williams 58 DL 6'2 288 RS Senior Macon, GA Graduated Marcus Jackson 75 OL 6'2 306 RS Senior Vero Beach, FL Graduated Kyler Kerbyson 77 OL 6'4 318 RS Senior Knoxville, TN Graduated Johnathon Johnson 81 WR 5'9 186 Senior Friendswood, TX Graduated Trevarris Saulsberry 96 DL 6'4 296 RS Senior Gainesville, FL Graduated
Winter months During the early part of the offseason, a number of players and coaches left the program. Freshman quarterback Sherion Jones announced he was transferring from Tennessee to Colorado on January 7. He returned to Tennessee on January 27. John Jancek, a member of Butch Jones's coaching staff since his time with Central Michigan and Cincinnati, was relieved of his duties as defensive coordinator on January 6. Jones said that he and Jancek "had a long discussion this morning and we both came to the conclusion that it was best to part ways. I want to thank Coach Jancek for his contributions to the University of Tennessee football program the past three years. His hard work and dedication to this program played a major role in our back-to-back bowl wins. These decisions are never easy especially for someone I have worked with at three different schools." Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop was hired for the same position at Tennessee on January 9. Larry Scott, who served as the interim head coach for the final six games of the Miami Hurricanes's 2015 season, was hired to be Tennessee's new tight ends coach on January 4.
Summer months
SEC Media Days During Tennessee's turn at SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama, Coach Jones and the three attending players made it clear that they were there with the mindset of "business as usual" and not to create news or hype despite being the favorites to win the SEC East. Cameron Sutton responded to questions about Tennessee's game against Florida with how the team's season will "open up with Appalachian State, who was an 11-win team last year. We don't consider ourselves worried about games long down the road. It's one week at a time, one game at a time. That's our mindset right now. We're focused on Appalachian State." Hobbs responded to the hype around Tennessee as being "outside. Noise, really. You can't really control hype. You can't really control what other people say. What you can control is how you approach each day, how you focus on the details, how are you getting better as a player and how is the team getting better every single day you step on the field? We're focused on that — what we can control because we can't really do anything (about) what we can't control." Jones responded to questions about Tennessee blowing late leads against Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas and Alabama by pointing out in "the last 18 games, we're 13–5. And the amazing thing, when you look at it of being 13–5 over the last 18 games, is those five losses have come by a combined total of 25 points. So what are we doing to take the next step as a football program? We talk about learning how to finish games, learning how to close games out. We talked about clutch plays, making critical plays at critical moments of the game."
On the final day of SEC Media Days, Tennessee received 225 of 331 first-place votes and were selected by the media as the favorite to win the SEC Eastern Division for the first time since 2005. However, the Vols were picked to lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game receiving 29 votes to the Crimson Tide's 223. "You want those expectations," Coach Jones said. "I think it's a compliment to everyone in our program of how far we've come. It's not where you start, it's where you finish. But I think it is a compliment in how we've grown and developed this football program."
Preseason camp The Volunteers opened up preseason camp on August 1, 31 days prior to their kickoff against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Among the biggest questions going into preseason camp for the Vols included the development of senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who would start at left tackle, maintaining overall health, how new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop would work with a stacked defensive corp and if Tennessee can live up to the expectations surrounding the team.
After the first week of camp, the biggest issue facing the team – according to Coach Jones – was the consistency in the passing game. This was compounded by a young wide receiver group that showed speed, but had many dropped balls. Another issue was that no starters for either left or right tackle had been announced. Coach Jones said he's been pleased with the competition and talent level of those fighting for the positions, but that the roles are anyone's for the taking. Jalen Hurd, who's short of the school rushing record, said he's targeting Travis Henry's career rushing record of 3,078 yards. He believes "it's reachable and, you know, you can see it, I definitely want to do it. That's a goal of mine. But obviously the biggest goal for me is just to help get my team a national championship."
Personnel
Roster & staff
2016 recruiting class
Returning starters Nine players return on offense, eight on defense and two out of four on special teams specific positions.
Offense Player Class Position Chance Hall Sophomore OL Jashon Robertson Junior OL Coleman Thomas Junior OL Dylan Wiesman Senior OL Joshua Dobbs Senior QB Jalen Hurd Junior RB Alvin Kamara RS Junior RB Josh Malone Junior WR Jauan Jennings Sophomore WRReference:
Defense Player Class Position Malik Foreman Senior CB/S Justin Martin Junior CB Cameron Sutton Senior CB Derek Barnett Junior DE Corey Vereen Senior DE Kendal Vickers RS Junior DT Jalen Reeves-Maybin Senior LB Darrin Kirkland Jr. Sophomore LBReference:
Special teams Player Class Position Aaron Medley Junior K Trevor Daniel RS Junior PReference:
Current depth chart
Schedule Tennessee announced their 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consists of seven home games, four away games and one neutral site game in the regular season. The Vols will host SEC foes Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri, and will travel to Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee opened the season at home for the third time in the last four seasons, when it played host to Appalachian State on September 3 in the first meeting between the two schools. The Volunteers later faced Virginia Tech in the "Battle at Bristol" at Bristol, Tennessee, on September 10 in front of the largest crowd in football history, over 156,000 fans at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Tennessee returns to Neyland Stadium for two home games, Ohio on September 17 and the Florida Gators on September 24. The Volunteers have faced the Gators to start the conference schedule 13 of the last 14 years. The first of two road games occurs at Georgia on October 1. Tennessee holds a 22–21–2 edge in the rivals' series, but is also seeking its first victory in Athens since 2006. On October 8, the Volunteers make their first-ever trip to College Station, Texas, to face Texas A&M. It will also be the first regular-season meeting between the schools. Tennessee is 2–0 all-time against the Aggies in post-season play. The Volunteers will also return to tradition this year with their annual November rivalry game against Kentucky on November 12, after last being played in October 2015.
Schedule source:
‡ – Current NCAA record for largest attendance to a collegiate football game.
Rankings
Game summaries
Appalachian State
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The ninth–ranked Tennessee Volunteers overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to escape with a 20–13 victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers. In overtime, Tennessee faced third-and-goal from the 2, when Joshua Dobbs ran then lost control of the ball as he was hit while extending his arms across the goal line. Jalen Hurd recovered the fumble in the end zone, and Aaron Medley kicked the extra point. In the Mountaineers' ensuing drive, Tennessee's Micah Abernathy ended the game by breaking up an end-zone pass on fourth–and–5 from the 20. Tennessee head coach Butch Jones commented after the game: "The first game of the year is always a game of the unknowns. We're still developing our identity for this football team, but we found a way to win, and at the end of the day, that's what it's about, but we have to get a lot better. Credit App State too. They're a really good football team."
Virginia Tech
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Before an NCAA-record attendance of 156,990 in the "Battle at Bristol" against the Virginia Tech Hokies, the seventeenth-ranked Volunteers overcame a 14-point first-quarter deficit to score 24 points in the second quarter to win 45–24. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs threw three touchdown passes and had two rushing scores. Volunteers defensive back Micah Abernathy also set a school single-game record with three fumble recoveries. The Hokies ultimately lost five fumbles, three of which resulted in Tennessee touchdowns. Abernathy's performance earned him SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Following the game, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones called the venue "a spectacle ... I don't think this will be duplicated or replicated." About the game, Jones stated "We didn't start out like we wanted to obviously, down 14–0, but I really liked the way we responded ... We were finally able to run the football and play Tennessee style of football." The Volunteers extend their eight-game winning streak, the longest since their 14 in a row in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, and the third longest active winning streak in the nation.
Ohio
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