Vols' Worley Will Be Ready To Go Full-Bore Against Florida

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Heading into Saturday's huge rivalry game against Florida, senior quarterback Justin Worley says he can feel a difference in the air on campus.

"You can feel the tension in the air, everybody knows it's Florida week on Twitter," he said. "It's Florida hate week, everyone knows that, and you can tell that. We've just got to take it as the next game in our long journey."

Worley, who was briefly injured in Saturday's game against Georgia, says he will be completely healthy for the showdown with the Gators.

"[My elbow] is a little sore. It's a typical bruise," he said. "Little bit of discomfort when I throw, but nothing major. I should be 100 percent by Saturday."

As a precaution, he will be wearing a padded sleeve to prevent further injury to his throwing elbow, but he says it will not affect his ability to attack Florida's secondary.

"It doesn't affect it at all," he said after wearing the orange sleeve at Tuesday's practice. "It fits so tight that you don't really notice it's there. It's not necessarily just a fashion statement, it's there for protection."

The veteran quarterback, who has shown exceptional leadership throughout the season, says he would love to be the quarterback to break the losing streak against the Gators.

"It would be huge," he said. "I think we've been searching for that win, and we might have been pressing for that win. I think we just need to go out there and play our game, not worry about what's happened in the past between these two teams, and just go out there and execute."

Freshman tailback Jalen Hurd is anything but a typical freshman. While he performs like a veteran on the field, his coaches and teammates says he behaves like one off the field, as well.

"I think his maturity, his approach each and every day to the game, the ability to take the coaching to the game is, very, very tough, just his whole mental approach," said coach Butch Jones.

"He is very, very mature and has consistency in approach each and every day. He is never too high, he is never too low. You know what you are getting every day with Jalen Hurd. He is very prideful, he takes pride in his performance, wants to be the best he can possibly be, he is always working his craft. I can't say enough about him because, again, the biggest thing is probably he is very, very mature for his age.

"And it is standard and expectations. Here is a young man who missed his senior year of high school football and he has all these expectations placed on him and not very many individuals his age could really handle all those expectations, the scrutiny he is under each and every day. He has done a great of handling all the clutter and the distractions and really the focus."

Hurd gives all credit to his parents and coaches, who he says made him the person he is today.

"Great parenting," he said. "My parents always treated me like an adult. They let me make adult decisions and do stuff myself. I think that helped me grow and mold, and definitely the coaching and everything - everybody getting me acclimated to the team."

And as far as the high expectations that followed him here, he says he has never thought twice about them.

"I don't really focus on any expectations, I just focus on that game, and that game only," he said. "It's just football, and I love it, so going out there and playing is just natural to me."

Could the Vols have junior receiver Von Pearson back for Saturday's game? Jones said it’s a possibility after the wideout, who has missed the last two games, went through some drills on Tuesday.

"Von Pearson actually practiced a little bit today," said Jones. "He got in some conditioning, did some different things. We will know a little bit more about his availability for the game come Saturday. But it was great to have him out there."

Pearson suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Vols win over Arkansas State on Sept. 6.

Another Vol receiver who has been sidelined with a similar high-ankle sprain will miss his second game in a row. Sophomore Josh Smith 'will be out this game,' Jones said Tuesday.

Over the last three seasons, senior defensive lineman Jordan Williams has been to the Swamp twice and has taken on Florida in Neyland Stadium once. With the rivalry game in just four days, Williams is reminiscent of growing up in Gainesville and contemplates what it would mean to win in his final year of eligibility.

"The Florida game is a big game every year," Williams said. "Even the sign in our room says beat our rival. It is a rivalry game. It's a big game. Being from Gainesville, I feel like I really have to prove myself."

"I remember growing up and all I heard on the radio all week was about the Tennessee and Florida game, so it's definitely a big deal. It's my last time to go through it."

This will be the first year that Williams will be a major part of the defensive scheme. With a bigger role, he's excited to take on the Gators.

"It's exciting," Williams said. "I feel like the thing I have to keep doing is playing my game. I've been playing pretty good, just keep playing my game and doing what I'm doing."

Williams believes that the confidence that this year's team bears makes the week leading into the rivalry game different than prior seasons.

"You just have to trust in the process," Williams said. "Believe in the process and trust what we're doing, what the coaches have us doing, the plays we're running and the way our team has been performing. As long as we keep doing what we've been doing we'll be just fine."

"How well we've played as a team, our brotherhood and camaraderie, it's a great feeling going in. I think we're ready."

With two wide receivers still recovering from high-ankle sprains, Tennessee is taking full advantage of their talent and depth to make impact plays. In last week's game, redshirt sophomore Jason Croom had one of his best career performances, in a week the Vols needed him.

After a tough game against nationally ranked Oklahoma, Croom bounced back for a career-high four catches for 60 yards against No. 13 Georgia and his first touchdown of the season.

"Jason Croom stepped up and made some big time plays for us at critical stages of the game," Jones said.

Prior to the Georgia game, Croom had a cast on his hand removed, allowing him to play knowing he was capable of more.

"When you've had to play in a cast and you're a wide out, you have to overcome some things, but Jason's play is very encouraging," Jones said. "A lot of confidence was built there. He's made those plays in practice. He made those plays in training camp. We've really challenged him to play like a big wide out, own the ball in the air, play big. He was able to do that Saturday. We're going to need much more of that down the stretch."

Croom's big game was confidence booster and something that his teammates see as a major positive leading into the rest of SEC play.

"It was huge," Worley said about Croom's big game. "You always talk about being confident while you're playing. For him to go out there and have the game that he had is huge. To have that touchdown to end the first half and have some big catches to convert some third downs was huge for him."

Having never heard a complaint while his hand had a cast, fellow wide receiver Josh Malone sees his teammate's importance of playing big.

"It was important," Malone said on the comeback performance. "I knew Croom was going to bounce back after Oklahoma. Croom has a big role for us. I expect for him to come out and play big every week."

Croom's devotion to playing the role of a big wide out for his team will allow him to improve down the stretch. He's now committed to "violently using my hands when blocking, leaning into a defender going up."

The resiliency preached on the field makes Croom want to be better not just for himself, but for his team.

"We preach resiliency out here all the time. It was a snap and clear thing. I had a bad game previously. I emphasized that I wasn't going to do it like that again. That was the worst I ever played in my life and it just so happened I played my best the next week."

(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)