South Alabama @ Tennessee Volunteers: What We Learned

Sep 28, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; South Alabama Jaguars safety Terrell Brigham (18) forces Tennessee Volunteers running back Rajion Neal (20) out of bounds during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Ultimately the Tennessee Volunteers had only one goal on Saturday — come away with a win.

The Vols achieved that much, but there was much more to take from Tennessee’s 31-24 victory over South Alabama.

Here’s what we learned Saturday.

Tennessee Doesn’t Have SEC Speed

If you spent any time watching SEC football on Saturday, then you noticed the speed with which most SEC teams play.

You also probably noticed Tennessee doesn’t play with that same speed.

The Volunteers just don’t have the same talent a lot of the other teams have. That’s something Butch Jones has to deal with and try to overcome. Jones has repeatedly brought up the fact that Tennessee has to continue to recruit speed.

Tennessee’s lack of speed is one of the not so fruitful remnants of Derek Dooley’s tenure with the Volunteers.

Jones has a jump on 2014 with an excellent recruiting class, but Vol fans will have to give Jones a pass for this season. Especially when you consider what he has to work with.

Cam Sutton Is A Future All-American 

Marquez North, Riley Ferguson and Josh Dobbs may have been the biggest sources of initial excitement from the 2013 signing class, but Cam Sutton is the biggest impact freshman so far this season.

During the five Tennessee games I’ve watched this season, it seems like every time a defensive back makes a big play or breaks up a pass, it’s number 23.

Orange Swarm, Sutton’s Twitter profile name, is the perfect way to describe the true freshman.

Sutton already has a pick-six this season and with the way he plays, there’s a good chance he ends up with at least one more.

Butch Jones and the Tennessee staff definitely have something special in Sutton and it’s been a joy watching him play football so far this season.

If Justin Worley Gets Hurt, The Vols Could Be In Big Trouble

Nathan Peterman, who proved ineffective as a starter last week, had been the number two quarterback the first three games of the season. In each of those three games Peterman received playing time. Now that Peterman is out for several weeks with a thumb injury, it leaves a true freshman as the backup to Justin Worley.

I definitely believe that either Josh Dobbs or Riley Ferguson, in the long run, will be a better option than Justin Worley, but not at this point.

As of right now neither one of them has ever played a snap in a college football game.

That’s a scary thought when you consider that one of them (most likely Ferguson) is currently the backup to Worley.

In Butch Jones’ defense, he hasn’t really had a chance to play either of the freshmen. There was no point in playing three different quarterbacks in any of the first four games. You don’t want the quarterback position to turn into a sideshow.

There definitely wasn’t a chance for Jones to play either during Saturday’s game against South Alabama. The game was much closer than anyone anticipated and the situation just didn’t allow for the backups to come into the game.

Jones does need to find a situation — very soon — where he can get one of his young quarterbacks some game action.

The Fans Need To Step Up Their Game

Saturday’s announced attendance of 87,266 was a bit gratuitous.

Even that generous number, however, is too low.

The Tennessee Volunteers, although they aren’t the class of the SEC currently, still have one of the most passionate fan bases in all of college football. I see it on a daily basis with the readers, Tweeters and Facebook users that I interact with.

That’s why I can’t understand why Tennessee is struggling to pack the stands.

Butch Jones is going to return this program to it’s rightful place among the country’s best. Why wouldn’t you want to be part of that from the beginning?

There’s no excuse for this:

Scenes like that are disheartening and there’s really no excuse for it.

Come on Vol Nation, give your all for Tennessee, the players need you.