Sep 21, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Alton Howard (2) is congratulated by quarterback Justin Worley (14) after he caught the ball for a touchdown during the second half against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Vols, a team full of youth and inexperience, have desperately needed leaders to step up, especially among the skill position players.
Two players in particular — Pig Howard and Justin Worley — have really stepped up lately as leaders.
Howard, a sophomore wide receiver, was a massive part of Tennessee’s comeback against Georgia. The Florida native led the Vols in receiving and made several big plays out of the back-field as well.
Pig, or Alton as Butch Jones ALWAYS refers to him, has a huge opportunity in this offense as the slot receiver.
Jones famously reminded Howard of that fact during ESPN’s All-Access that aired earlier this month.
Howard responded on Saturday with his best game of the season and his teammates took notice.
"Jason Croom: I feel like he is stepping up as a leader. We have been together outside of the field, talking about the game and he is just making sure we are all doing the right thing, now it is translating on the field."
Quarterback Justin Worley, on the other hand, has been an on-field general, always calm and poised. On Saturday he too had his best game of the season, against the #6 team in the nation.
As Justin Worley goes, so will the Vols. If Worley has confidence, the team will have confidence. It doesn’t matter who’s under center, that’s who the team is looking to before every play for direction.
Butch Jones has said many many times before that the quarterback has to be the alpha male. There’s been some doubts whether or not that was Justin Worley. I think Worley proved on Saturday that he can be that guy. Obviously he has a long ways to go still. He’s not Aaron Murray or AJ McCarron out there and he’s not going to be.
But for now he’s the Vols’ starting quarterback and he played well enough to give his team more than a chance to win against Georgia.
That confidence that Worley exuded on Saturday was a big part of that.
"Worley: We didn’t start stressing or freaking out. We knew we’d go down the field and score"
The Vols will need more guys to step-up as leaders, but seeing Howard and Worley step into those roles is a big step forward for the team. You can’t win without on-the-field leadership and I believe that’s something the Vols lacked during the first five games of the season.
This team is developing into a fun team to watch and it should be a fun ride the of the season.