Tennessee Vols Named by ESPN as SEC Program on the Rise

The hype behind the Tennessee Vols continues as ESPN has now named them the SEC program on the rise.

And the excitement will not stop, will it? The Tennessee Vols keep generating more and more hype and expectations from across the country over what they could potentially do this year.

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Now, ESPN has named the boys in orange the SEC program on the rise in an article published Monday by David Ching.

Ching correctly points out that a combination of coaching stability, playing in the much weaker SEC East, and great recruiting classes altogether have risen the excitement level surrounding the program.

He also mentioned the strong finish to last season, the amount of star power now on the team, and the experience level of the players with so many starters back.

Again, all of this is accurate.

But Ching made some bold statements, including the fact that Butch Jones has provided the program with its “first legitimate coaching stability since the days of Phil Fulmer.”

Before we get all excited about this, it might be time to slow our roll a little bit. Through his first two years, Jones has only one win more than Derek Dooley. It was Dooley’s third year that got him fired.

Let’s not act like the same thing cannot happen to Jones if there is a perfect storm of things going wrong.

Remember, 2002, 2005, and 2012 were all years in which Vols fans had high expectations compared to the previous years. And all three times they fell flat on their faces.

So forgive me if I am still a bit skeptical going into this year, even if all the signs point to a very successful season.

One thing Chingy was absolutely right about, though, is that we will know midway through the year how legitimate the Tennessee Volunteers are. By that point, they will have played Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas, and Georgia.

Ideally, 5-1 would mean a turnaround. Going 4-2 means there are still questions surrounding the program, and 3-3 means Jones could be in trouble.

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Next: Vols on Athlon Sports All-SEC Teams