Tennessee football: Five encouraging signs for Vols despite 0-2 start

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: The Tennessee Volunteers warm up before the season opener against the Georgia State Panthers at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: The Tennessee Volunteers warm up before the season opener against the Georgia State Panthers at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images
Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images /

Yes, there is reason to panic after Tennessee football started the season 0-2. But there are some encouraging signs for the Volunteers.

It’s not all bad for Tennessee football. Yes, this 0-2 start is embarrassing. The fact that it comes to two Group of Five schools at home, including a Sun Belt team that was 2-10 last year, makes it even worse.

But the Vols have shown signs of encouragement in Jeremy Pruitt’s second year that, if you read between the lines on the field, hint at dramatic improvement on the horizon. As a result, fans should not give up on this team just yet.

After all, Tennessee football still has 10 games left to play, and while expectations have been reset, the season is not yet a loss. There are plenty of positives that have been on display with this team, and if they have the right mentality, then they are capable of turning it around.

In this post, we’re going to put our positive spin on a disastrous 0-2 start. Now, let’s be clear. The start is bad, and all the panic on Rocky Top is valid. But that doesn’t mean that the Vols aren’t capable of reversing the trend.

Remember that the ESPN FPI had UT winning nine games to start the year. It’s now been reset to three games, but things could change on the fly. We shouldn’t believe that the Vols can’t change as well going forward.

Sure, they have things to work on for that to happen. You don’t start 0-2 against two Group of Five teams without issues. But there are many reasons that they can change, and we have seen them through the first two weeks.

So what are these reasons? How many aspects of the Vols are worth celebrating through this start? Let’s take a look at that here. These are five encouraging signs for Tennessee football despite their 0-2 start to the season.