Lots of stories surrounded Tennessee football through 2019. Here are the five biggest that tell the narrative of the Volunteers en route to their 8-5 year.
Jeremy Pruitt’s second season as head coach of the Tennessee football program was a roller coaster ride like no other. However, the Vols finished the year with an 8-5 record and a Gator Bowl victory, their first bowl win and victory since 2016.
In the process, Pruitt had the best second year for a head coach on Rocky Top since Phillip Fulmer did in 1994 when he went 8-4. That was Peyton Manning’s first season. Simply put, things appear to be heading in the right direction with the Vols.
Now, there are some concerns, most notably how close lots of Tennessee football’s games were. The Vols easily could have finished the season 6-7, as they had to squeak by the Kentucky Wildcats, Missouri Tigers and Indiana Hoosiers. At the same time, though, they could have just as easily finished the season 10-3.
Anyway, the point is that they finished strong, and they laid the foundation for a great future. But what was dominating the headlines throughout their season? From the beginning to the end, many stories never went away, and they only got more interesting with time.
We are going to take a look at some of those stories in this post. These are narratives that never went away all year. Some of them were part of the story before the season started, and other simply evolved over time.
These stories could revolve around one specific player, the overall trajectory of the team or the play of multiple guys who are part of a specific group. Simply put, they were part of UT’s run for what became a very strong finish to the season.
All of them were relevant to this season, good or bad. So let’s break down what we’re talking about here. This is a look a the five biggest storylines that surrounded Tennessee football throughout the Vols’ 2019 season.