University of Tennessee Athletics
Gerald Jones: Vols Entering a 'New Era'
October 25, 2009 | Football
Oct. 24, 2009
BY DREW EDWARDS
UTSports.com
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Gerald Jones is jealous, and only a tiny bit of his envy is directed at the Crimson Tide.
Saturday's 12-10 loss to top-ranked Alabama on Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium wasn't a moral victory. It wasn't even a cornerstone.
It's just another brick in the building process to return Tennessee to the nation's elite, and Jones wants to be a part of it for a little bit longer.
"I'm really jealous of the freshmen," said Jones, a junior. "They get to have this staff for the next three years, and this staff is unbelievable. Man, they are unbelievable. I enjoy every minute of playing for them."
The Vols (3-4, 1-3 SEC) used every minute of Saturday's game to push the Crimson Tide (8-0, 5-0) to the brink of their first regular season loss since 2007.
UT's offense posted 341 yards, the most surrendered all year by Alabama's vaunted defense. Tennessee's defense didn't yield a touchdown. It also kept the SEC's leading rusher, Mark Ingram, in check with 99 yards after the sophomore had run for a combined 398 yards in his last three conference games.
The result was once again a close game after the Vols lost to the Tide 29-9 last year in Knoxville and 41-17 two years ago in Tuscaloosa.
"I hate to say that you can be happy about it because I hate losing," Jones said. "But we did see some good things out of this team. We're going to continue to get better.
"That's the best thing about it. These coaches are going to be here for a while. Hopefully everything turns out even better next year. You can see week-by-week this team is hungry to get better. They're going to push us to be the best."
And where a loss like Saturday's can often send a team reeling, the Vols certainly had the look of a team coming into their own, not splitting apart.
Several players in postgame interviews talked about how much they love their team and their teammates. None was more effusive than senior defensive lineman Wes Brown, an Alabama native.
"We proved that we've got a room full of tough guys," Brown said. "I'd rather be a Tennessee Vol and lose every game than go somewhere else and win them all."
The Vols left Gainesville a month ago buoyed by a 10-point loss to then-No. 1 Florida. On Saturday, the Vols left Tuscaloosa heartbroken but with a sense they outplayed Alabama.
"I'm really proud of how hard our players played," UT coach Lane Kiffin said. "I don't believe in moral victories. We should have won that game.
"No one in this room can say or write anything about the heart and the effort they played with today."
The way Jones sees it, Saturday's effort bodes well for the future, even though he's quick to acknowledge this season isn't over yet.
"Even though we lost today, we're going to put this behind us because South Carolina's our next opponent," he said. "I think every time we step on the field, we're making a statement.
"These games between Alabama and Florida are not going to be what they were in the past. This is going to be a new era."
And Kiffin, who talked during the week about how Alabama's program is what Tennessee is working to be, saw a little bit of the future on Saturday, too.
"I'm very proud of the way our guys played and the way they competed," Kiffin said. "It was neat to see. It's going to be a real special team someday.
"It's going to be a championship team. It's just a matter of time before we get there. But you can see it coming."
Follow the Vols on Twitter @UTAthletics, and read Drew Edwards' blog, The Inside Source.
