A look into what Tennessee is

If you're hoping for that 'these guys don't even want to be here” bump in the Taxslayer Bowl, it's not happening with Tennessee.

This is the Volunteers (6-6) first bowl appearance since 2010. They want this in Knoxville, they need this in Knoxville. Don't believe it? Just give the YouTube video that the Tennessee athletics department put out after UT coach Butch Jones told his team about its 'Gator Bowl” bid on Sunday evening.

The auditorium broke out in ruckus and hugs.

'Maybe 5:20, (Tennessee athletic director) Dave Hart walked into my office with a big smile,” Jones said. 'I'll tell you what, Dave deserves great applause and great appreciation for making this happen. I know he worked tirelessly, he worked relentlessly. . . . He deserves a great thank you because he was instrumental in getting this done.”

So, for many of the Volunteers, it will be their first bowl game, ending a three-year absence.

'It was wild, it was pure excitement, man,” defensive lineman Jordan Williams said about Sunday night's happy scene. 'We really appreciate the Gator Bowl giving us that bid. It was a really great time.”

They'll work on that Taxslayer Bowl thing, bowl sponsors. Meanwhile, Tennessee won't be working on a head coach search until after the 2020 season. On Monday, the rewarded Jones, finishing his second season in Knoxville, with a contract extension that will increase his annual salary to $3.6 million,

Jones is 11-13 in two seasons at Tennessee and finished 3-5 in the SEC East while playing the most freshmen in program history. In their opener against Utah State, the Vols played 21 true freshmen and 32 newcomers.

So, this is a team with energized seniors playing in their first bowl game and a whole bunch of youth eager to prove themselves against the Hawkeyes on Jan. 2 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.

'I think it's going to be big,” sophomore linebacker Jalen Reeves-Mabin said Monday. 'The way I see it is that there's no turning back now. We had a 6-6 season and we got the chance to play in the TaxSlayer Bowl, but now we just got to keep climbing. This is the first stepping stone. Next year, we're going to elevate and the next year, we're going to elevate.”

Freshman defensive end Derek Barnett and junior linebacker Curt Maggitt were named all-SEC second-teamers on Monday. Senior linebacker A.J. Johnson, who finished second in the conference with 10.1 tackles per game, was listed as an honorable mention selection. He missed the season's last two games and is the subject of a rape and sexual assault investigation along with cornerback Michael Williams by the Knoxville Police Department. Neither player has been charged or arrested. Both players are suspended from team-related activities.

Tennessee finished eighth in the SEC in total defense (359.9 yards a game). Maggitt tied for second in the league with 11.0 sacks; Barnett was second with 10.0. Barnett, a 6-3, 267-pound true freshman, was second in the SEC with 20.5 tackles for loss. Cornerback Justin Coleman tied for fourth in the league with four interceptions.

Sophomore quarterback Josh Dobbs helped guide the Vols to a 3-2 record down the stretch, including a bowl-eligibility clincher in their regular-season finale against Vanderbilt, a 24-17 victory in which the 6-3, 216-pounder rushed for 91 yards and two TDs. After not seeing the field in the team's first seven games, Dobbs finished with 393 rushing yards (with six TDs) and 1,077 passing yards (96 of 156 for 61.5 percent with eight TDs and five interceptions).

Dobbs was headed toward a redshirt after playing as a true freshman in 2013, when he saw five games, starting four, and threw for 695 yards and rushed for 189.

Dobbs is UT's second-leading rusher. Freshman Jalen Hurd, a true freshman monster at 6-3, 227 pounds, leads Tennessee with 777 yards on 174 carries (4.47 yards per). The Vols, however, did finish 13th in the SEC with 135.0 rush yards per game (3.42 a carry) and produced just four 100-yard performances.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com