Know Your Enemy: Five questions with Cory Sanning of VolMaven!

There's no better way to understand an opponent than seeing things from their side of the equation, and in order to preview Florida's upcoming matchup against Tennessee, we'll do just that.

In this week's edition of the GatorMaven "Know Your Enemy" series, I'm joined by the publisher of Maven's latest SEC site, dedicated to covering the Tennessee Volunteers - Cory Sanning!

Cory's site is currently being created by Maven management, so I unfortunately can't link his work. But make sure to follow him on Twitter to keep up to date with his coverage of Tennessee leading up to the game on Saturday.

Has Tennessee corrected their issues after dropping their first two games? Is Jeremy Pruitt on the hot seat? Let's get to the Q&A!

1. Run me through everything that has gone wrong in the first two weeks of the season, and what was corrected in Tennessee's first win in Week 3?

VolMaven: In one word, everything. What could have gone wrong for Tennessee in those two weeks, did. The Georgia State debacle I place squarely on the coaches. At SEC Media Days, head coach Jeremy Pruitt lauded this staff as "one of the best in the country." The Vols’ defensive alignments against the Panthers would suggest otherwise. What happened in week two was a direct result of the players (cornerback Alontae Taylor specifically) folding under pressure. BYU was deep in its own territory with 20 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, you just can’t give up that kind of play, but Tennessee did.

As far as what was corrected last week, I would say not much. Tennessee beat a team it was supposed to beat, so that’s a positive sign if you’re a Vols fan. Other than that, I think there is still much work to be done with this group.

2. What are the current strengths of Tennessee's roster?

VM: The receiving corps is perhaps Tennessee’s greatest strength. Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway, and Josh Palmer are all supremely talented and bear the experience that comes with that talent. Ty Chandler coming out of the backfield is no slouch either.

With Daniel Bituli progressing quickly and Henry To’oto’o coming on strong, linebacker is easily the anchor of the Vols defensive unit.

3. On the flip side, where can Florida take advantage of the Volunteers?

VM: Pressure the quarterback. We saw how much heat Jarrett Guarantano took last year, and I don’t think much has changed. He wasn’t sacked against Chattanooga, but they aren’t nearly on the same level defensively that Florida is. If they can keep Guarantano on his toes for much of the afternoon, he’ll struggle even more than he already has to deliver an accurate pass downfield.

Defensively, with cornerback Bryce Thompson’s situation on-going, picking on Tennessee’s secondary is something I expect the Gators to exploit, even without Feleipe Franks under center.

Editor's note: Thompson was cleared to play following a suspension after Cory sent me his answers, and will travel with the Volunteers to Gainesville this weekend.

4. Given Jeremy Pruitt's recent controversial quotables, paired with the lack of success vs. teams like GSU and BYU, are there questions regarding him really being the right head coach for Tennessee?

VM: Any time a team loses to a non-Power 5 school for the first time in decades, there are always questions. When that same team drops a game at home the very next week that they had a 99.6 percent statistical probability to win with 20 seconds to play in regulation? Double that.

Case-in-point, there were even rumors that Phillip Fulmer would step in as interim head coach in the days following the BYU loss. SEC fans are passionate, and Tennessee is still one of the more emotional fan bases in all of sports. I believe Pruitt should be a three-year project given the opportunities Butch Jones was given, but as we’ve learned over the past 24 months, anything can happen on Rocky Top.

5. What's your game prediction for Saturday?

VM: Despite Franks being unavailable, Tennessee still has some learning to do. They’re young, inexperienced and boast a roster loaded with young talent that has yet to experience an SEC game. 38-21, Florida.