KNOXVILLE — Tennessee finished with 175 rushing yards in its SEC Week 4 loss to Kentucky.
The Vols were led by sophomore running back Eric Gray with 128 rushing yards on 24 attempts.
Following the contest, Gray discussed his rushing performance, as it was one that “was a big testament to the offensive line.”
Tennessee ran 11 consecutive run plays in its only touchdown drive before halftime.
“They came out and blocked well,” Gray said. “We pretty much ran the same play over, and we just felt like we had them. They were getting tired. We wanted to go fast, and we just kept going, kept going, kept driving. That was the drive we needed to put the ball in the end zone.”
Senior offensive lineman Trey Smith started at left guard for the Vols against Kentucky. Smith discussed Tennessee’s ability to run the football in Saturday’s 34-7 loss to Kentucky.
“We know we have to be able to impose our will and run the rock when needed to keep the defense honest and keep them from having different checks,” Smith said. “We have to take more pride in that, in finishing guys and getting them off the ball. I thought we had some good success at times, but other times we could have pushed it even further. Get our assignments and then get up on linebackers and spring bigger runs.
“It is sort of repetitive saying it again, but it’s up to us to do our assignments, to play hard, to play with effort and toughness. Doing the things that we know is the standard here. We have to uphold the standard, but at the end of the day we saw the results on the field. We have to go to work to correct it.”
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