SUMNER

Jones praises Sumner's standouts

Chris Brooks cbrooks@tennessean.com

HENDERSONVILLE – Off days are rare for University of Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones, even during the offseason.

Jones made an appearance in Hendersonville on Tuesday as he was the guest speaker at the sixth annual COMPASS (Community Outreach Making Partnerships at Sumner Schools) Speakers Luncheon, which was held at Long Hollow Baptist Church.

The event has drawn past guest speakers such as Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Lamar Alexander and Gov. Bill Haslam.

The church is within earshot of Beech High School, where two Volunteer players – running back Jalen Hurd and long snapper Riley Lovingood – played before signing with Tennessee and just down the road from Station Camp High, where a third Volunteer – wide receiver Josh Malone – also suited up on Friday nights.

"We have tremendous coaching in this area and great high-school football players," Jones said. "We are the state institution, and it's something very special to stay at home and represent your home state."

Hurd is coming off a season in which he rushed for a team-high 899 yards and five touchdowns in addition to compiling 35 receptions for 221 yards and two scores. He capped his freshman season with a 122-yard, two-touchdown performance in a 45-28 victory over the University of Iowa in the TaxSlayer.com Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

Although Hurd is expected to split time in the backfield with redshirt sophomore Alvin Kamara – who transferred from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College – Jones said the pair will be important to Tennessee's offense, which will have a new offensive coordinator with Mike Debord joining the staff this season.

"I think they'll work together extremely well," Jones said. "They've had a great bond with each other. They push each other, and they know they need each other. In our conference, we know that you need more than one running back. They feed off of each other, and each individual has a little bit different skill set.

"Jalen's done a great job of welcoming Alvin, and Alvin's done a great job of really embracing not only Jalen but our Tennessee football family."

Jones said that he's been impressed with Hurd's offseason work as he has gained more weight since spring practice broke in late April.

"We've been very, very proud of Jalen," Jones said. "He went home for our break that we had (following spring practice), and he's up to over 240 pounds. He's really dedicated himself to being the best player that he can possibly be."

Malone had 23 receptions for 231 yards and one touchdown last season – with much of that production coming in the early stages of the 2014 campaign – but Jones was pleased with Malone's offseason regimen.

"He's going through a process," Jones said of Malone. "He's another individual who has really dedicated himself this offseason. When he came back from the month break, you could see that he dedicated himself. Josh is a very talented young man, and he's very driven right now. I'm very excited in what we see in him right now."

Lovingood will fill a role on special teams, snapping for place kicks and punts, earning a scholarship – which is not always granted to long-snappers at the collegiate level – to do so. Jones indicated that his position will only become more important as time goes on.

"We all know that the long-snapper, the short-snapper, all your specialists are very important," Jones said. "Riley, I love his family. I love everything that he stands for as a person and as a football player."

Jones switched gears when he spoke to the more than 750 attendees during the luncheon, touching on topics such as recruiting and the challenges he faces with not only the players he's seeking to bring to Tennessee, but their parents as well.

His message was that parents should let their kids learn from their mistakes, instead of keeping them from making errors.

"There's parents that are preparing the path for the kid, and there's parents who are preparing the kid for the path," Jones said. "We have too many parents that are trying to prepare the path for the kid. It's good for them to fail. It's good for them to strike out in baseball. It's good for them to fall off their bike and scrape their knee. You learn from adversity, but we have too many individuals that are trying to prepare the path."

He spoke about COMPASS, the non-profit organization that has a goal of bringing the private sector and public schools together in Sumner County. In doing so, Jones began by citing a recent USA Today study on what human beings fear the most.

"It wasn't death, but (the top response) was living a life of relevance," Jones said. "That was an individual's worst fear, was being relevant in life. And really, that's what it's all about. We can be relevant in supporting our schools, our teachers, and most importantly, the continued success for the futures of our kids of this generation. That's why I'm here … to support COMPASS, to give your all for Tennessee each and every day."

Sumner County Commissioner Paul Goode serves as president of COMPASS and was instrumental in helping bring Jones to the event.

"We wake up every day and strive to make Sumner County a better place to live, work and play and raise a family," Goode said. "I'm honored to be a part of this board."

Entering his third season with the Volunteers, Jones has a record of 62-40 in eight seasons as a head coach. He spent three seasons at both Central Michigan University (2007-2009) and at the University of Cincinnati (2010-2012), winning two conference championships with each program.

The Volunteers will open the 2015 season at Nashville's LP Field on Saturday, Sept. 5, against Bowling Green (Ohio) State University.

It'll be a homecoming of sorts for Hurd, Malone and Lovingood.

"I know all of our players are looking forward to playing in a great NFL (National Football League) environment and (to) playing in the Midstate," Jones said. "A lot of these individuals will be coming home to play in that type of venue, so I know they're looking forward to that."

Reach Chris Brooks at 575-7118 or at cbrooks@tennessean.com.