Vols considering mix-and-match O-line system

[tag linked="true" key="370145" url="http://247sports.com/Coach/Butch-Jones-75"]Butch Jones[/tag] said last week that he hoped to see Tennessee’s eight-man offensive line rotation set by this week. That was then. This is now. And now is different, apparently. “We need to get it right, and we’re gonna take as much time as we need to do it,” Jones said after Tuesday’s practice on Haslam Field. “We just don’t want to set a timetable. I know said here a week ago that we wanted to have it set, but we’re not ready to have it set yet.” That comment was interesting. But it was preceded by something even more interesting. Jones said Tennessee’s offensive line could be a mix-and-match unit with different combinations for the first several games. Tennessee’s coach said he likes the versatile several of his players have showed, and the Vols might try to take advantage of that with a mix-and-match approach for a while. “We’re still mixing things up,” Jones said. “And, again, what we’ve found is the different positions that they’re playing has really proved beneficial. You can never have enough guards and tackles or centers. So, again, it’s finding the right fit for Game One, and the right fit for Game One may not be the right fit for Game Two, Game Three, Game Four. “Every game is a different skills set that you’re playing against. Maybe it’s scheme, it may be one-on-one match-ups.” That’s a different take — a much different take — from the norm up front, but Jones it might be the best thing for his team. Continuity is important, but having the best players and the best matchups is more important. That’s essentially what offensive coordinator [tag linked="true" key="370146" url="http://247sports.com/Coach/Mike-DeBord-3590"]Mike DeBord[/tag] said earlier this month, and Jones said the same thing Tuesday night. “There is a lot with continuity, but the big thing is competitiveness,” Jones said. “You know, all these individuals in our offensive line have done a very good job. Playing offensive line is a very thankless task. You have to line up every single snap, and you have about 15 seconds to decipher the play and come off with pad level and physicality and fundamentals and technique and finish and execute your assignment, and everything is moving very, very fast. I have a lot of respect for our guys up front. They’re doing a very, very good job with it. “I see us making progress collectively as a group, but it’s just important that we keep improving. And a lot of times individuals continue to improve over a course of time, and that's why I say, you know, for us, we have to continue to get better —Â and not just in the offensive line; it’s every position group. And I've seen it every year. It’s one individual, it's two individuals, three individuals that may not be ready by Game One or Game Two, but they become game-ready by Game Five, Game Six, Game Seven. “And that's what we talk about in our program, is continuing growth and development, not just when training camp ends but throughout the entire course of the season.” Sophomore [tag linked="true" key="1948460" url="http://247sports.com/Player/Jashon-Robertson-19697"]Jashon Robertson[/tag] isn’t the most extreme example of Tennessee’s newfound philosophy, but he’s certainly an example. After playing only right guard as a true freshman in 2014, Robertson is now spending plenty of time at left guard and even some time at center. Robertson said he’d had very few problems while moving around, and he expects himself and his teammates to adapt to any situation. “We have a lot of versatile guys in our bunch —Â guys that can play center, guard, tackle, the whole deal —Â so we’re really just working right now to see the best five that’s gonna fit and the best five we’re gonna go into battle with come Week One,” Robertson said. “In the O-line room, we prepare for adversity. We try not to have any guys that are one-trick ponies. We try to have a group of versatile guys that can play in various positions. Whatever eight offensive linemen it is that we take on the road with us on the travel squad, I know they’re ready for war, and that’s my brothers. “I’m not worried about nothing. I know he’s got my back, and I’ve got his, no matter who it is. I don’t matter who plays beside me or who plays beside the next guy, ‘cause we all know that we’ve got each other’s back.” Robertson pointed to a specific situation in Tennessee’s win at Vanderbilt last season that proved the power of versatility on the fly. “I feel like, you know, just with our situation and just at O-line in general, you have to be a guy that can play multiple positions,” said Robertson, a Freshman All-American in 2014. “You never know what situation’s gonna arise or what situation’s gonna come up in a game. We had a situation at Vanderbilt last year, where, boom, our center — I think it was [tag linked="true" key="1948461" url="http://247sports.com/Player/Dylan-Wiesman-15538"]Dylan Wiesman[/tag] who started that game —Â and boom, something happened to his finger. We couldn’t get off the field, ‘cause we were in the goal-line trying to hurry up and punch it in, so ([tag linked="true" key="1948462" url="http://247sports.com/Player/Marcus-Jackson-1532"]Marcus Jackson[/tag]) pulled off his glove and went to center. “So just stuff like that, being able to do that, really helps out a lot. We’re not worried being this dominant whatever at this one position or that one position. We’re just doing whatever we can for the betterment of the team.” Robertson said with a laugh that he’s only caught himself putting the wrong hand into the ground “a couple of times,” and that offensive line coach [tag linked="true" key="370147" url="http://247sports.com/Coach/Don-Mahoney-83"]Don Mahoney[/tag] has prepared him to play any of the three interior spots. “Coach Mo did a great job of getting me center reps in the spring and in camp, and having me snap in the winter and in the summer,” Robertson said. “From a center perspective, you have to set both ways — with your left foot back and your right foot back. That has helped me adjust to the left side, being able to set to the left and play from that perspective. “It hasn’t been too bad of a transition.” Tennessee’s offensive line has been a major storyline throughout the offseason, which is natural, given how much group that struggled at times in 2014. Robertson said that won’t happen again this season, no matter who lines up at any specific position. “Something to think about is we’ve already been through a tremendous amount of adversity already, so that’s just kind of planning-ahead time — you know, just in case we might have this lineup in or that lineup in or that guy goes out or whatever,” Robertson said. “But yeah, I do think we’ll have enough time to glue together. We’ve been mixing and matching a lot, but we’ve also just played a lot together in general, so I think we’ll be fine. “There’s a lot of guys doing a lot of good things. I mean, it’s evident on film. A lot of guys are giving great effort, making conscious decisions to think about their technique, their landmarks and things like that. They’re really kind of maturing in their game.” [b]———————————————[/b] [i][h2]For more news on Tennessee sports and recruiting, [link url="https://twitter.com/GoVols247"]follow GoVols247 on Twitter[/link][/h2][/i] [i]Contact Wes Rucker by email at wesrucker247@gmail.com, or [b][link url="www.twitter.com/wesrucker247"]ON TWITTER[/link][/b] or [b][link url="www.facebook.com/wesrucker247"]ON FACEBOOK[/link][/b][/i]