HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee was the trendy pick to win the SEC East a year ago, and the Volunteers looked like fate was on their side when they escaped Athens still undefeated at 5-0 after a Hail Mary touchdown pass gave the Volunteers a 34-31 win last Oct. 1.

Three straight losses followed for a team that limped to a 9-4 finish, including defeats at the hands of South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

There would be no championships during a year in which coach Butch Jones was ridiculed when he talked about how his players were "champions of life."

Now entering his fifth season, Jones, 46-30 overall in Knoxville, is considered by some to be in hot seat territory after going 4-4 in the SEC last year.

"I don’t view it as a disappointment," Jones said of the 2016 season. "Did we not accomplish some of the things that we set out to do? Absolutely. We have to learn from things that went wrong that we could have done better. It’s difficult to win. It’s difficult to win championships, and I think this league really exemplifies that."

New athletic director John Currie said in a recent email to Tennessee fans that "the progress that has been made rebuilding the Tennessee football program under Coach Jones’ leadership is amazing. In the short time I have been here … it has been awesome to observe the chemistry amongst his staff and see how much our coaches truly care about our student-athletes and the traditions of the Big Orange."

He wrote about "tremendous momentum in recruiting" under Jones and lauded his "organization, attention to detail and the fact that veteran college football observers know the future is extremely bright for the Tennessee football program!"

Tennessee lost defensive end and No. 14 NFL overall pick Derek Barnett and will turn to either redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano or junior Quinten Dormandy to replace Joshua Dobbs at quarterback.

Jones said he won’t name a starter "until the time is right. I can’t tell you when that is."

It would help if Tennessee can keep more of its players on the field.

Injuries hit Tennessee at some spots where depth was lacking.

"I told our football team this: the lessons you learned from last year, the resolve, the resiliency, are going to serve you for many years down the road in life," Jones said.

Said defensive lineman Kendal Vickers: "If we all stay healthy this year — and nobody is guaranteeing everybody will stay healthy because injuries do happen in the game of football — I think we’ll do very well this year,"

Jones said Tennessee fell short of its goals last year and called it "a results-oriented business," but harped on the positives like being one of three SEC teams to win nine games overall last season along with Alabama and Florida, like improving Academic Progress scores and having three straight bowl victories for the first time in 20 years of the program.

Of course, last year’s came in the Music City, not an upper-tier bowl, but the Volunteers did finish No. 22 in the AP poll.

"There’s so much more out there," Jones said. "There’s so much more out there to be accomplished."

This season opens Sept. 4 in Atlanta in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Georgia Tech.

"We definitely," defensive back Emmanuel Mosely said, "are very motivated."