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Jacob Warren: Winning SEC East is Tennessee's 'focus'

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh07/20/23

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MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Josh Heupel of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates on stage after defeating the Clemson Tigers in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)

Tennessee had multiple representatives make the quick drive to Nashville for SEC Media Days and all of them had the same message. The goal this season is to win the SEC East, plain and simple. Jacob Warren knows if the Vols are going to have success on a national level, everything begins within the division.

“The goal will always be the same,” Warren said at SEC Media Days. “The goal will be to win the SEC East. If you do that, that sets you up to go do everything you want. Opportunity to play in the SEC championship, get the opportunity if you win that to go play in the national championship.”

You could say Tennessee was close to making the College Football Playoff last season but not winning the SEC East. Georgia took care of business in Athens when the two met, locking up their ticket to Atlanta to face off against LSU.

Had the South Carolina result been different, there is a scenario where Tennessee is one of the final four teams. Losing to them and Georgia caused Josh Heupel to say they were not able to get the job done.

“If we win those games, you set yourself up for everything you want,” Warren said. “That’s what he means when he says we didn’t get the job done. We had a great season.”

A great season was needed in Knoxville. The last time double-digit wins appeared on the record is the Phillip Fulmer days, marking a long drought. From an outside point of view, a very good season for Tennessee and one where people can see the trajectory moving forward.

Inside the program, Warren said the players did not agree. They were wanting more — mainly an SEC East championship with an opportunity to play in the College Football Playoff.

“A lot of people outside the program wouldn’t have expected us to have won 11 games last year, go to New Year’s Six bowl, win the Orange Bowl,” Warren said. “Maybe not nobody, but a lot of people weren’t expecting that, right?

“A lot of people from the outside would say, ‘That’s a good job, you probably reached all your goals, did everything you were looking out to do.’ It’s not the case.”

Thankfully, Tennessee is able to move on to 2023 and get another shot at the division.

“Of course, that’s last year,” Warren said. “We’ve done a good job of resetting. But now the focus is on winning the SEC East and doing everything we can to get ourselves in that position.”