The Biggest Disappointments for the Tennessee Volunteers in 2014

The Tennessee Volunteers are 6-6 after defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores Saturday evening and heading to their first bowl game since 2010. 

Despite ending the regular season on a high note, it's important to take stock of the season as a whole. And when viewed in its entirety, there were plenty of crushing disappointments to go along with the obvious signs of improvement shown by Tennessee throughout the course of the season.

Credit Butch Jones and his staff, as well as the players they coach, for rallying from a 3-5 record to win three of their four remaining games to lock up a postseason matchup. 

While the 2014 season may ultimately be considered a success, there is still plenty to improve on in 2015 and beyond if Tennessee wants to continue its slow and steady climb out of the SEC gutter.

Here are four of the biggest disappointments the Vols faced in 2014 that the coaching staff will look to alleviate next year. 

Injuries Piling Up

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Tennessee's injury-prone season started when offensive tackle Jacob Gilliam went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament against Utah State in Tennessee's season opener on Aug. 31. 

Although he eventually returned to action, many of his teammates who got bit by the injury bug after him did not.

Wide receiver Josh Smith was lost for the season with an ankle injury during the third game of the year, while fellow wide receiver Von Pearson, backup left guard Austin Sanders and starting center Mack Crowder also went down with high ankle sprains.

Linebacker Dillon Bates, wide receiver Marquez North and quarterback Justin Worley all had their seasons cut short by torn labrums in their shoulders. 

Add in additional injuries to running back and kick return specialist Devrin Young and nagging minor injuries to Jason Croom and Josh Malone, and it's clear that the Vols were fielding a skeleton crew by the time last week's game ended.

The good news is those injuries didn't deter the Vols from reaching their goal of making a bowl game, and they also created opportunities for plenty of newcomers to get valuable in-game reps. 

Losing to Florida for the 10th Year in a Row

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The Vols let the Gators steal a win on Oct. 4. It's as simple as that. As bad as Tennessee's offense was that day, Florida's was considerably worse for nearly three quarters.

Tennessee was on the verge of a shutout 9-0 win against the Gators when freshman quarterback Treon Harris entered the game late in the third quarter and generated enough offense to put a measly 10 points on the board. 

But those 10 measly points might as well have been 100 points, because Tennessee never stood a chance once Florida's offense gained any semblance of momentum.

A 10th straight loss to the Gators and fourth straight to a now-unemployed Will Muschamp nearly derailed the Vols' season. 

Although the Vols rebounded and made a bowl game, the blue and orange monkey remains firmly attached to Tennessee's back for at least one more year. 

Missing on Several Elite In-State Recruits

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Butch Jones made good on his promise to own the state in recruiting in 2014, as he locked up nine of the state's top 11 players per 247Sports' composite rankings, including 5-stars Josh Malone and Jalen Hurd.

His current haul from the Volunteer State for the 2015 class isn't quite as impressive. The state's top-rated recruit, Drew Richmond, is committed to Ole Miss. Rounding out the top five, Van Jefferson is a Georgia commitment and Rico McGraw has pledged to spend his college career in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Tennessee does have commitments from top 10 in-state players Jack Jones and Jauan Jennings and appears to be in great shape to land elite defensive end Kyle Phillips out of Nashville. But overall, Butch Jones simply hasn't been able to pick and choose the players he wanted in his own backyard.

While it's true that Tennessee may have other priorities on its recruiting board, Richmond, Jefferson and McGraw were and still are targets of interest for Jones and his staff. 

The Suspensions of A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams

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To his credit, one of Butch Jones' biggest accomplishments since arriving at Tennessee is the way he changed the culture of the program. A big part of that accomplishment was the lack of off-the-field incidents that happened on his watch in Knoxville.

That all came crashing down in the early hours of the morning after Tennessee's resounding victory over the Kentucky Wildcats just a few weeks ago.

News that A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams were suspended indefinitely and being investigated for sexual assault sent shockwaves through the program and the fanbase.

Johnson was the leader of Tennessee's defense and the team's most prominent senior, and losing him one week before he was to be honored for senior day during his last home game hurt the team both on and off the field.

Although Johnson and Williams were not formally charged, the incident was a black eye for a program that was slowly distancing itself from a history of being in the news for all the wrong reasons.