Tennessee Football: 5 Volunteers Who Must Improve Down the Stretch

As Tennessee uses this weekend against North Texas as a tuneup for the season's remaining two games and subsequent bowl, the Volunteers will be looking for several players to take things up a notch.

With rugged battles against defensive-minded Missouri and Vanderbilt coming up, the microscope will focus even more closely on the offense. But several Vols all over the field must kick it into high gear if UT is going to close out an eight-win season.

Plenty remains for which to play.

Since a well-traveled fanbase has waited to return to national respectability for nearly a decade, good bowl games want to pluck Tennessee for ticket sales. Because of that, the Outback Bowl is still a possibility, and there may even be an outside shot at the Citrus.

Lesser bowls remain more realistic prospects, but Tennessee will open up a whole new and exciting world of possibilities if coach Butch Jones' team takes care of business the rest of the way.

After a fortunate but forgettable showing at home against South Carolina in which the Vols had to force a last-minute fumble to escape with a 27-24 win, it's obvious they'll need better play in several areas.

While everybody needs to elevate their play, let's take a look at five particular players who need to become more dependable for the Vols down the stretch.

Joshua Dobbs, Quarterback

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There's no doubt who the heart and soul of Tennessee's football team is.

A lot of the offense may flow through sophomore running back Jalen Hurd, but the Vols go as quarterback Joshua Dobbs goes. 

So far this season, the junior signal-caller from Alpharetta, Georgia, rose to the occasion multiple times—particularly against Florida, Georgia and Kentucky—to provide UT with one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the league.

Other times, he's fallen flat, such as in his performances against Oklahoma and Arkansas.

He's thrown for 1,760 yards, 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions this year and rushed for another 473 yards and seven scores. If anything, he spent much of the season too reluctant to make mistakes. The past few games, he's opened it up a bit more.

Lately, he's battled through injuries, but that hasn't stopped him from trotting out there.

"I'm going to attack the field and give it my all every time, and do whatever I have to do to win," Dobbs said following the South Carolina victory. "Being banged up, that comes with the game. Personally, I feel fine. As long as I can walk on the field and play, I'm good to go. That's how I play."

It's no secret that Dobbs struggles against Missouri. The past two seasons he's started that game; the Vols scored 24 total points, while he turned the ball over five times. He needs to reverse those fortunes on the road in Columbia in two weeks.

He also has to find the same heroics against Vanderbilt that he displayed last year. If the Vols get quality play out of their signal-caller in both of those games, they'll win eight games and play in a strong bowl.

Chance Hall, Right Tackle

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It doesn't look like injured starter Brett Kendrick is going to return to the starting lineup anytime soon. 

Even if he did, he may not overtake true freshman right tackle Chance Hall.

This season has been a trial-by-fire for the tall, athletic first-year player from the Washington, D.C. area, as UT's left tackle of the future becomes the man on the right in the present. He entered the game against Georgia and immediately excelled, along with fellow freshman Jack Jones.

After the game, Dobbs lauded the duo during the next week of practice to Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter Patrick Brown:

"

They fought. They fought until the game was over. I love seeing that. Obviously we all have things to improve on, but I love seeing them come out and compete and competing to win. They were out there from the beginning (with) a good look in their eyes that they were confident and ready to go and motivated to play hard.

"

Though the line has been a strong suit in recent games, it was a liability against South Carolina. Tennessee's running game never got on track after a dominant first quarter, and the Vols nearly lost because of it.

Now, the line is getting ready to embark on a couple of its toughest challenges of the year. Hall will have to deal with some bullish pass-rushers such as Charles Harris. Super-freshman Terry Beckner Jr. could line up outside at times, too.

Vanderbilt's front seven isn't lauded, but they can get the job done, too.

That's why Hall must continue to develop. Mental lapses and giving up big sacks and potential turnovers in those games can mean the difference in wins and losses, especially if they are low-scoring slug fests. The Vols offensive line must be up to the challenge, and Hall is a big part of that.

He has to grow up in a hurry.

Josh Malone, Wide Receiver

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Staying on the offensive side, since Tennessee will play some great defenses, one guy who has really elevated his play throughout the season is sophomore wide receiver Josh Malone.

But UT needs even more from him.

With fellow receivers Von Pearson and Josh Smith giving Malone—who has been the most dependable, consistent weapon in the passing game—some wingmen in the past couple of games, Malone had a major mental lapse against South Carolina.

Surging on a great route into the end zone with a couple of steps on a defender, Malone dropped a beautiful pass from Dobbs that wound up being a massive missed opportunity. UT wound up settling for a field goal, and the Gamecocks could have won in the end because of it.

Those kinds of things cannot happen, especially to a go-to receiver. 

Malone's weaknesses throughout his first two seasons on Rocky Top have been drops. He's bobbled his fair share this season, too. While those things happen, they shouldn't be consistent concerns.

Last season, with UT banged up at the receiver position down the stretch of the season, the Vols needed Malone to emerge and surge. Instead, he disappeared from the stat sheet.

That was a classic example of hitting the freshman wall—a forgivable offense. This year, the Vols depend on him much more. It can't happen again.

If it does, Dobbs is going to have to find another favorite target.

Malik Foreman, Nickelback

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He's been ridiculed, ridden and roasted by Tennessee fans for much of the season, but Malik Foreman's heroics against South Carolina Saturday night were refreshing.

Not only did he force the game-winning fumble of tight end Jerell Adams, but he also batted down a sure first-down pass to Pharoh Cooper on the series before. For much of the night, UT's maligned junior nickelback matched up on the Gamecocks' megastar receiver and more than held his own.

That wasn't lost on Foreman's head coach.

"They do such a great job because they move (Cooper) around and they create one-on-one matchups with him, and obviously we know he's a great football player," Jones said after the game against the Gamecocks. "I thought Malik really stepped up tonight, and everyone stepped up.

"I just think [it's a matter of] being disciplined, playing with your eyes, being locked in and video study, all those things that we’ve really challenged them to elevate their game, take their game to the next level, continue to invest in it in your week of preparation, and they’ve been doing that."

That performance beats Foreman's bad case of the "burns" that he's had much of the year, along with the dropped interceptions and his struggles in the passing game. Foreman went into the preseason expecting to be a backup, but starter Rashaan Gaulden was lost for the year, so it's Foreman's position.

Down the stretch, he'll have to hold off freshman Micah Abernathy. The game against South Carolina will be a good start. But it can't be the final chapter of this season's story.

Neither Mizzou nor Vanderbilt is going to light the scoreboard on fire; that much is certain. That's all the more reason to need (and expect) Foreman to be strong against them. In those games, the Vols simply can't afford to give up any backbreaking big gains.

Foreman needs to continue to be solid against the slot.

Aaron Medley, Kicker

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Speaking of bounce-back stories, few are better than the one kicker Aaron Medley is writing for himself.

Fans aren't very forgiving when you go 0-for-3 in field goals on the road against rival Alabama, especially in what turned out to be a 19-14 loss.

Nevermind that they were from 43, 51 and 51 yards. You only get so many opportunities against a team like the Crimson Tide, and Medley missed them. Coupled with the fact that he's been wildly inconsistent so far, it was the perfect recipe for plenty of grumbling.

After a vote of confidence from Butch Jones, the sophomore from Lewisburg, Tennessee, has loosened up and answered the call to arms...er, foot.

Since then, he's made all three of his field goals, including two from 44 yards. He said after the South Carolina game that it's a credit to staying even-keeled on the sideline.

"Just mentally zoning into the game and really taking yourself out of what happens on the field and just doing your job," he said. "I think my mental approach has just changed dramatically. That’s been the biggest difference."

With some potential grind-out games still ahead, Tennessee needs a dependable, big-legged kicker it trusts with games on the line. Medley and Jones would rather be going for extra points, sure, but field goals are going to be important against Missouri and Vanderbilt.

Medley has the potential to be one of the best kickers in the country; he just needs to put it all together. These past two games should be a step toward that.

All stats gathered from UTSports.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.