KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Butch Jones has a different kind of team this season.According to some players, thats allowing him to be a different type of coach.Jones spent the first few years of his Tennessee tenure attempting to restock the talent base and instill a winning culture. He has handled those assignments well enough to give No. 9 Tennessee its highest preseason ranking since 2005 heading into the opener Thursday night against Appalachian State.I think hes a lot more laid-back, senior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. I dont feel like hes trying to truly build a program anymore. Weve kind of set our standards and established who we are, and now were just trying to mold people into who we are. I think its made it a lot easier and allowed him to lay back a little bit more and put a lot more faith in the (assistant) coaches as well as the players.Jones initially said he hadnt thought much about the ways in which he has adapted his style since his arrival at Tennessee. But he later acknowledged the maturity of this roster and how it has impacted his approach.Whats helped is I think our coaches and myself know our football team a little more, Jones said. Growing up as a son of a chief of police, Ive been interested in studying human behavior all my life, so I love to get in their mindsets. I love to see what this football team needs, and I take great pride in that.But I think youre constantly evolving. If you dont, thats when you stop growing.Jones was Tennessees fourth coach in eight seasons when he took over in 2013. Tennessee went 5-7 in Jones debut year for its fourth straight losing season. After going 7-6 in 2014, the Vols finished 9-4 last year and closed with a six-game winning streak.I think he had to be tough when he first got here, said offensive tackle Brett Kendrick, a fourth-year junior. We needed to play his style of play, and we didnt have that when he first got here. I feel like weve really adjusted to him, and hes also starting to treat us really good too. Hes being more positive with us.He has more reason to be positive now.Jones noted that Tennessee played the most true freshmen in 2014 of any Football Bowl Subdivision program that season. Jones needed to make sure they were as ready as possible for the grind of the Southeastern Conference.The hardest thing when you take over a football program is you have to make sure that you lay that standard of expectations day in and day out, and you do not compromise from those standards and expectations, Jones said. The culture has to be set in place. Sometimes youre going to be a little bit different the first couple of years because you have to make sure there are some things that are non-negotiables in our football program.Now that the culture has been established, Tennessee faces the challenge of living up to its status as the nations No. 9 team and the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title. The Vols havent earned an SEC crown since their 1998 national title and havent won the East since 2007.Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield compares Tennessee to the 2015 Clemson team that reached the College Football Playoff championship game.They have everything in place and, in my opinion, starting the season, theyre ahead of... where Clemson was last year, said Satterfield, whose team lost to Clemson 41-10 last September.Jones responded to Satterfields remark by saying hes just been consumed with making sure his teams ready mentally and physically to deal with Appalachian State. At least now he has the type of veteran team that makes that task somewhat easier.I trust these guys, Jones said. I know them. I care about them greatly, and theyve also earned my trust. I have great, great confidence in them.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Willie Roaf Jersey .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Pierre Thomas Jersey . Oyama had six birdies and two bogeys at Kintetsu Kashikojima in the event also sanctioned by the Japan LPGA Tour. "I have been having this neck ache thats been affecting my golf recently," Oyama said. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/custom-malcom-brown-jersey-large-2272e.html .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. 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