How — and why — Tennessee's Gator Bowl onside kick happened

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Henry To’o To’o waited eagerly to go back on defense with a handful of minutes to play Thursday.

The Vols linebacker had no idea that Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt had something else in mind. On Tennessee’s penultimate kickoff, Pruitt called for an onside kick for the first time this season. 

“If it looks like it's there, you might as well take it is the way I look at it,” Pruitt said. “That’s kind of the way we coach — rather get them before they get us.”

Pruitt’s boldness paid off with his first successful onside call after trying four in his first season with the Vols. Tennessee (8-5) rode the stolen possession to beat Indiana (8-5) 23-22 in the Gator Bowl.

“Bunt right,” kicker Brent Cimaglia said of the play’s name. “It should be called the Paxton Special now.”

Tennessee punter and kickoff specialist Paxton Brooks tapped the ball into a gap in the Indiana kick return formation. Running back Eric Gray and defensive back Kenney Solomon bolted for the ball, while three Vols were tasked with blocking.

Gray secured the bounding ball on a full sprint as it passed the required 10 yards for a legal onside kick.

“It was something that we felt was there when we were breaking them down — and as the game went, we felt like it was there,” Pruitt said. “We’ve probably repped it 500 or 600 times over the last six months. We had confidence in our players. So just felt like we needed to do it there. … 

“There wasn’t much they could do based off how they were aligned.”

What the Vols saw was a pair of Hoosiers lined up 12 yards from the kick in the middle of the field and one player near each sideline. The formation heavily leaned toward the Indiana sideline, leaving about a third of the field open between an Indiana player near midfield and another near the UT sideline.

“It was open all game,” Cimaglia said. “We didn’t want to call it too early. The call was perfect timing.”

Pruitt took his chance after Tennessee scored with 4:21 to play, cutting Indiana’s lead to 22-16. The Vols had all three timeouts remaining and a defense that righted itself in the fourth quarter after a tough third frame. 

Indiana coach Tom Allen expected the Vols to kick the ball deep, although he did tell his players to be alert for a possible onside kick. 

“Their defense had played well enough to where, it wasn't like you say, ‘Hey, this is just an automatic situation,’” Allen said. “They could have kicked it deep and decided to play defense."

Instead, Tennessee went for the gamble — although it didn’t seem like a gamble to the Vols. 

“It is really just a look where you are trying to find holes in the defense,” Brooks said. “We saw a hole there and decided we would try and bunt the ball there. We executed it perfectly.”

Brooks and the Vols routinely work on onside kicks as a steady part of any kickoff period in practices. He spends time alone in the indoor facility working on the kick, making sure it is not too short or too long. 

“That is why I felt really good about it going into it,” Brooks said. “When he called it, I said, ‘Okay, let’s go.’ I am prepared to do it and fully executed it.”

The most challenging part, Brooks said, is making the approach to the kick appear that it will be a normal kickoff.

He sold it, running up and kicking the ball forward into the ground. It took a high bounce, then another and Gray caught it without breaking stride at the Tennessee 45-yard line.

“We've practiced it over and over a thousand times — we just never ran it,” Gray said. “We saw that look on film all week. We saw that look when they backed their guys up and the hole was there. I was just glad I caught it when it was 10 yards.”

Brooks was relieved when Gray caught the ball before Indiana’s Gary Cooper could close the space. But he had “full faith” in Gray being in the right place.

“I knew he was going to recover it as soon as I hit it,” Brooks said. “I knew he would be there.”

Three plays later, Gray cut through the Indiana defense for a 16-yard touchdown and a Tennessee lead.

To’o To’o and the Vols defense got back on the field for a pair of stops to seal the win. But the freshman was fine with waiting.

“Seeing it happen, it was too exciting,” To’o To’o said. “It was like, ‘No, no way, let’s roll.’”