The Tennessee Vols finished 8-5 last season, but they were really just a few plays away from finishing as a 10 or 11-win team.

A couple of catastrophic plays and disappointing fourth quarters were the difference between a Music City Bowl appearance and a College Football Playoff berth.

Vols junior defensive back Edrees Farooq was asked on Tuesday why Tennessee’s defense, specifically, didn’t get better results last season despite having players who had solid individual numbers.

Farooq suggested that the team didn’t have the right mental approach to finish games the right way.

“The thing last year was just the mental part of it,” said Farooq. “Just being out there and being able to play when things get tough — when things get hard on us. Like when we get tired or anything.

“We didn’t feel down, we just didn’t have that mentality of finishing through games — all the way through. And I feel like this year, we have built that mentality of never giving up. And once the fourth quarter comes, we’ll be able to finish through the whole game.”

Farooq added that Tennessee “has a lot of dogs” on the team this year.

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The comments from Farooq fall in line with a report from On3’s Chris Low last November that stated some within Tennessee’s program didn’t think the Vols’ practices were physical enough.

“One source told On3 that one of the biggest concerns among some within the program is that the practices throughout the entire year, not just the season, aren’t physical enough and that there’s not enough contact,” wrote Low.

Low also noted that the source told On3, “You gotta hit and do enough of it if you’re going to be good at it, both tackling and blocking.”

Josh Heupel’s decision to hire Derek Owings as Tennessee’s new Director of Football Sports Performance wasn’t just about physically transforming the roster — it was about improving the mental side, too.

“He has that nasty style of game,” said Farooq of Owings. “He wants us all to be hungry and to be a football player — and just go out there and play ball like how we grew up (playing).”

Tennessee is probably going to lose some games this fall — college football is as competitive as ever, and the other teams are paying their players, too. But if the Vols end up on the wrong side of the scoreboard, it won’t be because they hit a wall in the fourth quarter.