Media Monday: Florida Week

HEAD COACH BUTCH JONES

(Opening Statement) “Good afternoon, a couple news items, or one news item then have a recap of the Georgia game and onto Florida. Officially, Dillon Bates, last night we got final word through the MRI and the doctors, he has torn his labrum. So he has a labrum tear, so he will undergo surgery and he will miss the rest of the season. We will apply for a redshirt which should go through. Then we will have him back for spring football. So that is the one news item.

“Moving forward, going backwards rather on the Georgia game, quick put that to rest and then move on to Florida. It is critical plays at critical stages of the game. We talk about impactful plays and begin able to impact the game. It is our players understanding that. You can’t have catastrophic mistakes. We have two turnovers and both were catastrophic. One obviously gives them seven points, the other we were in scoring range and it takes at least three points off the board, possibly seven. The game is a tight game at that stage of the game. It gives you an opportunity to seize momentum in the game and we weren’t able to do that. Our players right now, we are learning how to win football games and we are learning how to win. That is one of the most difficult and most challenging things that come about with the evolution of a football team is understanding how to close games out, how do you win particularly on the road. So again, we will go back to that process of really, really learning how to win. For instance, our defense does a great job, Todd Gurley who is a great, great football player, after three quarters has 79 yards rushing the football and in the fourth quarter has 129. Again, that is closing games out. We have to learn that. When we talk about impactful plays, everyone, the amateurs just want to look at the stat page, and say well he was this for this, or he had this many tackles. That is not impacting the game. We judge hits, how many hits, hits on the opponent, hits on the quarterback, his on the running back. Impactful plays can be a interception, it can be a ball disruption, it can be a tipped football, it can be a strip, it can be tackle for a loss, it can be affecting the quarterback, getting in his throwing lane, making him flush the pocket, it can be forced penalties. To me the mark of a great defensive line are forced penalties. How many penalties do you force? How many holding penalties? If I am defensive tackle I take great pride in forcing holding penalties. How many penalties do we force. On offense, it is a convoy block, of leading the back down the field. We call it getting a body in a body. Those are the types of things that we will continue to review with our football team. Defensively, we call those swarm points. Offensively, we call those fast and furious points. Obviously, our VOA in everything that we do on special teams. We chart all that and we review that. It is our players understanding, how can you impact the game. I thought we didn’t capitalize on field position. There were five times when we started on the minus 40 or better and we were only two our of five in terms of scoring points and you can’t do that. When you get great, great field position, it is a game of momentum, you must capitalize on that. I didn’t think we were able to capitalize on that.

“But also, a lot of positive things in moving forward. Again, very good on third down defense. I believe we limited them to 1 out of 10 on third down conversions. I think this team continues to grow up, continues to mature. We didn’t have the luxury or the background on having a lot of these players in live situations, so we are finding more and more out about our personnel as the season continues to progress. We are finding out more about our team makeup, our team chemistry, how we handle adversity, how we preserve. This group is getting better.

“Again, a tremendous, tremendous challenge this week. A very talented Florida football team coming in here. If you look at them defensively, we believe they have two of the best players in the country at their respective positions. They may be the best in the country. You look at the corner [Vernon] Hargreaves and you look at the defense tackle/defense end [Dante] Fowler. They even put him in on man to man coverage on a slot. That is how athletic he is. These individuals can disrupt the game, they can take the game over, they are very, very explosive, they run to the football.

“Offensively, again, you are going to hear the word explosive again, they have great balance. They are averaging a little over 460 yards per game, 41 points per game. Great balance between run and pass. [Jeff] Driskell is a dual threat, we fully anticipate a lot of designed quarterback runs in our game. They have great speed with [Demarcus] Robinson and [Quinton] Dunbar out on the perimeter. Matt Jones is a very, very good running back, very physical, downhill running back. Great offensive tackles, very good offensive line. As talented as any team we have faced all year. So again, it is going to take a great effort. We have to get back to work to continue to improve our deficiencies.

“I thought our special teams took a step forward. Aaron Medley I believe with a 46-yard field goal, which was great to see on the road. I thought Matt Darr took tremendous strides in moving forward with his hang time and the distances of his punt. I thought we took great strides there. There were a number of times where, in particular instances, our punt team had eight first and second year players and I believe six true freshman on our punt team at one time or another, running down to cover a kick. So again we continue to improve on special teams but again we will be challenged this week with a very fast and very physical Florida football team.”

(On the offensive line’s progression) “It’s a work in progress. I think sometimes our lack of strength shows just because of our youth. They haven’t been in a full time strength and conditioning program. I think some of the line calls, a couple sacks, were basically communicative mistakes where we didn’t identify the front properly. So, I think some of those obviously are correctable. I see them gaining confidence and it’s going to be a work in progress. It’s going to be on going as the season continues to go on. You look at these kids, they have only played in four games together and some of them only two games together. It’s kind of right where we thought it would be, but I do see progress every day.”

(On if Justin Worley is getting quicker at reading defenses) “He’s been very aggressive and very confident, and he has. His decision making process has been great. He knows where he’s going with the football. There is one instance, one throw we’d like to have back where they brought a corner blitz. We had a perfect play call. We have a pass in the flat and he didn’t control the defense with his eyes, but he has. He’s making great decisions. He’s making split second decisions. You go back to impactful plays. We do a great job and we come away with three points on the opening drive of the game, but yet we had an open receiver on a fifteen-yard dig to Alton Howard that may score or get us down to the six-yard line. Now you’re talking seven points as opposed to three points, and it happens in the first possession of the game. So, maybe you don’t think of it as one of those two to three to four plays that make a difference between winning and losing, but those are probably one of the two instances I brought up that Justin would like to have back. I like his aggressiveness. We talked to our football team about being assertive in their decision making process. I think he’s been exceptionally assertive in what he’s been able to do.”

(On how Worley is feeling) “He’s fine. He kind of his funny bone and all that, but he’s fine. He’ll be one-hundred percent for the game.”

(On Von Pearson and Josh Smith’s status) “We’ll see. Right now, Von Pearson is a little bit ahead of schedule. He’s ahead of Josh Smith at this particular time. I’ll know more later in the week. It’ll be on going. We put them, the last couple weeks, we put them in protective casts just to make sure they didn’t tweak it or all that. Now, they’re heavy into their rehabilitation, so I’ll know a little bit more as the week progresses. Right now, I’d say that Von is ahead of Josh in terms of recovery.”

(On if he’s confident this team will bounce back like last season) “Well, you’re talking about a totally different football team. Half of our football team wasn’t here, so they don’t have that experience to rely on. All I know about this football team is we have great competitive character. It’s very important to them. Now, it’s all new to them. How do we bounce back after an extremely extremely football game? That was two football teams laying it on the line Saturday afternoon. I was exceptionally proud of our effort. We still need to continue to get better with that though. Our kids fought to the bitter end and you can see the resiliency, you can see the perseverance. Again, every week is a new season in and of itself. It’s a new week, it’s a new opportunity. I expect them to bounce back. I expect them to be ready to go both mentally and physically.”

(On texts from former players) “I do, and our former players have been extremely supportive. They understand what’s going on here at Tennessee. They understand the work that needs to be done. They understand the work that has already been done. They’re proud of their alma mater. They have Peyton Manning come and been on our sideline, be in the locker room. Giving of his bye week, his only bye week, to be able to do that and spend time with our players, they understand where this football program is headed and I know they’re extremely encouraged. They’re excited of the progress we’re making. They understand too, we have a long ways to go. You look at the tweets of our former players, they’re excited about recruiting. Why wouldn’t a prospective student-athlete want to come here? Why wouldn’t they? The fan base, the vision, where this football program is headed, it’s a matter of time. That’s when I said in my press conference before, we’re going to be a good football team. We’re going to be a good football program and we’re going to win a lot of games around here. The only variable is time, but we’re going to do it right and we’re making progress. Now we have to make progress this week versus an extremely talented football team.”

(On if it’s an easy sale for freshmen to play special teams) “Yeah, but it’s a challenge. There’s a lot of technique. It’s the exact same as playing offense and defense. You’ve got to understand schemes. You’ve got to understand technique and you have to be able to run. We all know we were extremely deficient last year in terms of team speed and it really showed on special teams particularly in the big games. Florida’s going to challenge us with their team speed. It’s just as hard to perform on special teams, and it may be a little bit harder because you’re talking about a space game. The hardest thing to do is to drop twenty to twenty-five yards on kickoff return and block an individual who has had a twenty yard running head start, to be able to flip the power and come to base and block an individual coming down. Special team is a space game, so it’s a great challenge. Cortez McDowell is an individual who has really stepped up, providing valuable valuable reps for us in special teams. He’s an individual who didn’t play very much to start the season. Now, his role continues to expand because he’s building confidence in himself. He’s building confidence amongst his peers and confidence amongst the coaching staff. Evan Berry’s another individual who’s continuing to develop and you see his role continuing to be elevated on special teams as well.”

(On the onside kick) “Gosh, we had it. Coach Stripling did a great job of scheming it up and we overloaded to one side and we had a plus-two man advantage and unfortunately the kick didn’t go our way and we were forced to have one of our players hold the football which should not have occurred. We were forced to. That is what we were told but still even with being forced to have an individual hold the ball we still had numbers but we just didn’t execute it. It was there. That was one of the thought process, do you kick the ball deep and want to generate a three-and-out, you are playing field position. But I thought when you onside kick it it gives you twice the amount to come up with the football. We didn’t get the football unfortunately, they recovered, now it is up to our defense to force and three-and-out, force them to punt the football and again we weren’t able to close that situation out. We need to do that to be able to win football games on the road.”

(On kicking the onside kick to the correct side) “Yes. We had a plus-two man advantage, we just didn’t get the proper bounce and the proper landmark.”

(On the team learning from playing at Oklahoma) “Everything is about learning experiences, we play the games to win, that is the standard and the expectation, I don’t believe in moral victories. But I do think some confidence was born. I do think having to go not the road and play a talented football team like Oklahoma on their home field, prime time, national television, 7 o’clock game. I do think that that benefited us in playing Georgia. Like we spoke about, I think 13 players played in that game from two years ago. So they are learning as the season continues to progress. But I do think some benefit has occurred.”

(On Marlin Lane and Derrell Scott) “Marlin continues to progress. He hurt his shoulder a little bit but he is back full strength now. It is just that we have some certain plays for Jalen [Hurd] but we believe he is one of those players that can make you right when you are wrong. You look at Todd Gurley, you look at yards after contact, you look at some of the yards Gurley is able to generate on his own. For us to be successful, if the play is blocked for seven yards we can’t just have seven yards. We need to get nine, 10, 11, 12. Marlin will continue to get better at that and he hasn’t had very many opportunities with that. He works exceptionally hard and we are going to need him down the stretch. This is a physical, physical football league and you can’t just make it through the season with one or two running backs. Derrell Scott will be an individual that his volume work will continue to grow as well. Having him involved in the offense, having him involved in certain plays, will continue to expand as well. We need running backs and that is a point of emphasis in our football program. The mark of a great running back is durability and as we all know this is a physical game and a physical conference.”

(On Jalen Hurd’s yards after contact) “He has about 48. Which he is doing a great job. There was one game where everyone stopped and thought the play was over, and he gained about 12 yards after that.”

(On signaling for a fair catch) “You are not supposed to be hit after you signal for a fair catch, no. And you are not supposed to be able to advance the ball after you signal for a fair catch as well.”

(On evaluating the referees with the SEC office) “We always are in dialogue, communication with the office. That is pretty much standard protocol for all the coaches in our conference and in every conference. So we do have dialogue, we do reach out and we do submit grades. Our conference office does a great job. They respond right away, they are always accessible to you. They do a great job in that manner.”

(On discussion with the SEC office after the Georgia game about clarification of calls) “They did, I am not going to comment on that in this type of forum. But we did get word with everything, right, wrong, indifferent. They do a great job with that. But I am not going to comment on the right or wrong, did one or two plays like that cost the football game? Absolutely not. We don’t get the onside kick, we have the force a three-and-out, force them to punt the football, and we weren’t able to do that.”

(On celebration penalties) “Every time we score, we have a term in our football program call the score standard and we actually talk about it and we practice it. When an individual scores a touchdown for Tennessee we all look the same and we hand the ball to the official. A lot of times an individual will score and it may be all other ten guys doing their job, it may be where one running back runs the ball all the way down to the one-yard line and the next running back comes in and he scores unimpeded and he does all those things. So I can’t comment on our programs but in our program we have what is called the score standard. The excitement is part of the game, getting excited when you score, have we followed the score standard and protocol, no we haven’t. But emotion is part of it and getting excited is part of it but we do have that in place in our program that we do talk about it all the time.”

(On Jeff Driskel) “Great challenge, so much when you add a running quarterback to your scheme a lot of times your a gap short defensively or they have an extra hat in the run game whether it is by a lead blocker. The ability to extend plays, that is kind of the theme all throughout the course of football, not just at the collegiate level but at the professional level as well. So Driskel presents a whole other dynamic to our defense. We saw that in Arkansas State with [Fredi] Knighten, he present a whole other dynamic. Driskel can throw the football, there is a reason he was the number one recruited quarterback in the country. I have been impressed with his play. As coaching staff, they are playing to his strengths, very well-coached. Again, I think it shows in the statistics, I think it shows in the productively that they are having as an overall offense.”

(On redshirting sophomore quarterback Josh Dobbs)

“We’ll see. We’ll see how that goes. In a perfect world, yes, but Josh is prepared to play each and every week. As we’ve come to know around here, you’re one snap away. Sometimes, you’re two snaps away. He gets valuable reps in practice just like [Nathan Peterman], but Nate has done a great job in practice. I thought Nate did some good things when he got into the game. We just can’t turn the football over.”

(On having Ethan Wolf back on the field) “Ethan brings a whole other dynamic to our offense, and he’s another individual where you can see the growth, the maturation and the confidence building week in and week out. I thought he made some great plays with the ball in the air, did some good things blocking. Now, he just needs to continue to develop–getting in the weight room. These young kids, they have a full academic workload, they’re going through a season and they need to continue to develop their bodies. He is kind of going through an offseason strength and conditioning program as well as he needs to continue to develop that strength and continue to put weight on his frame as well. But, he’s done an exceptional job to date. When we talk about the differences in teams and will this team bounce back–now, he got the lecture from me. Last Wednesday, I get a text message at 1:23 in the morning and it says, `Coach, the tight ends drop the ball too much in practice.’ Well, have a better practice. His lecture was you better get to bed and get your rest. But, on the other hand, that’s the investment, that’s the importance that this football team has. They evaluate every rep, they are very conscious of every rep and they want to win every rep. I like that.”

(On ratio of run versus pass plays) “We want great balance. Like I said a couple weeks ago, first down is the only mystery down. We want to be 50/50 run-to-pass on first down. A lot of the other situations dictate by distance, but we take great pride in being a balanced offense.”

(On Florida winning nine straight in the series) “I can’t speak of the past. All I know is the present, and Team 118 controls that this week. The great thing is most of our football team hasn’t even been here for those games. I can’t comment on what’s gone on in the past. All I know is we have to control what we can control.”

(On amount of times Jones has heard the importance of beating Florida) “Numerous.”

(On Georgia’s focus on Marquez North as a result of WR injuries) “Anytime you take Josh Smith and Von Pearson out of your offense, it sets you back. We have very capable players. We have a little bit of depth, but not as much depth as everyone that recruits against us at the wide receiver position. We need more depth, but anytime you take Josh Smith and Von Pearson out of the offense you’re going to suffer because they are talented players. We really missed their presence Saturday. The volume of repetitions that we want to play at the tempo we want to play, the old school days of 21 personnel, the huddle, your wide outs take all the reps­­–that doesn’t happen. You need to continue to put individuals in, and we didn’t have that luxury in the Georgia game. I thought that hurt us a little bit. It’s another individual’s opportunity. Jason Croom stepped up and made some big time plays for us at critical stages of the game. Josh Malone had five catches, did a great job of catch and advance. We had individuals step up in their presence, but it’s going to be great at some point to get them back.”

(On Curt Maggitt’s play coming off the injury) “We thought Curt Maggitt played his best game of the year last week. He played more Sam (strong side) linebacker. He was a nine technique. I thought he really did some great things, was extremely productive. When we talk about impactful plays, he had a lot of those. It was really the first game where we could really feel his presence on the football field. He’s done a great job of keeping his body rested. He’s one of those individuals who is benefitting from not playing the 70, 80, 90 snaps. We still have way too many players on our defensive side of the ball playing in the 80-to-90 snap range when you put defense and special teams together. For us to win football games down the stretch, we need more individuals to step up and provide some depth and stability at all the other positions. But, I thought Curt performed the best since we’ve been here.”

(On why Maggitt has taken a few games to be productive) “I think the flow of the game dictated it. I think the style of the game–every game is different. The style of play, the matchups–football is a game of one-on-one matchups. Some games, they are good matchups for certain individuals. Other games present challenging matchups for individuals, with their style of play, their personnel, the formation, the scheme, all of that. It was a game I thought Curt matched up exceptionally well. He gained great confidence, and we’re going to need much more from him moving forward.”

(On how to get relief for Jalen Reeves-Maybin in regards to number of snaps) “Cortez McDowell is a young man who continues to progress. He is kind of following the progression of Jalen last year, where he continues to get better and better and better in his football intelligence. Every special teams play, he’d come up to me and tell me exactly what he saw and what was going on. We talk about live the game. We talk about, really, the mental part of it is work the game. Work it mentally everyday, even in practice. There are some individuals that play the game, but they can’t really tell you what happened when they came to the sideline, where [McDowell] is able to tell you everything. He’s an individual that needs to step up now at linebacker. Jakob Johnson is in the same predicament. We’re going to demand more from him at the linebacker position as well.”

(On thoughts on UT’s support and #CheckerNeyland) “The support has been outstanding. That support has been there sinceDecember 7th, I believe it was, a couple of years ago. Our fans are incredible. I work everyday for them and representing Tennessee. They are so special, and it means so much to them. To have a fan initiative of checkerboarding Neyland, I think it speaks volumes. Most places, they have to manufacture that, where our fans come out, and it’s on them. I’m excited. They have created so much positive energy and excitement around our football program. Our players are feeding off of it, our recruits are feeding off of it, our community is feeding off of it, the state of Tennessee is feeding off of it, and it’s great. They have been extremely supportive, and Saturday afternoon at noon should be a great, great college football environment. Should be the best environment in the country.”

(On what the coaching staff has to do to get better) “I think the biggest thing is just making sure we’re making our players in positions to succeed to have success and it starts up front. If it’s more sprint outs, is it max protection, is it chips, is it changing a run scheme, is it some wham plays. You know, trying to alleviate some stress and pressure from the offensive line, which is a challenge in of it itself. From our coverages to our different blitz schemes, trying to create one-on-one matchups. Just trying to put our players in positions where they can succeed. And the same thing in special teams game. And it’s continued to develop them as future fathers, future husbands, future leaders but also as football players, the fundamentals, the fine details. Understanding the difference between winning and losing. It’s a whole deal. It’s a conglomeration of a lot of different things. The little things add up to great, big things. We take great pride in that. The first thing that I do is I evaluate myself. What could I have done better? I have a journal after every day before I go to sleep, if I had the day to do over again, what would I have done different, what could I have done better, did we do everything possible that day to make us a better football team or football program. We self-evaluate ourselves every day as a coaching staff, as individual coaches and as leaders and mentors. We do that every day. We talk about it in our staff meeting every day, and we take great pride in that. I think if you look at our body of work, over a number of years as a coaching staff, I think if you talk to our former players, I think if you talk to all of our former players coming back. Ja’Wuan James, this morning I got a text message from him `Can’t wait to see you Coach.’ Talk about the grind of an NFL rookie and this season that he is going through. Dan LeFevour, our quarterback at Central Michigan, will be on the sidelines for the Tennessee game. Zach Collaros (former Cincinnati quarterback) who’s starting in Canada. He sends me a text, `Will you send me a Butch please t-shirt so I can wear it in my press conference.’ Those are all things that are very, very important. Travis Kelce’s (former Cincinnati tight end, currently with the Kansas City Chiefs) scored his first touchdown a couple weeks ago. He calls me, `Hey coach.’ All those things make a difference. It goes beyond the game of football, and we take great pride in that as a coaching staff because that means everything to us.”

(On A.J. Johnson’s 17 tackles and his performance against Georgia) “That’s a great illustration of what we talk about the impactful plays. Very, very productive game for A.J. A.J.’s typical productiveness but there were times that I think his competitiveness of wanting to do too much in playing outside of the defense got us into trouble at times. That’s just A.J. A.J. wants to be on punt return. He wants to be on kickoff. He wants to impact the game on every single snap. Sometimes being a great football player is constantly understanding the scheme. Let the scheme work for you. Let the three technique work for you. Let the one technique for you. There are a couple times in our run fits that our linebackers overlapped and we were a gap short. Again, we’ll continue to work at that. I’d rather say `Woah’ than `Sic them.’ A.J. continues to provide stability to our defense, continues to make plays but again sometimes we have to slow him down as well.”

(On what the game against Florida means in terms of the conference) “All I can speak on for us, it’s the most important game because it’s the next game. That’s the way that we look at it. We have a long football season to go. The teams that don’t have success throughout the course of a long season are very emotional. They’re up for one game. They’re down for this game. They’re up for this game. They’re down for this game. We just want an even keel football team that takes prides in getting themselves mentally and physically ready to play. Psychologically, physically and everything that goes into it. So this is an important game because it’s the next game. It’s a divisional game as well. It’s a rivalry game. That’s very important to us as well but we have a lot of football to be played. You can’t put any more premium on one game than another. Young football teams do that. Young football teams spark, ups and downs. Our football team has not done that to this point. They’ve had an even keel. I’ve liked their approach. They’ve been effective in their mindset each and every week. That’s a tribute to our older players and also to the youngers players and also to the coaching staff. There’s so much that goes into it, preparing a football team, week in and week out. We’ve had very few substitution issues. We’re still doing a good job penalty wise. Those are all things when you have a young football team, an immature football team that they really expose themselves. To date, our players have done a great job of that. Obviously, another great opponent here on Saturday. No one game is bigger than the next.”

Senior Linebacker A.J. Johnson

(On how not to try not to do too much on defense) “Pretty much, like you said, that’s what happened. I’m trying to do too much, trying to make too many plays. I just need to play inside the system. I feel like this last game, I was playing with more emotion instead of playing inside a system and playing with my keys and reads and stuff like that. I got away from my technique and stuff like that. It was probably one of my worst games.”

(On it being his worst game even with seventeen tackles) “Yeah, seventeen tackles really don’t mean anything. It’s about production. I can get that many tackles, but I played outside the system. So, it’s probably one of my worst games. I’m going to correct that and have that right this week for Florida.”

(On why he was playing so emotional) “I wouldn’t say that it was tied in because of a great running back. I’d say it was tied in because I wanted to win so badly and I was trying to do everything possible just to win instead of just playing football.”

(On the #CheckerNeyland Initiative) “Oh shoot, I know the environment’s going to be crazy. I’ve just seen the pictures and stuff on Instagram and everything. Just looking at the pictures makes you want to play in the stadium. I know the fans are going to have the emotions high and have the environment real `turnt’ up. Then they said our student section sold out, the tickets sold out. So, you know they’re going to be in there `turnt’ up.”

(On what pops in his head when he thinks Florida week) “I think about big game. It’s a big game. It’s going to be a good environment out there. You’re going to have to perform to the best of your abilities. You’re going to have to step up and make plays. That’s the first thing that pops in my head is play. You like playing. You like playing in rivalry games. You’ve got to bring out the best you can in those games. You’re going to have to perform.”

(On playing against a guy like Jeff Driskel) “We played against running quarterbacks our first two games. We did pretty good containing them. It’s just what we rehearse in practice. We already broke down the film today as a defense. Early this morning we came together and broke down the film. We saw they had a couple designed quarterback runs and stuff like that. Just everybody playing in their fits and playing in their keys, we’ll be able to control that. When you have a running quarterback it helps your offense if you have a gap that’s uncounted for. So, we’re going to have to have people be able to make a play and get off and make a play.”

(On the hardest habits they have to break the younger players of) “I know for me, when you say that it made me think of Elliott Berry. One thing I’ve just been trying to preach to him is using his hands. That’s a big thing as a linebacker, using your hands. Pretty much all the young guys who are here, they’re doing everything right. They’re going out playing. If we tell them to do something, they’re going to do it. They’re out making plays. The young guys who are here they’re making plays and doing everything right. It’s just little technique stuff that they can just polish up. Everything else they’ve been balling.”

(On Todd Kelly Jr.’s interception) “That junk was sick. I was running down the field and I look over and I just saw him in the air, just midair caught the ball and it felt good too. It wasn’t anything that shocked me because he’s already made those plays in practice plenty of times. That’s why he’s out there playing with us because we know what he can do. He can make plays and he’s a baller. So, it was a great play by him to change momentum of the game and it felt real good seeing him make that play too.”

(On words between him and Todd Gurley) “Me and Gurley were talking a lot of stuff the whole game. He’s a good back. After the game, we shook hands and stuff like that. Afterwards everything was cool, but I had to say my phrase, `Light him up.'”

(On what he is better at this season) “What I’m better at now? Playing in the system like he said. This past game I got away from it, but the games early before this I’ve been playing the system and just doing my job for the most part. Setting stuff right and making sure everybody’s locked up. Just playing the system and doing my job is the big thing.”

(On if he is faster than he was last year) “A lot of people are saying I look faster and stuff on the field. I feel like I’m still the same speed, but if people say I look faster, I must be faster.”

Junior Linebacker Curt Maggitt

(On if he’s talked to Dillon Bates after his injury) “Yeah I talked to him. My advice to him was everything happens for a reason, embrace the process. He’s got a lot of time left. He’s still a freshman. So, don’t look down on himself and figure out a way he can still be a positive influence to the team”

(On if the Florida game will be different for him with him being from Florida) “It’s a great opportunity for us. Every week is its own season. We’ve got to have a great week of preparation. Like I said, all through the season we’ve been feeling our fans’ positive energy and positive support on us. Now, after two weeks, two away games and a bye week, we’re finally back in Neyland. So, it’s going to be a great week.”

(On respect level for Justin Worley after gutsy performance this week) “To be honest, it didn’t do too much with me. I always respected Worley. He’s been through a lot of adversity since he’s been here. He’s been put in some tough situations. I feel like he’s always responded. I always had his back. Before every game I tell him, `Just play your game, I’ve got your back no matter what.’ I’ve got a lot of faith in him. I believe in Justin.”

(On the checkerboard Neyland Stadium initiative) “That’s going to be tight. I think that’s going to be real cool. Noon game, checkerboard Neyland, I think it’s going to be epic. That’s what I think.” (On why he thinks he was effective against Georgia) “Personally, I like playing against teams that run twenty-one, twenty-two type personnel. I guess that has something to do with it. The weeks prior, it wasn’t as much bigger personnel. So, going into SEC play, that’s the kind of games I enjoy most. I guess I just did my job.”

(On if he is back to one-hundred percent) “Yeah, I feel great. I’ve been feeling good for a long time. I appreciate the question, but I feel good. I feel real good, thank you.”

(On what they have seen from Florida so far) “I think they’re a good team. Pretty good O-line, a couple good running backs, I’m excited for them to come in. It’s going to be a real good game, real physical game.”

(On if this week means more than others) “It’s a rivalry for sure. So, that stands out but we know we’ve got to approach it just like every other week preparation wise, starting with practice.”

(On the hardest habits they have to break the younger players of) “My goal is to try to help them focus on one week at a time, not look down the line and figure out who we’re playing in three weeks or anything like that. Just put all your energy and emotion and passion into just this one week, one practice at a time. Approach every practice like a business and get better every day.”

Sophomore Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin

(On being from Tennessee and going against the Gators in Neyland) “It was always a big dream for me. I wouldn’t really say I expected to do it though. Just always working and striving to get to this place. Finally here, so definitely excited to play this weekend and try to make some big plays.”

(On mental preparation to not be too emotional) “We just take every game one week at a time. Like he said, it’s a new season every week. Coach Jones always talks about we want to play with passion and try not to play with emotion. With emotion you can go high, you can go low, but when you play with passion it’s consistently there. We just try to come out and do that every week.”

(On how many snaps he can play) “I feel like I can go all day. It doesn’t really matter, I just want to win. That’s all that really matters. I’ll play all the special teams. It doesn’t really matter.”

(On young guys stepping up with Dillon Bates out) “It’ll probably be Elliott Berry and Cortez McDowell behind me, but those guys have been working hard since camp. So, I’ve got a lot of faith in those guys. It’s going to hurt with Dillon being out. He had built that trust up to where he could go in there and play those snaps, but I think those two guys will be able to experiment if we need it. They’ll be able to step in and play that role.”

(On how playing special teams as a freshman helped his development) “I think it helped a lot just being out there and learning the speed of the game, learning how to use different techniques, learning how to use your hands, basically wanting to be a playmaker out there. When you can get those young guys on special teams, it’s definitely going to help them later on down the road.”

(On when he felt comfortable at linebacker) “I’d say all throughout spring practice when I was there every day, going with the ones every day, being beside AJ, talking to Curt, those guys who’ve been there and done it. Just teaching me little stuff. So, throughout the spring I started to feel real comfortable there.”