MEDIA MONDAY: CHATTANOOGA WEEK

Head Coach Butch Jones

(Opening Statement)
“A recap of Florida and then move on to any questions that you have. After reviewing all the videotape, obviously we did not play our best football overall. Again, it is playing complementary football, we have not played our best football yet in terms of complementary football, offense, defense, special teams, playing off of each other. I thought we made some pretty uncharacteristic mistakes from a discipline standpoint with mental penalties. You can’t do that, our margin of error with this football team is very small. So we can’t recover when it is first-and-15, second-and-15, we just can’t do that. The formula for winning, the plan to win never changes, you have to score touchdowns in the red zone, first and foremost and we weren’t able to do that. Zero turnovers, again, had a catastrophic turnover that takes points off the board, on first-and-10 we have to throw the ball away and live another down. I thought our defensive created some turnovers, we had 12 tackles for loss which was great to see. But we have to be a team that doesn’t beat ourselves and I thought at times we made things very, very challenging.

“Mission remains the same, we talk about being relentless, we are not going away. It is just one game. In this conference and in college football, every game, every week is a new season in and of itself. We have to keep pressing along. For us, how do we respond, what is our leadership like. First time this team has really suffered some adversity and some noise and some clutter and how do we respond. I know our football team pretty well and I think they will respond ready to go, ready come meetings, focused in and ready to continue to learn. There are many things that we need to fix and need to improve on, this week is going to be about ourselves, continuing to get better against a good Chattanooga football team that is ranked 14th in the country. But everyone wants the prize but no one wants the process. We are going through that process right now and what is our appetite to win, what is our hunger and that was pretty much the message of Inky Johnson when he spoke to our football team and it is very, very fitting. But we have to work to continue to correct our deficiencies, we have to have some individuals set up. Through five games now I continue to see individuals get progressively better and I see some players digressing. We have to all ask the question why, we have to go back, we have to work on our fundamentals, our technique, our toughness and just continue to focus on that process and work to be a better football team week in and week out.”

(On if he will revisit the offensive line starting lineup this week)
“With who? It is what it is. Those are the five that we have. Those are the five we feel gives us the best opportunity on Saturdays, and we’re sticking with those five. It’s on those other individuals at the offensive line to continue to work themselves to be in that conversation through the week of preparation throughout the course of the week. We’re down two full recruiting classes in the offensive line. That’s just the reality of where we’re at in our football program.”

(On Dylan Wiesman)
“He continues to progress. He went into the Florida game and he had a banged up shoulder from practice, so he was really kind of unavailable. Again, I don’t know if you guys really truly totally understand the offensive line positions and defensive line positions, but particularly the offensive line positions, are developmental positions. Name me another school in the country that’s starting two true freshmen in the offensive line. They’re developmental positions. To really have successful programs, players start in your program three years into it at the offensive line. There’s so much that goes into it. The volume of communication, the physicality, the technique, the mental toughness. You look at it, that’s the most unglorified position in sport. They never get complimented, they never score touchdowns. It’s like a fist fight in a phone booth on every single snap. There’s a mental toughness that goes into it. It’s a gladiator sport inside. There’s so many things that you have to possess to play in the offensive line. You have to be athletic enough now, particularly in this conference, to block six-foot-four, six-foot-five defensive ends that run 4.5 forties. So, those are developmental positions. Are there some players playing before their time? Maybe, but I think they’re doing a fairly decent job. We have to continue to get better. They’re all that we have. Like I told you Saturday, nothing’s changed. I believe in them. Don Mahoney does a great job. In how far they’ve come from week one to now, if you watch video tape, you’ll see development. Football still comes down to one-on-one matchups. There’s only so much you can do. Everyone thinks a play call is a magical cure. Everybody runs the same plays. It comes down to execution. It’s one-on-one matchups. There’s only so many things we can do, run schemes and pass schemes. It still comes down to winning your one-one-matchups, and that’s the game of football. Not just in the offensive front, but the defensive front and out on the perimeter and across the board.”

(On Dontavius Blair and Brett Kendrick’s progression)
“They’re progressing. Again, every week is critical for them. Adding the strength that’s needed to play at this level, the overall mental stamina, but they continue to progress.”

(On Jalen Hurd’s shoulder)
“We anticipate him being at practice today. He had a little bit of a shoulder ding in the game, but he went back in. He’s received treatments and we fully anticipate him being ready for Chattanooga. He’ll be participating in practice today. He’s cleared for practice, so he’ll be fine. It’s just the wear and tear that goes on with shoulders of a running back that plays physical. No more, no less.”

(On how critical it is to get help from other running backs)
“Critical, critical, in this conference you can’t have one running back. You need to have four, you need to have three, you need to have four. Derrell Scott is an individual that continues to develop. You’ll probably see more of him in practice and in the game on Saturday as well.”

(On a recruiting profile for players to play immediately)
“We have to do our due diligence to say the least. We have a recruiting profile and for the most part we have done a great job and there is a whole process led by Bob Welton and the coaches and Zach Azzanni as our recruiting coordinator. But when you are trying to build the depth and the competitive structure of your football program, every individual develops differently. When you look at the NFL, they spend millions and millions and millions of dollars on the scouting process and they don’t get it right. That is human nature, that is human behavior, players develop differently, but we have to be right, we can’t afford to not have individuals that come in and help us immediately that we think can develop into All-SEC performers over time. That is just where we are at. But they have done a great job, this recruiting class has done a good job. Our players in our program are working exceptionally hard. They understand the volume of repetitions, the work ethic in the weight room, I thought really for the first time all year, our immaturity really showed, particularly on offense. In terms of just our overall strength, our overall lack of development. That is the other thing that concerns you, when you do play an inordinate about of freshman is their overall growth and development in the weight room. Our individuals we are redshirting right now, they are going through a four-day life segment, they are in an offseason training period. A lot of times, development what we have found over a course of time is a freshman may be underdeveloped because of that. They have done a great job in terms of trying to balance practice and also improving their strength levels week in and week out.”

(On the difficult balance of players playing immediately versus developing)
“It is but we don’t deviate. We want to take the best prospect, we are going to take the best player that we feel we can win an SEC Championship and a National Championship with. And if that means that player may be a little bit behind right now but his upside is greater, we are going to take him. We are always going to err on growth and development.”

(On the wide receivers not getting open against Florida)
“Yes, in our offense we have to be able to win one-on-one match ups on the perimeter. They were in man coverage a lot, third-and-long, two man, that started in the Georgia game. If something works you are going to continue to see it. It is man under, two deep. In the red zone they were particularly almost all man-to-man coverage, that is why you saw the high volume of play calls down there, they out number the box. And again, just like we talked about the offensive line, it is the same thing at the wide receiver position, the tight end position, the corner position, the safety position, you have to win your one-on-one match ups. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that as effectively as we have been able to do in the past.”

(On not winning one-on-one match ups)
“It is not just the receivers, it is a combination of everyone. Again, it takes all 11 players working together as one. Sometimes we will have the play blocked for right for nine individuals and the tenth individual doesn’t do their job. That is football, that is communication, that is teamwork, that is why it is the greatest team sport in America. If I put all 11 of you across the line right here and whispered in your ear a message and you had to pass it all the way down, would that same message from number one to number 11 be the exact same message? That is communication. That is working together as one and that comes over time. It takes great pride in executing your assignment, like I said before, every play has it own individual and specific job description for every single player. So with that is it just comes down to working together as one. There is a number of times if you play shoulda, coulda and you are watching some of the calls in the red zone and you pause the button at the point of attack and you say touchdown. It is someone coming off a block, it is a great effort by the player on the opposite team. There is a combination of a lot of that.”

(On the inexperience at offensive line be magnified in the red zone)
“It is magnified in the red zone because your throwing lanes shrink, your timing shrinks, your landmarks shrink, the timing mechanism is all sped up the closer you get to the goal line. You cannot have tackles for loss in the red zone. We have been able to do that, we went backwards, you can’t turn the football over. Aaron Medley is doing a great job. He is kicking the ball well for us. So again, we have three points in our back pocket, but obviously we need to come away with seven. But you can’t have tackles for loss, you can’t have untimely penalties and all those things are critical to winning in the red zone.”

(On the reason for turnovers)
“I think it is a combination, it is an overall decision making process. We have first-and-10 in the red zone and we have to throw the ball away, that is part of managing the football game and understanding, `hey, it is first down, throw the ball away, that is football, let’s go play second-and-10.’ It is some of those decisions. It is individuals making the right technique on a route technique. It is again, one-on-one match ups. I think there is a combination. All the little, small details add up to the big details. It is like at the end of the game if our receiver stems the route, pushes vertical, sticks it, the middle of the field is wide opener, changes everyone’s perception. Those are the small details, it is inches, it is fine details. Again, it gets back to that job description, that is every individual being accountable and it starts with me, it starts with our coaches, put it all on me, I am the head football coach. Again, it is the fundamentals, it is the execution, it is the fine details. I am a realist, I don’t make excuses, I look at it, try to find out why things are happening, how can we do better, is there somebody else we can be playing, who gives us the best opportunity to win. That is all the things that I look at. These coaches are working exceptionally hard, these players are working exceptionally hard. When you have some individuals playing for the first time, the first thing that concerns you as a football coach is inconsistencies. That consistency in performance which we talked about, that is not a crutch, that is not an excuse. We demand consistency on every single play. That is going to be some of our focus, as it is every week. Just the overall consistency in approach, consistency in performance. You hear me talk about that every single week because the great teams have that.”

(On amount of zone-read plays run in game)
“How many zone-read plays did we run on Saturday? We’re running gap schemes. I think, again, the most common used term in Knoxville is the zone read. We just think we see the quarterback in the gun and he sticks the ball out, and that’s a zone read. We ran more gap schemes than we did zone-read schemes this past week–trying to give a double team at the point of attack, trying to get our tight ends involved in the run game. Schematically, we’re doing the right things. We need to continue to progress. We need to improve our tempo. But, we’re not just a zone-read football team. I think that’s a myth. It just comes with people not really understanding run schemes and blocking schemes. You really watch it, and–I’m going to talk to Jimmy (Stanton). Maybe next year, part of this press conference is ten minutes with the coach. I’ll come in and put the video on, I’m serious, and we’ll go through the videotape. I’ll show you so you can really see because we really do have a lot of good things going on, and we need to continue to progress. Maybe this spring, I’m serious, we hold a couple hour deal, and I’d be more than happy to go through everything with you.”

(On bouncing back from the emotional Florida game)
“When you invest as much as these young men have invested in victory and invested in this football program, when you lose, it should hurt. You play the game to win the football game. You expect to win. It’s everything I’ve spoken about. This football team isn’t hoping to win. They believe they are going to win every time they step out onto the football field. So, it should hurt. I think that’s been the progression of our football program–you want to see hurt. You want to see that. Now, it’s how do we respond. Today is critical. We have a 24-hour rule. I was about on the six-hour rule. I was emotional. I was emotionally spent. I felt like everyone else in Vol Nation Saturday night. The difference was I only had a couple hours, then I had to go recruit all night to make us a better football program along with our coaches. Then, I go back and try to be a realist, try to set in, set the vision, look where we’re at. Our players will respond, and we’ll have a great team meeting. We’ll review the video today, we’ll go out and have a short practice, a short lift and get them going. That’s part of the grind. Now, hopefully, you see kind of the vision when I met with you guys in August of the Power of One–one opponent at a time, one day at a time. We’re just going to follow that same formula. Today is Monday. We have to winMonday. Next opponent, Chattanooga. WE have to go. We can’t worry about that. That’s in the rearview mirror, and we have to learn from our mistakes and continue to progress. That’s all you can be, and that’s all you can do.”

(On freshman DB Emmanuel Moseley)
“I thought he did some good things. He is an individual who was thrown into the fire right away–standing on the sideline, then he has to go in and replace Michael Williams, who should be fine for this week, in a very tight and stressful situation in that point of the game. We thought he handled it exceptionally well. Couple things–on the third down conversion on the field goal drive, we’re in a coverage where he is supposed to come off on the flats. We give it up and give a first down, but for an individual, really, being thrown in a live game, repetitions at the stage of the game, I thought Emmanuel did a great job. We’ll continue to progress and give him reps.”

(On progress of offensive line)
“Well, it’s different week to week because each team is different. Each opponent you face is different schematically. They’re different in terms of ability. They’re different in terms of size and stature. Every week is different in and of itself. But, I just want to see a consistency approach in terms of fundamentals, hat placement, hand placement, finishing plays, not having mental errors, all of those little things and just continuing to work. Each week is different just because no two teams are ever the same.”

(On recruiting following a game)
“It’s recruiting. They can talk about anything, and that’s part of it. It’s a challenge. The great thing is our prospective student-athletes understood. They saw a great game. Their parents knew it was an emotional game. But, they came away, and it’s a tribute to Vol Nation. They were blown out of the water. They were so impressed with our fan base, with our fan support, our student body, the vision of the program and where we’re headed. For them, for a lot of these individuals, it was a defining moment for them. I feel for the assistant coaches. After the game, they have to shower, put their coat and ties on and go recruit immediately. The other thing is our recruiting department. Their day Saturday started at 6 a.m. with getting the recruits up for breakfast and all that. It ended at about midnightwhen the final parents left my house. There are so many things that go on behind the scenes. You have the emotion of the day, but our coaches, as soon as the conclusion of the game, they about 20 minutes to kind of reflect. We meet as a staff right after the game, and they had to put their coat and ties on and go recruit all night, go out to dinner, then come to my house. A lot of them wanted to talk about the game. A lot of them wanted to talk about the vision of the program. A lot of them wanted to just talk about life and our families, so every individual is different.”

(On recruiting after a hard loss)
“Snap and clear? It’s a challenge, but this entire staff is so passionate about developing this football program and we know that it’s critical to get where we want to get to and have that relentless approach to get this football program back. So, it’s a challenge, but also it comes as part of the territory and we have to do it. I enjoy getting to know the parents and getting to know the young man on a one-on-one basis. Saturday’s not over with, they leave, but then Sunday’s another full day of recruiting. It’s a whole weekend. It’s difficult, but also sometimes it can be therapeutic as well because you’re also talking to what may be some of the future players of your program. Along with that is your current team that has to host the players, and they’re over at my house as well. Again, it’s very tedious.”

(On Derek Barnett’s progress)
“Again, I’ve been very very pleased with him. A young man who has shown great great maturity, maturity beyond his years from his competitive make up, does everything you ask of him, has that inner drive. He’s the first one after games into my office after a game to come hug me and say, `We’ve just got to keep believing coach. We’ve just got to keep working.’ He’s showing leadership skills, and he’s earned the respect of his peers. I’ve just been really really pleased with his overall development.”

(On Chattanooga’s Davis Tull)
“Very very disruptive, I believe he’s a two-time conference player of the year from Bearden High School. He’s a very very good football player. I know a lot of people at Central Michigan after their game called me and said, `This young man is a very very talented football player.’ When you watch him on film, he plays with effort. He plays with toughness. He has that mentality to be disruptive and rush the passer as well. So, I’ve been very very impressed with him, good football player.”

(On if he will consider developing a fullback to help the offensive line, maybe Brendan Downs)
“Yeah, who’s the fullback? If you watch the game, what we’re doing with the offset tight end is really kind of the equivalent of a fullback. It’s called an h-back. So, some of the gap schemes we did last week, and we did in the Georgia game too, we’re then kind of having a fullback. In the flat we did some different things in pass protection this week of slamming the defensive end before we release. So, really we’re doing that right now.”

(On Jordan Williams and Daniel Helm)
“Yeah, they’ll be fine. I thought Jordan Williams played his best football game to date. Very very active, showed great grittiness, he was tough. He kept going down, kept twisting his ankle, kept twisting his ankle, kept coming back. I was really really proud of him. Yeah, both of those will be practicing today, both individuals.”

(On Michael Williams)
“Mike Williams we anticipate back as well. Some of that was precautionary.”

(On the fans chant at the end of the game)
“It is. Everything is first impressions and we have great people here and our student body’s outstanding. I love them to death. They meant so much to us from a recruiting stand point, from an atmosphere stand point. I think it’s just the emotion of the game, and the want to win. That appetite for winning which I spoke about earlier, that’s the passion our fan base has. That’s what makes them very very special. It’s something that, when I get a chance, I’ll speak to them about. I love them to death because they’ve been there for us, and we’re going to need them as the season continues to progress.”

(On how encouraged he is with the defense)

“They are overachieving right now. They’re playing at a very high level with great confidence. They are making great effort. They’re swarming to the football. I think we’re benefiting from some individuals really elevating their play. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is one of those individuals who just continues to get better and better, week in and week out. He’s very active to the football. I think LaDarrell McNeil has continued to show great progress and then the additions. I think Todd Kelly Jr. again has a big interception for us on Saturday, so again adding him back there. Cam Sutton is playing with great consistency, week in and week out. We’ve been able to get valuable reps from Michael Williams. So, and I talked about Jordan Williams playing his best game in addition to Derek Barnett and then you have the same old consistency of A.J. Johnson. So, I think week in and week out, they’re gaining more and more confidence, that standard and that expectation. There were comments at halftime, `If they don’t score, we win the football game.’ I haven’t heard that since I’ve been here. That’s that confidence. You try to look when you have some minor setbacks, you try to also find great things that are occurring. It’s also the development of a mindset and a standard of expectation in which, we’re going to play defense here. I’m starting to see that now manufacture itself and it’s starting to be an everyday occurrence. “

(On McNeil’s play being a pleasant surprise)

“It has. He’s playing very fast and he’s playing very instinctively. He’s playing very aggressively but not recklessly. He’s trusting his eyes, he’s trusting his keys, he’s playing more downhill and again, I’ve been very, very pleased with him.”

(On his focus now within the conference)

“I think you know what’s coming and I mean it, it’s how we respond. All of our focus and energy is on Chattanooga. That’s it. We have to be a better football team. We must get better this week and we must play winning football on Saturday. That’s our entire focus; it’s on Chattanooga, every play responsible for their own self-determination to improve their game, it’s every coach, it’s me, it’s everyone in our football organization, it’s Jimmy Stanton, it’s everybody. And I mean that. It’s everyone taking great responsibility for their own self-determination in everything that we do and that’s the case every week. That’s the way our program is now set up. “

(On A.J. Johnson’s efforts against Florida)

“He played within the system this week and I think it was a great learning experience for him in the Georgia game. He played within the system and we played very good team defense, very gap conscientious. You know, they came in and presented some different issues with some quarterback runs, which we’ll see against Chattanooga, but I thought we had to do some different things on the sidelines and I thought our players were really able to adapt and adjust to the in-game changes, in–game tweaks schematically and they handled that very well.”

(On whether the defense feels they have to score)

“No, again it just comes down to complementary football. Also, it’s field position. Scoring points is relative to your field position too and in the first half, we were behind the field position game all half. So, it’s our kickoff return, it’s our punt return, it’s our punt game and that’s what I mean by complementary football. Each side of the ball, each special team, helping out that unit. Great teams play complementary football. It is a field position game and that’s why it’s disturbing when we don’t score seven points in the red zone but we’ll continue to stress that in practice but again, it’s complementary football.”

(On what happened with the Jalen Hurd blocking package)

“Just overall communication. We executed it all week in practice and executed it in the Georgia game. It was the verbalization of the cadence.”

(On whether Justin Worley will roll out more often)

“Yeah, and we did that some last week. We’ll continue to do everything we can to play to the strengths of our players and give our players an opportunity. Like I said, I’m proud of this football team. They keep working and they understand the standards, the expectations, they understand it and there is no turning back. We are going to continue a relentless approach in our mission with everything that we’re doing here.”

(On whether the play clock during Florida’s touchdown was a part of his conversation with the league this week)

“Yes. Not yet but we’ve had dialog. Yes.”

Sophomore Defensive Back Cameron Sutton

(On if he thinks it will be difficult to bounce back from loss)
“No sir, I do not. Our team is very motivated. We’re willing to learn. We know that we can’t dwell on the past and things that we don’t have control of anymore. We know we have to keep pushing forward, keep playing for each other. Hopefully the rest of the season goes as planned, as how we want it to go.”

(On hosting recruits)
“No sir, I didn’t have any recruits this weekend.”

(On if the loss to Florida is tougher to deal with) “Pretty much the same thing, nobody is complacent with losing. Nobody is satisfied with losing, especially if we know that we should’ve won those games. The mental errors and the mistakes we had in those games kind of cost us those games, more beating ourselves than our opponents beating us. It happens, just after those games we learn from those mistakes. We correct those things the day after, coming in on Sundays and watching film and things like that, so that we prepare ourselves better. Going out the next week and, like I said, learning from those mistakes and hoping they don’t happen again.”

(On what they need to correct at the end of games)
“Just finishing out games. The big thing is just protecting our leads. When we have our leads on teams and in games, we just have to do a better job of finishing out those games and protecting our lead.”

(On the offense’s lack of production)
“I wouldn’t put anything on the offense. Our job as a defense is to just get the ball back to the offense. We don’t control those things but we preach to the team just playing complementary football, playing for each other, offense, defense and special teams. All those things go together hand and hand throughout the game. From a defense standpoint we just have to continue to get off the field on third down, keep getting stops and turnovers, and getting the ball back to the offense. That just gives them more opportunities to put up points and things like that.”

(On the pressure for the defense to score)
“No, we don’t feel like we have to score. Our job is to stop teams from scoring and like I said, getting the ball back to the offense. If scoring comes with defense, it is always good to put more points on the board. Like I said it is our job to keep playing complimentary football and keep playing for each other and keep getting the ball back for our offense and hopefully they do great things with it. The more opportunities that they get the more chances to put more points up on the board.”

(On Emmanuel Moseley)
“I saw a little bit of myself in him. He has gotten more confident throughout the week, he works very hard, he prepares very well. He is my roommate the night before games, so we are up watching film, last minute film, last minute notes and game tips that we have going into the game. He is always in my ear, he stays on me, he keeps me motivated, he drives me so when I see him out there I don’t feel like I have to worry about him, I don’t have to baby him or anything like that. Because I am confident in him and the rest of the team is confident in him. If we didn’t have any confidence in him he wouldn’t be on the field. That kind of tells you the kind of confidence that we do have in him to put him out there.”

(On The VFLs at the game)
“We see them around a lot, they come back a lot, we appreciate those guys coming back for us. Coming to the games and being in our meetings and stuff like that. They were in the locker room before the game. Just staying in our ear, giving us positive feedback, things we need to work on, things we need to correct, things like that, moving forward into the future. Like I said, we appreciate those guys coming back and everything they did for us and this program.”

Sophomore Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin

(On if preparation is different this week than it was for Treon Harris)
“I’m not going to say it’s much different. We’re just working a little bit more than we did last week. They do a lot of stuff with their quarterback runs. They run all types of schemes with their quarterback. We’ll just stay on that all week in practice. It’ll be a point of emphasis a little bit more than it was last week.”

(On if they had to host any recruits)>
“I didn’t have any recruits.”

(On if he feels the defense is playing above expectations)
“Us as a defense, we wouldn’t say that. I mean, we put work in with each other all summer, all year. We trust everybody. We know everybody’s got each other’s back. We count on everybody, so we’re just playing our game and that’s what we try to do every Saturday. Just play our game.”

(On the team’s response Sunday after the loss)
“A loss is a loss, whether it’s an Oklahoma loss or a Georgia loss. Everyone’s going to be hurt after that loss. It’s that much worse because it’s Florida, it’s a rivalry game. We’re going to hurt for a while, but everyone’s going to bounce back. We’re not going to live on that. We’re going to be ready to go next week and start focusing forward starting today.”

(On if Florida started playing harder after quarterback change)
“No, I wouldn’t say that. Maybe it looked different from the stands, but as far as on the field I didn’t really see a big difference in their play, as much as just their play calling and what they were doing. I didn’t see that much of a difference, just their scheme changed a little bit.”

(On the defensive line)
“The defensive line has definitely been playing well. They hold each other accountable in that room. All those guys are always going hard, they probably coach each other the most out of all the position groups on the team. When those guys are on, they are playing good, it helps everyone out on the defense. It helps us linebackers, it helps the defensive backs back there. When the defensive line is on it helps the whole defense, that is where it starts.”