#VolReport: Defense Shows Mental Toughness

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Butch Jones preaches mental toughness in everything the Vols do. On Saturday, he was happy how the defense showed its mentality as they controlled much of the scrimmage situations in Saturday’s practice at Neyland Stadium.

“In terms of the practice, I want to see how we compete, I want to see the carry over from the course of the week and when you get an opportunity to compete in 102,455 and you put your fundamentals,” said Jones. “You put your technique, you put your mental toughness, you put your physical toughness, everything that you have worked on throughout the course of the week, this is your time to be rewarded. I really wanted to see how they would respond.”

The defense drew praise from the head coach following the ninth practice, the second inside Neyland this spring as they Vols are two weeks from the DISH Orange & White Game (April 25 at 4 p.m.).

“I thought our defense came out,” said Jones. “I liked their mental approach. I did not like our offense’s approach. I thought we were stale, I thought we had no mental effort, I thought we had no intensity about ourselves. I think it showed. Now we started off putting them in some demanding situations with situational football, with coming out.”

Jones continued to put the Vols in situations during their practices, including a full period of overtime scenarios on Saturday.

“I thought today from a practice standpoint was productive because of the different situational football scenarios that we put them through with the different elements of overtime,” he said. “We did some special teams work as well. For our young players, which that is really most of our football team, it is just an overall consistency.

“It is their consistency in approach, it is the intensity that it takes to perform at a high level every time that you step onto the football field or step into the meeting room. They are still learning that process. To me the focus, the concentration, we have to get much better as a football team.”

Jones was quick to cite several standouts, who continue to emerge on the defensive side of the ball this spring.

“I thought Kendal Vickers is an individual who is starting to show up,” Jones said. “I thought Todd Kelly Jr. had maybe his best practice of the year. I think that is a byproduct of Evan Berry. Evan Berry is having a very good spring and that is what competition brings. You better bring your `A’ game each and everyday you step on the football field. Now we need more people bringing their `A’ game as we continue to move forward.”

DOBBS STAYS POSITIVE

Team 119 isn’t perfect. To think not a single receiver could drop a pass or that a quarterback wouldn’t make a mistake is unrealistic. You’ll hear it first from starting quarterback Joshua Dobbs that the team has things to work on but what you’ll hear more often than not is improvement.

“We’ve had some drops but with our receivers we talk about having mental toughness all the time,” Dobbs said. “You have adversity during the game and a couple drops in the game, you’ll be able to snap and clear and catch the next one. We’re tuned to grow in that, and our receivers showed that today. They showed that they were mentally tough. They’ll definitely improve moving forward next week.”

Although it may be frustrating, Dobbs understands that mistakes happen.

“It’s fine. Drops happen,” Dobbs said. “That’s a part of the game. Our receivers know. We talk about it all the time `snap and clear mentality.’ Snap and clear and get the next one. They did a good job of that today and not letting that affect their play on downs in the next plays.”

“Timing can always improve, but we did some good things in pass games and receivers made plays out there. We’re going to continue to grow as an offense and in the pass game continue to install new things. We definitely took a step forward today.”

With six more practices this spring, the team is working every day to improve, trying to make itself better than it was the week before. Dobbs sees that improvement and finds comfort in the direction of a team that is as hungry as ever for success.

“We’re taking steps forward every day, every time we step on the field from our leadership, from our cohesiveness and just coming together as an offense and improving,” Dobbs said. “We’re taking step forwards every day and we’ll continue to do that.”

“We have a team that loves football and loves to come out here and compete. It obviously shows as soon as we come out. We keep score, and we’re competing to win. That shows in our team, in our team chemistry. We just have to keep pushing guys forward and pushing through the nicks and bumps and just finish out spring football on the up.”

JACK HAPPY TO JOIN JONES EARLY

After nine practices, Vols’ freshman Jack Jones couldn’t be happier with his decision to become an early enrollee and participate in Tennessee’s spring football practice.

“I’m really glad I did it,” said Jones. “I know that if I was sitting at home watching this stuff, I’d be mad that I didn’t [enroll early].”

College football has been an adjustment for the in-state product from Oakland High School in Murfreesboro. Although the young offensive tackle has made some mistakes this spring, Tennessee Head Coach Butch Jones says that Jack Jones is simply going through the process that all young players must undergo.

“I love Jack Jones. You can see his athletic ability, his leverage, he is tough. His mind is just swimming right now. That is a byproduct of being a young player.”

Jack Jones admits that spring football has not been easy for him, and says that the fast-paced tempo of the Vols’ offense has been the biggest adjustment. Still, Jones says he feels as though he is getting better each day.

“With every practice, I’m feeling like I’m improving a little bit and I’m kind of taking steps forward,” said Jones. “Every practice, you’ve got to to find something to work on and get better at it, and keep going and be able to see the complete transformation from the first practice to the spring game.”

UNBREAKABLE BOND KEYS SECONDARY

Effective communication is something that often times has to be practiced and worked on. For Cameron Sutton and Team 119’s Orange Swarm, it now comes natural from a bond that only they share.

“It’s just that family bond that we have,” Sutton said. “We’re always around each other even outside of football. We’re spending time with each other on the weekends, week days, having events with each other. We know it’s going to be easier on the field to communicate.

“That’s what we have to do on the field, talking a lot on the field and just having that mindset that we have each other’s back. It just takes us a long way.”

First entering the program, the communication didn’t come as easy, but after hours and hours with one another both on and off the field, it’s natural. The desire to want to be around one another never ends.

“At times when I first got here it felt kind of forced because we weren’t as tight as we are now,” Sutton said. “I think it just comes natural now. We’re always `Hey, what are you doing’ or `Let’s go hang out’ with a group of guys. We’re always around each other. We always want to be around each other.

The communication and family bond that the team shares does more for Sutton than just improving in the game. It also makes him more comfortable in his position.

“We’re all tight on the string back there,” Sutton said. “We’re all communicating. We’re all locked in and focused on each other, so it’s easy for us to play the game.”

FOREMAN, KELLY STEPPING UP

Several younger members of the Vols’ secondary have stepped up and are making notable contributions this spring.

Junior Malik Foreman has put in work in the offseason and says his confidence is at its highest this spring.

“I haven’t really had a role on defense since I’ve been here really,” Foreman said. “I feel like this year is my year to step up and help the defense, help this team win. I feel like just taking that all into account. It’s helping me push myself each and everyday.”

Sophomore Rashaan Gaulden is becoming known for his physical style of play. The work he’s put in on the field this spring has drawn praise from his teammates, including Foreman.

“Rashaan’s playing very physical and that’s what you need at the nickel position,” Foreman said. “He’s playing with his hands a lot better than he did last year, and he just knows the defense overall better, so I feel like that’s helping him play faster and make more plays.”

Foreman attributes much of the competition and increased level of play in the secondary to camaraderie among teammates.

“We’re very confident and one of the reasons is we’re so close,” Foreman said. “We don’t want to let each other down, so when you have that pressure not only from yourself, but from other teammates, it helps to push you to be the best player you can be.”

This is something Todd Kelly Jr. echoes.

“There’s a lot of competition all over the field and that’s what we want,” Kelly said. “That’s what Coach Martinez wants. That’s why you recruit. You want guys to come in here and compete. And we’re also friends, so it’s pretty cool.

“We like to talk to each other whenever we make plays and we congratulate each other as well. So it’s all a healthy relationship and we love to just come out here and compete. At the end of the day, when it’s a Saturday, no matter who’s out on the field we’re going to support each other and we all have confidence in each other.”

SOUND BITES

Here are sound bites from #Team119:

HEAD COACH BUTCH JONES

»(On the snap and clear mentality)

“Snap and clear is a big part of it. It is a byproduct of mental toughness. Every time it is a teaching moment. I thought they snapped and cleared. But again, you can’t let whatever happens on that play, you can’t let the next play affect you, good, back or indifferent. That is part of a teaching process and it will be pointed out. These individuals what to do well, they practice hard so it is just great teaching opportunities. We all know, football is a game of momentum. You have to have positive yards on offense, you have to minimize your tackles for loss, you have to minimize negative yardage football plays. These are all things that we will continue to point out as we move forward.”

»(On having VFL Eric Berry at practice)

“Having Eric Berry here is very symbolic of what this football program stands for. That is family. We are all one family and having the Berry family here and at the bowl game and being able to spend quality time with them the day before the game. Then having him and his father here. I know it means a lot to Evan and it means a lot of Elliott. We are all one family. To have them here for family day means a lot. As having all of our family members here. Today is truly a special day.”

»(On redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Kendal Vickers)

“Kendal is really starting to use his hands more. He is starting to really use his athletic ability and he is very explosive, that shows in the weight room. But now it is transferring the weight room onto the football field. He has been able to do that. Now you are starting to see the volume of repetitions really starting to improve his play. He is very prideful, but I can see his first step off the football, he is playing with much more explosiveness, he is playing with much more confidence and he is using his hands and his technique better.”

SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE BACK TODD KELLY JR.

»(On competition at defensive back)

“There’s a lot of competition all over the field. That’s what we want. That’s what Coach Martinez wants. That’s why you recruit.”

»(On scrimmaging)

“When we play against the offense, I know they’re on our team, but when we step in between the lines, we consider them not really friends to us.”

JUNIOR QUARTERBACK JOSHUA DOBBS

»(On the freshmen quarterbacks)

“They’re doing a good job. With more reps, obviously, they’ll continue to progress. It shows every day when you watch the film. They’re night and day when they step on the field. They’re definitely improving, and it’s definitely nice to see.”

»(On if he feels like he needs to push the team to be competitive)

“We compete every day. We compete in the little things. It’s might not even be on the field but in sprints in summer or winter workouts or in the weight room. We compete in everything we do. That just gives us more of a competitive edge when we get on the field.”

JUNIOR LINEBACKER JALEN REEVES-MAYBIN

»(On today’s practice as a defensive unit)

“I feel like we came out with a lot more energy than we did last practice. We got some stops early and that momentum carried on throughout the rest of practice.”

»(On the rotation of linebackers)

“We have a lot of competition in the linebacker room. Everybody is in there competing. We’re all helping each other out. We all make each other better, so it doesn’t matter who’s in there. The standard never changes. We expect the same thing out of everybody.”

JUNIOR DEFENSIVE BACK CAMERON SUTTON

»​(On Malik Foreman’s improvements)

“Just the confidence. We know he can make plays out here. He’s showing it each and every day. He’s competing and going up for balls, making tackles, doing things right and being coachable. He’s a high energy, high motor guy. That’s what we need from him.”

»(On what makes Rashaan Gaulden good at the nickel position)

“Physicality. He’s smart. Like I said he’s physical and smart. Just his love for the game. You can see it when he’s out there just making plays, flying around and even when the balls not going to him he’s trying to get to the ball each and every play, every snap. He enjoys it out there.”

RS SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN MACK CROWDER

»​(On the improvements of Brett Kendrick)

“That’s something that he did in the offseason. That’s something that he made up in his mind and said I’m going to change my body and really come out and help the O-line this year. I have to give all the credit to him. That’s his whole new mindset. He’s really changing.”

»(On the improvement of the O-line)

“I think we’ve gotten a lot better. It’s just a whole different world when you finally get some playing experience under your belt. Things start slowing down a little bit for you. You can start focusing on technique and assignments and things like that a little bit better. It’s not just about surviving. Now we’re starting to be a little bit more physical and really just coming together and being a pretty good O-line.”

FRESHMAN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN JACK JONES

»​(On his first spring practice)​

“Practice one, and really practice three, when we got in to pads, it was just like…I was thinking, I was panicking, I was asking the guard, ‘What do we got?’ And then, about practice three they moved Chance [Hall] in to right guard and I was just like, ‘Dude, we got to learn this because I can’t ask you anything and you can’t ask me,’ because we barely know our own stuff.”

»(On what he prides himself on)​

“To play early in the SEC…you’ve got to be a technician. That’s one of the things I pride myself on, my technique.”

RS SENIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN KYLER KERBYSON

»​(On how the offense did during practice)

“I think the defense came out ready to go. We didn’t start very well as an offense and it kept going as practice went on. We have to have guys out there to make plays. We’re injured in some of the skill positions, so we don’t have everybody out there so it’s a little bit harder. We’re depending on those second team guys to step up and help us.”

»(On staying at the left tackle position)

“I’m really hoping I stay at left tackle. It really helps me a lot. A year and half under my belt I’m getting used to the position. It’s a lot easier for me once you play a position for such a long time. It helps a lot.”

SOPHOMORE TIGHT END ETHAN WOLF

»​(On which game did he take his biggest step in the fall)

“Last fall, the biggest step would have probably been the Georgia game. That was the first time going into a truly hostile environment and being able to make the plays. I think that was my highest rep game as well. I got to see a lot of different things and they have a lot of very good players and the adversity of that game, us not being able to get the win really kind of jumpstarted our offense and a lot of our defense. We played a good game but it was good enough. I feel like that was probably the game where I took the biggest step.”

»(On feeling the strength gains from the weight room)

“Yeah, definitely, going up against guys that are bigger than us, one-on-one blocking defensive ends. Last year I kind of felt overpowered in some situations, we didn’t do a how lot of that last year. But now I feel like I can old my ground, definitely feel more powerful and stronger due to the weight room.”

»(On quarterback Joshua Dobbs’ reaction to dropped balls)

“He definitely knows that you know that that is unacceptable to him. He does tell us what it going on. He is not going to go over there and scold you on the sideline because you didn’t catch the ball, because that is not going to help anybody. But he will come up and say, ‘we can’t have that, make the next play.’ Obviously you know that but it is good to hear that from your quarterback as well who still has faith in you.”