KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With Tuesday practice in the books at Haslam Field, the Tennessee football team is a step closer to their weekend bout with No. 18 Kentucky in Lexington at 7 p.m. ET Saturday evening.
Defensive coordinator Tim Banks, offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, defensive back Alontae Taylor, running back Jabari Small and defensive lineman Omari Thomas took the podium for questions before the weekend SEC showdown.
The Tennessee defense currently leads the nation in tackles for loss, with 25 different players contributing to those stops. Coach Banks is proud of the student-athletes for believing in the system and is happy to see the results pay off.
“Obviously, you try to play to the strengths of your players,” coach Banks said. “We pride ourselves on trying to minimize their weaknesses and putting those guys in the best possible position to be successful. It’s more of a credit to them, how hard they’re playing and giving the scheme a chance. It’s really all about the kids and how hard they’re playing. Those are the guys out there making the plays.”
The Vols offense has been explosive throughout the season, leading the nation in points scored in the first quarter with 15.5 per game. The tempo has only aided in that, keeping defenses on their heels and making it harder to adjust to the Volunteer attack. Golesh feels that there is even more the UT offense can do to grow, and that is what makes this team’s prospects exciting.
“We’ve been able to get faster and faster as we’ve gone,” Golesh stated. “Really proud of where we’re at, obviously huge four games (left). We’ve got to continue to grow, and this is when you find out what teams are all about is this last month in November. We’ve challenged our guys to finish the way you’re supposed to finish.”
While the bye week was a good time for student-athletes to unwind with their families and relax, it also gave Tennessee a much-needed opportunity to get healthy. Running back Jabari Small, who had been dealing with a lingering injury, discussed just how crucial the break was to replenishing the team and how he feels the week had helped him.
“I feel like that’s a big part in the bye week, just getting healthy,” Small said at the podium. “That should be fun. When we’re all healthy we feel as if we have a lot of confidence to winning the game. I’m very excited.”
A transcript for Banks’ and Golesh’s media availabilities can be found below, along with select quotes from senior defensive back Alontae Taylor, sophomore running back Jabari Small and sophomore defensive lineman Omari Thomas.
Tennessee Football Tuesday Media Availability
Week 10 – Kentucky | Nov. 2, 2021
Alex Golesh – Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach
On his evaluation of the offense overall through the first eight games and where he wants to see improvement…
“Offensively, I feel like situational football we’ve gotten better and better. I think last week (Alabama game) we hit a hurdle there. I think part of that is the opponent, I think part of it is just as a whole how we played. But I think situational football wise we’ve done a good job in terms of red zone, third down. I think the biggest things I was anxious about in August was, our offensive is in, how are we able to play situationally? I think for us to be successful here in these last four weeks, that’s got to continue to improve. I think Week 3, Week 4 we finally kind of settled in on our personnel. I wish we had gotten there faster. We obviously didn’t and I think that cost us early. Obviously as a team we’ve moved on, but I think when you look back at what you’ve done and the body of work and truly have time to self-scout and look at what actually is good – I think from a personnel standpoint, us going and figuring our who our best 11 are, playing those guys and kind of living and dying with them. I think as a whole for us to continue to get better the situational football part has got to continue to be where it is. Obviously, you want to improve from a third down perspective. Continuing for us to be able to pick up our first first down, that’s really when you’ve seen us be able to play at the tempo we want to play. When we’ve been able to pick up a first down, we’ve generally had success on the drive in terms of scoring points. It’s when we’ve stalled out on first and second down that we’ve really stumbled and had to punt the football. I think the reduction in penalties from early on in the year, the reduction in turnovers, our defense has helped us drastically in the last five or six weeks, us not turning the football over the last five or six weeks at the rate we were early in the season – I think all of that comes with continuity, all of that comes with getting your best players on the field, settling in at the quarterback spot, all of that has kind of come together where we hit our stride. Like I said, the game a week ago, you could argue (we) probably took a step back, but for us to be able to move forward (we have to) be able to play penalty free football, and I’m talking pre-snap penalties. Those in-play penalties will happen. Aggressive penalties will happen, but it’s the false starts, the pre-snap alignment things I feel like we’ve cleaned up since guys have gotten more comfortable in the system and the pace of play. We’ve been able to get faster and faster as we’ve gone. Really proud of where we’re at, obviously huge four games (left). We’ve got to continue to grow, and this is when you find out what teams are all about is this last month in November. We’ve challenged our guys to finish the way you’re supposed to finish.”
On the production in the run game despite injuries to the offensive line and running backs…
“If you talk about what our biggest hurdle has been, it’s been that. We’re not super deep at either of those spots. We’re not really deep at all at either of those spots. I feel like the last three, four, five weeks we’ve really had to piece it together. I think coach (Glen) Elarbee has done a really good job of figuring out who the best five are (and) going with the combination. Guys like Jerome Carvin being able to play center has been really monumental to our success. The running back spot has been really frustrating with at times being so limited with who you have back there. It’s been tough in a lot of ways, specifically to run the football. We’ve put a lot on Hendon (Hooker) in a lot of those situations for him to run the football and have had to be creative, more creative than honestly, I’ve ever been in terms of finding ways to hat people up and still being able to run the football. Again, I think you look at a week ago, we didn’t run the football (and) we weren’t able to finish the game and have the success we wanted to. For us to have success offensively, you have to run the football. To stay ahead of the sticks on first down – you saw us a week ago where I didn’t feel like we could and we got into some perimeter screen game stuff, some ways to get the drive started, where the first seven weeks we’ve been able to run the football and get those things done. I think it’s really hard to get a drive started like that. Luckily, I feel like coming back off this bye week that we’ve got a full stable – back to healthy at running back, we’re back to healthy on the o-line. I feel like we’re going to have our best chance now down the stretch to run the football as long as we can obviously stay healthy. But it has been really challenging both in running the football and being able to protect the quarterback in a lot of ways.”
On the gap between having an advantage with tempo to being stopped due to injuries…
“In a lot of ways, that is what defensive football has gotten to. Ten years ago, the tempo part wasn’t as big, and people didn’t have to have answers. Now, the tempo part is really big. Specifically, for us and how we play – and there are several other teams in our league that are in that boat – we have got to just reset and start it like we are P-and-10 and going from scratch. We have ways to create the illusions of tempo. You’ve seen us huddle and break it fast and do a bunch of different things with motions and things. It’s just part of the game. It’s a national headline at this point, but it’s part of the game. We have to continue to come up with creative ways to get the illusion of tempo started. Obviously, defenses can sub, and that’s the part of it where you get fresh bodies in there. At the same time, our guys can rest, and we can sub. For us, it’s a mental standpoint of starting from that point and getting (tempo) going again. I sound cliché a little bit, but control what you can control. All we can control is what we do and executing on that first play. When we are able to pick up that first first down, we have been pretty successful. At that point, it’s a reset and pick up the first down again and get going. It halts your play, but it’s a mental standpoint. I am upstairs on a headset, so I’m not in front of them. (I tell our guys), ‘awesome, we have them right where we want them. They are obviously nervous and on their heels. You have them exactly where you want them. Go execute.’ It’s just part of the game and it is what it is. For our guys, it’s a matter of resetting, but it does kill your tempo for a second. Then you just have to restart it and the create the illusion of tempo.”
On trying to limit runs by Hendon Hooker to avoid getting banged up…
“The quarterback run is part of what Hendon is and is part of his game. I have always looked at it as run when you feel like you need the extra hat in the run game. In terms of having to run him, he was banged up a little bit the last couple of weeks. You would like to try and keep him upright. He is also an absolutely reckless runner in a lot of ways. I said it the last time I was up here. He is about as tough of a kid as they come. He is learning to be smart in how he runs the football. We are also trying to be really smart with how we run him, where the hits aren’t necessarily coming from the side, and he can see where it’s coming from. There’s a little bit of creativity there and what goes into it. I think him having the ball in his hands at the end of games is really a credit to him. I want the ball in his hands at the end of the game. I think it gives us the best chance to win. You are going to get it to the guys who give you the best chance to win. I am extremely confident, and our offense is extremely confident with him having the ball in his hands. Our injuries at running back have caused some of that. Our injuries on the offensive line have caused some of that. At the end of the game, I want the ball in Hendon Hooker’s hands, and he knows that. I think he has a level of confidence about him right now, and offensively, we have a level of confidence with him carrying the football. I want the ball in his hands, whether it’s a read, getting him out on the perimeter and letting him run past the ball, or even some movement pass stuff with him where he likes being out there and seeing things. At the end of the day, you want the ball in his hands to give you the best opportunity to win. He knows that, and we know that. There is a level of confidence that goes with it.”
On having solid production from the receivers…
“For us to be successful, and you got a chance to see it a week ago at Alabama, we can create some big, explosive plays in the pass game. Those guys have done that all year and Hendon has helped that situation. For us to be ultimately successful, you have to run the football. For us to be one-dimensional, I think it makes it really, really difficult because you live and die with (passing). You go three-and-out really quickly if that’s all you’re doing, as well. We can’t put our defense in those spots. I felt like a week ago we did that. In the fourth quarter, those guys had been out there for so long. (We didn’t) give them a chance to get their legs back and their breath back. For us to be ultimately successful and for us to win games in the SEC, you have to run the football. We got to do a better job of coming up with ways to do it. Injuries, not injuries, those are in a lot of ways excuses, and we don’t let our guys make excuses. I can’t make excuses. We’ve got to find ways with who we have to run the football. We’ve got good enough players up front. We are healthy at running back, between (them and) quarterback, we’ve got to be able to find ways. Then using our tempo to pick our spots in the (passing) game and be able to execute. Not every play needs to go for a 75-yard touchdown. We’ve got to continue to keep Hendon upright and effective. Honestly, what he has done extremely well since he took over is his timing, his ball placement, he has been incredibly efficient. It’s my job to keep us efficient, but it’s my job to run the ball effectively in order to be efficient. It also sucks to play o-line when all you are doing is throwing the football. Those guys are teeing off on you. We’ve got to do a good job this week of setting a tempo early with the run game and the pass game will come. If you don’t run the football, it’s really, really hard to throw the ball. These guys have the ability to drop eight at any time, so did Alabama, really anybody at this point can drop eight and take away whatever they want in the pass game.”
On the tight ends involvement catching the ball…
“We were banged up there the last couple of weeks. I think we’ve used those guys in pass protection a little bit more. We’ve just not targeted them as much. I don’t think that’s intentional. We’ve not had a whole lot of situations down in the red zone where I would like to get those guys involved. The bigger bodies, Jacob Warren and Princeton Fant, we’ve targeted them. I really felt like we were average there. We targeted them four times last week. I think it’s just kind of part of the flow of the game, part of it using them more in pass protection. Certainly not down on those guys, they’ve got to continue to develop and grow. I think we will continue to use them as matchups present. For us it’s all about matchups and we will take advantage of whatever matchups we can find on the perimeter, in the pass game specifically. Also, a credit to JaVonta Payton, Cedric Tillman, Velus Jones Jr. and Jalin Hyatt, those guys have been playing at a really high rate. At the end of the day, you’re going to get it to the guys you really feel like can make a play with it and I’m certainly not down on those guys by any means. I think it’s been a combination of all those things you brought up, where we’ve used them in the backfield more. Honestly, we’ve been a lot more vertical down the field passing, which is not what those guys are there for. I think they will show up this week. I think we will continue to have to use them because they are good pass catchers, and we will use them as matchups present.”
Tim Banks – Defensive Coordinator
On if the 70 TFL’s by 25 different players shows that his scheme is working, if they have depth, or both…
“I think, obviously, you try to play to the strengths of your players. So, we pride ourselves on trying to minimize their weaknesses and putting those guys in the best possible position to be successful. It’s more of a credit to them, how hard they’re playing and giving the scheme a chance. It’s really all about the kids and how hard they’re playing. Those are the guys out there making the plays.”
On if leading the nation in TFL’s is what he expected from his team coming into the preseason…
“Again, obviously we want to identify personnel that we had and figure how to best utilize those guys. You know with everything we do we want to be aggressive, whether we are in our four-down, three-down, depending on what coverage we’re in. I didn’t know, every year is a new year. We try to evaluate the talent we have and match it up with the scheme the best we can. To the credit to the kids, they’re playing extremely hard and making a ton of plays. So, hats off to those guys.”
On if he learned anything about his defense after self-scouting during the bye week…
“We try to self-scout every week, to be quite honest with you. We don’t try and wait until the bye week or at halftime. We’re trying to evaluate what we’re doing and what’s working, what’s not working, so it’s a ton of things. We’ll have enough time to talk about the improvements we need to make, we’re obviously not a finished product. We have a lot of things we’ve worked on over the bye week. In this conference, every week is a new challenge. We evaluated it. For the most part, we already had the information and moving forward to try to get better at it.”
On what challenges Kentucky presents offensively…
“They’re very physical. They do a really good job of creating leverage and opportunities up front with their offensive line. Those guys are experienced, they’re big, the backs run extremely hard, the wide outs are long, and they have one that is particularly explosive. They do a nice job, they’re not probably the wide-open spread team that we’ve seen out of some of the teams, but they take their shots. They push the ball down the field, and obviously, (Will) Levis has played really well for those guys. We’ll have our hands full, but I know our guys are excited about the challenge and definitely looking forward to it.”
On what they need to do to get off the field on third downs…
“Yeah, that’s important. Some of the things we’re obviously looking at from week to week, but there are a number of things. Continuing to put pressure on the quarterback, obviously covering better, everything goes hand in hand. I think it’s too much of a global issue that we have to make sure we are handling. I don’t think we can pinpoint one particular group or one particular scheme, I just think we have to do a better job of understanding how many yards they need and don’t let them get it. It’s simple as that, but we’re definitely working towards trying to get that done.”
On if he accomplished what he wanted during the bye week…
“From what he just mentioned, we worked situational football. Whether it was red zone, third down, we obviously worked normal downs, different personnel groups, it’s just like camp. You go through the whole gamut to try and make sure you’re crossing all your T’s and dotting all your I’s. You said did we get better, did we get accomplished? We’ll obviously find out these last four games coming down the back stretch. But at the end of the day, like we tell those guys every day, to get better, it starts in practice. Those guys work extremely hard, so if we just continue to stay the course, at some point we’re going to get to the other side. I know our kids believe that, and we definitely believe that as coaches. So, we’ll keep grinding and I know those guys will as well.”
On if he tells his defense not to get overly aggressive when facing a team who turns the ball over…
“No, we don’t ever say don’t be aggressive. But the reality of it is that, yeah, they have turned the ball over some, but they’ve also had some games where they’ve done a great job of protecting the ball. We just have to do what we do and be great at it. Obviously, if we can knock the ball loose, get some interceptions or strip the ball, that’s what we are trying to do on every snap. That’s what we are trying to do in every game. This game is no different, we’re going to do what we do and try to do it at a high level.”
On his experience with Kentucky QB Will Levis at Penn State and how he’s different now…
“Levis is a tremendous young man, really enjoyed my time around him. Tremendous athlete, big, can run, super strong arm. He seems like he’s a lot more comfortable, in terms of throwing the ball. He’s always had a strong arm, but he seems to show more poise. I think that just comes with maturity in the more reps he’s gotten, but I’ve also thought he had a chance to be a really good player, an elite player. He’s obviously done a great job at Kentucky this season and helped those guys win a bunch games.”
On what he has to say about Matthew Butler and the amount of reps he takes…
“I can’t say enough about Butler. But again, what you see on Saturdays is what we see every day in practice. He’s relentless with his work ethic. He was the same way in the spring, he just wants to be good. It’s refreshing, because sometimes you have guys that are ultra-talented but don’t quite work at the level they need to work at. But, I think because of the way he trains and the way he takes care of his body, it’s allowed him to play a lot of reps. Now, do we want to play him in that many reps? In a perfect world, you’d love to have even more depth where you could get him some breathers, but at the end of the day as long as he can handle it, we’re going to continue to play him. So far, he’s handled it very, very well.”
On if he expects to see more running from quarterbacks the rest of the season…
“It wouldn’t surprise me. Typically, if you struggle with anything on tape, the offense the following week finds a way to put it in their scheme. We’re aware of it, and like I said, I know he (Will Levis) can run it. They haven’t run him a ton all year, but he has scrambled and made some guys miss, and guys have fell off of him. Our guys are very aware of how strong he is and that he can run. We’ve worked very hard during the bye week and this week to try to sure up some things, but obviously we have to do it in a game.”
Alontae Taylor – DB – Senior
On what he accomplished during the bye week…
“I feel an accomplishment that I had was just getting away from sports for a little bit. Clearing my mind. Kind of been down a little bit as far as mentally, so just worked on my mental health a little bit. I went to Wake Forest because my cousin plays at Wake Forest. So, I went and watched them play against Duke. It was fun being around my family but seeing football from the outside and not stressing or thinking too much about the game and just enjoying myself with them.”
On if it is easy to relax and enjoy the game while watching football for fun…
“It’s definitely not easy to sit back and enjoy. When I was watching Duke, I was kind of watching their formations and calling out routes and telling my mom what was coming and things like that and calling out what defenses that Wake Forest was in. It was fun in games because I was like, “okay we probably would have played it this way here,” but it’s not really that easy to just stop thinking about football.”
On his scouting report for Wan’Dale Robinson and Kentucky…
“Just rally to the ball. He’s (Wan’Dale Robinson) a smaller guy. Play fast, play physical. I mean, he’s a screen guy, guy that likes to get the ball on the perimeter and make people miss. I feel like we fly to the ball very well and as long as we do that on Saturday, we’ll be fine.”
On what he saw from Doneiko Slaughter and Kamal Hadden during the Alabama game…
“Like I’ve kind of been saying every time I come in here, it’s just next guy up. Those guys practice with the ones, practice with the twos, you know they’re getting those reps in. Kind of look at Brandon Turnage as an example. Guy came in ready to play, Doneiko (Slaughter) came in ready to play, Kamal (Hadden) came in ready to play. All of our younger guys are ready to play. They’re out there practicing, they’re competing, we’re hyping them up, we’re teaching them, they’re accepting the coaching from us and also the coaches. I feel like it’s really good to see a younger dude who listens to a senior, but he also listens to his position coach and then you come to see it on Saturday when they get in the game. There’s not a blink of an eye. We have so much confidence in those guys that when they’re out there we’re not like, “okay is he doing to do it right or is he not?” We know they’re going to go out there and do what they’re supposed to do.”
Jabari Small – RB – Sophomore
On looking forward to seeing the offense perform fully healthy…
“Yeah, I’m very excited. I feel like that’s a big part in the bye week, just getting healthy. That should be fun. When we’re all healthy we feel as if we have a lot of confidence to winning the game. I’m very excited.”
On takeaways from Alabama game and contests coming up against Kentucky and Georgia…
“It’s just another opportunity, two great opportunities. You can’t ask for more when playing football. From the Alabama game, we just learned how to fight through adversity. Maybe not take one part of the game away but try to take one part of the game away and we get hit with another facet after the game. Just learning how to play through adversity and embrace the moment. That’s really what I got from it and I’m sure the team got from it as well.”
On what Hendon Hooker means to this offense…
“The world. He’s a great player, great leader. He’s playing very great right now. We just want to continue that, and we’re locked in behind him. He’s a great leader.”
On if the unit feels responsibility to have a successful run game…
“Definitely. It has to be a balanced attack. You want to be great at every facet of the game. Running or passing, or whether it’s in the red zone, third down, you want to be pretty good at everything to become an elite offense that we can possibly be. We definitely feel like we got to produce every game and try to do better.”
Omari Thomas – DL – Sophomore
On how important tackles for loss are…
“I think tackles for losses is a big part of this defense as a whole unit. We look at that because we tackle players on the line of scrimmage. It just shows we are creating havoc and we are playing on their side of the ball. That is what our coaches want us to do, and this team wants us to do as a defensive unit. I think it is a big accomplishment for us to have tackles for loss and we just have to keep improving throughout the rest of the season. They let us know the stats after the game and it is just amazing that we have that (many) and we have to keep improving.”
On what Rodney Garner has meant to his game and how has he improved…
“For me, coach Rodney is pushing me to play with a better pad level and (play) vertical off the ball. I think like I have said before, he has been pushing me since spring and I think it is improving. It is not where I want it to be or where he wants it to be, but it shows that it is an improvement, and I am working on it. I think it will keep getting better.”
On Matt Butler and how he impacts teammates…
“Matt Butler is a really great teammate. He is always putting other players before himself. He is always looking to help others, whether it is in practice or outside of practice, he is always helping you be a better you. I feel like Matt Butler is really showing up and keeps doing big things. It has been really great for me, just coming in and him taking me under his wing has been really good for me. I think he is going to keep improving and keep doing what he is doing.”
On shutting down opposing running backs…
“I will say it is just playing vertically and playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage. I think that is very important because running backs don’t like when linemen are in their face, so when we do that it makes it hard for running backs to do what they do. I think we just have to keep improving on that and we are not satisfied with what we have done so far. We have to keep improving over these next four games.”