Feb. 3, 2016
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach Butch Jones capped a successful National Signing Day by hosting a press conference at the Ray & Lucy Hand Digital Studio on Wednesday afternoon.
Jones discussed the construction of this year’s signing class and gave plenty of acclaim to his assistant coaches and program support staff that aided throughout the recruitment process.
A full transcript from Wednesday’s press conference can be found below.
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones
(Opening statement)
“Good to see everyone. Obviously, a very exciting day for Tennessee football. Before, we get started, I think it is the appropriate time, first of all, to congratulate our basketball team and Coach Barnes for a tremendous victory. I know (Thompson-Boling Arena) was hopping last night, and anytime that happens, that helps us in recruiting as well. I’d like to congratulate them. In terms of Signing Day, as we have all come to know, Signing Day has kind of turned into a season within itself. Really, this is a culmination of one to two to three years of hard work by a lot of individuals involved in this process. It is really about relationships. We are in a relationship business. It is earning that trust over time. Our coaches did a great job with that. We have a recruiting profile, and it is about finding a right fit here at Tennessee. We had some very specific needs in our program this year. We thought we needed to bring in as much speed and athleticism as we could, bring in players that can play multiple positions and give us flexibility whether it’s on the offensive side of the ball, defensive side of the ball or special teams. You can never have enough team speed as we have all come to know in this conference. That lends itself to playing well in terms of your special teams.
There are many, many thanks. There is a lot that goes into the recruitment process of a student-athlete, so many people behind the scenes. I have said it and continue to say it. I believe we have some of the best people in all the country right here in Knoxville, Tennessee. First of all, our coaches did a tremendous job. They are great ambassadors for our football program. Also, (I want to thank) their families. They have been away from their families and away from their children. It’s a process. You have a long recruiting weekend, then you are jumping on planes immediately following Sunday and are gone for a week’s time. There is so much that goes into that. Our players — what can I say about our players? They are truly, truly invested, and that was evident today. It was evident throughout the entire recruiting process. They are the best ambassadors that we have. They are our best recruiters for Tennessee football. Our recruiting department led by Bob Welton and Dana Hibbs and their entire staff, they do a tremendous job. (Thanks to) our Thornton Center led by Dr. Joe Scogin and our faculty and staff with the giving of their times on weekends and all the times throughout the day to answer questions about academics. There is so much that goes into that. Tom Githens, Trevor Greene, and Link Hudson — how about that production today on UTSports.com? I think that rivals anyone in the country when you look it at the way it was done. First class is the way we do things here in every way, shape or form. Mike Keith, Al Wilson and Erik Ainge — what can I say about them? They are true professionals, VFLs, represent our program in a positive light. They have been here on campus the last few days preparing for today to make this a very special day for our fans, our football program and for our student-athletes that were signing today. Also, the Tennessee Air Force, our donors that willingly give their planes — we could not do it without them. They have meant so much to us, and I am very thankful for all of their efforts as well. Then what can I say about our fan base, Vol Nation? The best fan base in the country. The most passionate fan base in the country. Our recruits understand that. They understand what they are representing on a daily basis. It gets back to our current players. They did a great job of educating our recruits on what it is to wear the Power T, what it is to represent this great state of Tennessee and this great institution as well. I thought we made great inroads in different areas throughout the course of the country when you look at five from the state of Georgia, five from Florida, three from Tennessee, a total of five from Tennessee. Then, we ventured into different parts of the country as well. Again, I want to go back and warn everyone about putting too many expectations on this incoming class. These are still 17 and 18-year-old individuals working into adulthood. You can never really judge a recruiting class until two years down the road and how they mature, grow and develop. It’s great to see everyone.”
(On how the recruiting pitch develops from year-to-year)
“I don’t really look at it as selling something or a recruiting pitch. I just think we have a great brand to sell. You look at our facilities, you look at the vision of our football program, you look at our academic reputation. You look at our student body, you look at our Vol For Life program, you look at life after football — at some point in time, football’s going to end, so you better make sure you have a great degree and you’re set up for success in life after football. You look at the opportunity to play in front of historic 102,455 and all the great players that have come before them, and then, again, great people. We have coaches that truly want to be here. They have a passion for being here at the University of Tennessee. When you have passion for a place, you don’t have to sell it. That positive energy, those positive vibes always come out, and this is a very, very special place.”
(On how it came about that Tennessee signed five players from Florida)
“I think it’s a combination. We’ve always made it a concentrated effort in the state of Florida, and everything is about relationships. Our coaches that recruit that area did a tremendous, tremendous job. Obviously, the addition of Larry Scott really, really helped. From Bob Shoop to Larry Scott coming in here with very short notice, a very short period of time, and to really have to forge and develop those relationships in a short period of time, they did a tremendous job. But all of our coaches, I’ll tell you what. The efforts of Robert Gillespie should not go unnoticed. All of our coaches, Tommy Thigpen, Larry Scott, all of them. I could single out all of our coaches, and that’s the one thing about this staff: it’s a collaborative effort. It’s a group effort in all that we do. We recruit as a staff together. We kind of feed off of each other. It just gets back to those positive vibes when you bring a young man on campus.”
(On if he can describe what the last week has been like for the staff)
“Indescribable. It’s been a round-the-clock process. We’ve had very few hours of sleep, whether it’s traveling and finishing up the contact period and the last chance to get in front of these young men and their families, or working the phones and finding out what’s important to the young man and following up on everything, whether it’s an academic question, whether it’s a program question, an athletic question…So there’s a lot that went into it. This class went right down to the wire. We just had that workmanlike approach, and again, our current players had a big helping hand in that. But this staff has done a tremendous job.”
(On having confidence in signing Jonathan Kongbo)
“I was confident because of the relationships that we’ve built and had been built over a long period of time. We knew that this is a place where Jonathan felt very comfortable and had established great relationships with a lot of our current players. Robert Gillespie did a tremendous job recruiting him so I felt very confident. But as we all know you look around the country at things that have gone on on signing day. I think the other thing that we should all take notice on is a lot of these individuals had been committed for a very long period of time and they all maintained their commitment. This class became very strong, they became galvanized over time and that’s a tribute to the character of these individuals coming into our football program.”
(On recruiting in enemy territory)
“Make no mistake about it, it all stems with home. It’s a pride of who we are any time you have a young man who grows up in this state and has an opportunity to represent The University of Tennessee. I think the pride of this state, it means so much for an instate individual to represent The University of Tennessee more than any other school in the country and the passion behind our fan base but also we have other states that we view as home territory. So to be able to go in those other states and really assert ourselves was very big for our program and moving forward. It’s a challenge when you have to go in enemy lines, neighboring states or across the country to recruit a young man. That’s a challenge in and of itself. It has been a challenge but it was great to make those end roads. Make no mistake about it, it starts with home first.”
(On engineering a developing team)
“Our entire organization, our sports science department from (strength coach) Dave Lawson and his staff to (nutritionist) Allison Maurer — she does a tremendous job — to (sports medicine director) Jason McVeigh and everyone involved in our organization. Our organization is as strong as anyone in the country. Everything is about the development and personal growth of a young man both on and off the field: our `Vol for Life’ program. So we do have that confidence and we’re in the developmental business. It’s all about developing these individuals to meet their fullest potential and to be the best that they can possibly be because they are representatives of The University of Tennessee football program. We looked at our offensive line and we felt we needed tackle-type bodies and to improve our length and our wingspan. All that is involved.
I tell you what, you talk about going in bordering or neighboring states and you come away with Marcus Tatum who is the No. 1 offensive line prospect in the state of Florida. We’re very excited about him and all three of those individuals in the offensive line. The offensive line is a developmental position and we’re getting to a point in our program now where we’re still going to play true freshmen and that’s one of the attractiveness of coming to The University of Tennessee. Make no mistake about it you have to develop individuals within your football program and we’re excited about those three individuals.”
(On being able to promise playing time for new signees)
“That really didn’t change at all. The thing that we always promise is the opportunity for early playing time. If you sit in a living room of a young man and you promise him that he’s going to start, or you promise him playing time right away, I think that’s unfair to that individual because of the growth and development that it takes. You never know. Each young man develops differently at their own pace, but what we still can promise is the opportunity to play early. I think we’ve proven that within our football program. I still think that’s the state of college football today, is you need individuals to be able to come in and play early. Sometime the ingredients of the making of great players, it starts off with their value to special teams. You look at Jalen Reeves-Maybin. He made his mark on special teams early. You look what Evan Berry’s been able to do. Special teams are as important to us as offense or defense. Everyone’s always going to have that opportunity for playing time early.”
(On his perception of the class after signing Latrell Williams, Tyler Byrd, and Jonathan Kongbo)
“Our challenge was to finish strong. We thought we had a great nucleus in this recruiting class already intact, and now if we could add to that, we wanted to do that. We set forth, and we’re going to go try to get the best players that fit our recruiting profile, no matter where they’re at. To be able to add those individuals — whether it’s Latrell Williams, whether it’s Tyler Byrd, whether it’s Jonathan Kongbo — those individuals to us are difference makers. They make you better being in your football program from a character standpoint, from a competitive character standpoint as well, and just the overall speed and athleticism in your program. We wanted to finish strong. We knew it’d be a challenge, but (we’re) excited the way it turned out.”
(On if the recruiting class is complete)
“The class is pretty much done. We’ll always look to add if we can add to the class. That’s been our philosophy every single year.”
(On QB Jarrett Guarantano’s impact on this year’s class)
“Getting a quarterback to commit early was very big for us. You talk about the quarterback position, and one of the intangible traits that you look for are the leadership qualities. Jarrett Guarantano has those leadership qualities, and he was able to build relationships with his future teammates, with his peers. That helped, but also the commitment level. Here’s a young man that could’ve went anywhere in the country, and had everyone pulling on him, even the last week in recruiting. He didn’t take one other cali
(On adding Nigel Warrior and Tyler Byrd)
“The great thing about Tyler Byrd is position flexibility. That’s the other thing that we wanted. We wanted to bring in payers that could play a multitude of different positions. It provides you flexibility within your football program. So, to be able to add an individual like him really adds to the dynamics of your football team. In terms of Nigel Warrior, one of the best players in the state of Georgia. To be able to add him, a legacy football player, he brings a lot to the table. His energy, his passion, his football intelligence, his love for the game can’t be measured. And then obviously, he’s a very talented football player. The University of Tennessee means a lot to him. When you bring legacy players in, that helps. When you look at the culture of our football program, I talk about our players being invested. There’s great pride in here of being a Tennessee Vol. That was evident with Nigel. That’s been evident now throughout the building of our football program, and that’s really been helped by legacy players.”
(On the importance of the last 48 hours)
“It was big. We still felt that there was room for more speed, more athleticism, and we were going to swing the bat. Again, it wasn’t just a spur of the moment decision by these individuals. Those have been relationships. That’s been much, much time invested in them. When you add even a Latrell Williams, a 10.6 (seconds) 100-meter dash, a 4.3 – 4.4 40-yard dash, that adds again to the competitive element with position groups. It adds to your special teams. So again, you can never have enough speed and athleticism.”