KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — On Thursday, Tennessee Football’s Joshua Dobbs, Jalen Hurd, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Cameron Sutton met with the media, followed by head coach Butch Jones in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio.
Butch Jones | Head Coach | 4th Season
(Opening Statement)
“As you all know, three practices down, practice number four [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][is today]. We are kind of where I thought we would be at. If you did a poll of any coach after practice three, you never think your team is where it needs to be at this particular point in time. We’re still in the infant stages of really developing our identity, our habits and fundamentals, our details and what it takes to play winning football. I think they’ve been lacking a little bit. Situational football, trying to expose them to as many situations as possible.
“The biggest thing as you enter into practice four is your practice etiquette. You go from helmets, to now shoulder pads and day five is full pads. But them understanding, the progressions and the tempos from tag to thud and the details that go into tag and thud and when we rush the quarterback, running behind the quarterback. I think our pursuit, our overall effort has been very, very good overall as a football team. I think just the overall fundamentals, the details; not looking around, always competing and never comparing with what’s going on.
“Also, recovery. Our players are challenged right now with a full academic workload, practice and finding the time to invest in their bodies with recovery. Part of the recovery process is also fatigue, mental fatigue. So again, are you getting 20 minutes of quiet time, what it takes to recharge your batteries, fighting those times? Sacrificing, getting in bed a little bit early? Staying ahead of your academic studies? All of those things go hand-in-hand with the sleep and the hydration and all that. But the mental fatigue as well.
“As we know, it is a line-of-scrimmage league. I thought putting the shoulder pads on, the speed of the game changed up for the offensive line. We were able to move the front a little bit more and we struggled a little bit. That’s what training camp is all about. It’s about working through adversity and persevering. Finding out which individuals are mentally equipped to make it through a long season. And the toughness part of it, not just the physical toughness but the mental toughness, the ability to communicate.
“Like I told our football team this morning, we need to embrace the day. It’s a chance to improve our body language, our communication, our toughness with everything that we do, our fundamentals, our details of what it takes to play at a high level on a consistent basis. Those are all the things that we’re going through.
“In closing, I think we are kind of where I thought we would be. Now, how do we take the next step and we don’t have to be game ready yet, but how do we take the next step with all those things that I just discussed?”
Joshua Dobbs | QB | Senior | Alpharetta, Ga.
Tennessee senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs spoke with the media to talk about the start of training camp and the upcoming season. Dobbs touched on the development of the young receivers and quarterbacks, battles along the offensive line and the impact that turnover margin has on winning and losing in the SEC.
“You just see that [our new players] love football and that they want to make an impact now. That’s exactly what we need from them. They’re going to have to step up and make some plays this year for us. We’re watching the film, talking through looks, talking through reads, and trying to find that extra completion, the right place to go with the ball, coverage recognition and everything.”
Jalen Hurd | RB | Junior | Hendersonville, Tenn.
Running back Jalen Hurd did not waste any time preparing for his junior season with the Volunteers, as he spent the majority of his summer working out through a special program to create more explosive speed, flexibility and use his size as an advantage. On Thursday, Hurd met with the media for the first time during fall camp and described how he feels entering practice day four.
“I was mostly just working on explosion, speed and working on things I don’t really get to work on too much around UT. We do a lot of explosive work here, but you always try to find different things that you don’t do here and try to implement that into your game when you go away and work out by yourself. Opening my stride up a little more and flexibility was a big key. I did a lot of different training with more core balance. It wasn’t a lot of weights. We did a lot of bands and a lot of using your own body weight to create more explosion and speed. I don’t see my height as a disadvantage at all. I feel I can do anything that any other running back can do at this level. I think it kind of helps me. I get to see over everybody so that’s cool.”
Jalen Reeves-Maybin | LB | Senior | Clarksville, Tenn.
With Team 120 beginning to settle in the groove of fall camp, the Vols continue to show off their improvements from years past. Senior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin took notice to this yesterday as he watched his teammates perform during the third day of camp.
“With the amount that we have been able to install defensively and the way that the freshmen have been able to catch on to the things we have done, it has been great. Yesterday, I didn’t get to do as much because we were in pads, but I got to step back and watch everybody play. I can definitely see improvements from the past years.”
Cameron Sutton | DB | Senior | Jonesboro, Ga.
With just three training camp practices in the books, Sutton already sees healthy competition developing at the cornerback, nickel and safety positions. He believes the workers’ mentality that each player has every day in practices, meetings and workouts pushes each other to be better.
“It’s a healthy competition. We don’t care about who’s starting or who’s taking the first reps and those things. Those things could change each and every day. It’s just all about being consistent in your approach. It’s a lot of competition. We’ve got a lot of depth, especially in the secondary, at not just corners and nickels but safeties as well. A lot of guys are stepping up. All our corners are stepping up and have made plays so far in the first couple of days. Our nickels have definitely made a lot of plays just running around on the field and our safeties have as well in the air. Everybody is definitely embracing their roles and stepping up and doing the things they’re supposed to do on the field.”
Sound Bites
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs
(On the importance of taking care of the ball and having a good turnover margin)
“Turnover margin is really the key margin that defines winning and losing in this league. If we can take away the ball more than we turn it over than we’ll be in good shape this season.”
Running Back Jalen Hurd
(On fellow running back Alvin Kamara entering his second season at UT)
“Alvin is a great guy and I’m happy that he’s right next to me running the ball and sometimes, I’m happy he’s coming in and getting me out. He’s a great leader and we love having him on our team.”
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin
(On how the freshmen have done in camp)
“They both have been doing really good. Ja’Quain Blakely is really smart. His high school does a lot. When he came in, his knowledge surprised me. He already knew a lot of things that I was trying to teach him. Daniel Bituli is the same way. He is a smart kid and is really athletic. Those two are probably the biggest linebackers that we have and they’re the youngest. They definitely work, and they are eager to get out there and make plays. I’m impressed by what they have been able to provide.”
Defensive Back Cameron Sutton
(On what he sees in the defense and how it is unfolding under Coach Shoop)
“I’m seeing a lot of amazing things out there on the field. Speaking from a DB-standpoint, it makes my job a lot easier. We have a lot of pressure up front and we’re building that depth. We’ve got a lot of guys who have a lot of experience, a lot of game time experience and we’ve been through a lot of those situations before. We’re able to rotate a lot of guys in and move guys around on our d-line and not have a drop off. They’re already a confident group, but they continue to work each and every day, continue to grind each and every day. It’s definitely going to showcase itself on Saturdays. I’m really excited about this group.”
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