University of Tennessee Athletics
Dec. 29 Defensive Press Conference
December 29, 2000 | Football
Defensive Coordinator John Chavis
(On being in the Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Classic)
"Obviously we are happy about being here in Dallas for the opportunity to play in a New Year's Day bowl game. The Cotton Bowl holds a lot of memories for me after being here 12 years ago (1990 Cotton Bowl Classic)."
On what concerns a defensive unit facing Kansas State:
"I think their entire offense. I don't think you can break it down even though they have a couple of guys that have a lot of numbers as far as stats. They are very balanced. They are going to run the football. They are going to pass the football. What they like to do is to run the football and set you up for big plays off the play action. If they can have some success running the football, that opens up the passing lanes down the field. They have done a good job with that all year."
On Kansas State's offensive personnel:
"They have outstanding receivers. They have running backs that are good players. Based on what I've heard, I don't think their offensive line has received enough credit. When you start critiquing offensive lines, their offensive line may be as good as any we have played against."
On the changes in rotation at defensive end with DeAngelo Lloyd's absence
"We are going to try to keep the rotation close to the way it was before. Omari Hand will obviously get a lot more reps than he has had in the past. Bernard (Jackson) has looked fine. During the season we felt like we had two starters over there. We really don't see this as being a big deal. We felt like that Bernard (Jackson) has been a starter all along. Even though he didn't start, we felt like he was a starter based on the quality of play he gave us."
On containing Kansas State wide receiver Quincy Morgan:
"I think it is big. If you let him get going there is just so many ways he can hurt you. They do a good job running their offense. Again, it is not just him. It's their offense. They have a lot of weapons."
On Outland Trophy winner and Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson:
"John has been blessed with a lot of ability obviously, but it has been work ethic that has made the difference. If you are in this business for a long time and I've been coaching for 22 years now, I've seen a lot of good talent. John has good talent. But the thing that separates John from the good players is that he has a great work ethic. He is willing to go out and prepare. He is willing to go out and work on areas he needs to improve in."
LB Eric Westmoreland
On similarities of Kansas State quarterback Jonathan Beasley and other quarterbacks Tennessee has faced this season:
"I think he is very similar to Quincy Carter (Georgia). Quincy was a guy who ran the option very well and could also drop back and throw the ball. He is a guy that they have to get going in the game to win. He can beat you with his arm and he can beat you with his feet. You really just can't sit back and wait on him to dictate the game."
On Tennessee's rush defense:
"We take that as an attitude. The first thing we think about when we get onto the field is to stop the run. We don't want anyone to run the ball on us. We will play the pass. A lot of people might say sometimes we give up a big play, but we want to go out and stop the run and make a team one dimensional."
On the challenge of facing Kansas State's offense
"It's very challenging. They are an explosive offense. They have a very good quarterback, two good receivers and a tailback and a fullback that are also good. With their option and power game you have to stay on your toes, read your keys and play sound football. You just can't sit back on your toes and wait for things to happen. You have to go make things happen."
On bowl preparation and this week:
"It has been fun. That is one thing I can say is that it has been fun. It has been a week when we are trying to listen to a lot of details, because Kansas State is a very explosive team. We just want to go out and have fun on Monday."
Defensive End Will Overstreet
On the reason for deciding to come back for his senior year next season:
"Graduation. My parents were encouraging me to stay. They wanted to see me play my senior year. I wanted to play my senior year. I just wanted look at everything. I was thinking about it, but I was never really serious about it. At the same time, I didn't just want to push it aside and say I've made my mind up. To the point of where I was actually leaving, I was never at that point."
On the frustration of getting a lot of quarterback hurries, but not as many sacks individually:
"Anytime that you come in and get a lot of pressures, but don't really feel like you did as well with the sacks it's frustrating. With the injuries I played with, I always felt like I wasn't 100 percent. Not that my effort wasn't there, it was just that it always was that my knee was bothering me and my back was bothering me. It was like a was just a half-second away many, many times. I just told myself that sometimes you have these kinds of seasons and you just have to get over it and keep going."
On the status of his knee and back injuries
"The rest has been extremely helpful. I haven't been this fresh since the beginning of the year, before my knee was hurt. I feel unbelievable compared to how I did feel. There is just a huge difference."
On the key to stopping Kansas State quarterback Jonathan Beasley:
"First and second downs. The key is to not let them have third and four or third and three or third and five. I think it is better to keep him in third and eights and third and tens where you know he is passing. You have to get after him.
"He is a competitor. He is just a complete and total competitor. If he does get hit he is getting out there and in his team's face. He is like any other football player out there that you want. He plays with a lot of heart. He just gets it done."
Punter David Leaverton
(On playing in the Southeastern Conference)
"The conference is tough to play in. It's almost horrible at times because if you can make it out of the SEC unscathed, you are ready to win the national title. That is what happened to us in 1998. We weren't too scared to play Florida State because we have been playing incredible teams all year. One of the bad things about playing in the SEC is that you can come away with three losses early in the season. We have been tested week after week. It definitely helps in the postseason."
On regrouping after 0-3 start in the SEC:
"We had a team meeting like we do every Monday. After we lost that third SEC game in a row, we just had to come together and close the ranks. We had to realize that we needed to stop listening to the naysayers from the outside, our friends and our classmates. We had to realize the only people that were going to win or lose these games were the people standing inside this room. We had a couple of guys on the team and a couple of coaches stand up and talk.
"As a captain and a leader on this team, I just wanted to show these guys that I wasn't giving up. We may have lost three football games, but there was a lot left to play for. As we look back at it now, we definitely had a lot to play for. Now we are sitting here in a New Year's Bowl game. I wasn't about to be sitting at home watching that ball drop."
Strong Safety Andre Lott
On Kansas State's receiver corps
"It is the best receiver group we have faced this season. They have good speed and good hands and good size. We just have to go out and challenge them the whole game and try to keep them from making big plays."
On what makes Kansas State wide receiver Aaron Lockett so dangerous
"His speed. He runs good routes. You have to go out and key on him." On the turn around after three losses
"I think the Alabama game is when things started to turn around. The secondary really came together. We started playing more confident and showing more. We had a lot of inexperience and some guys that hadn't played as many games as they have now. I think it was pretty much a confidence thing."
On the difficulty that Kansas State quarterback Jonathan Beasley presents with his mobility:
"That does present a problem from us. A receiver can be 50 yards down the field and he can break out and scramble. It is easier for a receiver to get open. It will be real hard to contain him."
On the difference between this bowl game and last year's bowl game:
"This year everyone is really focused on the game. Last year against Nebraska, I'm not sure that everybody was focused on the game. I wasn't focused on the game against Nebraska. I went and was on my first bowl trip and I really wasn't as focused as I am this year. I think it is going to be a good matchup and is going to be a good game out there."
On the importance of this game:
"It is important for us to win this game. We have been on a roll. We have been at home for a while now. It would be good to start it out fresh and send the seniors out with a good year."
On facing All-Big 12 and Kansas State center Randall Cummins
"I take everything as a challenge. A matchup with one guy isn't going to decide the game. It's going to be a good game up front. That is where it is going to start is up front with the offensive and defensive line."
On biggest challenge stopping the Kansas State offense:
"We just have to go out and try to contain (Jonathan) Beasley. We need to get in his face a lot. We have to bring it to him."
