University of Tennessee Athletics
Tuesday Football Press Conference Quotes
November 19, 2002 | Football
Nov. 19, 2002
?
Comments from Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer's Nov. 19 press conference previewing Saturday's game (12:30 p.m. -JP) against Vanderbilt at The Coliseum.
* Coach Fulmer's Tuesday press conferences can be seen live each Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) during the season on ESPN News.
FULMER PRESS CONFERENCE
FULMER Q&A | OPPONENT COACH Q&A
"Coming out of the Mississippi State game, we were pleased to get the win. I'm really proud of our team that, with the adversities and disappointments we've faced along the way, they've stayed the course. It shouldn't go unnoticed how the leadership on this team has stuck in there. Our captains, our seniors and a good, solid group of juniors have kept working, practicing and then playing hard. This game at Vanderbilt is extremely important because it's the next one. We got off to a good start last night in practice and preparations for Vanderbilt. Even with all the difficulties we've had, I have appreciated and enjoyed this team because they've had so many things to overcome.
"Getting Michael Munoz back obviously made a tremendous difference in the game last Saturday. Jason Respert hadn't played in four or five weeks to any extent. Getting him back made a heck of a difference in the game. That was good to see. Collectively, the whole group of offensive linemen played well. Although he didn't show up in the number of catches, Jason Witten did a fantastic job of blocking and made a big play in the game. Troy Fleming probably had his best game here at Tennessee, although he didn't show up, necessarily, in the numbers. Those were some positive things that came out of it.
"Defensively, it was a real good effort. The best thing that happened is that we really improved on third down. They were three-of-15 and, other than the one big run when we had them backed up, didn't allow any big plays. Our defense scored and set up a score. It was just a real good team win.
"Looking at Vanderbilt, you are concerned about their offense. They do a really good job of coaching and running the option. Stricker is a really good wide receiver. Cutler is a big quarterback who can throw the football. They have the ability to spread you out and the ability to run the football. It gets complicated when you start scheming the option and you still have to defend the dropback pass. Managing all that is going to be real important.
"Their defensive scheme is sound. They don't make very many mistakes at all. They try to contain you as much as they can with the eight-man front. We have a challenge there. Their kicker and punter are both good. We have to do what we do. We have to be able to run the football. If Casey is back, and we think he will be, we'll be much to our advantage because we'll be more balanced. That's really important.
"With Rashad Baker being out, we'll move Julian Battle back to safety. That's three guys - Julian, Mark Jones and Gibril Wilson -- who have all played there. We'll have Jabari Greer and Willie Miles at corner. I'm pleased with Robert Boulware, who has continued to improve and has done well on special teams. He played about eight or 10 snaps against Mississippi State. He's making some progress. That's encouraging. Corey Larkins has been out there and has done a lot of things for us. I think we'll be fine even though there's a concern about depth in the secondary. We're working on that to get where we need to be in this game."
