University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes
November 22, 2003 | Football
Nov. 22, 2003
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TENNESSEE POSTGAME QUOTES
TENNESSEE COACH Phillip Fulmer: "I'm really proud of this team as it has grown and gotten better. I can't say enough about the senior leadership, especially of the captains. Casey Clausen's leadership off and on the field has been tremendous. I am pleased with how we continue to improve. This team has had to fight, work and grow defensively. They have not given up chunks of yards.
"Our offense has grown. We have made more plays. Vanderbilt played enough man to make them pay. We did and it could have been worse. In the first half they lined up to stop the run so we threw. We tried to be balanced.
"In the second half I wanted to see some maturity. I challenged them to get the shutout. We have a big game next week. We are playing with a lot of confidence right now.
"We are not paying any attention to the BCS. I've been in this long enough to know that things change drastically week to week. I do believe we are capable of being a BCS team. We are a team on the upward side of being an attractive team for the BCS.
"Mark Jones is incredible. He can do anything. You can on him. He's been really close to breaking punts all year. Today we got one. We have good blocking all year.
"Casey is much of the reason we've been successful. He close to a lot of records. I was excited about him getting the record (consecutive passes without an interception). Peyton (Manning) won't like me saying that. Hopefully we'll recruit a guy who will come in and break Casey's record."
TENNESSEE PLAYER QUOTES
Mark Jones - "It was very special. Coming in was senior day so I knew it was my last time running through the `T,' last home game, and I just wanted to go out with a bang."
On playing multiple positions - "In the beginning of the year it was kind of hard to grasp everything as far as offense and defense - and of course, my special teams assignments. But as the course of the season went on, I was able to pick up on it and condition myself well. By now it should be all downhill."
Gibril Wilson - "[The defense] just wanted to come out and play a physical football game. I think that's what we did today. We definitely wanted to go out on top and we felt like we played well and did that today. We finally got a shutout. Chief (defensive coordinator John Chavis) thrives on that. That was big for us and gives us a confidence booster going into next week."
Scott Wells - We were basically just clicking on all cylinders today. We were executing the passing game to its fullest potential. Casey was making some excellent throws, and the receivers were making some big plays. Our defense pretty much was shutting Vanderbilt down when they were on offense and getting the ball back for us. We had some big plays; Mark Jones made some big plays at perfect times. Everything seemed to work out for us and it led to a lot of scoring."
On Mark Jones - "Mark Jones is an outstanding athlete. I'm just proud to have him on our team. I've been fortunate to be able to play with him here and I think any team would be fortunate to have him. He understands the game completely and can go out and play any position you ask him to."
On playing his last game in Neyland Stadium - "Well it was the last game at home but it wasn't the last game of the season. That's why [the feelings are] a little mixed right now. It's been a great five years - four years of playing - and I'm going to miss these guys when it's all over. But we've still got a lot of football left to play and I think if you ask any of the seniors, that's what we're more focused on
Casey Clausen - "Midway through the season I think confidence for a lot of our guys - particularly on offense - really picked up. We're trying to get back to being a dynamic offense and being able to come out and put points up early."
On playing his last game in Neyland Stadium - "It's been a fun ride playing here for four years. The relationships that I've made through these last four years have been special and something I'll always remember. I had a great time playing here."
On the Tennessee fans - "These are the greatest fans in America. That's why I came here - to play big-time football. The four years I was here, I had a great time playing here (in Neyland Stadium). For any young guys who are looking for a place to go to school, I couldn't think of a better place. It's a class act and I had a great time."
Robert Peace - "Especially for the seniors, we wanted to come out and set the tempo early. Any time in college football you shut out a team three years in a row it's something. It brought tears to my eyes knowing it was my last time running through the T. We're excited about where we are. We're excited about how we're playing. It doesn't matter who we play, we're out to play as hard as we can and win as much as we can."
Constantin Ritzmann - "It (the shutout) was great. It was one of our goals. The defense played well. The offense did what it had to do. It was a big win for us. We knew we needed to win out to get to a great bowl game. I think we're playing up to our potential in all areas. We're getting to our peak, and hope to peak in a bowl game."
Tony Brown - "He's (Clausen) a leader. He also makes a lot of plays in the passing game. He walks with a swagger. He's smoking. I don't know how many yards he had, but he's on point all the time. We got a goose egg on defense. This is as close to a complete game as we've played this year. Just getting the timing down with the quarterback was the biggest thing. Going into the Miami game, our tempo started picking up in practice."
VANDERBILT POSTGAME QUOTES
VANDERBILT COACH BOBBY JOHNSON: "You witnessed it. They manhandled us and there wasn't much we could do. We talked a good game during the week and before the game, but we didn't match Tennessee's intensity. If you don't, you're in trouble. They were extra good, playing like they had something at stake. We couldn't get good field position and it was 21-0. We had poor punts and poor coverage.
"Lack of intensity is everybody's job, coaches and players. We lose together. I thought it would work the other way after last week. They burst our bubble in the first quarter. They had three great catches on their first drive. They executed and we couldn't stop them.
"They have outstanding players. We would have had to have played extremely well to match them. They were able to throw and catch. The threat of the run is just like being able to run. Tennessee took advantage, getting the throws and catches.
"I would have liked to have built on something better than this. We have a long way to go. Nobody had the misconception we have arrived. We'll have a good off-season. We'll have to look at the film to find some positives. We have so much to do between now and next year. Mark Jones is a great player. It's hard to get going if you can't block their front four. It's hard for our guys to come open when you can't protect.
"Tennessee was maybe more aggressive and had a lot at stake. They didn't leave anything to chance. We'll forget about the Kentucky game and this game. This won't set us back."
VANDERBILT PLAYER QUOTES
Moses Osemwegie LB: "I think they did a good job of keeping us off balance. Coming into the game we thought they were going to run the ball more than they did, and I think we did a pretty good job of stopping the run the whole game. They passed the ball more than we thought, and we still have to be able to stop that."
(Comment on his team's improvement throughout the season) "I think we are getting more confident as a corps. We are young and everything, but I think we are getting more confident, we are executing better and we are practicing better. It is just a matter of getting better."
Otis Washington LB: "When things are going good they are going good, and when they are going bad they go bad like now. We have got to find out what works for us."
"Tennessee's best asset right now is their game plan. They made some amazing catches. That was probably the best thing they did today. That is what really shocked me. They (receivers) have some desire. Those catches they made were just pure desire. Sometimes we were able to stop their receivers. But, sometimes great players do great things. It is hard to stop a good receiver when he goes up for one sometimes."
"I think the difference between Tennessee and the other real good teams we have played is they got the breaks this time. They made those great catches. I think that is really what maybe put them above some of the other teams we played this season.
