University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee-Florida Postgame Quotes
September 15, 2007 | Football
Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer
On the Game:
???Certainly, this wasn???t the representation that we intended it to be down here today. Our players did work hard in preparing for this. Their attitudes have been outstanding. I just told them in the locker room that I don???t expect anything less than that when we come back to work on Monday.???
On the giving up big plays:
???We can???t continue to give up big plays. I???m not saying that we gave it to them, they earned it. But they earned a punt return for the second week in three weeks, which puts our defense in a tough spot. We cannot help good teams that way."
On Tennessee???s special teams:
???We have a lot of work to do in coverage and some of our kicks. I???m hopeful that Britton will be able to get back into the mix on kickoffs, that will help us. Even with that, I don???t think our tackling was that good. The young man [Brandon James] is a very good punt returner and we knew that coming in and we did just a [bad] job of getting him on the ground."
Senior Quarterback Erik Ainge
On UF Linebackers
???The Linebackers played great, they have tremendous speed ... they eliminated the chances we had.???
Senior Tight End Chris Brown
On Florida???s Game Atmosphere
???I???ve never really looked at it, but when I went out there I just looked up and saw what a great Stadium it is.???
Senior Linebacker Ryan Karl
On playing Florida???s potent offense
???We were in good positions, but we didn???t make plays when we needed too, that was the difference.???
Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer
On the defense:
???That young defensive line, my goodness, to hold those caliber players that they have to whatever it was, 30 yards rushing, my hats off to them, first to our players second to our defensive staff, again they never cease to amaze me with their game plan and more important than the game plan is the players playing their hearts out, celebrating because of defense.
"Offensivly I think you witnessed one of the best players in college football in Percy Harvin. He???s healthy, now. He practiced, had a full week of practice and he???s a winner. A coach doesn???t find one like that all the time. I could go down the list, every receiver played very well. Obviously Brandon James played well.???
On holding control of most of the game:
???I still go back to our defense, they were able to hold them. Erik Ainge is going to be an NFL football player, high round draft pick and they have some very talented receivers and Foster and those running backs are veteran guys. I just have great respect for their personality to play well. I think that is a result of our defense getting on the field on third downs and making some turnovers.???
On the fumble return for a touchdown:
???He got crossed into poor space, he???s a young player making a mistake and the good thing is he can come to practice and will work even harder next week. There???s no finger pointing, there was screaming and yelling because he made a mistake. A major error on offense, he just didn???t come across into the right space. The one thing our coaches teach very well and our players buy into very well is not letting them drop the football. When you face the caliber athletes that our guys face, to keep that ball in front of you, they???ve done that on several big gains and that???s another one, you don???t see guys running behind us very often. We???re not playing as much man as we have in the past because we use the corner or the secondary, our defense just does a great job of covering the football.???
Sophomore Quarterback Tim Tebow
On running the ball:
???I love getting to run the ball in games. The contact felt good. When our receivers spread the defense, it leaves good running room.???
On the Florida offense:
???It was a complete team effort out there today. Our receivers found a way to get open down the field and our offensive line did a good job of forcing good running lanes. Anytime you can run the ball and throw the ball well, you will be successful.???
Sophomore Wide Receiver Percy Harvin
On the Florida offense:
???This offense is fun. Just throw it, catch it and run. We have so many playmakers on this team, you never know when someone will break it open.???
On the importance of this game:
???This game, we wanted to pick up the slack. The season is here when you face the SEC. Not just the receivers, but everyone wants to get in on the action and help the team win. We played well all around; offense, defense, special teams. It was a great team effort???
Junior Tight End Cornelius Ingram
On Florida???s offensive strategy:
???We spread the ball all over the field. We challenged ourselves all week to spread the defense and get the ball in everybody???s hands.???
