University of Tennessee Athletics
Media Monday: Players Preview UK Game
November 10, 2014 | Football
Senior Linebacker A.J. Johnson
(On how to return to playing better defense)
"Just communicating. Everybody doing their job. I know we haven't been successful on third downs the past two weeks, and that's what we build ourselves on throughout the whole season--getting off the field on third down. A couple busts here, a couple busts there, but we had this off week to get everything back right and how we were going in the beginning of the season. We are going to come this week and have a great third-down mentality and get off the field."
(On if number of plays is a factor in giving up increased points)
"You can't say that is the cause of it because we are athletes, we play football. It doesn't matter if you get ten snaps or 80 snaps, you still have to execute your assignment at the end of the day."
(On difficulty of communicating at Neyland Stadium)
"We love the crowd noise at home. I wouldn't say it's difficult to communicate. We just have to have strong communication and play together as a unit. But, the crowd noise--it doesn't affect us. We just have to go out there and do our job."
(On team's attempt to earn bowl eligibility)
"Just keep working hard, pretty much. Keep going hard each day, each week. Get this win number five, so we can get to win number six. Getting to a bowl game is my last thought because I know we are going to get there. We are going to do what it takes, and we're going to make whatever happen to get to a bowl game this year. It's going to be a great feeling when we get there."
(On if any younger guys have played themselves into more playing time during open week)
"Malik Foreman, he's been stepping up making plays in practice. That's one spot I noticed he's been making a lot of plays in practice, stepping up."
(On if they watched Kentucky's game on Saturday)
"Yeah, I watched it. Like he was saying, their offense, they've got some skilled players and they've got a good quarterback. He knows how to manage the game. They're fighting for a bowl game just like we are. Like I was saying, we've got to be good on third down. We know their percentage of going for it on fourth down is real high. So, we've got to be good on fourth down this week, expecting them to go for it on fourth down as well, keeping the quarterback contained and fitting up our runs."
(On having Lil Jon at practice)
"It was pretty cool. He came and spoke to us before we went out to practice. It was exciting to be able to meet him in person and stuff. He had that grill in his mouth shining, it was really shining like that in person. That was nice to see."
(On what he said to the team)
"Pretty much just wanting to come by and say he wanted to show us some love. He said he'd show us some love in the flesh. I know he did a video for us in the Neyland Stadium and he was in town, so he wanted to come by and holler at us and tell us to keep fighting pretty much, and get to a bowl game. That's one thing he said, we're close to making stuff happen so we might as well finish it off. He said our coach is a cool cool cat. He liked Coach Jones a lot."
(On having Derek Barnett contribute as a freshman)
"I call him sack master."
Sophomore Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin
(On how to return to playing better defense)
"I say just communication. Everyone has been on the same page out there. We have had some communication breakdowns here and there. Everybody just executing their assignment, playing in the scheme of the defense."
(On differences between playing a no-huddle offense and one that does huddle)
"It's a different style of team. We've seen plenty of no huddle throughout the season. Saw a lot of it earlier in the season, and, all week, we see it from our team. It's a little bit different challenge, but it's nothing that we can't handle. We'll be able to take care of it."
(On if any younger guys have played themselves into more playing time during open week)
""I feel like some of the DB's like Rashaan Gaulden, guys like him, played good throughout that bye week. Bye week is basically a time for all the younger guys to develop and get ready to play. Rashaan and Jaylen Miller, I feel like, had a good bye week."
(On if they have looked at Kentucky tape yet)
"Yeah, we've been watching."
(On what they see from Kentucky's offense)
"They've got some good skill players. The quarterback [Towles] does a lot for them. He can move. He's a big guy. He can get out of the pocket. They've got some quarterback runs they can do and they've got good speed on the edge."
(On if they watched Kentucky's game on Saturday)
"I watched it."
(On having Derek Barnett contribute as a freshman)
"I think it helps a lot. I talk to Derek every day, and I tell him, `You're one of my favorite players to watch on our team.' The way he plays, he's a freshman but he never once was scared out there. He came in and just played his game. He's impacting the game, helping everyone else on defense."
Junior Wide Receiver Pig Howard
(On keeping the offense's momentum)
"Tempo. Going and painting a picture for Joshua Dobbs. Being consistent. Just doing the little things right. Executing."
(On if the quarterback change made the offense more explosive the past two games)
"I can say that with a running quarterback, it opened up the pass game. So, that's got a lot to do with it. Defense can't blitz as much at the same time. Dobbs being a running quarterback, he can keep the play alive. He can get out of the pocket. He can use his legs to get first downs. All around, it helped us."
(On Georgia not punting against Kentucky made his eyes light up)
"Not at all. They've got two stand up defensive ends that impact the game as well. I think with their front, it helps the secondary in general. They've got confidence. They play one, play cover three, but all around I think Kentucky's defense is the same defense over the past three years."
