University of Tennessee Athletics
Butch Jones Transcript (11/4/14)
November 04, 2014 | Football
Head Coach Butch Jones
(Opening Statement)
"It is good to see everyone, I think it has been about 72 hours since I have seen everyone. So I wanted to recap the game and then move on and answer any questions that you may have. Saturday night, if it ever defined complementary football, it defined complementary football. What do I mean but that? I mean, offense, defense and special teams all playing off of each other. The first example, we come up short on a fourth-and-one on the one-yard line, which is inexcusable, we need to get the ball in and score but we are also playing a field position game. So next play, what do we do? Situational football comes a play and Justin Coleman intercepts the football, we get the ball in scoring position and then we get a touchdown. At the end of the game, Joshua [Dobbs] throws and interception, our defense forces a three-and-out and we get the ball back on the 47-yard line and we go down and score a touchdown. Then another scenario was in overtime. I thought our players did a very good job of managing situational football. When you look at the one minute drill, I think the first was a minute and 23 seconds in the first half, touchdown, and then you execute a one minute drill on the road in a SEC environment to tie the score. I believe a minute and 19 or so, have to go 85 yards and run nine plays with no timeouts. Then another situational football which we practice a lot in training camp and in spring football which is overtime period. So again, the complementary football, the situational football, I thought our players did a very good job of that.
"It has been a grind, everyone across the country right now wants to talk about the grind. But what about the grind we have been through? When you look at a six game stretch, when you throw Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Alabama and South Carolina in there, I would argue with anyone about that grind and with a very, very young football team. So the bye week is coming at the appropriate time, We have to get some issues corrected immediately for this three game stretch. One of the biggest growing concerns on our football team is just our overall depth. The accumulation of reps now throughout the course of a long season is taking its toll. We had individuals who played 93 snaps, we had defensive players, we had a defensive tackle play 80 some odd snaps Saturday night. That is where we are at in our program. But again that is why we practice the way we practiced today to continue to try to develop depth for the present and living in the moment but also for the future as well. So I will answer any questions that you may have."
(On the amount of reps Jalen Hurd played on Saturday)
"Yeah and it was a physical football game. Playing running back is a physical position and I thought he handled it well. He has worked extremely hard in the strength and conditioning area and taking care of his body. Jalen [Hurd] is mature for a freshman and we needed him and he preformed very, very well for us and helped us play winning football. Helped us win the football game Saturday night."
(On preparing Derrell Scott)
"Yeah we will continue to force feed Derrell Scott. This bye week is very, very important for him just with the overall knowledge of the offense, getting in game shape. Derrell is an individual who missed all of training camp and wasn't here in the spring, that really set him back and missed a few games. So now it is just getting kind of into a rhythm, sort of. So, yeah, we are going to rely more on him."
(On which players he would like to see step up these final three games)
"It starts in the defensive front, Dimarya Mixon, Kendal Vickers, LaTory Lewis, Jakob Johnson at linebacker, Todd Kelly Jr., some more safety. Rashaan Gaulden, it is across the board. We just spoke about Derrell Scott. So again as we make this stretch run we are going to need more individuals to step up."
(On Justin Worley and Josh Smith)
"Well I know there has been a lot of reports but we didn't know about Justin until late Thursday. I give Justin Worley all the credit in the world, he tried anything and everything to rehabilitate his shoulder back, just couldn't get back the velocity that he needs, so he is out for the rest of the year. He will undergo surgery. Josh Smith, contrary to reports, he is not going through surgery right now. He is going through a full examination in the next couple days to determine if he does need surgery. If that full examination comes to play that it would help his progression then he will have surgery. But right now we are waiting on a full examination where they actually put him under, do a full MRI, do some different things to see if surgery is needed."
(On Justin Worley's arm strength)
"Yes. Just couldn't get the arm strength, couldn't get the velocity to be able to preform at a high level."
(On how Justin Worley is doing)
"Very even-keeled. He was not he sideline for the game, in civilian clothes, in street clothing, did a very good job of being there. He was at practice today. He is still going to be around the team, now he goes from `player Worley' to `coach Worley.' Again, he is very, very excited about the victory. He is a true team player and a great character young man as we all know and it is very, very unfortunate."
(On Justin Worley's injury)
"It is his shoulder. A labrum."
(On if Justin Worley tore his labrum)
"Yes."
(On if it was his throwing shoulder)
"Yes."
(On Jalen Hurd's size)
"His size helps you. Now in the third and fourth quarter or anytime when he runs the football, it is running behind his pads and pad level and sometimes when you are 6'3" that is a challenge in and of itself. But he has done a great job and Coach Gillespie has done a great job of really stressing some details, the body lean, playing with a physical style, and we have asked a lot of him. Where he has really done a very good job where most freshmen struggle is in the pass protection area. He is very physical and he understands all of our protections."
(On Joshua Dobbs having eye-catching moments while on scout team)
"At times. We have spoke about it, Josh's big issues have been just overall consistency and he will be the first to tell you that. Just playing at a high level all the time. Taking care of the football, making good decisions with the football. That is what we have really been pleased with, he is making good decisions with the football. Obviously he has the one throw that we need to get back and he needs to throw it away in that critical moment, that is a teaching tool. Again, the situational football, we thought he was very assertive Saturday night. He trusted what he saw, we thought he did a great job with his eyes and he managed the offensive."
(On having the extra bowl practices)
"It helps you develop your football program even more. The individuals we just spoke about, about really trying to step up and add depth. It really adds almost the equivalent of having another spring ball for these individuals. And then the other thing is it lets your football team be together. This is a very, very close knit football team. You don't go on the road and have a .9 percent probability of winning the football game where we were and win the football game if your team doesn't believe in each other and you don't have great team chemistry. So it is another opportunity, more time, this team has a life expectancy that is about over with and we talk about that all the time. So we are trying to prolong that life expectancy of this football team."
(On the improvement in rushing yards)
"It is a combination of all of those. Each game is different in and of itself because of your matchups. Some teams you match up better versus other teams. That is the game of football. But also I think anytime you add the element of a running quarterback, that helps. We have also been able to throw the ball effectively. We have been very efficient in the throw game. I think Jalen Hurd is playing well, Saturday night he finally got a chance to showcase some of his skillset, especially on the fourth-and-three screen with the balance, the spin and getting vertical and getting the ball in the end zone. I think it is a combination of a lot of things. We are still not there yet consistency wise in the offensive front. I believe we started five or six different combinations and that is really hard to be fluid up front when you are consistency having different starting rotations. But they also are playing with a lot more confidence and we are improving at that position as well."
(On Joshua Dobbs) "He has very, very good instincts when he runs the football. The quarterback draw for the touchdown at the end of the first half was reminiscent or equivalent, but not as long as, the run that he had in the spring game. He just has very good instincts and he has very good vision. He is a high vision individual when he runs the football, so I think that aids him in extending plays with his legs."
(On the mobility of Joshua Dobbs and the one minute drill)
"It helps because he can escape the pocket. We did a very good job of getting out of bounds and stopping the clock Saturday night and all individuals performing that drill. Anytime you can extend plays, and sometimes it's maybe not gaining yards, it's extending a play by being able to throw the ball out of bounds and live another down as well. Obviously, that aids in the one minute drill."
(On if Joshua Dobbs could have made a play like the one he had to Jason Croom for the touchdown a month ago)
"I think that's an accumulation of repetitions in practice and doing it over and over again. That's a bye product of how far he has come. The next challenge now is him staying healthy. He's fairly healthy, fresh because he's played two game. I don't know where he would be if he would have played earlier in the year from a health standpoint. We have to teach him how to run the football and how to get down and how to not take the necessary hits because as you know, playing running back , playing quarterback, any position, it's an accumulation of hits. So that's the next evolution in his game. He's come a long way in his game and we've really challenged him in his throw game."
(On Aaron Medley's development)
"He takes great pride in his performance. He does the extra. Works very hard. Internalizes every single kick. I think the players around him have shown confidence in him. Again, here's another true freshman. I don't think people truly understand what this team accomplished Saturday night with only nine individuals on a 70-person travel squad that have ever been to South Carolina before. Playing the inordinate amount of freshmen and them stepping up in critical moments in a pressure situation and making plays, Aaron Medley is one of those. Patrick Ashford did a tremendous job because the snap was high, and that's another one. I call him the MVP of the game. Everyone wants to look to Josh Dobbs but Patrick Ashford had the play of the game on the extra point kick. If he doesn't make that hold, we don't get to overtime. Then you look at Aaron Medley making that kick in overtime. You guys were there. The elements, the wind, all of that in his face, and he makes a kick in overtime in a pressure filled situation. Then, the grind that we've been through. They're all talking about the top-25 teams in the nation and the stretch that they've been in. Well, we haven't talked about it here, but we've been through a grind. We've been through a stretch and this team hasn't blinked one bit, and I'm proud of them for that. We have a long way to go. We have to correct our deficiencies this bye week. We have to play better football down the stretch than we've done."
(On Devrin Young)
"He's progressing. Still, the ribs are healing. He's still nowhere ready to be game ready yet."
`
