University of Tennessee Athletics
Butch Jones Transcript (12/14/14)
December 14, 2014 | Football
Head Coach Butch Jones
(Opening Stament)
"First of all it is good to see everyone, I apologize for any inconvenience with moving practice up and obviously the basketball game so we will get you back. We had some things come up in world of recruiting and some different things with practice so we had to bump everything up.
"I would like to first start off with our thoughts and prayers for the Auburn football program and Jakell Mitchell and the tragedy that occurred there, our football team, our football program has them in our thoughts and in our prayers.
"Good to get back to work today, kind of get the rust off a little bit, our players have been in strength and conditioning mode but to get back and play football. Very short practice, about an hour, but just getting them in football condition, getting back to the fundamentals. We will take tomorrow off in terms of practice structure just because our coaches now, with the dead period in recruiting, will be an opportunity to go game plan now, watch a lot of Iowa video, and then our players will be in the strength and conditioning room and then we will resume practice on Tuesday.
"So I will answer any questions that you may have."
(On reflecting back on the team this season and Jalen Hurd closing in on 1,000 all-purpose yards during freshman season)
"Great resiliency. This entire football team has shown great resiliency all year and the youthfulness. Jalen Hurd didn't even play in the UT Chattanooga game and he just continued to battle and battle and there is a lot of great stories and a lot of positive things that are going on here. Very proud of our players. Again, the amount of adversity, the perseverance, everything that we have asked of them. To play 24 true freshmen is very difficult in terms of, not only the physicality and the development, but the mindset. Because you are trying to develop a mindset where they are going against junior and senior laden football teams in the SEC and we will play and older, veteran team in Iowa as well. But very proud of what this football team has been able to accomplish but now the next goal and challenge is our bowl preparation and winning the bowl game."
(On tight end Daniel Helm)
"Yeah, Daniel Helm has decided that he is going to go to another school and we wish him in the best and we will help in any way we can."
(On other players transferring)
"Dwayne Hendrix and Derrell Scott will also be looking at other schools. Again, we thank them for everything they have given to Tennessee and wish them the best in moving forward."
(On reasons for players transferring)
"Every individual has a different reason, a different circumstance for that, but the only thing we can do is thank them and help them and provide help in finding another school and whatever they wish to do."
(On freshman running back Jalen Hurd's potential)
"It is unlimited potential. He works exceptionally hard, he is very tough, he is tough physically but he is tough mentally as well. That shows. He did a very good job of taking care of his body, so I am excited with the progress that he has shown and I am excited for the future as well."
(On freshman wide receiver Josh Malone)
"Coming out today, Josh looked like the Josh Malone that we saw in training camp and the middle of the year, I think he has really benefited from the extra time off and he has done a great job also in the training room. I thought Josh had his legs about him, you could see that his injuries are starting to heal up. It was great to have him back and have his presence in terms of a speed standpoint, great energy. So yeah, I think Josh is one of those individuals that benefited from the time off."
(On the benefits of the extra 15 bowl practices)
"There is so much, it is continuing to elevate your game, obviously, on the field with the extra practices. But in the strength and conditioning room, monumental. They would be home right now. A lot of these individuals have gone though an in season strength and conditioning program as opposed to a developmental program. So to be able to get them back in the weight room, get them spending time with their teammates, the football intelligence part of studying more film, so it is invaluable. I know it is tough for a lot of the individuals because it is the first time being away from the families in the holidays. They are going to have a few days off to be able to go home. So that is part of that maturation process as well. But it is invaluable, these bowl experiences and bowl practices. Then to be able to actually experience a first-class bowl, like the TaxSlayer Bowl and the standard and the expectations, the opportunity to compete in front of a national audience, January 2nd, the benefits, they continue to grow because it is big for us."
(On the benefits off the field of the team being together for bowl preparation)
"They do. It is more opportunities for this football team to be together, also from leadership, we will start basically our offseason personal growth and development series and program, actually while we are at bowl preparation. We will have our seniors talk, what it meant to be a Tennessee Vol, kind of the things if they could do it all over again, their experiences that they have had here. So we will have some leadership seminars here as well. It is incredible. The other thing that I think can't go unnoticed, the individuals that graduated yesterday was very, very big for us. We will have the most college graduates performing in a bowl game, I believe, than any other school in the country. We are double-checking that stat but I received that stat a couple weeks ago. I am just very proud of them and seeing all their families and that special day of graduation was big for our football program."
(On how special it is to be practicing at this time of year)
"It's very special, and having our players come back today, and feeling their energy, their camaraderie, their mindset, their approach, has been great. And you know, sometimes, we're humans - we need that as coaches, as well. They came with a workman-like mentality. But again, just the overall development, these individuals we talk about digging for gold every day, and a lot of people quit when that gold is just one or two shovels in front of them, and you have to keep digging and keep digging and keep digging, and that's what this football has done. And they're going to reap some rewards, obviously with this great bowl game, but also it's the opportunity to continue to compete against a great, great opponent in Iowa."
(On study so far of Iowa)
"Yeah, every flight I've had it on my iPad watching it every free moment here. I will take more time tomorrow and really dive into it, but what I see so far is very typical of a well-coached football team. Very, very big up front in the defensive line. Two very active defensive tackles. Very active at the linebacker, can play man-coverage in the back-end. Offensively, very physical. We all know the left tackle is a tremendous, tremendous football player. Very tough, very sound in special teams. They were 7-3 at one point in time. They have played a lot of bowl teams on their schedule, so it's going to be a great challenge for us."
(On the importance of young receivers stepping up)
"When we talked about resiliency and perseverance, the first position, among a lot of positions, that comes to mind is the wide receiver position. We've been decimated by injuries, and it's opportunities for Vic Wharton. It's opportunities for Ryan Jenkins. Those individuals have great opportunities. Getting Josh back. So again, these kids have shown great resiliency and we're going to need them in this bowl game, but it's also very healthy for their future growth and development, as well."
(On Evan Berry working at running back)
"Yeah, it's both (an experiment and possible sustained move). Our depth going into the bowl game - Evan did play running back in high school, so that, and the great thing about bowl practices is you take the first couple of bowl practices, and if there's individuals that you want to see play different positions, it's a great chance to get a jump-start on spring football. And Evan Berry has done a tremendous job. He's making great strides at safety, but it was an opportunity today to see what he could really do with the ball in his hands."
(On instilling what is expected of a Tennessee team in December)
"That is one of the great benefits of being in a bowl game is it's getting back to the standard and expectations of Tennessee football. Tennessee football is not supposed to be home for the holidays, and we're embarking on our 50th bowl appearance as a proud football program, and that's the standard and the expectation, and it's also one of the things that we continue to talk about. We spoke about it today in our football meeting - the standards and the expectations of our football program moving forward, and there's a price to be paid for success, and it's very, very difficult. It's sacrifice and it's mentality, it's everything that's required. The great thing is, I'm sure most of our families will get together in Jacksonville. They'll be around their families, and it's an opportunity again, staying at Sawgrass, it's just a lot of great things and they deserve it, but it's also the standard that we expect here at Tennessee to be playing in bowl games."
