University of Tennessee Athletics
Bowl Practice Two Transcripts
December 30, 2014 | Football
Head Coach Butch Jones
(On yesterday's practice)
"A very, very productive practice for many reasons. First of all the elements, the humidity, the sun, but I liked the approach our players had. It was a physical practice, a demanding practice, I liked our execution, so I thought it was a very productive day and our players have done that, not just on this bowl trip, but over the course of the season.
"They've been very, very focused, they've had a good time, they've enjoyed themselves, but they also understand that this is part of a business trip. We've been provided with great leadership and that's what I expected from this football team."
(On SEC pride)
"I feel pride in everything we do, especially for the University of Tennessee, but we're part of the best conference in all of college football. Obviously, you look at the conference and how they do in bowl games as well."
(On the recovery thanks to the time off)
"I think it's an individual basis. Some individuals are still nursing some nagging injuries, where some other players have really benefitted from some time off. I do think, overall, our team speed has improved, but it's a case-by-case situation."
(On specific players who have benefitted from time off)
"I think, first of all, our running back position. Jalen Hurd continues to play more and more confidently. You can see the confidence, the speed, he's able to play instinctfully now. Marlin Lane benefitted from some extra time off. Alton Howard has played at a very high speed level all year, but I think some time off... Von Pearson is another individual. We had to have a little talk, though, through the value of watching Twitter is he goes home for Christmas and works out and he's running. So I was able to get to him and say `Rest your body.' Curt Maggitt, if we had to play the game after Vanderbilt, he wouldn't have been able to play. So I think the extensive time he has had off has helped him. I think it's been really beneficial for our entire team."
(On offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian)
"That's the mark of a very good football coach is being able to adapt and adjust. Football is sudden change, we always say football is life, just sped up faster. So the ability to put your players in positions to make plays and play off of the skill sets of your players, I think he's done a great job. When you look at the revolving door with the injury situation and replacing a lot of the productivity from last year's offense, we're up in just about every single offensive category. We've taken care of the football for the most part, we've done a very good job. And it's not just him, it's our entire coaching staff, and our offensive staff works well together, just like our defensive staff works well together. I think our players have done a tremendous job and we've said it and the Iowa game is no different, we have to be a team that overachieves. We're not going to beat you on talent alone. We're not a program that can just show up, I don't think anybody can just show up. We have to earn everything we get and our players and coaches have done a tremendous job."
(On emotion-filled bowl games)
"It has. There has been a lot of emotion-filled bowl games and we talk about it everyday. Like we talked yesterday, we showed bowl trends, everything that is trending in the bowl season. We talked about it and we tried to take maybe other people's mistakes and learn from those as well and kind of treat them as if they are our own mistakes. So again, it is controlling your emotions. I think when you take time off, everyone is kind of amped up, your emotion is kind of high. That is why we don't talk about emotion, we talk a lot about passion but also the discipline in everything that we do. It has been a teaching point every day in moving forward."
(On celebration penalties)
"Everything is first of all about the team and a lot of times when an individual gets into the end zone it is also a byproduct of the other 10 individuals around him executing their job and doing their assignment. That is why, we talked about the score standard, and do we execute the score standard all the time? No. But we want them to have passion and energy but it is get to your teammates. But they know the standard and the expectation and that is the great thing in our program now, if a young man does make a poor choice, a bad decision, he understands that. All I have to do is walk up to him and reaffirm that. Just talk about that. That is kind of that culture that we have in place now."
(On the evolution of Pig Howard)
"I think you just said it the best, you used the best term, matured. He has been very mature in every aspect, academically, the way he takes care of his body now, the investment in his body, taking care of it with rest and recovery and the way he eats. I always watch what he is eating down in Smokey's. He has been very, very determined, he has been very goal-oriented. Probably beyond maturity, he has been very consistent each and every day at practice and in games as well and we are going to need him to step up big. I have been very, very proud of him and how he has really matured over the course of a year. It is a great story because, again, we always talk about how coaching is creating change and when you see individuals change and really grow up and mature and learn from their past experiences it is very fulfilling and that is why you coach."
(On offensive lineman Mack Crowder)
"Yeah we have always known that Mack Crowder is very valuable from a leadership standpoint, from consistency in everything that he brings to the table, from a mental aspect of the line call. We always knew that he was very valuable and that just reaffirmed that."
(On end of game situational charts)
"It is just accumulated over the course of time. Every coach has a go for two chart, whether you go for one or go for two based on the scenario. We have a time clock management chart as well. But then we also have a chart that I keep in my pocket in case something were to happen with the headphone in the course of the game, at the end when do you take a safety. It is every single situation that can imagine we have charted so that when you get into those situations, A, our players have practiced it but we also have it down and we talk about it all the time. We practice, every practice we will talk about and end of the game situation, little things that maybe people don't realize from a knee call to a down call where all of a sudden you are running the clock out and all you need to do is you need one first down. How many times do you see you need one first down and whether it is your running back or your wideout, they continue to run and they fumble the football. We have a knee call where once they get the first down, just go down and take a knee, game is over with, the best formation of football is the victory formation. So those are all the little nuances to winning football games in the end of game situations."
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR Mike Bajakian
(On the offensive unit responding despite thinned numbers)
"Yeah, we always talk about offense, defense and special teams playing complementary football. The same thing applies within the offensive unit. We need to play complementary football. If it means maybe the tight ends taking more reps or more of those backup guys taking more reps, all season long they've been rolling in at different positions and have done a good job. They're stepping up."
(On Pig Howard's performance this season)
"Yeah, Alton has done a great job. You know, he's obviously the most experienced guy we have and he's playing like a better player. It is good with such a young team to be able to point to him and say, `Hey, continue to work hard and continue to stay focused Vic Wharton, Josh Malone.' With those young guys, look at all of them and see how hard work and people progress. You could turn video on from last year and he where he's grown from last year to this year and as much as anything, I'm happy with his focus and the way he's been able to sustain throughout the course of the season."
(On the difference in Pig Howard from last year to this year)
"I think, again, it's a long season. We've talked about it with our freshmen, in particular. They'll obviously take steps forward but with young guys, it's often two steps forward and one step back. The key to being successful is making sure we continue to improve on a daily basis, on a weekly basis. Alton has shown quite a bit of evidence of being able to sustain through the grind and the course of the season and he's improved as the season has gone on, as have many other players. Jalen Hurd being one of those players. Again, it's been good for the young guys to see that and know what it takes to be successful."
(On the importance of having Von Pearson back)
"Von is just one of the many guys who have benefitted from the 12 or 13 practices, whatever, that we've had at this point. Again, working on their skillset, refining their craft, but also understanding how to prepare to play in a bowl game. It's different. The installation process is more drawn out like Spring football in that you need to sustain over the course of the entire preparation and our guys are understanding that as we head into the bowl game finally in the next few days. The game plan is in. Now it's just a matter of refining all of the little things and that's part of the maturity that comes along with making a bowl game and continuing to progress like that."
(On what impressed him the most about Joshua Dobbs)
"He's done a good job of managing the offense and limiting the turnovers. I think that's key. Obviously, we are talking complementary football with offense, defense and special teams, playing the field position game and limiting turnovers. Obviously, we're always going to improve upon that and any interception or any turnover is too many. But he's also taking command. He has taken ownership of the leadership that is necessary to be the guy, the alpha male as we like to call him."
(On the balance of preparation for the bowl)
"Well, you have to have a little fun, that's for sure. Your bowl experience, in general, is going to incorporate that. It's always a challenge to keep the guys focused for such a long period of time. I think it was beneficial to have a break in there for Christmas, send the guys home and then come back and get refocused. But our team has responded in a very mature manner."
(On the amount of time the team had to prepare for the bowl)
"Sure. I wish I'd had a month to prepare for every game. You can really get detailed and you can really rep a lot of the different looks that you anticipate seeing, whereas in the course of a game week, sometimes you're crunched for time. You're introducing concepts but you might not necessarily be able to rep them versus all of the possible looks. You need, again, a mature team in the course of a normal game week prep which can adjust and adapt. Well now, it's just given us the advantage of being able to prepare for all of the different looks."
(On when to have everything installed for a bowl game)
"We had everything installed for the game prep before we left for break. Coming back after Christmas, we were able to just rep everything again and kind of refresh everything for our guys."
(On Iowa's defense)
"Yes. They're extremely disciplined and are very good at their scheme. They're relatively simple, schematically, and they don't give up the big play. Their personnel fits their scheme very well, too. Their corners are outstanding players. Their safeties complement them very well and their linebackers do a good job of keeping everything in front of them and breaking on the ball. I think, first and foremost, that's where it starts for them."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR John Jancek
(On checking the emotions of players during a bowl game)
"That's the case all year. We want to make sure we play a disciplined style of football, but yet we want to be aggressive, be physical. There's a fine line each and every week you take the field. You have to make sure you have your emotions in check as a player. I think it's a reflection of your leadership on your team and the maturity level of your team. We haven't had any issues this year and I don't anticipate having any in the bowl game."
(On Iowa's offensive tackle Brandon Scherff's relentlessness)
"The first thing that jumped out to me is how athletic he is and how quick his feet are and how he can get out and pull on the perimeter and get onto a safety or linebacker that is probably more athletic and continue to block them throughout the entire play. He plays with a relentless, physical attitude. You can tell those guys up front are all well-coached and that's the strength of their offense, their offensive line."
(On how badly the defense needed time off in December)
"Our lack of depth throughout the season and the volume of reps that the starters had to take, we certainly needed a bit of a breather. Once we completed that last ball game, I think they've done a good job of taking care of their bodies. They had a good practice yesterday. We just have to wrap it up here this last couple of opportunities to get ready for this bowl game."
(On getting back to fundamentals)
"Absolutely. You take the time to go back and reteach some of the things you don't get a chance to focus on when you're in a short week and prepping for a game. So that's been valuable. We've gotten a lot of reps with some of our younger players that don't typically get those reps. I think the time off for them to heal. You get those fingers that are jammed, those shoulders that are aching, knees, all those things. To get some time to heal up and rehab is huge."
(On Jakob Johnson and Kenny Bynum's competition)
"They've competed well. They've pushed each other. They're both in there doing the best that they can. I know they're excited to be back in their home city and play in front of probably some friends and family."
(On playing both Johnson and Bynum)
"They'll both play. It'll just be a matter of how many plays in a row the offense can generate. Those will come into play during the game as far as how we sub."
(On if it's harder to get a read on a team during bowl prep)
"The thing is you have so many plays. You have more time. You have more game film you're able to study. You're able to look at a lot of things. We're just trying to focus on the things that are going to be problematic for us. Things that hurt us during the season. Get those things corrected as they might formulate some ideas with what other people will do."
(On offense's similar to Iowa)
"Yeah Georgia was a two-back run game. Vanderbilt was some of the 12 personnels were very similar. Those two teams primarily. Alabama was not as much 12 as they have bene in the past. Georgia and Vanderbilt were the most similar."
(On if there was question whether Derek Barnett would be playing defensive end or tight end)
"There was no battle. There would have been some fist fights in the staff room if that would have happened or came up. That's new to me. I know Derek is a great athlete and probably could play tight end but I'm certainly not giving him up."
(On Barnett's year)
"Derek had a fantastic year. The thing that really showed is his improvement throughout the year. He came in and certainly we liked him as a player. We had no idea he was going to turn out the way he did. That's to Derek's credit. He's very intelligent. He's a mature young man. He picks up things well. I think his level of consistency and the improvement that he showed throughout the course of the season was really most impressive."
(On why some teams come out flat in bowl games)
"I'm sure each team is a little bit different. The leadership of the team is different. Maybe they thought they should have been in a different bowl. Those are all things that come into play. I just worry about us to be honest."
