University of Tennessee Athletics
#VolReport: George's Tweet Amazes Hurd
September 17, 2014 | Football
Sept. 17, 2014
Here are sound bites from #Team118:
SENIOR QUARTERBACK JUSTIN WORLEY
"He runs hard. That is the biggest thing I have seen. He runs hard and tries to finish through people. He has hit holes hard. He had a couple of explosive runs late in the game last week.You can't say too many bad things about him. He has done a great job in protection and picking up the offense. He is a great asset to our offense."
"Coach Jones did a great job on Monday coming in with our recap of the Oklahoma game being positive and encouraging us. He let us know that he has faith in us and we are really close. I think that was awesome to hear from him. Everybody was hurt after the loss, obviously. I don't think it would have helped if he came in and said some of the same things we were all thinking. It was good to hear some positive things coming from the game from Coach Jones."
FRESHMAN RUNNING BACK JALEN HURD
"I think, as a running back group, we've picked it up on pass protection. We've definitely done that. We've been a lot better from game one to game three--pressing our holes, reading it well and just getting those tough yards."
"It's amazing. This is my home, and it always will be. To be able to play college football at home and run through the `T', seeing when I was growing up all the time, it's amazing."
SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE BACK CAMERON SUTTON
"That one year experience really helps me prepare better for the games. Last year just going in thereafter a week of preparation (for a game) I would just go out there to try to make plays. This year I just feel more prepared and comfortable out there."
"I never really thought about that. My first day coming in with the mentality of just going out there and doing my job, just playing football that I know how to do. I just came in and worked hard, got acclimated with the playbook, learned the guys around me and just got out there and made plays.That was my mindset. I didn't expect to come in and start all 15 games, but I knew if I worked hard, prepared and practiced well it would lead over to the games. I had my opportunity."
SOPHOMORE LINEBACKER JALEN REEVES-MAYBIN
"I just always want to be an impact player. Every time I'm on the field I just want to impact the game. Coach Jones talks about it. You might have a small role on a team but you have to impact the game. Everybody can impact the game, so that's what I try to do."
"We were hurting after the game. Everyone felt like we let them off the hook. We feel like we should have come out with the win. No one got down. We came to work at the beginning of this week. We'll keep grinding."
FRESHMAN WIDE RECEIVER JOSH MALONE
It's a major opportunity to get more playing time and just get more snaps. For those guys, they went down, but we've just got to keep moving forward just keep making plays."
"Oh, it's special. Running through the T as an instate-born Tennessee kid is very unique. It's one of those once in lifetime experiences that will never get old."
JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN MACK CROWDER
"It was definitely a good confidence building mainly because the past few games, we really haven't had many long runs or breakout runs. We've just been in there pounding away, pounding away and every now and then, you need one of those big runs to build your confidence and know that we're making holes and they're going to break big runs like that."
"That's one of our main goals every week is just making sure that everybody is on the same page and everybody knows what we're doing before the ball is snapped to give ourselves a chance. Without good communication, there's no chance of the play even going. I'm sure it has to be difficult for them but the older guys on offensive line have been trying to do a great job of making sure they're on the same page. Every now and then, they'll ask us questions and we make sure we have the right answer to them as soon as possible. We're definitely helping them out up front but obviously Coleman [Thomas] and Jashon [Robertson] are doing a great job with it. I definitely have to give them some credit."
JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN KYLER KERBYSON
"It is kind of rough, but Coach Mahoney expects a lot out of us. The tests that we do Fridays we have to know what everyone does on every play. If you don't know what you are doing even if you get moved it is not on him. It is on you because we talk about it all the time."
"I mean it has been a little rough, but we are all so close as a O Line that it really doesn't matter. We spend so much time together outside of football. It's not oh no I'm playing next to this guy. It's oh good I get to play next to one of my friends."
"It is really special. I don't know if all the other guys have the same feeling as me because I have been excited about running through 'the T' my whole life. They got excited through recruiting. I knew about it, the tradition and all the stuff that came along with it a long time ago. I have been really excited for this process all the way up."
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- When freshman Jalen Hurd showcased his talents in primetime at Oklahoma Saturday, he had no idea that his childhood idol would be watching.
Hurd, who is from the greater Nashville, Tennessee, area, impressed none other than College Football Hall-of-Famer and nine-year NFL star running back Eddie George.
Eddie George, who played eight years with the Tennessee Titans and made four Pro Bowls, tweeted the following:
Hurd was very happy to see the tweet, from a player he called his 'idol.'
Not only does Hurd take this message as a kind gesture, but he also says it will motivate him.
"I saw that on Twitter when I got on the bus," Hurd said. "That's amazing. That's my biggest idol right there. That man can run the ball. That [tweet] just makes me very happy and encouraged."
Hurd recorded 97 yards on the ground, including 43-yard and 29-yard runs that brought the Volunteer offense into OU territory.
Hurd's style somewhat mimics George's game, and that is not by coincidence. Hurd tries to take after the man he once followed on Sundays.
"He was a big guy, he played for a long time and he could run that ball," Hurd said. He's got feet. He had everything. He was an everything back."
Hurd has already surpassed George's freshman yardage from the 1992 Ohio State season. In 11 games, George ran for 176 yards and scored five touchdowns. Hurd has 209 rushing yards, 40 receiving yards, one rushing TD and one receiving TD through three games.
Despite growing up in the Nashville, Tennessee, area, Hurd has never met Eddie George. That is likely to change if Hurd continues to run the ball like he has in his first three games on Rocky Top.
IT'S BECOMING A HABIT FOR MALONE
With recent injuries to wide receivers Von Pearson and Josh Smith, freshman Josh Malone has been presented with an excellent opportunity to earn more time on the field.
Senior quarterback Justin Worley says the talented freshman has taken this opportunity to shine and ran with it.
"He's doing an awesome job," he said. "He struggled a little bit during fall camp, dropped some passes, but he's started to bring a consistent work ethic and workman-like mentality to practice every day. He's not dropping as many balls and he's really done a good job getting in the game and making some plays."
After struggling through fall camp to adjust to the demands of the college game, Malone says he is beginning to figure out what it takes to be an SEC receiver.
"The adjustment from high school to college is a major difference," he said, "especially jumping into this program, with the pace and the physicality that we preach in the program. It was totally different coming out of high school."
Malone says wide receiver coach Zach Azzani has helped him develop the attitude and work ethic needed to succeed at `Wide Receiver U.'
"Coach Z just really wants us to pick up our intensity level and really just make it an effort, and be a big timer and be the first one out there and try to just lead a group," he said.
"I just feel like I've gotten better with my intensity out there on the field in practice, and just taking advantage of most of my opportunities, and just having more bounce in my step when I'm out there."
"His habits have developed and grown a ton," said Worley. "He's finishing plays like we ask of everybody on our team, he's taking pride in his blocking on the outside, he's taking pride in being a pass-catcher, as well. His habits have really picked up."
SUTTON'S NOT-SO-SUDDEN CHANGE FOR BETTER
Defensive back Cameron Sutton has started every game of his career thus far at Rocky Top. And while he carries himself with a maturity and knowledge of the game far beyond his years, the sophomore admits that there are still moments where his Tennessee experience seems surreal.
"I never really thought about that," Sutton said of his 15-consecutive starts. "My first day coming in, there was just a mentality of going out there, doing my job and playing the football that I've known how to do for so long. I didn't expect to come in here and start all 15 games but I knew that if I worked hard, prepared well and practiced well, it would lead over into the games."
Not only did Sutton work hard and prepare well, but he steadily improved upon the mental aspects of his game. This season, he credits the difference in his play-making abilities to eye discipline, seeing the field better and being much more aware of his surroundings.
"I know where everybody else is supposed to be around me," Sutton said. "Last year, I was kind of just focused on myself. But this year, I know where everybody else is around me. I know where guys are supposed to be so I can correct myself when I'm out there, as well as correct the other guys."
While seeing the field and helping the younger defensive backs have become two of Sutton's strengths, the Georgia native also feels that no amount of preparation is enough at this point. There are always areas of his game which need work and for that, he leans on Defensive Backs Coach Willie Martinez.
"Our coaching staff does a great job of putting us in opportunities and situations to make plays around the field," Sutton said. "Like Coach Martinez says, my preparation this year has been at an all-time high and I feel more prepared when I go out there. I know what to expect a lot of times, so I can go out there and make plays."
Aside from his personal goals and striving to contribute to Team 118 in the back field, Sutton's drive is propelled by this year's team mentality of one team with one common purpose.
"You can see a big change in our locker room," Sutton added. "With the mentality that we have, we are a very hungry team and we want it all. Losses hurt and this year, you can see a big difference. Our heads are not down but we know that we could've won that game. We know that we have to limit our mistakes and we'll get it corrected."
IMPROVING NEVER STOPS
With the work week in full swing, sophomore linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin sees the time available as an opportunity for the team to not just regain their health but to also invest additional time in game fundamentals.
"The bye week is definitely a good time for the guys to get their bodies back, everybody get their legs back and get healthy," Reeves-Maybin said. "So it's definitely good to have these couple of days."
Reeves-Maybin's increased role on the defense has escalated his time on the field, testing his conditioning.
"We felt good all four quarters. That comes from the guys on the strength staff, so we felt comfortable out there," said the SEC's third-leading tackler with 25 stops.
Despite the fact that they have the extra time, Reeves-Maybin, alongside fellow linebacker A.J. Johnson, isn't taking it any less serious than if it were a game week.
"We're getting a little bit of rest but we're still out here getting better every day. We're not taking it off at all. We're still out there grinding."
Even while getting some rest, Reeves-Maybin understands that after the Oklahoma loss, there is time to be spent on details, such as keeping pressure on the offense, communication and being on their assignments. An added bonus of the extra time is the ability for the younger players to play more reps to focus on those fundamentals.
"We've been doing a lot of individual periods where we're just working on certain techniques within your position. Getting the younger guys who haven't got a lot of experience some reps, so it's been good."
