University of Tennessee Athletics
Butch Jones Media Transcript (8.15.15)
August 15, 2015 | Football
(Opening Statement)
"Thanks for coming out, good to see everyone. Tonight was absolutely invaluable----any time you can have a practice and be able to compete in front of your fans. I'd like to start off and thank everyone for coming out. Around 40,000 people again is very, very special for a practice, but it is a tremendous evaluation tool to see how our players perform when there are people in the stands. It was invaluable, but now, it is moving on to a snap-and-clear mentality. How do we respond tomorrow? How do we come back tomorrow at practice in the afternoon? This is when you have to rely on your leadership. Like I told you a couple of days ago, the next couple of days will really tell us where we are at as a football team in terms of grit, in terms of leadership and the ability to finish before we start school here. I see us making progress each and every day, some days larger than others. You see us getting some individuals back in practice. Today really helped the competitive makeup and the competitive component of practice. We still have a lot of freshmen competing for jobs, so that will be ongoing. I thought today was a very, very productive night. I would be very remiss if I did not talk about the [Game] Captain in Arizona tonight, Vol for Life Eric Berry, in his return to the playing field. I think that is one of the greatest stories in all of football and one of the greatest stories in all of life. It is very, very special. I got some pictures of him getting off that team plane, and just seeing the smile and the excitement in his face and his teammates [was great]. We will be watching and wanted to wish him well."
(On offensive line cohesiveness)
"Right now we want competitiveness. Like I told you we are trying to identify the top 7 individuals. We held Jack Jones tonight as a precaution. He was just a little tired. We've been banging a lot in practice. So we gave him the night off. Getting Chance Hall really helped us and will really help his development. We should have Jashon [Robertson] back this week. There comes a time when you start to work the continuity, but the reps that Charles Mosley is gaining, he continues to progress and get better and better. I was very encouraged by Drew Richmond. We saw some things from him tonight as well, but we look forward to getting that group back together, and work some consistency up front."
(On Vincent Perry)
"Vincent is an individual who has progressively and continuously gotten better each and every day. Again, with freshman there are good days, then there are days when you struggle. Vincent has done a good job. I think he is playing with confidence right now. You know so much goes into the development of freshman because of the speed of the game. We always talk about not letting the mind tie the feet up. You go through that transition right now, but what we are starting to see through repetitions is that the game is starting to slow down for him, and all of the freshman. I thought that was evident tonight."
(On the passing game)
"It was better. I thought it was better tonight, and I thought that was a by-product of getting everyone back on the field. Having Ethan Wolf in practice has obviously benefited our offense. Alex [Ellis] has done a good job, and the continued growth and maturation of Jakob Johnson. Getting Ethan [Wolf] back, and Josh Malone has demonstrated a great deal of consistency throughout training camp, and he's had a lot of repetitions. I believe he has had of 325 repetitions prior to tonight. I think it's getting him back. Johnathon Johnson has done some very good things. So, again repetition is the mother to all learning. I thought we protected the passer better tonight. So I thought we took some steps forward as far as moving the ball. But again tomorrow, we are going to come back and work very hard at that phase of the game."
(On Emmanuel Moseley)
"Emmanuel is playing with a lot of confidence right now. He's doing a great job, it's been well documented. With the addition of his weight, he continues to take care of his body. He's been really competitive. He's got great length at the corner, which we want. He's very competitive, and you saw that tonight."
(On Team 119's sophomore class)
"I do, but we're not satisfied. We still have a long way to go, and we still have a lot of true freshman in this class in conversations of getting valuable repetitions. I'll say it...in the building of a program, you win with a senior and junior dominated football team. When you look at evidence in our conference that's what it is. The experience that last year's freshman group gained, there's no substitute for live-game repetitions in winning, in playing those close games, playing on the road in the venues that we play in. Its invaluable, I've been very proud of them. They are making great progress. Just like our freshman, just like our juniors, and our small senior class as well."
(On the punter competition in fall camp)
"Again, another invaluable teaching tool. You can pipe crowd noise in, but when its live there is no substitute. They have the ability there is just a high level of consistency that we are looking for. We are not anywhere in terms of where we need to be in naming a starting punter. This competition will be on going but you can see that they have the ability, they have the skill set. Now, it's just consistency. Every time you punt we always talk about consistency and performance and that's what we are looking for."
(On the number of freshmen he will play this year)
"That is a good question. I was looking at that today, and I wouldn't want to put a number on it right now because we are still relatively early in training camp. I believe this is practice 11. It's all about how they develop. Every day, they get better. Special teams is very critical in them having important roles as well. As camp goes on, those individuals will continue to define their roles, with putting their football identity on video, but I think it's too early to really talk about that. It's really ongoing."
(On what Aaron Medley's field goal range in a game would be)
"Well, that is why we do these drills. It's a great gauge, for us as coaches, to really know where we need to get to. It may look like we are having fun, but we are evaluating where we need to get the football to. If he can improve his range, that obviously helps the offense and field position. That is ongoing. We have really challenged him to increase his accuracy from a long distance. He has been able to do that, and you saw that tonight."
(On how Derek Barnett's game has improved)
"Derek works hard at it each and every day. He is a student of the game. He is always studying other videos and always studying other players. I know that he has been very intrigued by J.J. Watt and his work ethic. We have showed him a lot of videos. It helps when they are on Hard Knocks. He is an individual who works his craft every day and studies the game every day. He plays with a lot of passion and a lot of energy. He has worked on his repertoire. That is what we talk about with skill sets. For any player, you have a toolbox. You always have a go-to move, and you always a counter off of your go-to move. You are always working to add to you toolbox at any position. He has done a very good job with that."
(On depth on the defensive line)
"You can never have enough depth, particularly up front. That can change on one play, but we do have a luxury at the defensive end position that we have never had since we've been here. These individuals continue to grow and develop. They are playing with a lot of confidence. Now, we need to get that same kind of depth at the defensive tackle position as well, but we know, in this conference, you can never have enough. We talk about power of the position and being nine strong. That groups takes pride in their performance every time they step on the football field."
(On Curt Maggitt's leadership)
"First of all, it starts with the accountability of yourself. He is very, very accountable. He holds himself responsible. He internalizes everything, and the team means everything to him. He is very, very vocal. He is very outspoken. We knows our standards and expectations. He has the respect of his peers, and when Curt talks, they have the respect for him to listen every time he says something."
(On what he saw from Quinten Dormady tonight and what he needs to see from Dobbs the rest of camp)
"Quinten continues to get better and better through repetitions. He is very, very competitive and is playing with a lot of confidence right now. You can see it. Really, to me, his biggest maturation has been in terms of leadership. Quinten has been more vocal than he has ever been. He is holding others around him accountable."
"In terms of Joshua Dobbs, it's just consistency. Constituency with leadership, throwing the football getting us in the right plays, taking care of the football, understanding down and distance; all of the things that goes into playing winning football at the quarterback position. That's what we expect. Josh has done a good job with that, and Quinten has done a good job with it as well."
(On Jalen Hurd being limited)
"It was precautionary. You are going through a lot of running, a lot of bumps, a lot of bruises and sore bodies; a lot of what a typical camp brings about. It was a great opportunity to get some of the young backs some repetitions as well."
