Butch Jones met with the media on Tuesday here are my “FreakNotes”:
- We competed well against Utah State. The players put in the work and were ready to go. Our guys earn the right to win as opposed to hoping to win.
- Overall game management was good. Communication was above average.
- Major, major, major improvements must occur with this football team and it starts with special teams. We did not play winning football on special teams.
- Didn’t have much rhythm and consistency on offense, especially in the first half. We should have had more points. Too many three-and-outs.
- Didn’t like our ball disruptions on defense.
- The ability to run the football: we averaged 2.8 yards per rush. We have to be able to run the ball more.
- One one of our starters, out of 11, started the Kentucky game last year.
- Arkansas State. No matter who the head coach has been they win and they go to bowl games. They are an up-tempo no-huddle offense and they like to snap the ball exceptionally quick. They have one of the best punters/kickers in the country. Veteran group in the secondary. Their quarterback is dynamic with the ball in his hands. They’re a good football team.
- We had the best football environment in the country. Our fans were outstanding. We need everyone to buy tickets and support this team.
- There were about eight instances where we ran the football and were one block away — single breakdowns.
- Cam Sutton had a big hand in helping us win the football game. One of the hardest skill sets in all of football is catching a punt with a good hang time. But he was never given an opportunity to do anything more.
- Matt Darr will be out of practice today. He rolled his ankle but will be fine. Jacob Gilliam will be out for the year, he tore his ACL. It will be a good opportunity for some of the younger guys like Brett Kendrick, Dontavius Blair and Coleman Thomas. Gilliam had worked hard and earned the respect of his peers.
- Our players want him (Gilliam) around. They already wanted to move his locker to be next to the other tackles. That’s the investment of this football team right now, they’re thinking about each other.
- The overall depth on the offensive line is a concern.
- Von Pearson brings it every day. He always has a smile on his face and he is a great competitor. He needs to take better care of the football.
- Jalen Hurd needs to work on pass protection. He’s consistently been one of our better pass protectors in camp. He just needs to work on the fine details. He’s very able to catch the football also; he’s a weapon. You may see him in the slot some. Alton Howard wouldn’t have scored a touchdown without Hurd’s block. He did some really good things for his first game. He’s one who benefited from being an early enrollee.
- Chris Weatherd is a very talented young man. His role will continue to be elevated. He’s very explosive. He’s a big body individual who can run and that’s the type of individuals we need to recruit here to improve our roster. He’s done a great job of picking things up, especially for someone who arrived in August.
- We saw marked improvement on defense. Our players played with confidence and we tackled fairly decent for the first game, but we still have a long way to go. We need to get more pressure with three and four man rushes. We gave up a couple big runs and were too wide in our alignments that exposed us in some passes. There were too many alignment and assignment breakdowns, but there’s progress.
- Josh Smith has been consistent all camp. It’s great to see him start off with a big run and catch (which was sprung by a Pig Howard block).
- Tennessee was six for six in the red zone on Sunday. Being efficient in that area is key to winning football games. Even though we lacked consistency on offense at times, our offense was effective in the red zone.
- As far as game speed, Jalen Hurd is one of the fastest players on our team.
Forum discussion: Butch Jones Tuesday Press Conference Notes