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The third-year headman looked ahead to Oklahoma in his mid-week presser from the Ray & Lucy Hand Digital Studio.
Sept. 9, 2015
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee head coach Butch Jones met with the media for a midweek update on preparations for No. 19/17 Oklahoma on Wednesday at the Ray & Lucy Hand Digital Studio.
(Opening Statement)
“Great to see everyone. A couple announcements before we get started and answer any questions you may have. Danny O’Brien has been suspended for violation of team rules and policies, so he will miss the Oklahoma game and there has been no timetable set for his return.
“LaDarrell McNeil, we fully expect him to be ready for next week’s game. I’ll tell you what, I’ve been so proud of him, and I know his family is excited and he’s excited. So we expect to have him back next week and he has been in practice in a non-contact role, so excited about that.
“Two individuals we’ll miss that will be out of the Oklahoma game with injuries are Max Arnold with an MCL sprain and Ralph David Abernathy IV with an ankle sprain. So those two will miss the Oklahoma game. I’ll answer any questions you may have.”
(On what changed in LaDarrell McNeil’s status)
“Everything is about taking precautionary measures and opinions. He flew to Texas to meet with some doctors that come highly recommended, that deal with the National Football League. He had a full examination, MRI, all that. After that, they concluded that it’s safe for him to play football, and for him to get back on the practice field and start competing. Just seeing the smile on his face and the excitement of his teammates was very, very rewarding. Everything we do is about the benefit and the welfare of our student athletes, and taking the precautionary measures that we need to take.”
(On Kendal Vickers playing in Danny O’Brien’s spot)
“Yes. And the two youngsters need to step up with Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie. It’s a great opportunity for them and that’s why you work. We’re going to have some youth served there, so to speak, but it’s an opportunity for them as well.”
(On Danny O’Brien’s suspension)
“I’m not going to speculate. It’s ongoing, and we’ll see. We’re going to support Dan through this whole deal, but there’s just no timetable. I don’t want to sit here and tell you it’s one game. I don’t want to sit here and tell you it’s six games. It’s going to be the ebb and flow and it could be ever-changing.”
(On Kahlil McKenzie’s practice performance this week)
“He has gained some extra repetitions, and doing a very good job. He’s really dropped a lot of weight. We were talking about that yesterday after practice. He feels the best he’s ever felt. He’s weighing the least he’s ever weighed before, so he’s able to move a little bit more. I’m excited to see him perform Saturday.”
(On Shy Tuttle being prepared)
“I do think that Shy Tuttle has benefited from going through the spring. Any time you go through a full 15 practices in spring, you have a little more time in terms of the strength and conditioning room. I think that has helped him. Especially, too, with the knowledge of the defense and your run fits.”
(On Justin Martin competing in the secondary)
“I’ve been really, really excited with his progress. He’s healthier. He’s much more confident. How many repetitions will he gain on Saturday? I can’t answer that. The game will dictate a lot of that, but I’ve been very pleased with his competitiveness with getting out there, how he’s been fundamentally, [and] how he’s been locked in not just from a defensive standpoint, but also from a special teams standpoint as well.”
(On who will start at wide receiver)
“We don’t have starters. We have individuals who take the first snap. The old days of a depth chart, of 21 personnel, and huddle offenses and all that, those days are long gone. It’s whoever finishes up the week of practice, with practice today, meetings and all that, they’ll take the first repetition. We talk about depth, especially at the receiver position. We need to play 10 wide receivers. With the tempo, with the multiple personnel group things, and we haven’t been able to do that. Having Pig Howard back this week will help those matters, but we want to get to a point where we have great depth, where we can play multiple individuals.”
(On Pig Howard handling suspension and his potential role Saturday)
“Well, we hope he plays a great role. The great thing about him last week is that I thought he handled [the suspension] very well. He has to go down on scout team. He gave us some very quality looks for our defense. He handled that as well as anyone could have. Now, obviously back in the full flow of the game preparation for him and the full volume of the playbook, I thought he has had two very good practices so far.”
(On being more equipped to take on Oklahoma as opposed to 2014)
“We are getting closer. I have talked to them about the maturity of a football team of home focus. We have a tremendous fanbase and there is a lot of excitement surrounding the game, but it’s the most important game because it is the next game. You have to focus on what you can control, and our players to this point in time have done a very good job of that. We have a lot of confidence, but we also know the level of competition we are playing. But, it’s a great opportunity, and I know we’re looking forward to it. I have liked our approach of this football team.”
(On problems Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon presents)
“A lot of them. Big, strong, physical. He has breakaway speed, can get the dirty yards, tough yards. Complete back. I know they have put him back there as a punt returner as well. Obviously, a receiver. He presents numerous challenges. He is a matchup problem.”
(On Preston Williams’ development)
“Developing. A work in progress. We can see him playing faster and faster. The game is starting to slow down for him. We are getting him worked back into football shape, football conditioning. It’s a process in and of itself, but I see him making very good strides. Sitting and watching the video of yesterday’s practice, our entire freshmen class–it has been remarkable–their work ethic, competitiveness, taking coaching and instruction not only from the coaches but from older players. I have been very pleased with the pride they have, and Preston is one of those individuals. He is being mentored. He is being mentored by Jason Croom, Josh Smith, Josh Malone, all of those individuals, Johnathon Johnson. That is very important. We talk about the culture and older players leaving a type of legacy on your football program. A lot of times, it is in terms of a leadership standpoint. Ja’Wuan James, we still feel his presence of the football team. He stays in touch with a number of our players. We talk consistently. When your time is done here, is Tennessee football better because you were a part of it? How did you make our program better? Our older players are doing that.”
(On managing expectations during a high-profile game week)
“You live in a bunker. Like I told you before, my car knows the way home and the way to the office and that’s about it. You treat it the same, like any game.”
(On having young players go through those expectations)
“There is [a lot of young players]. And like we talked about on Tuesdayabout the baseline style of performance or level of performance, this is a new baseline for them as well. But all you can go upon is your evidence that you have when they’re in the building, their concentration, and it’s been business as usual, preparing the same way that we did the week before, which is good. I see a focus. So I’ve liked what I’ve seen, but I haven’t seen like over-emotional or passionate. You know, you want passion but you don’t want emotion, but I haven’t seen a change, which is good. We’ve challenged them to be a mature football team. Now, how do we handle the environment? Do we get outside ourselves or do we focus on the task at hand? Those are all things as we continue to develop this football team, and as we know it takes, I would say about three to four games to really start to identify yourself and your identity. This is one of those games where I’ll know much, much more where we’re at as a football team Saturdaynight.
(On the process of getting a second opinion during medical diagnosis)
“In terms of LaDarrell, it wasn’t really a second opinion. It was all individuals working together as one to form one working opinion. We welcome that. We want input. We want feedback because everything is about the health of our players. It’s like in coaching. You want feedback. How can you get better? How can you continue to improve? When they work together and make a joint decision, it is really everyone coming together as one.”
(On the performance of the defensive line)
“First of all, we have a lot of individuals up front who take great pride in their individual performance. They all knew, man-for-man, walking off that football field, coming into the video room on Monday, that was not our style of play or our standards and expectations. Were there some positive things that happened? Absolutely. There is always good and bad that occurs in a game. Part of becoming better is being mature, to really look at your performance and be your own worst critic, not be sensitive, ask what did I do well, and what do I need to work on? That’s what I saw from that group. I saw a group that was hungry to get back. They were eager. I sat in their meetings, and Coach Stripling does a good job. There is a very high standard in that meeting room. Just like there are high standards for being nine strong across our football program. We are going to have to take another step. They are a typical Oklahoma offensive line. They are very big. They are imposing. They are athletic. They are nasty. They do want to run the football. You look at the gamut of running backs that they have. Everything is about coming off the ball, the use of your hands, gap integrity and the second and third efforts. Now, when you throw out two really unproven individuals who are talented, but in the world of college football are unproven. They have to play to our style of play, which they will. I expect [the defensive line] to have a very good game on Saturday night, but they are going to be challenged. They are playing a very talented offensive front.”
(On suspending upperclassmen [starters] two weeks in a row)
“It’s disappointing you know, anytime you have to do that. It’s like disciplining your own kids. You hate to do it, but you have to do it. I’m the caretaker of Tennessee Football and we have standards and expectations in our football program. Everything is based on choices and there is consequences for your actions. Were never going to short change that, we’re never going to take a back seat to that. You know, I feel for Danny. Danny has done some, you know, very good things in our football program. I’ve seen the progress that Danny has made since day one that we walked in the doors. So we are working through it with him. We’ll see what happens down the road. It’s just like Alton Howard the previous. We have standards and we have expectations. We’re never going to compromise those. You look at these and you say are they bad choices or is it bad character, and I think it’s bad choices. We have very character on our football program our players understand our standards and our expectations. You know, you learn from it. It’s a learning experience for all individuals involved, and even the individuals not involved. So, you know, we’re going to support our players. We’re going stand by our players. Our expectations will never waiver or change in this program.”
(On pacing on offense)
“We always chart were we are at on the forty second clock. But I think each game is a different storyline in and of itself. Each game is like a chapter in a book of a season, so the flavor of the flavor of the game changes from week to week. If you’re trying to keep your defense off the field, are you trying to protect the lead, what we’ve come to know in running an up tempo offense is, it’s much easier to slow down than it is to speed up. That’s why we want to play very very fast in practice. It was the fastest since we’ve been at Tennessee we’ve played at. Even the players remarked about it on the sidelines. It’s a tribute to them, with their practice habits. It’s a tribute to them and coach DeBord and the entire offensive coaching staff. We will change the tempo. We don’t have a set time, even though we chart it, we have different tempos involved. Just like Oklahoma does they play with an up tempo style. They play fast. You want to have as a coach the ability to control the tempo.”
(On what is Oklahoma football all about)
“Excellence, tradition of winning, great players, great coaches one of the top five football programs in the country. Just like if you asked me that same question about Tennessee, I’d tell you the same thing.”
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