Football | Kodi Burns Media Availability (10.12.21) - University of Tennessee Athletics (utsports.com)
On if Velus Jones moving to the slot gave him more confidence and what makes him so hard to tackle…
"Confidence for Velus is not an issue, at all. He really does believe he's good and he is a really good player. A veteran guy that you can move from outside to inside, like I spoke about earlier in the spring and summer as well. He's been very productive in the slot, and like you said, he's almost like a running back with the ball in his hands. He's really hard to tackle. He's strong, he plays through contact, he has really good ball skills. Once again, just a veteran guy who's played a lot of football, and really excited to see his role continue to grow and build."
On the emergence of the veteran receivers this year…
"For sure. I think a lot of times you just have to have an opportunity and a chance. I think (Cedric) Tillman – I heard a crazy stat – I think he's been here three years and only had eight receptions up until this year. You just see his growth and instill confidence in Tillman – and he was a guy I've been talking about since the spring – that he could be problem for defenses. Whenever you're that big, you can run and have good ball skills, he's a good player. I think it just came down to him getting reps, time on task in games and he's a confident player right now.
JaVonta Payton, another guy that was at another school, didn't really get the opportunities that he wanted to. Now, just instilling confidence into him, that's why I recruited the kid. I thought he was a good player, good ball skills, explosive, can run. He just needed that opportunity, and he has it, and he sees the moment. You see him each week, I think he's scored a touchdown in the last four games, so he's a really good player and starting to improve every single week. Really excited about these veteran guys."
On what role the younger receivers have played the last couple weeks and what led to pairing down the amount of reps for receivers since SEC play…
"We have some talented young players that have to really grow up. It's all about an opportunity. When those guys get the opportunity to play, you have to capitalize. I think you saw
Jalin Hyatt do that this past game. And then really, you talk about getting into SEC play, one thing that I do know about the SEC, it's a big boy league and you really want to go with experience, and we've done that the last few weeks. I think it's paid off. At the same time, those young guys get a chance to still play a little bit and truly grow, and they're going to be good players. You just have to make sure to seize the opportunity when your time is called."
On JaVonta Payton's early success in games then lack of touches after and the importance of Jalin Hyatt's touchdown catch after early season struggles…
"JaVonta early in games, obviously has made some big-time plays. Every game just transpires different. I think the last couple games the ball was really pushed more to (Cedric) Tillman, which is fine. Tillman was making plays. Then JaVonta, these last six or seven weeks, very well could be him being the guy. So, you just have to be ready when the opportunity presents itself and I think he will be. I think you'll continue to see JaVonta make plays and not just a one touchdown deal and kind of goes missing. We're going to try and find ways to get him the ball because he's a really good player. Then you talk about
Jalin Hyatt, the few drops he had early in the season, just really have to work on his ball skills and grip strength. I think that you see him growing because that catch in the end zone is not something that a normal, every single day receiver makes. You have to really work on those things, and he's put that extra work in as far as working on his ball skills and making those competitive catches. That's one thing about this league, in the SEC you have to be able to make competitive catches and if he continues to do that, he's the fastest guy we have on the team, so it will be very, very hard to cover."
On how quick it took to see that JaVonta Payton was a guy that could play well for this team…
"Not very long. Part of the reason we recruited him was because I saw a skillset. I saw an explosive player with really good ball skills that was twitchy and can really run. One thing that we like in this offense is we like receivers that can run and really blow the top of the coverage. I think you've seen that in these games, all of his touchdowns have been big, big plays where he's getting behind the defense. So, it didn't take long when he stepped on campus to know JaVonta can be a big-time playmaker for us, and he's done that so far. So, it's our job to put him in positions to continue to do that."