KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With the first scrimmage of the preseason looming, the Tennessee Volunteers took Haslam Field for the seventh practice of preseason camp on Wednesday. Wide Receivers coach Kodi Burns took the podium to discuss building a deep room of playmakers.
“We play different than anybody else in the country,” Burns started, discussing the offensive scheme. “We play up-tempo, we play fast, and at any position you want to be as deep as you can be… We would like to be two, even three-deep if possible… you’re in an SEC schedule. It’s rough right? It’s a big boy league.”
A few Vols receivers come from a quarterbacking background, which includes coach Burns who played quarterback for Auburn for two years before becoming a receiver. Burns feels that knowledge will only help his group develop.
“It does help you because you do have to see the game from a different perspective… That’s why you see Jimmy Calloway really taking big strides.”
Building depth may be a point of emphasis, but the competition among receivers for the starting role continues to help everyone’s’ growth.
“The good thing about us is it’s a healthy competition. We understand that we’re trying to make Tennessee better. We want to go out and push each other every single day, so it is really good to actually have two or three deep to where you don’t get complacent.”
The full video and transcript from Burn’s post-practice press conference can be seen below, along with quotes from select offensive players.
Thursday’s scrimmage will be closed to the public.
Single-game tickets, mini-plans and season tickets are on sale now at AllVols.com.
Tennessee Wide Receivers Coach Kodi Burns
On what he has seen from graduate transfer WR JaVonta Payton in preseason camp…
“Signing JaVonta out of (Mississippi) State, (he’s) exactly what we thought. Explosive, really good ball skills, big time competitor. And really right now, it’s about getting caught up. Obviously, he missed out on spring football, spring practice. So, at this point, it’s just getting reps and continuity with how we practice, what we do with tempo, and also getting continuity with the quarterbacks. I’ve been impressed so far by JaVonta and excited to see what he can do this fall.”
On the depth of the receiver corps required to run Tennessee’s offense…
“Really any rotation, any position, you want to be as deep as you can be. It’s clear that we run up-tempo offense, we play extremely fast. There’s not going to be a whole lot of time for substitutions. But you would like to be at least two-deep at every single position. Two, or really three or four wideouts on the field every single play. (We’d like to be) as deep as we can get. We’ve got to obviously stay healthy. That’s a big key, a big part of it, but we want to be as deep as you can be.”
On sophomore WR Jimmy Calloway’s development from the spring to preseason camp…
“Man, Jimmy Calloway. Don’t have enough good things to say about him. Really stepping up, really starting to feel his body (and) how to play wide out. Quarterback coming out of high school, really developed throughout the course of spring, as well as the summer, and it’s really showing up on tape right now in fall camp. One of the guys that has really stepped up and started to make plays. And like I said, just the continuity with him with the quarterbacks. He’s starting to really feel space, starting to feel his body, really learning how to play wideout. I’ve been really impressed by Jimmy so far.”
On the strides junior WR Cedric Tillman has made over the last six months…
“Correct. Tillman’s another guy. Really, my room right now at the wide receiver position, a lot of skill players that hadn’t played a whole lot of football. Tillman was one of those guys. When I got here in the spring, about six and a half months ago, I saw a big frame, big body who didn’t have a whole lot of confidence, really, as I came in here at Tennessee. Right now, I think he’s starting to play more confident and starting to play big. He’s a big body wideout that can go up and make plays. I had a guy similar to him (previously), that when there was a 50-50 ball, you’re covered, you’re still open. He’s that type of receiver. I think he’s got a chance to be a really good player in this league. He’s got to continue to grow, develop, understand the offense and also understand the skill set. My goal right now is really to get Tillman really confident, because he’s going to help us win ball games this year.”
On sophomore WR Andison Coby’s adjustment to the offense as an incoming transfer…
“Andison Coby, not a lot of time on task. JUCO kid who (when he) got here, really starting to feel himself in the offense, understand what it takes. How we practice, what we do. He does have some talent. Got to continue to grow and develop. He is a little bit undersized, but excited about the future. Once again, another one of these wideouts that it’s a lot of unknowns. He’s another guy on that chain that we’ve got to continue to grow and continue to develop. He is twitchy, he is explosive. He does have a skill set. And now, it’s about development as far as how to play wide receiver in this offense.”
On freshman WR Walker Merrill and what position he envisions for the young wideout…
“One thing with Walker, he does not lack confidence, so that’s good. He continues to grow and develop in this offense. Just another young player, a high school kid that was obviously pretty talented coming out of high school. It’s a different ball game down here in the SEC. Just got to continue to be healthy, got to continue to grow, understand what we’re asking him to do. Bigger body kid that can also play inside and outside. He’s really started to grow each and every practice. Excited that he got here early to get those reps in the spring as well as summertime. Overall, like I said, my room is a bunch of unknowns right now, so I’m excited to see what he can do as well.”
On his expectations and priorities for the receivers in Thursday’s intrasquad scrimmage…
“The number one job as a wideout is to catch the ball. I want us to go out there and compete, make competitive catches, make plays. And then, our operation. How we operate in this offense is very different than most everybody in the country. I want to see those guys go out and operate at a high clip, look like we know what we’re doing, be efficient in what we’re doing and make plays. That’s really what I’m looking for, is the effort. Things that require no talent, right? Effort, toughness, physicality, assignment, alignment. Those things require no talent. I want us to go out and play hard.”
On the increased depth of the wide receiver room since spring football…
“When I got here in the spring, a little scary as far as the depth chart. But now, I’ve seen these guys start to grow, start to develop. We feel a little bit better about where we are, as far as a depth perspective. I think we’ve got a chance to continue to grow and develop that depth. Like I said, we play different than anybody else in the country. We play up-tempo, we play fast, and at any position you want to be as deep as you can be. Right now, that’s what we’re trying to do, is develop depth at the wide receiver position. We would like to be two, even three-deep if possible, to make sure—because throughout the course of the year, you’re in an SEC schedule. It’s rough, right? It’s a big boy league, a lot of injuries happen, take place. You’ve got to have the next-man-up mentality, so building depth every single day.”
On the number of receivers currently available to play at a high level…
“To be honest, after the scrimmage, I think we’ll have a lot better idea of where we are depth wise. You want to see guys that haven’t been here go out and compete. You want to see guys that have been here, they got a chance to develop throughout the spring and the summer, go out and compete as well to kind of see where things fall. After the scrimmage, I think I’ll feel pretty good about putting the pieces of the puzzle (together), as far as a two-deep, maybe a three-deep, where guys fit. That’s really the goal in the first scrimmage. Who can do what, who can get open, who can make competitive catches? Who can operate at a high clip? That’s what I’m looking for in this first scrimmage coming up.”
On how interchangeable the receiver positions are in Tennessee’s offense…
“That’s really one of the values that I bring coaching wideouts is I played quarterback. I played quarterback in this league. As a quarterback, you have to understand the entire game. I want these guys to understand their position. That one position you play, whether it’s the slot or an outside guy. Once you master your position, once you master your craft, now you need to understand the entire offense. That makes you a better wideout. That makes you more valuable, right? You have value, as far as knowing inside and outside. That’s really the point where you want to get to, is where guys know slot, guys know outside, and they’re interchangeable. Hopefully, throughout the course of the year, that will continue to grow, and we can interchange guys’ pieces in and out throughout series in a game.”
On the receiving corps ability to make explosive plays…
“We’ve done a pretty good job. We’ve got to make more competitive plays. We’ve got to be more consistent. It can’t be one big play and then a couple of drops. It just got to be more consistent. That just comes with confidence. That comes with growth and just reps. A lot of these guys are unproven, haven’t played a lot of ball, not a lot of time on task from the wide receiver position. So, the more reps you get in fall camp, every single day is a big day. Like, it’s the next day, it’s the biggest day of the year for us as a young group. We’ve got to go out there and grow and develop. As far as the competitive catches, I would like to see us make more.”
On quarterbacking experience translating to the wide receiver position…
“I don’t know if you’ve watched (Jimmy Calloway and Jimmy Holiday’s) films, but they were more like run left, run right type of guys. You know what I mean? I don’t know what concepts recalled in high school. It does help you, because you do have to see the game from a different perspective. You’ve got to know what the offensive line scheme is. You’ve got to know what the running backs’ footwork is. You have to know what the outside perimeter guys are doing. It does help them see the game a little bit different. That’s why I think you see Jimmy Calloway really taking big strides. He’s grown so much over the course of the summer, and in these seven days of fall camp. It’s really impressive, and I’m excited about him. Explosive, extremely fast, loves football, great hands. He’s starting to understand how to play the position. It’s all about development, especially with guys that have played different positions. They’re not natural wide receivers, but now you’re starting to see him become more natural every single day at practice.”
On the competitiveness within the receiver group and the specific skill set he’s looking for when recruiting wide receivers for this offense…
“Yeah, competition in the room. The good thing about us is it’s a healthy competition. We understand that we’re trying to make Tennessee better. We want to go out and push each other every single day at practice so there’s no divisiveness, there’s no guys bickering. We want to go out and compete every single day, so it is really good to actually have a two, or a three deep to where you can’t get complacent. A lot of times if you have starters, those guys typically find a way to be complacent because they know the No. 2 guy has no chance to beat me out. Right now, here in the spring, also summer and now in fall camp it’s wide open, so go out there every single day, get better, don’t make the same mistake twice and go out there and win your job. That’s the point that we’re at right now is trying to win our job.
“As far as a recruiting aspect, in this offense, as fast as we play, you have to be able to process. You got to be able to think, where to line up – in the heat of the moment there’s a lot of stuff happening – you got to get your alignment, you got to know exactly what your assignment is, and you got to operate at a high clip, so you have to be competitive by nature. A lot of guys out of high school that may come from not so good programs, or maybe not so good backgrounds, it’s going to be really tough to operate in this style of offense because you have to operate at a high clip. Everything is going fast, so that’s a big thing in recruiting. You got to be competitive, you got to be smart, and you got to know how to play football. And you really got to love it, that’s what it comes down to. Do I love football? If I love football, I’m going to work at my craft and try to get better every single day.”
Freshman RB Jaylen Wright
On his thoughts regarding the offense and the run game…
“I think this offense is very high-powered and very fast. I think we’ll catch a lot of teams off guard. The run game, I love the run game. I love the plays. It gets me open in space a lot. As far as everybody running back wise, I feel like we all are going to flourish in this offense.”
On his confidence when it comes to contributing in the passing game…
“I’m extremely confident in that. I really mold my game after Alvin Kamara. I know he does a lot of going to the slot and catching the ball out of the backfield. I know that the more you catch, the more money you’re going to make in the future.”
On the importance of being a good run blocker in this offense…
“Oh, it’s extremely important to block. If you can’t protect, you can’t play, so that’s one of the biggest things that our coaches put out to us. We work protection every day and just blocking. I think I’m doing pretty good in pass protection right now.”
On what he wanted to focus on after the spring to improve his game…
“What I really wanted to work on was probably running routes. That’s what I really tried to perfect my game at. Running routes and running good in the backfield, like shooting gaps and just be quick and explosive.”
Freshman WR Walker Merrill
On what he likes about the new coaching staff…
“Coach (Kody) Burns… he’s a great coach. He lets you know how it is. I really think that’s good because when you do something wrong and he tells you, ‘that wasn’t good,’ or ‘you need to do this,’ he lets you know so in your head you’re like, ‘I’ve got to get it right this time.’ He pushes you each and every rep, even outside of football. Coach (Josh) Heupel, on the field, off the field, he is the same person.”
On the competition among the receivers…
“It’s great. We’ve got some great receivers. (Jimmy) Calloway and (Jalin) Hyatt are two really good receivers. I am just glad to be in the same spot as them, really just seeing how they play. I take away (things) from what they can do so that I can pull it to my game, but we’ve got some great receivers.”
On who he tries to mimic his game after…
“I try to mimic my game after a Justin Jefferson type player. With my play, I think I have naturally good hands. Everything has room for improvement though.”
-UT Athletics
