KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee wrapped up practice No. 11 on Monday morning at Haslam Field as the Volunteers continue to power through preseason camp and move closer to the season opener against Bowling Green.
First-year running backs coach Jerry Mack met with the media following Monday’s practice to talk about the progression of UT’s backfield as it prepares for Tuesday’s closed scrimmage at Neyland Stadium.
What the Vols’ running back room may lack in experience, it makes up for in talent and depth, as a handful of players seem poised to make an impact on offense and special teams this season.
While Tennessee fans will see plenty of faces in the offensive backfield this fall, sophomore Jabari Small and junior college transfer Tiyon Evans have emerged as the two leaders of the group.
“As we’re toward the end of fall camp, we’re still combing through the depth chart. I do think those two guys have separated themselves as far as being a little bit more at the top of the depth chart than more at the bottom,” Mack said. “Both of those guys, they can go in the game right now as 1A and 1B and participate. They both have very similar skill sets. Jabari is obviously a little bit smaller, a little bit shiftier, has got some experience playing the receiver position, so he can do a lot of different things as far as his repertoire.
“At the same time, you have Tiyon, who has just so much power like I said before, running between the tackles. Those guys have really been a good 1-2 punch throughout fall camp.”
Tennessee opens the 100th year of Neyland Stadium, Shield-Watkins Field on Sept. 2 against Bowling Green at 8 p.m. ET on SEC Network. Tickets are on sale now at AllVols.com.
The full transcript from Mack’s media availability as well as select quotes from Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman and Darnell Wright can be seen below.
Running Backs Coach Jerry Mack
On how having coached wide receivers and quarterbacks in the past is helping him direct the running backs…
“I think it gives us a great perspective overall of what we’re trying to accomplish. One thing we talk about a ton in the running back room is really seeing the overall perspective of what we’re trying to do. I want them to understand the big picture about how everything is put together and how everything works. I think coaching the quarterbacks and coaching the receivers is giving them a perspective about the why’s, as far as the detail of how certain things work. I think it gives them a better feel of how things are going to transition and how things are going to work. That’s been the biggest thing that I can tell you from coaching all those different positions on offense, as opposed to just dealing with the backs. I give them an overall view of how everything is going to happen.”
On what he’s seen from junior Tiyon Evans during preseason camp…
“He’s been a really pleasant surprise for us to be honest with you. We always knew that Tiyon had some strength levels that some of those younger backs had in the room. One thing is that he’s really grown up off the field. You can see the process that his work off the field is coming to fruition on the field—the power that he runs the football with between the tackles. He has a great skillset. He’s a guy that has great ball skills as well because he was a kick returner as well in junior college. All of those different things that you want to do with a back—flex him out but at the same time run him between the tackles—we’ve been pleasantly surprised with that. I think the biggest thing that I’ve been really shocked at is the way he runs outside zone. He has a real knack and a great feel for it. I can compare it to the old school guys like Terrell Davis. He was really good and he had a great feel for those type of plays. That’s what I feel like Tiyon has done especially well.”
On if he feels like the offense needs a short-yardage running back, if Evans serves in that role and how much blocking he has among the running backs…
“I think Tiyon can do it all to be honest with you, not only short yardage, but an every down back—whether it’s first or second down. I feel like he’s a guy who has the body type and the skill set where you really don’t ever have to bring him out of the game. As we recruit, we’re really looking for more guys that are really more all-purpose backs that we never have to take out of the game. From a protection standpoint, we ask them to really be in tune and be savvy about protections. We kind of take pride in making sure the quarterback is upright. As that last line of defense, after the offensive line has identified who they’re going to protect with, we’ve got to make sure that we are all on board as far as whether it’s a safety or a linebacker and even sometimes we get those different match-ups, so those guys really have to be in tune protection-wise. We don’t have a ton of protections, but we do have enough to make sure that you have to be on your toes and have to be in tune to all of the different things that are going to happen with the defense.”
On how much he likes to use the back side of the backfield in the passing game…
“We’ve been very blessed. We’ve been very fortunate. We have a few backs in that room that played wide receiver in high school, like Jabari (Small). We’ve got some guys that have elite ball skills, like I was talking about earlier with Tiyon being able to catch the ball. I think that has to really be a big part of what we do. When you talk about creating those mismatches on the defense with those linebacker-type bodies, that’s really big for us to make sure that we can find those different matchups. We’ve got three, maybe even four guys in the room right now that can all do those different array of things coming out of the backfield, whether we already flexed them out or whether we bring them out of the backfield to try and create those matchups. (It’s important to) get those indicators—like we always talk about—from the defense, for what coverage they’re going to be in. When you add that to your offense, I think you’ve got a chance to be really special because you can really keep the defense off balance.”
On what he’s seen from RS freshman Dee Beckwith and what he can do to climb the depth chart…
“I think the attention to detail. I think Dee Beckwith and some of those other guys as well are still young at the position. I think we forget that a ton, that those guys are still trying to learn exactly how being a college football player works, as far as playing that position. There’s a lot more on them than in high school. Dee Beckwith is a former quarterback as well, so he has a really good idea, a good vision of the big picture and how it all fits together. Learning the smaller details of playing the running back position is really critical. The physicality of playing the running back position is a little different at this level. Obviously, depending on where they came from, sometimes even with a guy like Tiyon, being physical at this level compared to the junior college level, you’re playing against guys that are potential NFL players. Getting used to, as we say on special teams a lot, ‘running through the smoke’ a lot of times when things look cloudy. We’ve got to get used to that with some of those younger guys and playing with great pad level. Some of those guys are used to being the biggest, fastest and strongest where they came from. Now, they need to play with better pad level because they’re going to be playing against guys that are probably a little bit stronger and maybe a little bit faster in some instances than they are.”
On the challenges and benefits of being a 6’5″, 230-pound running back like Dee Beckwith is…
“I think one of the benefits is, from a protection standpoint, when he goes to protect with those long arms it’s like being a boxer with that wingspan to protect. He does a really good job from a protection standpoint. He does a really good job of being a big target, when we talk about flexing those guys out and throwing balls to those guys. Probably one of the disadvantages for guys who are that tall is pad level and being able to get their pad level low because they are a big target for linebackers and safeties running through the middle. Those are probably the pros and cons of being that size.”
On Jaylen Wright’s improvement from the spring and top priorities for the running backs at Tuesday’s scrimmage…
“First of all, Jaylen Wright has done an excellent job, I would say these last six practices or so. He has really grown leaps and bounds to be honest with you. What we’ve seen from him from the spring, is really just from a protection standpoint. He’s really made some good grounds in protection. He understands what we’re trying to do. His eyes are in the right place a lot faster than they were in the springtime. I think that’s a compliment to what he’s been doing in the offseason, and how he’s been working and putting time in the film room. He’s a young man who wants to play as a true freshman. I think that’s one of his goals. Not we talk to him about that, but his family as well. I do also think just from a maturity standpoint, one of the things that he has done a good job with, when things don’t go quite the way that he would like them to in practice, in the spring we saw an emotional Jaylen Wright. I think this fall camp, he has not been as emotional at all. He’s taken heed to what Coach Heupel talks about, putting that play behind you and moving on to the next play. I think that’s where Jaylen Wright has been most impressive right now. He’s putting one good practice on top of another. He had another good one today as well.
“Tomorrow, from the fall scrimmage (standpoint), I think the biggest thing we’re looking for is our tempo. Right now, our backs, we’re not doing a great job of getting lined up and understanding what’s going on, processing information as fast as we should. I think tomorrow will be a great opportunity for us to showcase exactly the growth that we’ve made over this last four-day block, as far as getting lined up, getting our cleats set in the ground and going out there and playing with the tempo that Coach Golesh, Coach Heupel want us to play with. I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for us tomorrow. As far as the obvious, you know, tough runs, playing through some adversity, all those different things.”
On Len’Neth Whitehead’s role in the backfield and his status from a health perspective…
“He has (been able to go). He’s been really good this fall camp, been doing some really good things for us. The thing that I knew that Len’Neth was going to add for us was physicality in the run game. Being a former linebacker, playing on the defensive side of the ball, you can tell. When he touches the ball, he brings a different aspect of the game as far as finishing the runs. He’s just like Dee Beckwith from a standpoint of learning how to play with great pad level. He still has to get used to that at this level, but the physicality when he does run, when he understands what he’s supposed to do, it’s been really exactly what I thought he was going to add to the table. One thing from a Len’Neth standpoint too, is special teams. Some of those special teams responsibilities are not as tough, he doesn’t have as many of them as playing on the offensive side of the ball. When he gets a chance to get on special teams, that’s when you really see a lot of his skill set and a lot of his athletic ability take over. Because he can be a physical guy, he’s a big guy that can run as well. I’m just excited about giving him some more opportunities, getting him hopefully involved more in the game plan from a reps standpoint.”
On Jabari Small, Tiyon Evans and the fluidity of the depth chart at the running back position…
“As we’re toward the end of fall camp, we’re still combing through the depth chart. I do think those two guys have separated themselves as far as being a little bit more at the top of the depth chart than more at the bottom. Both of those guys, they can go in the game right now as 1A and 1B and participate. They both have very similar skill sets. Jabari is obviously a little bit smaller, a little bit shiftier, has got some experience playing the receiver position, so he can do a lot of different things as far as his repertoire. At the same time, you have Tiyon, who has just so much power like I said before, running between the tackles. Those guys have really been a good 1-2 punch throughout fall camp.”
On Jabari Small’s maturity and leadership in the running back room…
“Leadership ability is what we continue to stress to him. He’s a young guy, but we feel like he has the skill set and he has some of the attributes that we look for in leadership. One thing about Jabari is, he’s really taken heed to studying more in the offseason. When you look at where he was when we came here in the spring—we evaluated him in the spring, had those conversations with him and what he needs to build on, what he needs to grow with. One of those things was hey, we need you to be more of a leader. We also need for you to make sure that you study different running backs in the league and at the college level, to make sure that you’re on point for what you’re trying to do. That’s what I’ve seen. I’ve seen that in the summertime, seen that turn over into his game, as far as when we get on the field, you can see that he really has a better understanding of what we’re trying to do. That just comes from film study. That comes from understanding what we’re trying to teach him, comes from him studying the game. He has a great background, great lineage as far as a lot of his family members played at a really high level. I’m sure they’re talking to him as well. I’ve been really pleased with his maturity and what he’s been able to bring to that room overall. He’s more of a leader by example. He’s not a H’rah, rah,’ guy, he doesn’t talk a whole lot, but if you just watch the way goes about carrying on his business, you can tell that other guys are picking up some of those traits.”
On Jabari Small and Tiyon Evans getting on the field at the same time…
“I would love to. Like I said before, we’ve got not only Jabari and Tiyon. Jaylen Wright has continued to come along. Even Marcus Pierce is a guy that had some good clips in the spring as well. I do think there will be an opportunity for Tiyon and Jabari to contribute at a high level. Being that 1-2 combination on the field at the same time, I think that would be really cool.”
Sophomore WR Jalin Hyatt
On the first couple weeks of camp…
“Definitely fast, that’s how we play, very fast. You’ve got to be in shape to play in this offense and we worked on that this summer. So far, everything is positive, I feel this offense suits me with how fast we play. It really messes up the defense, getting that perfect alignment and we have a lot of playmakers.”
On getting the contested balls…
“You always work on that, I want to work on that. Every ball that touches my hands I want to catch, no excuses. Stuff like that I’ve been working on the whole summer, I’m ready to play.”
On how good the receivers can be…
“We have playmakers all over the board. We’re fast, and at the same time we are a lot more physical when catching the ball too. This is probably the best receiving corps I’ve seen since being here. I’m excited, I’m excited to go out there with my brothers.”
Redshirt Junior WR Cedric Tillman
On growing into his game…
“I wasn’t always this tall, my brother was the tall receiver. When I got my height, I started (playing bigger). I’m not the fastest and may not have the quickest routes but high pointing the ball is a big part of my game.
On battling with the defensive backs in practice…
“All the DBs are getting better. Alontae (Taylor), Warren Burrell for sure have taken those next steps. A lot of young DBs, and the secondary in general is getting better and its always competitive. This year we’ve been doing one-on-ones, so I can definitely see them, Kenneth George Jr., all these guys, getting a lot better.”
On what he likes about the offensive tempo…
“What I like is that we catch people off guard. It just works, honestly. As cliché as it sounds it’s been working for us and I’m excited for it. It’s something new, something I’ve never done before, but I’m excited to see where it takes us.”
Junior OL Darnell Wright
On losing about 25 pounds for this season and how he did it…
“Yeah, with this tempo offense I’m going to have to. There’s no way I’d be able to keep up, so I had to lose weight. There’s really no secret recipe, you just eat less, eat better and keep working.”
On what the offensive line is looking to improve on as a unit in tomorrow’s scrimmage…
“I feel like last scrimmage, it was always like one little key piece was missing or one little person was out of place. It’s like a combination lock, you’ve got to get all the little, tiny pieces working for everybody to do well.”
On if the coaches asking him move to the left side of the line was them showing trust in him…
“Yeah, of course. I feel like I’ve always been ready for whatever I need to do for the team. Now they called on me, so I’m just ready play.”
On playing for offensive line coach Glen Elarbee…
“It’s easy to play to play for a coach when you know he’s really there for you. It’s easy to know that you can trust him and that he’s going to do right.”
-UT Athletics
