KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After taking Monday off, Tennessee football began the third week of preseason training camp Tuesday morning inside the Anderson Training Center before wrapping up Practice No. 11 on Haslam Field. Ongoing position battles and roster development have been the key talking points throughout the fall as the No. 12/10 Volunteers work towards the season opener against Virginia on Sept. 2 in Nashville.
In UT’s defensive back room, numerous veteran players have gained valuable, in-game reps that they will lean on this season. The Big Orange returns nine DBs from last year’s squad with starting experience, including all five starters from UT’s decisive Orange Bowl victory over No. 7 Clemson.
Assistant coach Willie Martinez met with the media on Tuesday and discussed the benefits of the depth and experience at defensive back as well as the development of the room’s young players.
“Having depth at the backend is very important, because I don’t think you can go through a whole season with just five guys playing,” Martinez said. “(Injuries) happen and this league is way too good, so the more players that have experience and have proven it on the field gives you a chance to be more consistent as a secondary.”
Martinez also weighed in on the detail-oriented approach of his veterans that will pay dividends when the season kicks off.
“Seeing the small things in practice, doing the things that matter, the fundamentals, the technique, the footwork that needs to happen on a third down or a fourth down. If you can show it consistently in the practice, then it will show up on game day. That is where the experience comes in that I was speaking earlier about.”
Tuesday’s availabilities also featured four returning players from the secondary. When asked which younger DBs have stood out so far in camp, redshirt senior Warren Burrell had praise for three freshman corners and their growth over the past two weeks.
“This is one of those situations where it’s hard to pick one. These young guys came in ready to play. These guys, you can tell they love football, you can tell they appreciate the experience, they want to be better. They want to be the best that they can be. Those guys, Rickey (Gibson III), Jordan (Matthews), Cristian (Conyer), that’s just the corners, but there is way more. Those guys who I’m going to speak to, they’ve been taking every day and growing, learning in every way possible. They’ve been trying to turn their weaknesses into strengths. They really just have been learning what it’s like to be a DB at the University of Tennessee. The standard that we’re trying to set, that we’re trying to create here, those guys are doing nothing but pushing us forward, so we appreciate them.”
The Vols will head to Neyland Stadium Wednesday morning for the second and final scrimmage of fall camp. The scrimmage is closed to media and the public, with head coach Josh Heupel scheduled to speak in a post-scrimmage press conference at approximately 11 a.m. inside the Stokely Family Media Center.
Full transcript from Martinez and select quotes from Burrell, redshirt senior defensive back Gabe Jeudy-Lally, redshirt senior defensive back Brandon Turnage and redshirt sophomore defensive back Andre Turrentine can be viewed below.
Tennessee Football Press Conference | Aug. 15, 2023
Defensive Backs Coach Willie Martinez
On where the three freshmen cornerbacks (Cristian Conyer, Rickey Gibson III, Jordan Matthews) have developed the most since spring…
“I think they’re obviously a lot more comfortable than they were in the spring. By the fourth or fifth time that we have installs, you’re seeing less and less alignment issues, you see a lot more execution on a consistent basis. They’re competing at a different level because they know it more. It’s good to see. You got some of the guys making plays. Consistently, all three of them are making something happen during the practice.”
On how some minor injuries have allowed for them to work in different guys…
“The great thing about getting the five new guys from spring, now we’ve got the depth that we can actually be versatile. We want to always be versatile on the backend where we’ve got guys that can move around. That’s giving us that opportunity now. They haven’t gotten all the reps that Tamarion (McDonald) and Wesley (Walker) have had, (but) it’s given some guys some opportunities now to show what they can do inside whether you’re a safety or a corner. That’s been really good for us.”
On whether the judgement of experienced defensive backs comes from watching game film or from what he sees in practice…
“I think it depends on who it is. You’re looking at someone like Gabe Jeudy-Lally that’s had a lot of football, played a lot of football, and you can see that when he comes here in practice. Whether we put in something that’s totally different name wise, schematically it’s really the same thing, he sees it the same way, (even though) the words are different. So, you see that quick adjustment for him and then obviously he can make a bunch of plays. Then, you got the guys that have to learn it, like the younger guys, everything. They don’t have that game experience where they’ve had their failures to a certain scheme or coverage that we have called. Gabe has that, he’s had plenty of reps, game reps where the younger guys don’t. So, that’s when you’re talking about the experience. The experience that’s been really good for the young guys is being here since January and seeing how the whole thing works. How we manage the team, how do we work, the competition. I’m a really good player coming in here, but then they see the development of a guy that’s been here for a year or two years, strength and power I guess is something where somebody like Gabe that’s coming from a different situation where he has a ton of game experience. He understands it, he knows if he’s lagging a little bit, he knows where he needs to pick it up. That’s where it’s different.”
On where he makes judgements in terms of returning players…
“Those are great. Jaylen (McCollough) is the same way, has a lot of game reps. Warren Burrell has a lot of game reps, had an injury, been out for a long time, comes right back, snap and clears, he kind of knows all the stuff that we know how we have to perform schematically. (He’s) confident. He knows that he’s been here, he’s had some of the good and the bad. It helps him snap and clear a lot sooner because he knows he’s got some good reps in games.”
On Doneiko Slaughter’s growth at cornerback…
“We’ve been very intentional of just leaving him at corner. He can play all of the other positions, but like a lot of guys, it’s really good to let him learn a position. It’s not easy playing out there on the corner, on the edge. Not only do you have to have the skillset, which he does, you have to have the amount of experience of being out there by yourself, the confidence that you need. You have to put days together, you have to put periods together into practice where you see some consistency. You can’t get down on yourself, and they’re priceless, the reps that he’s had this whole time in camp. He’s built a lot of confidence, you can see it in his playmaking. You see a lot more consistent playmaking, you’re seeing less mistakes, and it’s very beneficial.”
On the importance of in-game experience…
“Having depth at the backend is very important because I don’t think you can go through a whole season with just five guys playing. It happens (injuries), this league is way too good, so the more players that have experience and have proven it on the field gives you a chance to be more consistent as a secondary. That would be the first thing. Seeing the small things in practice, doing the things that matter, the fundamentals, the technique, the footwork that needs to happen on a third down or a fourth down. If you can show it consistently in the practice, then it will show up on game day. That is where the experience comes in that I was speaking earlier about.”
On what about Brandon Turnage jumps off the page…
“It’s going to start off with his energy. There is no problem that Brandon is not going to try and solve really quickly. He sees the glass half-full. I think everybody understands what that means. He has a smile on his face, he doesn’t let the last play affect him, good or bad, he is just on to the next play, which we keep saying all the time, ‘snap and clear.’ Every coach says it on our staff and across the country, I know that, but he gives you a chance because he’s smart, he gives you a chance because he’s a guy who is selfless, he understands our defense, and he’s got playmaking ability. When he’s healthy, Brandon is as good as it gets. Just got to continue to keep him in the right frame of mind and keep pushing him to where he can continue to show the consistency he showed when he got the opportunity last year when he was healthy.”
On Kamal Hadden’s growth…
“Consistency. He’s been very consistent since January, every day. It’s the small details that matter. He has always been good off the field, but he has really made a point this last spring and summer. He’s just graduated, that’s something really big to accomplish, but he did it with a 3.2 GPA. He’s one of those 75 to 90 guys that were over the 3.0 average, so that’s given him confidence. The small details of being healthy enough to get through a spring, it’s his first spring he ever made, last year, since he’s been here. That gave him a chance to develop with his teammates and see where he would be at on a consistent basis, and he showed that through the summer and then now in camp. The consistency, attention to small details, being a good teammate, that’s something that he has grown.”
On how he gets defensive backs in position to make and execute plays…
“You have to do it in practice. You have to see it over and over where they’re actually doing it in practice where it builds some confidence. Creating good habits. That’s where I think it’s going to show up in games. I’m not saying that I’ve been around certain players that do it the right way in practice, do it the right way in the classroom, and can’t make plays, I get that. I think we have a bunch of guys with the experience. We’ve been really on them about the small details that matter. Building where you have good habits where it just comes natural, and the opportunities come up in the fourth quarter or the winning moments that they kind of produce. But they got to do that out on the practice field. That’s where you see it most. That’s where it builds the confidence.”
On the defensive staff being intact for three years in a row and how that shows on the field…
“Saying the same things, over and over. I think the people that have been in this program and now going on our third year, they see how the culture was flipped. To have the majority of the staff together has helped, obviously, number one with the older players. You’re getting more players that have been here for those three years saying the things that we’re saying to them when we’re not around. It becomes tougher for us to get a word in at practice. I think you’ve been up here, and there’s probably multiple coaches that have said it, we’re not coaching the small things anymore. The players are doing it. That’s where it benefits where you have consistency in the staff. Saying the same thing, the words mean something because you are very consistent because you actually worked hours and hours on a certain scheme. They hear it, the same thing, coming from the same coaches. It matters to the players for the consistency to buy in.”
On what he has seen from Andre Turrentine during fall camp and how he has grown…
“Well first of all, Andre (Turrentine) is one hundred miles an hour at everything he does. What I mean by that is that it’s going to be a hundred percent effort, the best he can. He had to learn our package. Now that he’s learned it and has a really good feel for it, it’s built some confidence for him. He has a lot of energy that the players feed off of. He’s making more and more plays in practice. It’s obviously built confidence for himself but also with his teammates. They already know that Dre is going to give you relentless effort. He has a lot of juice and a lot of energy. When he first got here, it might not have been the right communication, but it was definitely ‘this is what it is’. If you’re saying ‘rip, rip, rip’ even though it is supposed to be ‘liz, liz, liz’, I mean he was confident it was ‘rip, rip, rip’. Now he knows it, and guys really respect him for that because they feel his energy, they feel how important it means to him. He’s asking great questions in the room where his teammates can see him from the left and the right, and it matters to him. It’s really great to see him because he’s taken a lot of reps here in camp which is going to benefit us in the long run.”
RS-Senior DB Warren Burrell
On how much his experience on the team will benefit the secondary…
“We have a lot of experience in that room, myself included. It helps any team having guys who have gone out there and seen these things before and have already had the experience of dealing with certain things. The playbook is something that we’ve already instilled in us. So, having guys with that type of experience, you can just go out there and play football. Having a room like that where you don’t have to coach all the little things, you can just go out there and play, have each other’s backs and go out there and do what’s really important, helps everybody.”
On his recovery from last season’s injury…
“It was tough sitting out, but being able to watch my guys do what they need to do, there wasn’t a better feeling than that. I am a firm believer that you can’t truly appreciate something until you feel what it’s like to go without it. So, having that moment where you don’t get to play the game that you love just makes you want to come back even more. You bring that energy. There’s always those days where you’re not feeling it as much. You remember times like that where you didn’t even have the opportunity to come out and be on the field. It makes you appreciate the moment, take it one step at a time and enjoy it.”
On who has impressed him of the younger guys…
“This is one of those situations where it’s hard to pick one. These young guys came in ready to play. These guys, you can tell they love football, you can tell they appreciate the experience, they want to be better. They want to be the best that they can be. Those guys, Rickey (Gibson III), Jordan (Matthews), Cristian (Conyer), that’s just the corners, but there is way more. Those guys who I’m going to speak to, they’ve been taking every day and growing, learning in every way possible. They’ve been trying to turn their weaknesses into strengths. They really just have been learning what it’s like to be a DB at the University of Tennessee. The standard that we’re trying to set, that we’re trying to create here, those guys are doing nothing but pushing us forward, so we appreciate them.”
RS-Senior DB Gabe Jeudy-Lally
On how he feels so far through fall camp and what the internal competition is like…
“Moving from the spring to fall, everything just kind of slowed down. Our offense was a thousand miles per hour, but it’s really slowed down, and I’ve been able to hone in on things that they are doing and it has made the game come a lot easier to me. There is a lot of great competition going on in our room. I think that every day, everybody is getting better by taking a step to be able to go out there in a couple weeks and get the job done. I think that we can put anybody out on the field right now, and it will be a great thing for our defense and a great thing for our team.”
On the young guys that have impressed him through fall camp…
“I think the guy that has made the biggest step from the spring is definitely Cristian Conyer. He has really honed in the last five months since spring ball and really taken over, getting to know the plays. He goes out there and makes plays every day. It’s just been really cool to see, because coming from high school early on and trying to get it done in the spring was a little bit of a step. He’s taken a really big jump. Rickey Gibson III does a really good job, and Jordan Matthews is really physical. So, it’s been good to see the whole group just evolve. I think we’ve taken a hundred steps in the right direction since the spring.”
On the depth in the DB room and the pressure that brings…
“Pressure wouldn’t be particularly what I say. We play a high-pressure position on the field. It’s more or less that you have to do your job every single play that you go out there. If you do your job, you have set yourself up to be in the right position to take the jump, take a spot. So, more or less it is me thinking about doing my job every play to the best of my ability to help the defense, and if I am helping the defense. At the end of the day, it will be hard to keep certain people off the field if they are helping the defense.”
RS-Senior DB Brandon Turnage
On how he is coming off of his injury from last year…
“Well you know really it was a long process. Actually after the injury happened I got real down on myself and stuff because it got around to February to March to April, and I still wasn’t feeling really good at all. So really now, you know just continuing to push as I feel my body healing and doing what I feel like I can do at a high level. I really started waking up earlier so I could get in the building really early, get some treatment and stuff like that. Go ahead and get myself feeling good. I mean, that’s really how I’ve been coping with the issues with that foot or whatever, but everything has been good so far.”
On his mindset coming into camp…
“Well everywhere I’ve been, you know, I always had to compete. So really my mindset was, you know, focus on me. In the middle of last season I learned how to face myself and challenge myself everyday rather than competing with the guys around me. I try to do a big job of watching film when I get home, you know, and times when I’m away from the building trying to stay in sync. Keep watching and keep learning. So I really compete with myself at the end of the day, taking what I know from my film study and trying to apply it on the field.”
On how he balances focusing on himself and being a good teammate…
“Well it’s kind of a line you have to draw. You know you have to hold your teammates accountable, and that’s a part of them holding me accountable, or me holding myself accountable. Going home watching extra film, I do it on my own but when I’m here I’m watching it with my teammates. We all try to encourage each other to get in our playbook. We said as a group, we said as a unit ‘lock in, be within and be all in,’ and I feel like that kind of just applies to our motto. You know going home and doing extra when you’re not in the building. As a group we have to hold each other to that standard, make sure that everyone is doing it when they get home. And I feel like that’s where the freshmen have grown.”
RS-Sophomore DB Andre Turrentine
On how much more comfortable he is this fall camp compared to last year…
“I’m a lot more comfortable, actually. A whole year in this system under Coach Banks and Coach Martinez. This spring and this offseason, we did a heck of a job of making sure guys know what they’re doing, exactly what they’re doing, and helping their teammates. Last year, I feel like was a big part of me knowing what to do, so this year I’m kind of helping my teammates out and getting everybody lined up and making sure everybody knows their job.”
On how he maintains a high energy at practice…
“Playing at 100% and just giving effort and straining everything I do, I’ve been taught that from a young age. I don’t really think about it much, I’m just out there going. It also helps because every play is not going to be perfect. If you strain, it kind of makes up for your mistakes but I feel like that’s just somebody that I am. I don’t really think of it too much.”
On how he plans to make the next step and what improvements he is looking to make…
“Just knowing what to do. I don’t think it was ever a talent thing for me or not being able to compete, it’s just being in a new system with guys who have already been in the system a year. Also, being young I was only a sophomore coming in. Just knowing what to do and doing it at a fast pace with confidence.”
-UT Athletics
