KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 5/6 Tennessee is riding high as it works through its first of two open weeks this season. The Volunteers are coming off their second ranked win of the year after toppling No. 15/13 Oklahoma in Norman last Saturday night to record the program’s first road victory over an AP ranked top-15 team since 2006.
While the Big Orange are off to a 4-0 start and have looked dominant early in the season, head coach Josh Heupel noted in his press conference that there are plenty of things that need to be corrected and worked on during this open week.
“Focusing on us here during the course of this bye week and trying to improve in the areas we need to,” Heupel said. “There’s a lot of ways we can in all three phases of the game. Big week for us to continue to get better. You have heard me say, ‘good teams continue to get better throughout the course of the year.’”
Fundamental work has been a major focus for the team this week as it continues to find areas to improve as the season gets into the heart of conference play.
“Communication into the phases for sure,” Heupel said. “Alignment, assignment and technique from there. Everybody’s got to be tied in together.
“There were a lot of good things we have done here in the early part of the year that we did last Saturday, but there are certainly some areas we have to get better at.”
One area that certainly has been a strength for UT early on this season has been the play of the defensive line, which has been able to showcase its impressive depth by rotating numerous players in and out throughout games to stay fresh and wear down opposing offensive lines.
The improvement and evolution of veteran linemen such as Jayson Jenkins and Elijah Simmons has been a major contributing factor in the improvement depth along the front four.
Jenkins’ journey has been especially satisfying to see unfold, as he has gone from a relative unknown to one of Tennessee’s most consistent defensive lineman.
“It’s just been a continued process and journey for him,” Heupel said. “It’s a guy that no matter what stage, he works every single day. You know exactly what you are going to get from him the moment he walks up the stairs, goes to meetings, the weight room to what you get out on the practice field.
“Just a super consistent guy and everybody’s journey is a little bit different, sometimes it happens fast and sometimes it doesn’t. He has just continued to work and invest and that is why he is playing the way that he does. It’s a great lesson for a lot of young guys.”
Simmons’ tackle for loss on the first play from scrimmage on Saturday was just another example of how UT’s defensive line continues to set the tone on gamedays.
“He set the tone with the first play of the football game, just violent and destructive,” Heupel said. “He played that way all night long and does a great job in the goal line situation, eating up two blockers and not getting moved off the line of scrimmage. He’s playing extremely well and our defensive line as an entire group is playing extremely hard, really physical with good fundamentals.”
Quotes from Wednesday’s availability with Heupel and select players can be seen below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“Good to see everybody. Midweek! How about that? Good work today out on the grass. Focusing on us here during the course of this bye week and trying to improve in the areas we need to. There’s a lot of ways we can in all three phases of the game. Big week for us to continue to get better. You have heard me say, ‘good teams continue to get better throughout the course of the year.’ On the backend of the week, a lot of staff will be on the road recruiting.”
On areas they are working on improving this week…
“Communication into the phases for sure. Alignment, assignment and technique from there. Everybody’s got to be tied in together. There were a lot of good things we have done here in the early part of the year that we did last Saturday, but there are certainly some areas we have to get better at.”
On how he has approached the bye week with it being earlier than usual…
“It’s different. It’s been a long time since I have had two during the course of the year, early part of it. Certainly need to continue to improve fundamentals and technique, and as you get to the second one I’ll probably look a little bit more at the health of your roster. Being intentional and making sure you are ready for that last run.”
On how he thought the tackles played at Oklahoma and the status of John Campbell Jr. and Lance Heard for the Arkansas game…
“There are a lot of good things that both of those guys did. There’s some things that we can be cleaner in. Some of that is communication. It gets to them. Some of it is them. A structural change that we saw during the course of the football game too. Those guys being a little bit better, adjusting at it. All in all, a lot of really good things. It helped us get a win, so have to continue to improve. That’s with them and all of us. Yeah, I feel like we’ll have both of those guys when we get to Fayetteville.”
On how impressed he is with cornerbacks Rickey Gibson III and Jermod McCoy…
“Those guys have played really good football. They played really well the other night. Jalen McMurray has played really well. We have got some young guys that continue to come along. The type of football that they played here in the early part of the year has been a huge part of us continuing to push forward, in the way that our defense has played in the early part of the year. At the same time, it’s all three levels of the defense playing together too, but those guys have been phenomenal.”
On what he can say about Jayson Jenkins’ development in this program…
“Just a guy that, you come in as a young player, and you grow off the field. He’s continued to just change his body, change his ability to move and bend and the fundamentals of the game. He’s done an unbelievable job of continuing to invest every single day. When you invest, it may not always be on your time, but you are going to cash it in at some point and made a huge play in the football game. Last week, he played extremely well when he was out there. We have great confidence in him.
On his experience at the Morgan Wallen Concert…
“There are very few nights during the season where you get a chance to do something like that. It was a lot of fun. He’s obviously a tremendous artist but he was so welcoming when we got to the stadium, and it was a really cool experience. It was a home game of a different kind to walk out to a full Neyland Stadium and no football on the field. It was a really cool environment. You can’t beat seeing Peyton (Manning) in his uniform, we tried to get him to come back for one more (game) and he said he was done. It was a neat experience and Nico (Iamaleava) and Bru (McCoy) having a chance to be a part of it was really neat.”
On Jayson Jenkins’ improvement during his time at Tennessee…
“It’s just been a continued process and journey for him. It’s a guy that no matter what stage, he works every single day. You know exactly what you are going to get from him the moment he walks up the stairs, goes to meetings, the weight room to what you get out on the practice field. Just a super consistent guy and everybody’s journey is a little bit different, sometimes it happens fast and sometimes it doesn’t. He has just continued to work and invest and that is why he is playing the way that he does. It’s a great lesson for a lot of young guys.”
On the mentality of Tennessee’s defense after the offense turned the ball over…
“The way the defense handled the sudden change from our offensive turnovers is as good as anywhere I have been, and I say that by just the mentality and the look in their eyes. They took the field and created the turnovers, and it was the difference in the football game early.”
On not worrying about having to outscore every opponent this season…
“You play the same game 10 times on the same day, and it unfolds differently. There are just so many variables within it. The way our defense played on Saturday and the way they played earlier in the year, as an offense you have got to be ready to go find a way to be plus one no matter what happens but then the game will form an identity during the course of the game and certainly on Saturday night the way our defense was playing it formed an identity. Then it’s about tying all three phases in together to make sure that you end up on the right side of the scoreboard.”
On Larry Johnson III’s progression…
“Big massive frame that has the ability to bend, and we knew that he had to work on his body. When he got here, he was one of the guys we recognized during the course of multiple summers. He has done an unbelievable job with strength but also on the nutrition side of it. He’s a guy that works extremely hard and is growing to learn and understand the game. He’s just continued to climb since he’s gotten here, and I am really proud of how he has invested and how he has worked and now having an opportunity to get some playing time.”
On the wide receiver rotation during the Oklahoma game…
“The game we planned on using 12 personnel and as the game went on, we got into more of it. Again, it’s all part of how the game’s identity gets formed during the course of the football game. You have a plan going into it, but you also have to be able to adjust within the course of it.”
On if he has found a spot in his office for the game ball…
“I have not found a spot for it but at some point, she’ll go up there.”
On coaching through penalties…
“We use teachable moments from across the country, college football, NFL football, every Monday during our team meeting when we are debriefing the game but also how we can be smarter as a football team. We showed some of the things that happened while we were playing too and you got to play fast, got to play physically and got to play aggressively but you have to be on the right side of it. In some ways, you have to understand how the game is going to be called from an official’s perspective also understanding that they are human too.”
On the game this weekend between Georgia and Alabama…
“I have not planned my Saturday yet with my kids. At some point, I’ll sit down and watch some ball, and I assume I’ll get a chance to watch a little bit of that one. Hopefully, my daughter takes me out on the golf course and beats up on me.”
On Elijah Simmons’ performance at Oklahoma…
“He set the tone with the first play of the football game, just violent and destructive. He played that way all night long and does a great job in the goal line situation, eating up two blockers and not getting moved off the line of scrimmage. He’s playing extremely well and our defensive line as an entire group is playing extremely hard, really physical with good fundamentals. Elijah is a guy like when we first got here, his ability to bend has continued to improve which makes him an even more powerful, functional football player. He’s a guy that like a couple of the other guys that I talked about today, you know exactly what you are getting man. He is a really mature guy and when comes out on the practice field he’s ready to work.”
RS-Sophomore DB Christian Harrison
On his comfort level with the STAR position…
“I think I’ve gotten pretty comfortable as we’re going through this thing. We just finished up game four and with my coverage, keeping my leverage, whether that’s inside or outside, and just playing within the framework of the defense. Obviously, there’s still things I need to get better with and with that, I just watch the film and break that down, pick out what those things are. But outside of that, I’ve done a pretty good job at adjusting and playing lethal within the defense.”
On watching the defensive line perform…
“I believe, and I feel like everyone else believes that they’re the best in the nation, and they help us out a ton in getting pressure on the quarterback. When we mess up, they have our back; when they mess up, we have their backs, so it’s a brotherhood.”
On adjusting to the STAR role after beginning his career as a corner…
“So I came in obviously as a corner. My freshman and sophomore year, I played at the corner. After sophomore year is when I started learning STAR and also both safety spots, so when I started learning that, I got comfortable pretty fast. I’ve always been physical I would say, so it wasn’t a crazy tough adjustment since it’s what I’ve always been doing.”
RS-Sophomore DL Jayson Jenkins
On being able to make a play like he did with a safety Saturday night at Oklahoma…
“It has definitely been a culmination of all the hard work I put in over the offseason, just seeing that come in during the game, an important game against Oklahoma, seeing that show up was a very good moment. To celebrate that with my brothers was even better for me.”
On how quickly was he getting phone calls and texts from everyone back in New Jersey after the Oklahoma game…
“My family didn’t make it all the way out to the Midwest, but my mom immediately after the game gave me a call and they were all on the phone. All my family was watching from New Jersey, they were all proud of me and everything. They have made a lot of sacrifices for me get to where I am today. Just hearing them and the joy in their voices of my performance, it was very, very accomplishing to me.”
Senior OL Andrej Karic
On his adjustment period after coming back from injury…
“I think just not playing football for a long period of time and getting back into the groove of things. Thinking about different aspects of the game that we don’t normally get to see, watching film, and getting back into the flow of things has been really important.”
On his ability to switch from tackle early in his career to guard…
“I think always when switching positions, there’s a little bit of a period where everything is moving a lot faster than it was before because you’re comfortable in your tackle position. I’d say moving to guard, things are happening a lot quicker and more aggressive to the point of attack, so just having all of those reps and getting a lot of time, everything has slowed down to this point and it’s been a lot better.”
RS-Senior DL Elijah Simmons
On how being healthy this season has allowed him to play the way he is…
“I know one of the things was losing a lot of weight. I’ve gotten down about 15 pounds, so I feel a lot better out on the field, being able to play more, get a lot more snaps and everything. So, it has changed a lot and has helped me a lot.
On starting at Oklahoma and having a bigger role in the defensive line rotation…
“A lot of it has to do with, we rotate a lot. We don’t have a really starting front, but we rotate. Me, Omarr Norman-Lott, Bryson Eason, Omari Thomas, Jaxson Moi, Daevin Hobbs, we all rotate a lot, so we just change out who we come out with every game. We’ve all done a lot of things that Coach (Rodney Garner) likes in practice, and it’s helped us to be able to rotate a lot more and get a lot more guys on the field. So coming out of practice, doing the right things in practice, and showing that we can play in game.”
On the amount of confidence the team has defensively…
“Yeah, it honestly started in spring ball. We had a lot of big plays in spring, a lot of guys doing great things. We just knew from there that as we continue to go on and progress and progress, that it’s going to turn over to the field and show a lot of that on the field.”
