KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt said on Wednesday night that the Vols are coming off two of their best practices of the season following the latest session at Haslam Field.

“The last two days have been our best practices all year here in the season and I like the way we practice,” Pruitt said. “Our guys seem to be gaining some confidence, and I’m talking about confidence in what they’re doing. That comes with age and experience. We’ve got to take it from the practice field and take it to a Saturday.”

Pruitt said he has liked the team’s attitude, effort, execution and finish following the bye week.

“We’ve had two good days and we need to have another one tomorrow and Friday,” Pruitt said. “And hopefully it’ll show up tomorrow.”

After taking last weekend off Tennessee is healthy as it is has been all season heading into the 11th game of the season on Saturday at Missouri.

“We got guys that our banged up from the last game, but having a week off we tried to get them ready to play, but at the same time use common sense. There might be a couple of guys that might be a little bit limited, but we should have everybody ready to play.”

The Tigers have a 5-5 record like the Vols, but have lost four straight games. Still, Missouri has the SEC’s No. 1-ranked pass defense and the nation’s 10th-ranked total defense.

Missouri is led by graduate transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant, who is coming back from injury. He led Clemson to the College Football Playoff in 2017 and faced Alabama, whose defense was coordinated by Pruitt, in the Championship Game.

“They’ve done a nice job of adapting to his ability to run with the football,” Pruitt said. “Obviously, it is two years later so he’s more mature, probably has more confidence and can make all the throws. He’s a guy that stretches you all over the field with his arm talent and his leg talent. It will be a tremendous challenge for us.”

Bennett Improving
Redshirt sophomore Kivon Bennett has been one of Tennessee’s most improved players in 2019. After playing sparingly as a true freshman defensive tackle in 2017, Bennett moved positions in 2018 and redshirted while playing in a handful of games. He has provided a spark off the edge in the Vols’ outside linebacker rotation.

“He is an instinctive guy that plays with a high motor,” Pruitt said. “He probably needs to play lower. He is a guy that is learning to play the position and he is going to continue to grow at it.”

Bennett matched his career-best with five tackles at Kentucky and has 21 total stops, three TFL and one sack this fall, and leads the team with five quarterback hurries.

Fils-aime to Redshirt
Pruitt announced that senior running back Carlin Fils-aime will redshirt after coming back from injury this season. Fils-aime has played in three games on special teams this year. He has rushed for 309 yards and five touchdowns on 52 carries in his career.

“It makes a lot of sense,” Pruitt said. “The guy was probably about ready when we played Georgia the fifth week of the year. Played in a few games. He had a pretty significant injury, but was ready to play. But, missing all that time and finding a role. So, for him it gives him a great opportunity.”

Jeremy Pruitt Press Conference Transcript | Nov. 20, 2019 

Opening statement:

“Continued to have a good week of practice, really nice weather out there, great football weather so lots of energy and juice out there which was good to see. Continued to work hard and improve as a team, keep talking about the fundamentals, the details that we have to correct and improve on. I’ve talked about Missouri several times, the way these guys play on defense, they play extremely hard, present lots of different looks, lots of tight coverage that you have to overcome. They create negative plays, do a good job of rushing the quarterback. So, we have got to be able to stay ahead of the sticks and find ways to create explosive plays, convert on third down, score touchdowns in the red area, not turn the football over. Defensively, it starts with the quarterback, he presents a lot of different issues with quarterback runs. It’s kind of like playing against wildcat except you have a guy that can make throws back there. They have a lot of good tight ends, they’re big up front, difference makers at wide receiver. So, we have to do a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage, pushing the pocket, keeping the quarterback inside, finding a way to get turnovers and holding them to field goals in the red area.”

On his team’s recent defensive performance:

“Our guys have continued to improve. We’ve been able to force some turnovers which has helped us. We’ve created some negative plays, whether its tackles for loss or sacks, but that part isn’t surprising when you get Daniel Bituli back, you get Bryce Thompson back. Our defensive line continues to improve. The longer guys play the better they are going to get at something, the more familiar they get. So, we have to continue to do it, we’ve got a great challenge this week, we’ll have to be at our best. I’ve said it a bunch, but we haven’t come close to playing our best game and that’s what we are searching for.”

On Kelly Bryant:

“Well he’s running a little different offense, they run a lot of the same plays. They’ve done a nice job of adapting to his ability to run with the football. Obviously, it is two years later so he’s more mature, probably has more confidence and can make all the throws. He’s a guy that stretches you all over the field with his arm talent and his leg talent. It will be a tremendous challenge for us.”

On K’Rojhn Calbert & Darnell Wright:

“K’Rohjn has lots of ability. The thing that he’s been looking for is consistency. He’s not played a lot of football and he’s not practiced a lot of football over the last three years. He has in the last 12 months. So, he’s been trying to make up for the previous 24. He’s really developed a lot in the past year. He just needs to play, he needs to have some consistency so he can develop some confidence and if he does that, continues to work, he’s got a chance to be a good player. Darnell, unfortunately, got his ankle rolled up several weeks ago and he’s been battling it and working hard to get back and he should be ready to play in this game.”

On guys buying into the program:

“I don’t know about getting bought in. I think there was definitely, especially early on, surprise about how direct the coaching staff is. About getting confronted about everything, corrected on every detail. That’s the thing with coaching, when it comes to practice and all that they pay us to coach. We are always looking, critiquing, finding a better way. That’s one thing that I feel like our guys do a great job, as far as a staff, in teaching progression, developing guys, building relationships, creating an atmosphere that is conducive to developing a football team, getting better as a player. If you enjoy being somewhere, if you enjoy going to work you are going to be pretty good at it. I see our guys improving there. The speed of practice, the physicality of practice is improving every day. And I would probably say, the last two days have been our best practices all year here in the season and I like the way we practice. Our guys seem to be gaining some confidence, and I’m talking about confidence in what they’re doing. That comes with age and experience. We’ve got to take it from the practice field and take it to a Saturday.”

On trying to get Dom Wood-Anderson more involved in the offense:

“Dom is extremely talented. He has played extremely well this year, him and Austin Pope both. They have blocked really well. They have ran good patterns. The way that the game has shaped up, there has been several times where we have tried to get him the ball and we missed a throw or the protection wasn’t what it should have been. We probably haven’t got him as many touches as we have wanted to, but the guy continues to work. Hopefully down the stretch here he will get more opportunities.”

On Kivon Bennett and his growth as a player:

“Well I didn’t know if he could be effective off of the edge, but I knew that he couldn’t be a defensive tackle at 260 pounds. We tried to find a way to give him an opportunity to have success and find a position for him. He weighs 255 pounds so outside linebacker or defensive end is the best place for him. He is not very long. He is not that tall. He doesn’t have a lot of length to him, which is a little bit of an advantage to him at times, because there is not a lot of hitting surface for the offensive line. He does have to work hard at being stout at the point of attack. He is an instinctive guy that plays with a high motor. He probably needs to play lower. He is a guy that is learning to play the position and he is going to continue to grow at it.”

On injuries and if anyone is expected to be out Saturday:

“We should have everybody Saturday. We got guys that our banged up from the last game, but having a week off we tried to get them ready to play, but at the same time use common sense. There might be a couple of guys that might be a little bit limited, but we should have everybody ready to play.”

On practice improving from two weeks ago:

Attitude. Effort. Execution. Finish. All of the intangibles from a player, from a team. We’ve had two good days and we need to have another one tomorrow and Friday. And hopefully it’ll show up tomorrow.

On if Carlin Fils-aime will redshirt:

“Yeah we’re going to do that. It makes a lot of sense. The guy was probably about ready when we played Georgia the fifth week of the year. Played in a few games. He had a pretty significant injury, but was ready to play. But, missing all that time and finding a role. So, for him it gives him a great opportunity.”

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