Vols CB Bryce Thompson / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sophomore cornerback Bryce Thompson tied a single-game school record with three interceptions, and Tennessee converted four UAB turnovers into 20 points Saturday night en route to a 30-7 Homecoming victory in front of a crowd of 85,791 at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee, which won for the third time in its last four outings, improved to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in SEC play. UAB saw its record fall to 6-2.
Thompson, who had all of his takeaways in the first half, became the ninth Vol to record three picks in a contest. The most recent to do it was Deon Grant, who had a trifecta vs. Auburn in 1999. Thompson now has three interceptions this season and six for his career.
Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who had surgery on his left hand last Sunday after injuring it vs. South Carolina on Saturday evening, handled the majority of the snaps for Tennessee. The redshirt junior completed 13 of 21 passes for 147 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Redshirt senior Jauan Jennings caught five balls for 70 yards to lead all receivers and moved into ninth place in career receiving yards at Tennessee with 1,906. He also added a two-yard touchdown run. Junior Ty Chandler paced UT’s rushing attack with 85 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
Defensively, the Vols limited UAB to 237 total yards, including only 63 on the ground. UT was led in tackles by senior safety Nigel Warrior and freshman linebacker Henry T’o’o To’o, who recorded six and five stops, respectively.
Tennessee wasted little time getting on the scoreboard at the start of the game, and the Vols’ defense came up with a big play to set the table. On UAB’s first play from scrimmage, Thompson got his first interception of the season, picking off Blazers quarterback Tyler Johnston III and returning it 23 yards to the UAB 19. The visitors held their ground on defense, though, forcing the Vols to settle for a 36-yard Brent Cimaglia field goal and a 3-0 lead with 13:27 left in the opening stanza.
Cimaglia pushed the Big Orange’s lead to 6-0 with 4:44 to go in the first, connecting from 48 yards out to cap an 11-play, 56-yard drive. Key efforts on that scoring march were a 23-yard toss from Guarantano to senior tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson and an eight-yard scramble by Guarantano when UT faced third down and seven at the UAB 45.
With the Blazers moving the ball and threatening to score late in the first period, Darrell Taylor ended that thought with a third-down sack. The redshirt senior linebacker dragged down Johnston III for a loss of six, forcing UAB to punt.
UT’s Thompson was in the right spot again early in the second period, stepping in front of a Johnston III pass for his second interception of the night and recording the first multi-pick game of his career. After UT was unable to move the ball, Cimaglia came on and drilled his third field goal of the half, a career-long 53-yarder, to push the lead to 9-0 with 13:38 to go in the second frame. The kick bested Cimaglia’s 51-yarder vs. BYU earlier this season and was the longest by a Vol since Jeff Hall also was true from 53 yards vs. Oklahoma State in 1995.
Tennessee junior defensive lineman Darel Middleton forced another UAB miscue on the very next possession, and fellow junior Aubrey Solomon pounced on Johnston III’s fumble at the UAB 30. Five plays later, Chandler burst through the right side of the line and raced 11 yards to the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. Cimaglia added the PAT to lift UT’s lead to 16-0 with 11:36 remaining in the second quarter.
Thompson notched his record-tying third interception of the game off Johnston III with 6:37 to go in the first half, setting up UT’s offense at the UAB 43. Six plays later, Jennings lined up at quarterback and bulldozed his way two yards to pay-dirt. Cimaglia booted the PAT through the uprights to give Tennessee a 23-0 advantage it would take into the locker room at the intermission.
With 1:08 to go in the third period, Tennessee expanded its lead to 30-0. Guarantano hit running back Eric Gray for a 13-yard touchdown strike, marking the first score of the rookie’s career. Cimaglia added the extra point to remain perfect in his career in 58 PAT attempts.
UAB finally broke into the scoring column with 2:35 left on the clock. Reserve quarterback Dylan Hopkins, who played his high school ball at nearby Maryville High School, connected with Lucious Stanley for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Nick Vogel kicked the PAT to account for the final score.
The Vols will hit the road next weekend, facing the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a game televised on the SEC Network.
On how much forcing turnovers has been emphasized in practice:
Vols LB Henry To’oto’o / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
“Takeaways (are) huge. The coaches push us every week to try to get a ball out, get an interception, or just make something happen during practice. So, to be able to see it happen on the field was great”
On what the defensive game plan was:
“Just come out and be aggressive. Coach Pruitt and the entire coaching staff kind of just told us throughout the week that the most aggressive team is going to win. That’s how we tried to come out today and play.”
On how Derrick Ansley helps his players within a game and their relationship with each other:
“Coach Ansley, he’s a man. The way he comes up with schemes and stuff like that, and just the entire coaching staff, they all come together as one to be able to make us play how we play.”
On how the earlier adversity has helped the defense improve:
“It was big. It was a big piece. We didn’t like the results on our beginning of the season. Nobody likes losing, but it brought us together. It brought us to kind of tell each other that we don’t want that to happen again. We’re making steps and that’s a big part.”
Freshman RB Eric Gray
On waiting for an opportunity to impact the offense:
“It’s really about just trusting the process. Tim (Jordan) and Ty (Chandler) are great backs and I learn a lot from them, so being in practice with them, seeing them throughout the games, being able to watch film with them, they’ve really taught me a lot, as a freshman.”
On Jarrett Guarantano playing six days after having surgery on his hand:
“It just shows how tough he is, to come back from that. I didn’t think he was going to play, and he came in there and did what he did today, it just shows you how tough of a player he is and the type of personality he has.”
On how the team is focused on becoming bowl eligible:
“We kind of just want to stay one step ahead and focus on the next game, next week. But we are definitely itching to go to it, for sure.”
Redshirt Senior OL Brandon Kennedy
On the improvement the team has made in the past few weeks:
“I think the one thing that’s helped us the most is, obviously the wins, but also just being able to execute when needed. I feel like going out and being able to score on particular drives, that’s what really helped us and getting that juice has helped us win. I feel like that’s what’s been helping us.”
On what it was like to see Bryce Thompson snag three interceptions in the first half:
“It’s always great to see the defense get stops and get interceptions. It really gives us juice, as an offense, to go out there and change the field (position) and have a sudden change. We just want to capitalize off of it.”
On how the team is focused on becoming bowl eligible:
“Most definitely, we just have to focus on one game at a time, because without winning one game, you can’t make it to the next. We just focus on next week and we’ll get there, eventually.”
Sophomore CB Bryce Thompson
On his three interceptions:
“Obviously it was perfect play calling. The first one I was in the flats and my man went vertical to the safety so I went to help out the linebacker over top. The quarterback threw it right to me and that was all she wrote for them.”
On his time away from the team and how Coach Pruitt handled the situation:
“I feel like Coach Pruitt handled it the best he could. At times those three games away, just not being around my team for three weeks it did hurt, but it was definitely a learning lesson and I’m just glad to be back on the team with my family honestly. I feel like with anybody they would be thankful for having this opportunity right here and that’s what I am. I’m extremely grateful and I couldn’t thank the University of Tennessee and Coach Pruitt enough.”
On where he is physically compared to last year:
“Definitely I’m feeling more confident. I like the way our defense is playing, they’re making it extremely easy for me to come back because everybody else is playing so well, so they can pick up from our mistakes and I have no doubt in them at all.”
Junior OL Trey Smith
On the Team’s confidence level:
“Everyone loves winning. A win is a hard fight and hard earned. I would say it’s easier I think, the mentality always stays the same; we’re going go to work, we’re going to prepare each week on our opponent, focus on them, go to work and do what we have to do to be successful.”
On the progression of Darel Middleton:
“He’s a hard worker, really a great guy. He’s blessed with a lot of physical attributes, obviously his immense size and stuff like that, but a hard worker and working his tail off everyday. I’ve seen him play better and he’s playing his butt off.”
Redshirt Junior QB Jarrett Guarantano
On the challenges he faced getting ready to play with his hand injury:
“There was a lot honestly, having surgery Sunday then trying to get my hand back to normal. There was a lot done on it and thankfully Geronimo and the staff really got me right and I was able to play tonight with a cast on, which was able to get the job done for tonight so I was proud of it.”
On his confidence level:
“I was always told to have unwavering confidence and I think throughout the season obviously there were peaks and valleys and at this point I’m back to normal and I’m feeling really good about the guys are playing around me and how I’m playing right now. Obviously, there’s a lot of things to fix and a lot of room to get better but my confidence is there and I think the team’s confidence is there as well.”
On Coach Pruitt’s toughness:
“Coach Pruitt and I have a good relationship. Even today I made a stupid mistake in the red zone and I was throwing off my back foot trying to avoid pressure and it was stupid, and he got on me and rightfully so. I expect him to coach me hard as I want him to, and it’s not a love-hate thing its always love with him and me.”
The Southeastern Conference unveiled its 16th annual men’s basketball coaches preseason All-SEC teams Monday, and Tennessee seniors Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner were second-team selections.
Turner had previously earned second-team inclusion on the media’s preseason All-SEC team.
Both players enter the season on the verge of joining UT’s 50-man 1,000-Point Club. They are the team’s top returning scorers, as Turner averaged 11.0 points per game, and Bowden averaged 10.6 points per game.
Turner, Bowden and the rest of the Volunteers open the 2019-20 season Tuesday when they host UNC Asheville at 7 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tickets remain available at AllVols.com.
All 14 schools are represented on the two teams with Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee each having multiple selections. In all, 40 different players received votes for the coaches’ teams.
The coaches’ preseason All-SEC first and second teams consist of a minimum of eight players on each squad, voted on by the SEC basketball coaches. No ties were broken, coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players, and no predicted order of finish was made.
Opening Statement:
“Looking back and reviewing this last game, just starting with offensively, (there were) way too many negative plays. There was too much pressure on the quarterback and got him off the spot. Not as much schematically, but just kind of getting whipped and pushed back into the quarterback. (We had) too many negative plays in the run game. We have to eliminate those plays. There were lots of positives too. There were a lot of four and six-yard runs. We popped a few out there. There were just too many 3rd-and-7 and 3rd-and-8s. We have to put back-to-back plays together and we didn’t do a good job doing that. We turned the ball over in the red zone right before the half. There were really two ill-advised throws throughout the game. We have to do a better job all over the field offensively, starting at the offensive line, quarterback, running back, tight end and wide receiver and blocking in the run game.
Credit: Ut Athletics
“Defensively, we got four turnovers and should’ve had another. But (that) kind of changes the game. Give the offense short fields. We didn’t do a whole lot with it at some times, but we got field goals. And for every turnover, (there) were really points there. Special teams continue to do a pretty good job there. We have to improve there every week. We will spend a lot of time on that today. We came out of the game pretty healthy.
“Looking at Kentucky, a team that has kind of changed its identity a little bit. Obviously with the injury at quarterback, (they) had to revamp a little bit what they were doing offensively. (Assistant head coach) Eddie Gran has done a really, really nice job on the changes that he has made there. Finding a way to win, with (Lynn) Bowden playing a little bit of quarterback. I followed Mark (Stoops) at Florida State and he really, really does a nice job recruiting guys and evaluating talent. The intangibles of how they play. The season they had last year and what he has done to that program at Kentucky with that identity they kind of play with, they are physical and tough. They play together. They are very opportunistic.
“You look at their defense, they are one of the best defenses in our league. And they do great on special teams. The punter punts the ball all over the place, on kickoff cover they do a really nice job placing the ball, and they have great skill players to return it. We have got to continue to improve this week. We have to make tons of strides in all three phases to give us an opportunity to have success Saturday night. It will be a hostile environment, so we are looking forward to the challenge. But Kentucky has a team that is really talented and playing really well right now and we will have to be at our best to have a shot Saturday.”
On what it is with this team to be able to turn this season around and move forward:
“You have to figure out why we were 1-4. It was pretty simple. We turned the football over. We didn’t get enough turnovers. We didn’t play clean. We had some guys who were injured at beginning of the year or didn’t play. We were young. It was a recipe for not a whole lot of good. Our kids have come and our coaching staff has done a really nice job on coming to practice and buying in, competing hard. We have some good leadership on our team. Our guys have never flinched. They just keep working. They believe in what we are doing here. It is amazing that when you believe in something, you stay the course, and our kids believed. They believe in what we are doing. They believe in our strength and conditioning. They believe in our nutrition. The people that are teaching them and (with) player development. We have kind of stayed together and just keep grinding it out.”
On the challenges of facing a team using a wide receiver at quarterback:
“They’ve had an off week this week, and if you look in their last three games – that’s when he’s started playing the most – you’ve seen their offense grow in that period of time with things that they’re doing. They really do some nice stuff in the run game with the read stuff. They’ve always kind of been an 11-personnel running the football, but they really do a nice job. So, you kind of don’t know exactly what you’re going to get there. And, he has talent to throw the ball. He’s not a guy that can’t throw the ball, he can throw the football. They’ve really kind of shortened the game with how they’ve played. They’ve been very efficient with their drives. The last two games that they’ve played in, it looks like it’s been a monsoon on tape. So, they’ve played in very poor weather, so you don’t know what you’re going to get with throwing the football.”
On what he emphasizes in the game plan prior to facing a mobile quarterback:
“We need to win the line of scrimmage. This will be a line of scrimmage game. We need to keep edges on the defense. When the ball is out in space, we need to be able to tackle one-on-one. We cannot give up one-on-one to a blocker defensively, you have to make two guys block you. And we can’t let the ball be thrown over our heads. We have to eliminate explosive plays. We have to find a way to get some turnovers. It really doesn’t change every week, it’s kind of the same thing. Maybe what the other team does changes, but our philosophy is never going to change on how we want to play defense.”
On Paxton Brooks handling punting and Jauan Jennings being a team leader as a wide receiver:
“Paxton has done a good job in practice to earn these opportunities. It could change this week, so we’ll see. We’re going to play the guys who give us the best opportunity to have success. Fortunately for us, we have two pretty good punters, and there’s lots of competition there. It will make them better as they continue to grow and develop as football players.
“Talking about Jauan, we have lots of good leaders on our team. Jauan is a passionate guy and probably the oldest guy on our team. He’s kind of been through the wars a little bit. He’s probably developed some wisdom about how to handle your daily business, he’s probably learned how to do lots of things right. The older we get, we learn from our mistakes, we learn from others’ mistakes and we try to pass it on to the people that we care about. Jauan cares about his teammates, and he’s a guy that really wants to finish this season the right way.”
On Trey Smith’s progression this season:
“Well he practiced twice in August. This is the ninth game, so that’s 11 practices. If you think about fall camp and how many practices you have in that three-week period, he would really be getting ready for the first game based off of the number of times he’s practiced. So, that says a lot about him, number one, about his ability, two, his willingness to do other things to help him get prepared to play in a game so he can play at a high level. He continues to improve every game.”
On the latest on the QB situation and Brian Maurer:
“He was full go last week. So, again, we’ll look and see where we’re at and who gives us the best opportunity to have success and we’ll play those guys. It might be one of them, it might be two of them, it might be three of them.”
On the defensive turnaround and what is behind that:
“For the first two or three games, four of our best football players on defense didn’t play. We’re not at a point in time in our program where we can just plug a guy in and there’s no drop off. You’re talking about Emmit Gooden, you’re talking about Baylen Buchanan, Bryce (Thompson) and Daniel (Bituli), that’s a big blow. So, you have to start kind of moving guys around, so yeah, that hurt us tremendously, and getting two of those guys back has helped. I mean, we knew we were going to be young defensively and inexperienced, so the guys are going to continue to improve over the course of the year and they’ve done that. It’s not surprising that we have improved, especially with those guys coming back. Against Mississippi State, we lose Trevon Flowers for the year. That’s a big deal. He’s one of our best defensive backs, and he was a guy during fall camp who was injured. So, he plays the first couple of games not at 100 percent. So, unfortunately, we had an injury bug in fall camp and lost a few guys, but we’re kind of getting some guys back and guys have gained experience over the course of the season, and we are playing somewhat better.”
On what led to the struggles from the offensive line on Saturday night:
“I think UAB is pretty good up front, to start with. I think they did a really nice job. When you’re going to run the football, it takes five offensive linemen, if you’ve got two tight ends in a game those two guys, a runner, and it takes a quarterback to glue it all together. So, when there’s moving parts on the defensive side, there’s one guy that’s standing over the deal that can see all of it, and you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got the right point, so everybody knows we’re working in the right direction. We had too many mistakes from that standpoint. We probably got whipped a couple of times, and maybe we didn’t use the proper technique, or we might have run the ball the wrong way, as far as the quarterback making sure we’re running to the correct side. That’s all important, and a lot of that goes into who our quarterback is each week. As an offensive play caller, you just don’t want to go out there and say, ‘Hey, I want to line up in dot and run zone to the right.’ We’ve got a center, a guard, a tackle, and a tight end, so that’s four. What if they put six dudes over there, are we still going to run zone to the right? You’re not going to get a whole lot of success there. So, you’ve got to be able to package runs and be able to change them and things like that. We missed some of those the other night, which didn’t help.”
On Shawn Shamburger’s improvement:
“Well, I guess he’s been here now in the second year in the system. I didn’t feel like he played very well the other night. He keeps playing, we don’t have a whole lot of numbers back there to play, but he’s a guy that has improved as the season has went. He has really good athletic ability and has some instincts as a player. He needs to be more consistent as a blitzer and more consistent in coverage, but he’s a guy that, based off of the fact that he’s been in the system for two years now, he’s going to improve. The way we practice, you’re going to develop as a football player. That’s why when you get guys that have a little bit of age, they might not have played a whole lot as a freshman or a sophomore, but if they stay in our system, the way we practice, the way we develop players, they’re going to continue to improve and get better. Football is a developmental game, you want to be coached, you want to see improvement and Shawn is a guy that has continued to do that. Now, we’re looking at the consistency, he’s played really well early in the year, just the other night he didn’t play as well, I probably shouldn’t have said that, but it’s the truth. But, we’re looking for more consistency there, and he has the ability to be a good player.”
On how he handles game management:
“There’s lots of things that are pretty well documented, kind of when to go for two or a philosophy of going for two. There’s lots of scenarios that you have to work consistently when you have the ball offensively based off the score. Are you trying to score touchdowns? Are you trying to run the clock out? Do you need a field goal? It is before halftime, so there’s lots of things that go into that and you try to go through all the scenarios during the offseason, starting in probably February when we’re doing quality control and make sure that we all have the same philosophy of what we need to do to get us prepped during the spring to make sure were able to hit all these things. Sometimes, you have to go off your gut too, so you see the game, you’re on the field you feel what’s going on. I was watching somebody play the other day and a team was moving the football, and somebody just burned a timeout just to stop them. That’s kind of one of those in high school like when I was a high school coach when a team is moving the ball, hey you might have to call a timeout to settle them down or make a correction or something so that you can keep them out of the end zone. Nowadays everybody talks about keeping your timeouts saved till the end of the half. Sometimes you just you have to go with your gut, but there is a lot of things that are documented that you study and look at.”
On the advantage to making a bowl game and disadvantage to not making a bowl:
“We’re not focused on making a bowl. What were focused on is being the best football team we can be today and continuing to develop as a team and get ready for Kentucky. That’s what we’re worried about. I don’t have time to worry about that other stuff. I think it’s kind of common sense, if we could get fifteen extra practices, that’s got to help you right.”
On his thoughts on the defense starting the second half better now than early in the season:
“It’s a good question. Something that we need to be continuing to look at and see. We’ve really not changed how we prepare at halftime. We’ve been taking the same procedure that we always do at halftime and continue to do it throughout the year. It would probably make sense that maybe our kids, because of youth, have kind of learned to apply it a little bit, all the information that there given. But, we’ve really tried to focus on being a second half team. We weren’t early in the year, at all, but we’ve really tried to get our kids motivated to be that way. There’s certain positions that we have lack of depth right now, whether it’s based on injuries, numbers or experience, and we’ve tried to be smart as a coaching staff to be able to address that as the game goes.”
On if the way the team has been playing has affected recruiting:
“I don’t know how much we played better on Saturday than we played back at the beginning of the year. If you turn the ball over three or four times a game, you’re not going to beat anybody, which is what we did earlier in the year. If you give up 65-yard passes with 20 seconds on the clock, you’re not going to beat anybody. At times, we’ve continued to improve this year, and we’re going to work hard to do that – we’ve got to finish – that’s the goal, to improve every game. We have a huge challenge this week and our kids know that. We’re excited for the opportunity. We have yet to win a game on the road, which is a mark of a good football team – being able to go on the road and win football games – and we have yet to do that. We have a whole lot to prove as coaches, as players, everybody associated with our program. We’ll have an opportunity to do that on Saturday night.”
On changes in coaching in relation to the improvement on the field:
“Well it’s about being efficient, playing cleaner. We’ve talked about it on both sides of the ball, it’s the details. You look at each week, the team that usually wins the turnover battle usually wins the game. Start with that, let’s just take care of the football, let’s get some turnovers on defense. It’s no magic pill, it’s about details, execution, doing the little things, and our kids have continued to work at it. We were younger, a young team, and the guys have kind of developed. We have a long ways to go. We have not come close to playing our best football yet, and we’re running out of time, so we’ve got to be able to do that.”
On his decision when to play Jarrett Guarantano and how it affects the offense:
“He practiced last week with his hand after surgery and did it on Wednesday and Thursday. There wasn’t much issue but it was cooler on Saturday night, so you’re (thinking), ‘how is he going to handle that in warm-ups’ and some of that, so I felt like JT (Shrout) played good enough in the South Carolina game, and he finished the game to start the game. I knew at some point we would give Jarrett an opportunity. He didn’t take as many snaps during the week as he normally does, but he’s a guy that can glue a lot of things together with the other players, and when he does that, we play better. It just comes from having more experience than the other guys. It’s easy for him, he has the maturity to see and learn from what’s going on during the game, and apply it, so that’s one of the reasons that we’ve done it.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Tennessee defensive back Bryce Thompson was selected as the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Week after a record-performance in the Vols 30-7 Homecoming win against UAB on Saturday.
The sophomore picked off three passes to tie a single-game program record as the Vols kept the Blazers scoreless until late in the fourth quarter. All of Thompson’s takeaways came in the first half as he became the ninth Vol to record three interceptions in a game. His first pick of the year came on the game’s first offensive play with Thompson intercepting Blazers’ quarterback Tyler Johnston III and returning it to the UAB 19-yard line to set up a Tennessee field goal.
Thompson is one of five Vols to earn a weekly conference honor this season, joining Trey Smith (Week 7- Co-Offensive Lineman), Brandon Kennedy (Week 9 – Offensive Lineman), Daniel Bituli (Week 9 – Co-Defensive Player) and Jauan Jennings (Week 9 – Co-Offensive Player). The Vols have now had players win defensive player of the week honors in back-to-back weeks, marking the first time that has happened since Jason Hall (Oct. 9) and Parys Haralson (Oct. 16) did it back in 2004.
The Irmo, S.C., native also was named to the PFF College National Team of the Week along with freshman linebacker Henry To’o To’o, who was listed on the second team.
Thompson and To’o To’o were also among the five UT players, including Jaylen McCullough, Darrell Taylor, and Jauan Jennings, to be recognized on the PFF College SEC Team of the Week.
Kacey Musgraves will be spreading holiday cheer this season as the titular host of The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show on Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 29.
Kacey will be joined by an all-star cast of friends for performances of both classic and original holiday songs, including Fred Armisen, Leon Bridges, Camila Cabello, James Corden, Zooey Deschanel, Lana Del Rey and Troye Sivan. In addition, the Radio City Rockettes and special guest Kendall Jenner stop by for the holiday special, which will be narrated by Dan Levy.
“I can say without a doubt that this project is unlike anything I’ve ever done before,” says Kacey. “What started as the small seed of an idea one night over a year ago has turned into something I’m so proud of. Some truly brilliant comedic and musical guests are featured in the show—as well as my own Grandma. My vision was to bring my old Christmas album to life visually and create a modern and fashionable, fresh take on a classic format. It’s a nostalgic, Wes Anderson-inspired reimagining of the holidays. It’s heartfelt, funny, and most of all, real. I can’t wait to finally share.”
The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show will be accompanied by an official soundtrack available on Nov. 29.
The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show Track List
1. “Let It Snow” feat. James Corden
2. “Countdown” – Dialogue
3. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
4. “Getting Ready” – Dialogue
5. “Present Without A Bow” feat. Leon Bridges
6. “Making A List” – Dialogue
7. “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” feat. Camila Cabello
8. “(Not So) Silent Night” feat Fred Armisen
9. “Christmas Makes Me Cry”
10. “Amp It Up, Dan” – Dialogue
11. “Christmas Fail” – Dialogue
12. “Mele Kalikimaka” feat. Zooey Deschanel
13. “Cookies” – Dialogue
14. “Glittery” feat. Troye Sivan
15. “I’ll Be Home Intro” – Dialogue
16. “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” feat. Lana Del Rey
17. “NANA!” – Dialogue
18. “Ribbons And Bows” feat. The Radio City Rockettes
Vols HC Jeremy Pruitt / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
“That was a really hard-fought game. Those guys, especially on defense, played an outstanding game. You can see why they (UAB) are one of the top-ranked defenses in the country. They have good players and good schemes. They did a good job executing. I thought, defensively, (we) really changed the game with the turnovers in the first half. It gave us an opportunity to put some alley-oops as far as score on the board. We were short field position. I felt like we won the field position battle there in the first half, which really helped. I wasn’t very pleased with the last drive of the half and the defense of the second half. We gave some young guys an opportunity there. We didn’t execute very well and we have to improve.
“Offensively, we didn’t really start very fast. We kind of played behind the chains and had too many negative plays. You run for six yards and the next one is minus three where you throw an incomplete pass and didn’t protect very well at all. We probably had a couple of throws out there that we had a chance to make and didn’t hit the guys there. I was very disappointed with the turnover at the end of the first half. We had a good drive going on there and had some good plays and made a poor decision. You never take points off the board, and that is what we did there. We can’t make those mistakes moving forward. We had some guys out tonight and hopefully will be able to get those guys back. They are getting closer and closer. It looked like we got out of this game pretty clean. We have a big challenge next week, and we have to get focused on that.”
On what his thought process was with playing the quarterbacks:
“I thought it gave us the best chance to win. One guy had surgery on Sunday. It is cold out there, and he has a cast on his hand. First time getting out there, you see him in warm ups and he practiced most of the week, but the ball was pretty slick there the way the air was tonight. If J.T. (Shrout) doesn’t run across the field or throw across his body, back over there when we were in field goal range, he might have kept playing. There are some mistakes as the quarterback that you can’t make. You might miss a throw. You might not check the ball to the proper side. You can’t let go of the football in the red zone. We can’t make those mistakes.”
On how he felt the defensive line played tonight:
“I felt like we kept them behind the chains. They do a lot of seven-man protecting, which is what they do. That is one of the reasons why they don’t give up a lot of sacks, because they are in seven-man protect all the time. But we did get a little bit of pressure. I thought we guarded them in the back end. I thought our defensive staff did a really nice job getting our guys ready to play. I thought our defensive players practiced well all week, so it was not surprising how they played. So it was good when they made mistakes, we made them pay. Bryce (Thompson) made three interceptions. Darel Middleton caused a fumble that Aubrey Solomon recovered. We should’ve had that pick at the end, but it was dropped out there in the middle of the field. But when they make mistakes, you’ve got to make them pay, and we did that tonight.”
On what makes the offensive stall in the red zone:
“There are lots of things. It really helps you a lot by using formations. Whether it is formations, movements, motions and other stuff to create soft edges on the defense to make the defense have to adjust. But when you do that, the look also changes on the defensive side. You’ve got to do a nice job making sure that everybody knows who you are pushing to – who’s the linebacker, who’s working with who, taking the correct steps. Sometimes in all of that, it takes the quarterback to glue that together and sometimes it takes the front. You have to work hand-in-hand. We made some mistakes from just not blocking the right folks or just maybe not stepping with the right foot or the proper angle or maybe not straining enough. There are lots of things that go in there that go into it. And as a play caller, you have to have confidence in throwing the football in the red zone. We made some plays throughout the year where we have turned the ball over, which we can’t do. We have to get better there. We know that. We have to address it. We have got to do it on Saturdays.”
On if he considered playing Brian Maurer tonight and how he can explain the improvement on the team in the last few weeks:
“We worked Brian to be ready to play. But with three quarterbacks, it was hard to get Brian as many reps as he probably needed to be ready. So we elected to go with the other guys today. He will have an opportunity to get more reps as we get into it. We are still kind of seeing where we are at there.
With the improvement, our guys work really hard at practice. They work hard to prepare and to give themselves a chance to have success. They are a fun group to be around. We have had to execute at a little higher level in all three phases of our team, but you can see some of the guys are gaining confidence, with the fact they have been around and have been in the system a little longer. The younger guys are gaining confidence and some of the guys that have been here. It just comes from doing the same stuff over and over again. We just have to improve this week.”
On what the plan was to start the second half at the QB position:
“Well, we were going to go back with J.T. (Shrout) at some point, just kind of with the way the game kept going there. We kept getting turnovers that created a short field, so we were going to give Jarrett (Guarantano) those opportunities, and when halftime was over, we decided to go back the other way, but the interception absolutely doesn’t help.”
On what he saw out of Bryce Thompson tonight:
“He really just did what he was supposed to do. One time, we’re playing cut, and he splits the zone and the quarterback stares down when they run four verticals, makes a poor throw, and he breaks on the ball. One time, they ran a deep comeback and we’re playing two man, and the ball really shouldn’t be thrown that way, it was, and he made them pay there. The last time, he was playing the money position. Theo Jackson didn’t play tonight, so Bryce moved inside and played money, which is where we were going to play him all year until he was out for a few weeks and didn’t get as many reps, so there are a lot of balls that go to the fourth receiver on the other team on third down. You’ve got two guys outside, and you’ve got the guy that your star is on and our money guy, two and three, lots of balls go to them, so he made a good play and undercut the guy.”
On how Bryce Thompson has improved since returning to the team:
“It obviously hurt that he wasn’t practicing, but he’s improving. He’s been banged up for a couple of weeks now, he’s a tough kid that really wants to play and likes to play. He’s continued to improve, and he should. He’s playing more ball, he’s older, he’s maturing, he’s getting stronger, he’s been in the system a little longer. He needs to continue to do that.”
On how Derrick Ansley has helped the secondary this season:
“I can tell you this, I love coaching defensive backs. If I can’t coach defensive backs, I’m not going to coach anymore. Derrick Ansley is a guy that, for me, I don’t have to be in the room. I know what’s being said. I know how the room is prepared. I know how his meetings are run; he’s going to say exactly what I would say to him. He’s one of the best coaches that I’ve ever been around. It’s been great to watch him grow and develop over the years. At one time, he was my graduate assistant, and then the last couple of years, he’s been a defensive backs coach at places that I’ve been at, and he does a phenomenal job. He’s improving as a play caller; he does a really nice job with that. He commands attention. He’s done a great job coaching the guys up on the sideline, and he gets the information from the guys upstairs who do a really nice job, Kevin (Sherrer) and the other guys up there. Tracy Rocker and Chris Rumph do a nice job, too, so it’s a really good group to work with. We don’t have any secrets in our room. We say what we think to each other, which is the way I like to work. It’s fun being around them, and they do a really nice job, and I think the kids like being around them, too.”
On what the team needs to do to keep momentum defensively:
“We have to practice it. There’s no secret, we keep a tab up every week of caused fumbles, interceptions, shots on the ball. It might not be a fumble, but who took a shot on the ball, batted balls for passes? And the weeks that we do it in practice, it shows up in the game. The weeks that it doesn’t show up on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday, it doesn’t show up here on Saturday. It seems, pretty simple, right? If you just create the right habits in practice, it shows up on Saturdays. So, those are the things that we’ve been trying to stress to our players, and it’s the truth.”
On depending on Brent Cimaglia:
“He’s a guy that’s always working. He has talent, it’s obvious when you’re out there. The thing I like about him is that I think he could play middle linebacker, too. I like that guy. If he misses one, he jumps up there and wants to hit another one, and he doesn’t go and try to hide somewhere. He wants to get up there and do it again. I think he has a really good makeup about him. He’s a great competitor. We do our offseason conditioning and he’s an athlete. I don’t know what else he played besides kicker before he got here; he was probably a soccer player, but he might’ve been a defensive player. I don’t know, the way he acts, he gets out there and competes his tail off, and I’m glad we’ve got him.”
After topping the charts in 2018 with “Yours” and “Blue Tacoma,” Russell Dickerson has scored his third No. 1 single with “Every Little Thing.”
“Every Little Thing,” which was penned Russell, Parker Welling and Casey Brown, reached No. 1 on both the Mediabase chart and Billboard Country Airplay chart this week. All three of Russell’s No. 1 songs are featured on his 2017 debut album, Yours.
Russell shared his excitement via Twitter, saying: “THIS IS INSANE! #EVERYLITTLETHING IS OFFICIALLY THE NUMBER ONE SONG ON COUNTRY RADIO! HUGE thank you to country radio, my team, and the #RDFam that made THREE #1’s IN A ROW happen!!!!!!”
The Country Music Association announced the presenters for the 53rd annual CMA Awards on Nov. 13: Bobby Bones, Hannah Brown, Deana Carter, Kristin Chenoweth, Janie Fricke, Jim Gaffigan, Vince Gill, Kathy Mattea, Martina McBride, Midland, Craig Morgan, Jennifer Nettles, Madelaine Petsch, J.B. Smoove, Pam Tillis, Morgan Wallen and Trisha Yearwood.
Previously announced performers include Eric Church, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Dolly Parton with for King & Country and Zach Williams, Pink and Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Brooks & Dunn with Brothers Osborne, Garth Brooks with Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Kacey Musgraves with Willie Nelson, Lady Antebellum with Halsey, Old Dominion, Blake Shelton and Thomas Rhett.
Hosted by Carrie Underwood with special guests Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, the CMA Awards will air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. CT on ABC.
Nominees are below.
Entertainer of the Year
Garth Brooks
Eric Church
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban
Female Vocalist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood
Male Vocalist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
Vocal Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
New Artist of the Year
Cody Johnson
Ashley McBryde
Midland
Carly Pearce
Morgan Wallen
Single of the Year (Awarded to Singer, Producer and Engineer)
“Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne – Producers: Ross Copperman, Jon Randall, Arturo Buenahora, Jr. – Mix Engineer: F. Reid Shippen
Fresh off of his single “Love You Too Late” topping the charts last week, Cole Swindell has announced a new tour for 2020.
Cole’s 14-date Down to Earth Tour will kick off on March 5 in Toledo, Ohio, with additional stops in New Orleans, Kansas City, Louisville and more. Hardy and Trea Landon will serve as support.
“I have had such an amazing year in so many ways,” says Cole. “I never think each year can top the previous, but it does. To earn another career No. 1 last week with ‘Love You Too Late’ and then the response and honors that ‘Break Up In The End’ received this year has blown me away . . . I’m so fired up for 2020 to get back out there with two new artists whose music I just love and am really excited about. Hardy, Trea and I already have some fun things planned for this tour. The fans better get ready because this tour is for them!”
Tickets go on sale on Nov. 8, with a pre-sale beginning on Nov. 5 at 10 a.m. local time.
Down to Earth Tour
March 5 | Toledo, OH | Stranahan Theater
March 6 | Rama, ON | Casino Rama-Entertainment Centre
March 13 | Macon, GA | Macon Centreplex Auditorium
March 14 | Okaloosa Island, FL | The Gulf
March 15 | New Orleans, LA| Fillmore
March 25 | Sioux Falls, SD | Sanford Pentagon
March 26 | Dubuque, IA | Five Flags Center-Five Flags Arena
March 27 | Park City, KS | Hartman Arena
March 28 | Kansas City, MO | Uptown Theater
April 9 | Grand Rapids, MI | 20 Monroe Live
April 10 | Peoria, IL | Peoria Civic Center Theatre
