KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With a big test looming in Tuscaloosa this Saturday night, the Vols were back on the practice field this afternoon to continue preparation for their “Third Saturday in October” showdown with No. 1 Alabama.
A handful of players met with the media on Tuesday afternoon to recap last week’s victory over Mississippi State and give their thoughts on this week’s matchup with the Crimson Tide.
Senior linebacker Daniel Bituli attributed last weekend’s dominant defensive performance against the Bulldogs to a great week of practice and preparation.
“We had a lot of guys take ownership this week,” Bituli said. “It was something we really wanted to accomplish. We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could go out there and execute the right way and we did that.”
The Nashville native said the team will need to bring that same mentality into this week’s practices in order to continue its positive momentum against arguably the top offense in the country.
“Don’t beat yourself. Don’t give them easy plays,” Bituli said when asked about the keys to slowing down the Tide’s high-powered offense.
“They’re going to take what you give them just like any team in this league will, and that all starts with communication and how serious we take it in practice. The better we do in practice, the better we’re going to do in the game. We just have to make sure we communicate as much as possible and start taking today seriously so we can win on Saturday.”
Slowing Down the Tide
Alabama enters Saturday’s clash with the No. 2 scoring offense in all of college football, averaging 51 points per game, due in large part to starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and an extremely deep and talent receiving corps.
“They have a very good quarterback, probably a Heisman candidate, or all the awards you can give a quarterback,” junior defensive lineman Matthew Butler said. “They have good receivers who have made plays in big games in the past. I think they have two pretty good tackles. So, those are probably the strengths of their offense, and they’ve learned to execute and that’s what makes them good.”
Redshirt senior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor complimented the Vols’ much-improved front seven and harped on the importance of building off of last week’s seven-sack performance in order to slow down Tagovailoa and the Bama attack.
“I think the defensive line has definitely taken some strides this year,” Taylor said. “We’re playing better each and every week. We’ve been stressing that we need to control the line of scrimmage up front. That’s where it starts. I think those guys have definitely made great strides toward being successful each week.”
Smith Regaining Dominant Form
After battling back from blood clots for the second time, junior offensive lineman Trey Smith has been able to regain the form that earned him freshman All-America honors in 2017.
“Yes. I think so. That can definitely play toward it,” Smith said when asked if his recent success had to do, in part, to knocking off the rust from not playing much last year and this offseason.
“Ultimately, it’s just trusting the technique. A lot of times, it’s hard to trust it,” Smith said. “But at the end of the day, in terms of offensive line play, nothing I’m doing out there is natural.
“I’m not like a wide receiver where I can run a route, or I can outrun somebody. It’s not really about that. There are so many unnatural nuances to the game that I have to learn, polish, in such a short time. I have to do it every day, week in and week out. Over time, it’s more natural to get better at it.”
Smith also spoke about the chemistry that he’s developed with five-star freshman Wanya Morris. The duo has started the past four games together on the left side of UT’s offensive line.
“Wanya is a young dude, a little goofy sometimes, but having a guy like that can make the game a bit refreshing,” Smith said. “You see it from a different perspective than from when you were younger. His energy on the field, I feed off that. We feed off of each other and it’s really good synergy we have together. I’m really happy he came here.”
Player Quotes
Matthew Butler, Jr. DL
On how to strike a balance between “playing like a kid” while remembering the technical details:
“When Coach (Tracy) Rocker says that, he just means don’t go out there worried about what might happen or being coached the next day or worried about how tired you may get. Some people played every snap and some people played five of them. When you’re a little kid you get out there and you get your first snap and it could be your only snap, and you go back home and tell your mom, ‘Hey I got one snap, Ma; I played great.’ That’s what that was about.”
On how the momentum builds as the defense plays tougher:
“Yeah, it definitely helps the momentum, and it also puts the other team at a disadvantage. Just to be straight up, some guys on their team didn’t really want to do it anymore after the third quarter, and then they kind of got back into it. When your heart’s not there, when a couple people’s hearts aren’t there, when we have the momentum, it makes it a little easier to execute.”
On what makes Alabama so dynamic offensively:
“They have a very good quarterback, probably a Heisman candidate, or all the awards you can give a quarterback. They have good receivers who have made plays in big games in the past. I think they have two pretty good tackles. So, those are probably the strengths of their offense, and they’ve learned to execute and that’s what makes them good.”
Jauan Jennings, R-Sr. WR
On if he noticed a confidence boost after the first SEC win of the season:
“We knew what we could do as a team. We just had to go out there and execute, and that’s what we did Saturday. We played plenty of football and we just played together as a team and came out with a W.”
On if he considers it a challenge to go up against Alabama’s receiving corps:
“Yeah, it’s definitely a challenge, not even just looking at wide receivers. Alabama is the number one team in the nation so just going and being able to play the number one team in the nation, that’s an opportunity that you can’t let it slip through your hands. So, we’re going to go out there and try to grasp it.”
On how he would describe the first half of the season:
“The first half we fought. We fought our tail off this season. We haven’t gotten the results that we wanted, but last Saturday we got our first SEC win so we’re excited and we’re going to carry that over to this week.”
Daniel Bituli, Sr. LB
On what he attributes the defensive performance on against Mississippi State to:
“Practice. We had a lot of guys take ownership this week. It was something we really wanted to accomplish. We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could go out there and execute the right way and we did that.”
On the keys to playing well against Alabama:
“Don’t beat yourself. Don’t give them easy plays. They’re going to take what you give them just like any team in this league will, and that all starts with communication and how serious we take it in practice. The better we do in practice, the better we’re going to do in the game. We just have to make sure we communicate as much as possible and start taking today seriously so we can win on Saturday.”
Trey Smith, Jr. OL
On if his success is due in part to knocking off the rust from missing part of last season:
“Yes. I think so. That can definitely play toward it. Ultimately, it’s just trusting the technique. A lot of times, it’s hard to trust it. But at the end of the day, in terms of offensive line play, nothing I’m doing out there is natural. I’m not like a wide receiver where I can run a route, or I can outrun somebody. It’s not really about that. There are so many unnatural nuances to the game that I have to learn, polish, in such a short time. I have to do it every day, week in and week out. Over time, it’s more natural to get better at it.”
On what it’s been like to get Tim Jordan back in the mix:
“Our running backs, they’re great. From (Eric) Gray, (Tim) Jordan, to Ty (Chandler), they’re all really good backs. Having Tim in the mix, he did a great job on Saturday. He had a lot of violent, physical runs, getting us hype. He did a great job.”
On if he and Wanya Morris feed off of each other:
“Wanya is a young dude, a little goofy sometimes, but having a guy like that can make the game a bit refreshing. You see it from a different perspective than from when you were younger. His energy on the field; I feed off that. Sometimes, where he might be a little too goofy, jumping up and down, I get a little more focused. But, we feed off of each other and it’s really good synergy we have together. I’m really happy he came here.”
On if it was a big compliment for Wanya Morris to call him the meanest offensive lineman on the team:
“I love that. Me and Jahmir (Johnson) are fighting for that, I would say. I do want to bring a mean mentality. At the end of the day, it is a game, but sometimes it has to be a little bit of a street fight out there. You want a dog in the competition. You want someone to be a mean dude and set the tone.”
Darrell Taylor, Sr. OLB
On if Saturday’s win over Mississippi State gives the team confidence going into the Alabama game:
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence going into this game. We got a big win on Saturday and we’re looking to get another one this Saturday, so you know what’s going on.”
On how the defensive line controlled Mississippi State up front:
“I think we just played physically all day and we ran to the ball. We made a lot of plays. I think that helped our back end. Our back end covered us really well and that’s how we were able to get seven sacks because those guys did well in the back end. They ended up getting three interceptions. I give credit to those guys, 100 percent, because we wouldn’t have gotten those sacks without them.”
On if he has seen the defensive line take strides as the season has progressed:
“I think the defensive line has definitely taken some strides this year. We’re playing better each and every week. We’ve been stressing that we need to control the line of scrimmage up front. That’s where it starts. I think those guys have definitely made great strides toward being successful each week.”
Marquez Callaway, Sr. WR
On how happy he was for Tyler Byrd after his touchdown:
“Oh, man, we were so pumped on the sideline. I think if y’all would have got a shot of us on the sideline, you would be happier for us than for him. But we always talk about scoring and what our celebrations are going to be, and you saw what Byrd did with his celebration, and that’s what made us even more hyped on the sideline.”
On if it makes a difference going into this week coming off of a win:
“Yes, I think that was a big momentum boost. I think we really needed a win, and we went out there and got the win, so leading into Bama week, especially playing a team from the west, I think we’ll be more energized to go out there and play.”
On how he would describe this season so far:
“Obviously, it’s not what we expected it to turn out to be, but we’re just trying to keep going and trying not to look back at it, and really, if you look at it, we’re just a couple plays from starting off better than what we did. But we take it as a lesson, and we try not to make the mistakes going forward in the season.”
On if having Tee Martin on the sideline helped some of the young receivers:
“I think so. A lot of the guys look up to Coach Tee, not just because of what he’s done, but because of who he is. His family is great, his kids are great; they come up there all the time to see us, so once you know what a coach is for you, that’s when you start playing harder.”
On if he has seen the offense respond well to Brian Maurer’s energy:
“A lot of guys like both (Brian and Jarrett Guarantano), and they wish that both of them could play, but obviously, there’s only one starting job. So, whoever it is, we’re always going to be behind them. For Brian, he’s young, he still has a lot to learn, but we’re always behind him and we tell him things like what we see on the field, and when he comes to the sideline Jarrett tells him what coverage they were in and things like that. The opposite way, Jarrett, being the older, more experienced guy, he kind of knows what’s going on, but still, Brian does the same thing, he tells him what he sees on the sideline. We talk about what we see on the field as receivers, and basically whoever is in there, we’re going to try to be the best for them.”
Theo Jackson, Jr. DB
On how Trevon Flower’s injury affects the rotation:
“It just means some young guys have to step up and play a big role.”
On how he would describe what he’s seen from Alabama’s passing game:
“I would say explosive. They can kill you in the run game, kill you in the pass game, they can take short routes and turn them into 70-yard touchdowns. Overall, they’re just a very explosive team.”
On how Nigel Warrior is playing right now:
“Nigel is playing very well. He’s quarterbacking the defense. He’s being a leader. He’s stepping up and he’s just being an overall better player. He’s playing the right way.”
On how good it felt to celebrate a win in the locker room:
“It was very rewarding, getting our first SEC win with that, we just felt like there was just joy going around the locker room and now we can build off of that, because now we know how well we can play, and we just need to keep up with that standard.”
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