KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football head coach Butch Jones, offensive coordinator Larry Scott and defensive coordinator Bob Shoop spoke to reporters on Monday in the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio.
The Vols (3-5) host Southern Miss (5-3) on Saturday for homecoming. The game will feature a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on SEC Network.
Tennessee’s coaches and players are focused on fixing mistakes that contributed to this past Saturday’s loss to Kentucky. The Vols made strides with a season-high 445 yards of offense.
“Our players are just like us – it’s time to get back to work for another week,” Jones said. “They are ready to go, just like our coaching staff. It’s a week-to-week season. It’s all about Southern Miss and getting ready to play in Neyland Stadium for homecoming.”
The UT defense had several standout plays against Kentucky and forced a season-high four fumbles against Kentucky. Shoop indicated that the players’ approach to this week’s preparation has been very businesslike.
“They seem very resilient,” Shoop said. “They put the game behind them pretty quickly and today was as good a meeting and as good a Monday practice as we’ve had. The kids were focused, they were on point. Southern Miss presents some issues on both sides of the ball. Our players were locked in as we went over some of their game plan and some of their scouting report and I think they’re really excited.”
Chandler Steps Up
Freshman running back Ty Chandler played a major role in UT’s improved offensive performance against the Wildcats. The Nashville native posted career highs of 22 carries for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Chandler’s 120 rushing yards are the second-most by a SEC true freshman in 2017 conference play, trailing only Florida rookie Malik Davis’ 124 yards against Vanderbilt on Sept. 30.
“Ty is a talented kid and it’s about time for that light to start to really come on for him and the game to start to slow down a little bit for him,” Scott said. “He’s still a true freshman. He’s been here three and a half months and playing college football in the SEC takes a little while. Now, the game is starting to slow down for him a little bit. You’re starting to see flashes of his natural talent level come through.”
For the season, Chandler has 49 carries for 238 yards and two touchdowns, nine receptions for 101 yards and nine kickoff returns for 254 yards. Chandler, who is also second in the SEC with 28.2-yard kickoff return average, credits UT running backs coach Robert Gillespie for pushing him to get better every day.
“I have a great coach in Coach Gillespie,” Chandler said. “He comes in and pushes us every day to make sure we are ready. When our name and number are called, we have to go out and perform.”
Additional Quotes
Offensive Coordinator Larry Scott
On freshman running back Ty Chandler’s performance:
“Ty is a talented kid and it’s about time for that light to start to really come on for him and the game to start to slow down a little bit for him. He’s still a true freshman. He’s been here three and a half months and playing college football in the SEC takes a little while. Now, the game is starting to slow down for him a little bit. You’re starting to see flashes of his natural talent level come through.”
On the decisions to put the quarterback under center and the resulting touchdowns:
“We’ve always considered that. Those are some of the situations you have to be able to climb under and say, ‘Here we go.’ You’ll be seeing a lot more of that from us from here on out.”
On being able to more fully assess players’ abilities after Saturday:
“Each and every week always presents its challenges with who you’re playing and where you’re taking your team and what are the best fits for everybody, who’s healthy and who’s not, continuity and reps. It’s been challenging but we have not allowed that to be an excuse for us offensively. Our mindset and mentality has been each and every day to find a way to move the ball, move the chains, get in the end zone and score points and try to put our team in the best situation to win. Of course, with that has come some challenges with everything that is going on. This group of guys has worked their tails off, hit it head on and went out and I think played hard each and every week. We’ll continue to do that for the next four games.”
Defensive Coordinator Bob Shoop
On the good and bad from the Kentucky game:
“It’s funny that you say that. On Monday we always do a good, bad and the ugly tape for the guys. The good was that we had four takeaways. That’s a positive. That’s been a point of emphasis. Over the last two weeks we’ve had six takeaways, scored on one of them, and really if that’s something we can continue to do through the last month of the season, that’ll help us get back on track here.
“The bad was probably some of the missed opportunities. I felt like Micah Abernathy and Nigel Warrior both might have had balls hit them in the hands that would have made impacts, would have made differences. Micah was kind of on a slant and it was an incomplete pass and then right before the last touchdown Nigel had the ball – neither of which would have been easy interceptions – but I always joke about Charlton Warren, every ball he throws in ball drills is a bad ball so I thought those guys had a chance to maybe intercept those. Those are ones that you need when you’re in a situation like we are. Those are the ones that can’t slip through your fingers.
“And the ugly was … you know it’s funny they had whatever, 360 yards, and 180 of them came on six plays. You know it’s explosive plays. Six plays accounted for 180 yards and the other 50 plays accounted for 180 yards. So you sit there and you go, ‘this guys is going to have a winning grade, this guys is going to have a winning grade, this guy is going to have a winning grade, and everybody at the end of the game looks up and has a pretty good grade’, but there’s six impactful plays where we’re too far off the field and Snell cuts it back for a long gain, we did that twice. Quarterback run around the edge, quarterback scramble on a third and long, wildcat pass. Those are the six plays that were impact and three of them led directly to touchdowns. And then obviously the sour taste in everyone’s mouth will be the last drive of the game. We played pretty good from the end of the first quarter to the middle of the fourth quarter. (We) created some turnovers, got some three and outs, really did a good job and then just really didn’t execute with the game on the line like we needed to.”
On getting the players to keep a “business as usual approach”:
“I think it’s easier for the players than us. Just my opinion. They seem very resilient. They put the game behind them pretty quickly and today was as good a meeting and as good a Monday practice as we’ve had. The kids were focused, they were on point. Southern Miss presents some issues on both sides of the ball. Our players were locked in and as we went over some of their game plan and some of their scouting report and I think they’re really excited. I think they all genuinely want to do well and they recognize that, again, you only have so many more opportunities that we’re guaranteed. To be in Neyland Stadium in front of a Homecoming crowd this weekend, I think they want to put forth their best effort.”
Freshman Running Back Ty Chandler
(On his expectations going into the game)
“I knew I had to step up because of the opportunity in front of me. I wanted to take full advantage of it.”
(On snapping the offense’s scoreless streak with his touchdown)
“Everyone was excited to see that. I was pumped and excited for it because it was my first rushing touchdown. It brought a lot of energy and confidence to the team.”
(On living up to his recruiting ranking)
“I have a great coach in Coach Gillespie. He comes in and pushes us every day to make sure we are ready. When our name and number are called, we have to go out and perform.”
-UT Athletics
Walker Hayes will serve as the opener, and Bailey Bryan will join Kelsea and Walker in Nashville on Feb. 14.
