Tennessee quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle spoke to the media ahead of Saturday’s 1 vs. 3 matchup for UT at Georgia.

Teleconference Transcript | Rankings (PDF) 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time in its illustrious program history, Tennessee has claimed the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings as the initial 2022 edition was released live on ESPN Tuesday night.

The Vols (8-0, 4-0 SEC) own two victories over current top 10 teams in the playoff rankings, a signature 52-49 defeat of current No. 6 Alabama and a 27-point road win at current No. 10 LSU.

Tennessee holds the No. 2 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 and the No. 3 position in the AFCA Coaches poll. It faces another challenge at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday in Athens, going up against defending national champion Georgia (8-0, 5-0) on CBS. The Bulldogs are No. 3 in the first rankings and No. 1 in the other two major polls.

Tuesday night marked the Vols’ first appearance in the playoff rankings since being tabbed No. 21 in the final 2016 edition on Dec. 4. This is Tennessee’s seventh appearance in the rankings since its inception in 2014.

Just 21 months removed from taking over a program that was 3-7 prior to his arrival, head coach Josh Heupel has helped guide the Vols to the No. 1 position. It is the first time that Tennessee has been ranked No. 1 in any poll since it finished the 1998 campaign as national champions in the Fiesta Bowl. The Vols are off to their first 8-0 start since that fall.

Tennessee becomes just the seventh team in history to hold the No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff era, joining Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State and Ohio State. The Vols join Mississippi State (2014) as the only two teams to start a season unranked to climb to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker leads the nation’s fastest offense, which averages an FBS-best 49.4 points per game and 553.0 yards per game. Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, his top target, is tops in the nation in receiving touchdowns with 14. Tennessee’s attacking and opportunistic defense leads the SEC in interceptions (9) and takeaways (16), while ranking second in the league in rush defense (92.9) and tackles for loss per game (6.50).

College Football Playoff Rankings (Nov. 1)
1. Tennessee (8-0)
2. Ohio State (8-0)
3. Georgia (8-0)
4. Clemson (8-0)
5. Michigan (8-0)
6. Alabama (7-1)
7. TCU (8-0)
8. Oregon (7-1)
9. USC (7-1)
10. LSU (6-2)
11. Ole Miss (8-1)
12. UCLA (7-1)
13. Kansas State (6-2)
14. Utah (6-2)
15. Penn State (6-2)
16. Illinois (7-1)
17. North Carolina (7-1)
18. Oklahoma State (6-2)
19. Tulane (7-1)
20. Syracuse (6-2)
21. Wake Forest (6-2)
22. NC State (6-2)
23. Oregon State (6-2)
24. Texas (5-3)
25. UCF (6-2)

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Another week, another opportunity for No. 2 Tennessee to prove itself on the national stage as the Volunteers prepare to head south for the marquee matchup in college football this week against No. 1 Georgia.

The Big Orange were back on the practice field Tuesday morning as they prepare for one of the most highly anticipated games in college football this season.

During Tuesday’s media availabilities, both coaches and players talked about the extreme challenges they will face this Saturday on the road in Athens against the defending national champions.

Tennessee’s defense is coming off its best showing of the season in last week’s 44-6 demolition of Kentucky, utilizing a physical brand of football on all three levels to hold the Wildcats to 205 total yards and just 98 passing yards.

The Vols will need to build off that performance in order to keep Georgia’s well-balanced and versatile offense in check on Saturday. For linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, that starts with stopping the run as well as keeping the Bulldogs’ playmaking quarterback Stetson Bennett in check.

“Defensively, we still always hang our hat on trying to stop the run,” Jean-Mary said. “You don’t ever just say you’re going to take one aspect away, but it always starts with run defense with most defenses. So, we want to make sure that we can take the run away, but obviously we’ve made the pass a big point of emphasis for us.”

Jean-Mary emphasized that he believes Bennett is one of the top signal callers in the nation and that his experience, paired with his playmaking ability, presents numerous challenges for defenses.

“When I watch the tape, I see a very, very good quarterback,” Jean-Mary said. “I see a guy that led them to a national championship last year and can make all the throws. He’s versatile enough to get out on the perimeter, is elusive enough that he does not take sacks, and really is the catalyst to their offense. He makes some big-time throws, and he is able to extend some plays. He is, to us, one of the better quarterbacks we have seen so far this year, and I know we have seen some really good quarterbacks.”  

UT’s offense, which ranks No. 1 nationally in points per game (49.4), has been clicking on all cylinders and will need another big performance this weekend in order to come away with a win against the Bulldogs, who enter the contest with the No. 2 ranked scoring defense in the FBS (10.5 ppg).   

Should the Vols come away victorious, it’ll likely be in large part to the play of senior quarterback and Heisman Trophy contender Hendon Hooker, who has been one of the nation’s best players this season, especially in big games.

“I think with Hendon, his numbers are speaking for themselves right now,” quarterback’s coach Joey Halzle said. “He’s been in a lot of big games this year, and it doesn’t look like any big game has been too big for him. You haven’t seen him shy away from the moment. You’ve seen him step up, and every time we’ve gone against a ranked team at home or on the road, he’s stepped up and had one of his best performances of the year.”

Saturday’s SEC East showdown is set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. ESPN’s College GameDay will also be on site, highlighting the matchup between the top two teams in the country.

Videos, transcripts and player quotes from Tuesday’s media availabilities can be found below.
 

Linebackers Coach Brian Jean-Mary 

On game-planning for Georgia’s offense…  
“Defensively, we still always hang our hat on trying to stop the run. You don’t ever just say you’re going to take one aspect away, but it always starts with run defense with most defenses. So, we want to make sure that we can take the run away, but obviously we’ve made the pass a big point of emphasis for us. I feel like we improved last week, so we’re going to try to keep improving on the pass aspect of it. We just want to play really good defense at the end of the day, and however they’re trying to attack us, we want to try to take that away.” 
 
On what makes Brock Bowers so productive at tight end…  
“He’s one of the big pieces of their offense. It’s his versatility. He can line up anywhere on the field. Obviously is a mismatch in a lot of ways whether he’s on safety or linebacker. Runs great routes and has excellent speed. You match all that with a guy that still will get in the line of scrimmage and still block defensive linemen, you have a complete tight end. You watch the tape on them, there are guys that obviously are paying extra attention to him, and he’s still making plays. Obviously, his skill level is through the roof, and we’re going to have to do a great job on him to give ourselves a chance to win.”  

On what linebackers have done so far in stopping the run…  
“I always say run defense, just like pass defense, is like you said, it’s a team effort. It’s obviously building a run wall. We want to have every gap covered, all of our assignments handled, whether you’re the force player or you’re a field player, on every run play. We try to make that a big point of emphasis. I think our run wall, starting with our D-line, has been so much better. Our D-line probably doesn’t get the credit it deserves for how they are able to control the line of scrimmage, or even get the knock-back to get guys on their side, offensive linemen on their side of the line of scrimmage. Like I said, it starts with them, but you add the secondary and corners. I thought our corners did a great job coming up and tackling with some of those condense sets Kentucky had last week. It’s definitely a team effort, but it’s always a point of emphasis on stopping the run, and I think our guys are embracing that.”   

On Wesley Walker’s performance against Kentucky…  
“Wesley is a guy that has improved every week. Obviously, as a transfer coming in, having to learn our system and learn the way we do things, Wesley has been unbelievable. He had extensive playing time last week and made the most of it. With the numbers he had, he was actually our player of the game on defense. That tells you that he did some really, really good things. Just like everyone else, you have seen him improve from the first week all the way up to week eight that we just had last week. We are very, very thrilled with his progression so far.” 

On the Georgia TE Darnell Washington and RB Kenny McIntosh…  
“Two very, very good players. Zero [Darnell Washington], Agent Zero, he is a large human being. You do not find many tight ends that are his size, but the thing that is impressive about him is his ability to play in space. Not just to block, but to throw him the ball down field, which because of his size, presents challenges. I think he is another guy that is a match-up nightmare for a lot of people, just because of his size and his athleticism. I know they do not mind having both him and [Brock] Bowers on the field at the same time. [Kenny] McIntosh, you can tell is the veteran of that running back group. [He] does it all. They do not mind splitting him out. Runs tough. I thought he had one of the better eight- to 10-yard runs that we have seen from guys on film. We are going to have to do a great job of tackling him, because he will run through arm tackles, but is versatile enough to get out onto the perimeter and cause you problems. I think both of those guys are very good players.” 

On what he sees in Georgia QB Stetson Bennett…  
“A veteran. I know that there are some people that have questioned who he is as a quarterback, whether he is a Heisman candidate or one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC. When I watch the tape, I see a very, very good quarterback. I see a guy that led them to a national championship last year and can make all the throws. He’s versatile enough to get out on the perimeter, is elusive enough that he does not take sacks, and really is the catalyst to their offense. I thought that last year, and then watching the tape this year, you see a guy that makes a lot of plays for them. I know [Brock] Bowers is obviously one of the top guys in the country, but when you watch the film, I watch Stetson Bennet. He makes some big-time throws, and he is able to extend some plays. He is, to us, one of the better quarterbacks we have seen so far this year, and I know we have seen some really good quarterbacks.”  

On the role that field awareness plays in the game this week against Georgia…  
“Field awareness always starts with your preparation and understanding what formation that the offense is in versus the defense that you’re in. You always want to anticipate how people are going to try to attack you. You mentioned the Juwan Mitchell pick from this weekend, that was just simply getting to the ball, playing aggressive and understanding what route that the offense was trying to run. They tried to throw a quick route, and they were able to get a jump on it, which put him into position to get to the football on the tip. Field awareness is probably one of the number one traits that you want to have. If you’re going to play really good defense, there has to be an awareness—one, on what the offense is aligned in, and two, what are we calling and how are we going to try and stop it.”  

On what led to Juwan Mitchell’s strong performance against Kentucky…  
“That’s always a combination. With every run, usually if you are the inside linebacker, they have someone there to try to block you. Obviously with the run plays that they were running, they were a power running team, we had to do a good job of getting off of blocks. He did a great job of finding the football. It’s also not just finding it, it’s getting the ball on the ground, and he did an even better job there. I’ve always said Juwan is super talented, the big thing was just getting him healthy and getting him in a rhythm where he could go out there and play, show what type of player he is. It’s a combination of both. I think they tried to run the ball. That was their identity, and Juwan did a great job of being in the right spot and making a tackle when he got there.”  

On where the game last week against Kentucky ranked in physicality…  
“When we start talking about rankings, I am going to be retired and I will start ranking those games. You’re hoping that there is more to come.”  

On why Tennessee was so physical last week defensively against Kentucky…  
“I thought our defense just came out with the mentality. When you watch Kentucky, they played a different type of football. They wanted to be physical at the line of scrimmage. Their running backs ran hard. Rodriguez was one of the hardest runners we had faced. I knew that was the mentality coming in, that we had to try and win the line of scrimmage, and we wanted to win the physical battle. Kentucky had some plays there too, where those guys imposed their will and we were able to match it. I don’t think it was anything in particular that we said. We set out to try to take away what we thought they did the best, which is run the football. That was our goal going in, and we wanted to try and accomplish it. It wasn’t any magic potion or anything that we did any differently. It’s just like I said, our guys really came out, and our run wall was as good as it’s been all year.” 
 

Quarterbacks Coach Joey Halzle 

On Hendon Hooker’s decision-making ability and going through his reads…  
“He is doing a really good job of being invested completely into the game plan on our end, and also understanding what he is getting defensively. So, what you are seeing when the stuff that we do set up is not there, is him getting us right a lot of times on the back end of that. You see him getting into his second and third read, you are seeing him check plays at the line of scrimmage, then the defense check out, and he gets to check off of the check. So, he is doing a lot of pre-snap operation at a really high level, which is why he is being extremely successful post-snap.” 

On if Hooker has ever lost his cool…  
“I have not seen him lose his cool; he is extremely competitive, so you are going to see him compete at a really high level. It is fiery, like when you see him score on that option that he ran the other day. He was jacked up going in there, but he comes over to the sideline, jumps on the headset, and he is right back down to himself. He has the fire and the competitiveness that you want, but it never takes him to the point where it makes him play outside of his game.”  

On Hooker’s patience at quarterback…  
“It has been great, and we have had the conversation that as you start having success, especially in this style of offense, a lot of guys start to get greedy, and you are not seeing that from him at all. You are seeing him check the ball down. You are seeing him find his tight ends, his backs. You are seeing him get to comebacks, all that type of stuff, when sometimes it would be easy just to drop back and try to throw it as far as you can to Jalin [Hyatt]. But he is not just launching the ball when he does it; when he is taking his shots downfield, it is calculated, it has made sense to him, and that is why you are seeing the completion percentage down the field at such a high clip, because he is not throwing it for the sake of throwing it. He is throwing it when it makes sense.”  

On how much goes into preparing a quarterback for making quick decisions…  
“It is a lot. It is a primary focus of our offseason training, which is why we do our QB school in the summer, where it is all defensive recognition through absolute mud pictures because that is what they see when they snap it. Our guys, they have to process faster than anybody in the country, that is a fact. It is what it is, because we are playing at a high clip. So, they have to find muddy pictures and make sense out of them really, really quickly. His offseason preparation, I know I said that last time I was in here, has allowed him to see and dissect defenses extremely quickly, which is why when we are going fast, when it does look like a jumbled mess on the other side of the ball, he is still eye-definition, disciplined, knows exactly where he is going, which means his feet are in good position, which means he is accurate. So, it is the whole system playing together like that.” 

On Georgia’s defense…  
“You would not call them vanilla, by any stretch. They are a really good defense, we all know that. They have guys that can rush the passer, they have blitzers [and] they have cover guys. You do not see a lot of flaws on their defense looking at them, especially from a personnel standpoint. They are well-coached. They are in position, you see them flying to the football. That is why you are not seeing them give up big plays [and] giving up a lot of yardages, because they have a bunch of guys around the ball. You see a bunch of guys that are well-coached with really good eye discipline. So, it is not as much that they do not get home, or they do not force it; they are playing, they are making tackles, they are keeping everything in front of them, and they are making guys snap it again, and then they are doing a good job of getting off the field on third downs.”  

On what Heisman voters see in Hendon Hooker…  
“I think with Hendon, his numbers are speaking for themselves right now. He’s been in a lot of big games this year, and it doesn’t look like any big game has been too big for him. You haven’t seen him shy away from the moment. You’ve seen him step up, and every time we’ve gone against a ranked team at home or on the road, he’s stepped up and had one of his best performances of the year. The level of competition he’s playing in this league, I think people respect the fact that he’s putting up these kinds of numbers against this kind of competition.” 

On when he saw Hendon Hooker become a leader for the team…  
“At about the halfway point last year, you saw him come into his own and start seeing himself as the man, the guy leading this team as opposed to the guy that was trying to figure it out, trying to figure out the best way to do it, how he leads this specific locker room, because it was his first year around all these guys. People forget that with him being a senior, a sixth-year guy, that it was his first time around all these guys, so you still have to feel out the locker room and feel out how these guys need to be led and want to be led. So now, he’s completely taken that and ran it to the next level where now he can run it the way he sees fit, because the guys follow him because they know the way he works, the way he prepares and the way he performs on gameday. All of that goes together with him being able to take charge of this team.”
 
On Hendon being the perfect guy to coach up…  
“It’s a blessing to have a guy like that. Our whole quarterback room, I’ve told the guys that before. It’s fun going in there. We have a bunch of good dudes in there that are also really good players. They pull for each other, they’re critical of each other, so going in that room is a blessing every day that I get to be here and coach those guys. Hendon specifically, but all five of them in that room.” 

On the process of operating the fastest offense in the country…  
“As we are putting the gameplan together throughout the week, it’s a lot of it. Because like I was saying how the quarterback has to process this and how he has to see it, because the quarterback makes it go in this offense. It’s always communicated like ‘Is he good with that?’ So we take it into the meetings, we talk through it, Coach Golesh and I, and Coach Heupel, we all meet together like, ‘Alright, what does Hendon like, what do the quarterbacks see, how do they see it?’ If they’re not comfortable with it, it’s gone, so it’s a good communal effort to get to the best possible solution on a Saturday as a staff. On gameday calling it, I’m sitting there just trying to give out where bodies are as fast as I can, communicating to Hendon after the drive and talking to (Golesh), saying, ‘Hey, this is what he’s seeing out there, he wants to get to this.’ Cool, then we’ll put some stuff together, talk back down to Hendon and say, ‘Hey, this is what we are going to get to coming up. He knows what coming, and he’s ready to go operate it. So, it really is a true team effort from the guys down on the field to up in the box, to all week leading up to gameday.” 
 

Junior WR Jalin Hyatt

On how the team uses film to attack defenses and create mismatches…
“We do everything off matchups. Just see their tendencies. We gameplan that during the week and see what safeties are what and how they play. Are they flat footed? Do they get out of their breaks? What coverage are they mainly in? But, with Kentucky, they had some busts that messed them up and I’m glad we took advantage of it.”
 
On preseason projections for the team and what people didn’t see when evaluating this team…
“We’re a hard-working team and not only that, we don’t let the outside noise correlate to what we do in the building. That’s one thing coach Heupel preaches for our team in the team meetings. We don’t look at the outside noise and we know what team we have. I think we finally know our identity as far as who we are and that’s one of the biggest things that I felt this year that we changed from last year, just knowing who we are. You can see the confidence in all the guys. I think we know where we want to go and where we’re headed.”
 
On if there are any similarities between Georgia and Alabama defensively…
“Yeah, there are definitely similarities. Obviously, Georgia is going to have athletes and Alabama has athletes, but one thing for me that stands out with Georgia is how physical they are. They’re a big physical team, physical defense. They like to put hands on [you] and that’s something we have to prepare for and something that we have to be ready for this Saturday.”
 

Senior LB Aaron Beasley

On what led to Saturday’s defensive performance and how to build off the performance…
“I think what led to it is just our preparation throughout the week. I feel like we had a great Tuesday and Wednesday practice. We were very detailed in our preparation. I think that’s what led to the performance we had. Just doing the same thing, preparing the same way, having great practices today and tomorrow. That will lead to (success) Saturday.”
 
On the importance of this weekend’s game against Georgia…
“This is obviously a big game for us. It’s the next one for us. SEC game. Personally, it’s big. I’m from Georgia obviously. I feel like a lot of the Georgia kids on the team feel the same way. We want to treat it like another game, another SEC game, road game. We want to prepare the same, go out there and have some fun.”
 
On the defense improving this season…
“I have confidence in all the guys who are out there that play on our defense. Obviously, it’s a long season and we want to get better as each week goes. That’s the main thing for us, just getting better every time we’re out there on the field.”

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Questions of Tennessee looking ahead were answered, and answered quickly, Saturday night inside of Neyland Stadium when the second-ranked Vols thrashed then-No. 19 Kentucky, 44-6. The Volunteers returned to Anderson Training Center Monday morning, beginning their buildup towards a battle on the road at top-ranked Georgia.

Both sides of the ball were on point as the offense capitalized on opportunities, the defense was stout and had a tremendous showing in pass coverage and special teams forced the issue, most notably in punt return.

With the result in the rear-view, the Vols (8-0, 4-0 SEC) have snapped their focus to the next challenge, the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (8-0, 5-0). It is challenges like these head coach Josh Heupel and his team have been preparing for, and they don’t take the opportunity lightly.

“You can win a game with confidence because you have paid the price, you have worked, you have prepared to go out and play the right way,” Heupel said in his Monday afternoon press conference. “Both teams I am sure are confident and should be. For us this week, preparation is going to be key. They are really good. You have to understand their schemes, that is important. The personnel, the battles within the battle, are going to be really important. The line of scrimmage is going to be important. It is a physical game out on the perimeter too, so on both sides of the ball, you have to match that.”

One of the biggest positives from Saturday was the defensive secondary. The Vols limited potential first round draft pick Will Levis to just 98 yards passing and snared three interceptions in the game. It was an all-around showing and one that is looking to build off a strong showing.

“You’ve heard me say it: good teams continue to get better throughout the course of the year,” Heupel continued. “That happens as a unit, but that happens because individuals take steps. We continue to get better. We have great coaches back there. Coach (Tim) Banks and Coach (Willie) Martinez do a great job in the classroom with those guys. We’ll continue to grow. Last week, we were healthier than we were the week before. I feel like this week will be the healthiest that we’ve been in a while.”

Tennessee’s surge onto the national stage is new and fresh, but the doubt and adversity members of the squad have been through is a big reason why they continue to perform at such a high-level day-in and day-out.

“A lot of guys just have a lot of talent and have so much to prove and so much to show,” redshirt-senior quarterback Hendon Hooker said at the podium Monday morning. “We have a lot of ambition as well. Going out there and playing with a chip on our shoulder day in and day out. We just always feel like we have something to prove and that just fuels us to go work hard every day.”

Going on the road to Athens, Ga. presents a unique test in its own right. Tennessee has already faced two ranked opponents on the road, Pitt and LSU, and that ground work will continue to pay dividends as the stakes increase.

“Very excited, very excited,” senior offensive lineman Jerome Carvin said. “You’re in the SEC, every time you play on the road it’s going to be a tough environment in this conference. Really excited to go down there and play. All the guys are ready to rock and roll. We’re excited. Still have to keep a level head, got to remain focused. Even with all the distractions, like I said from the crowd. We should still be good, still be mentally focused, mentally locked in and be ready to play, so excited.”

The Vols and Bulldogs are set to square off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS in Athens. ESPN College GameDay will also be on site, highlighting the matchup between the top two teams in the country. It is UT’s third appearance on the show this season.

A full transcript and video from head coach Josh Heupel, redshirt-senior quarterback Hendon Hooker, junior defensive lineman Omari Thomas and senior offensive lineman Jerome Carvin’s Monday media availabilities can be found below.

Tennessee Football Press Conference | Oct. 31, 2022 

Head Coach Josh Heupel  

Opening statement… 
“Hope everybody is doing great. Happy Halloween to everybody. Hope everybody has a great night, a safe night. Obviously looking forward to this week, playing a great opponent. They have great personnel in all three phases of the game and are well-coached. Huge test for us, and looking forward to the week.” 
 
On the importance of confidence going into the game… 
“You can win a game with confidence because you have paid the price, you have worked, you have prepared to go out and play the right way. Both teams I am sure are confident and should be. For us this week, preparation is going to be key. They are really good. You have to understand their schemes, that is important. The personnel, the battles within the battle, are going to be really important. The line of scrimmage is going to be important. It is a physical game out on the perimeter too, so on both sides of the ball, you have to match that.” 
 
On convincing the team that they are capable of winning every week… 
“I haven’t convinced them. They have convinced themselves. We talked about a team of hope, a team of belief. We were on that spectrum a year ago. Because of our work habits—not just during training camp or during the season—but the work habits since we get back last January, there is an expectation within our locker room. You pair that with good leadership inside of the locker room, staff and players that are connected, that compete hard every single day, you put yourself in a position to go play good football and try to fight and find a way to be on the plus side of the scoreboard when you walk off the field.” 
 
On generating big plays in the passing game at UT and during his time at UCF… 
“We did it at a previous stop (Missouri) when we were inside of this league before that too. It takes all of those pieces. The scheme is putting your players in a position to be successful. I think we always ask the question, what can our players do? Individually, what can they do at a really high level? And let’s put them in a position to do that. Then, your players have to be able to go out and perform and execute. That’s understanding your job, it’s off-season training. It’s understanding defenses on the offensive side of the ball for us. Then, you put your quarterback in a position to be accurate with the football.” 
 
On graduated players having extra time around the facility… 
“Those guys are still in class loads. It’s not like they are not. They are handling the academic side of it. You get into a master’s program, you take fewer hours. The master’s program is more difficult too in some respects. I think the maturity of all of those guys has helped, just in the balancing act of what it is to be a college student-athlete, from academics to social life to the football side of it. The maturity of those guys knowing how to handle the ups and downs, how to compete every single day, how to be consistent in your behaviors, your energy, and your focus, absolutely. You have heard me say it a bunch, good football teams have really good leadership, and great football teams have great leadership inside the locker room.” 
 
On Georgia’s tight ends and the challenge they present… 
“Obviously, those guys are hugely involved in everything that they are doing. They do a good job in the run game, but then the play-action pass, the boots, the movements, the shots, using them on reverses, all of those things. Eye discipline is extremely important inside of your defense—first, second and third levels. It is a huge test for us. Their athleticism creates a lot of explosive (plays) for them.” 
 
On Georgia’s defensive performance in last season’s matchup… 
“Their personnel is really good, and they are this year too. There are some things that we did too. In games like this, situational football, third downs, fourth downs are going to be critical in the way the game ultimately ends up playing out throughout the course of the game. We have to do a better job in a lot of those situations, offensively and defensively.” 
 
On Darnell Wright’s success this season… 
“It is the purpose he has had inside the building. Another year of maturity for him, just in football understanding, but also just who he is and how he approaches the practice field or approaches the weight room. He has been very intentional and has gained another year of strength, so his power, his athleticism shows up in a different way than it did a year ago—and it was a really good year a year ago too. You put all those pieces together, and it lends itself to him playing at the level that he is.” 
 
On Glen Elarbee‘s influence on the offensive line… 
“Glen is a huge part of what we do offensively. He is smart, has a great mind and is a fantastic teacher. Inside of the meeting room, his ability to help all of those guys grow in their football IQ, in their football understanding, understanding our schemes, and then fundamentally develop is why that group has been consistently recognized within our conference for individual play, but collectively as a group too. If you are going to be good on offense, you have got to be good up front. For us, the run game is where it starts. Glen’s ability to connect and get that group to become one. The offensive line unit is a really unique unit. You have to have guys that are selfless, that typically don’t get a ton of praise, but they also have to operate five guys as one. Their ability to be connected, be a group that loves being around each other, that loves being in that room, speaks to Coach Elarbee’s ability to create a real cohesive unit.” 
 
On the offense’s ability to adjust to different defensive schemes… 
“That’s always going to happen. Sometimes, with what we do, it happens more frequently. It starts with Coach (Alex) Golesh’s ability to see things up top. Our staff, just having been in this together for as long as we have. Coach (Glen) Elarbee and I are on our third stop together. I think this is year seven. Coach (Joey) Halzle and I have been together for over a decade. He played for me. Coach (Kelsey) Pope being in year two and Coach (Jerry) Mack being in year two, all lends itself to us thinking the same way, being slightly different, bringing in new ideas, but also on gameday, being able to adjust to what we’re seeing.” 
 
On what stands out about Georgia’s defense on film… 
“They’re athletic. They can run on all three levels. They’re physical on all three levels. They don’t have any busts. They play their assignments extremely well. They make you earn it. It’s a great test for us. You’re going to have to win one-on-ones. That’s out on the perimeter. That’s on the offensive line in the trenches. You have to be able to sustain drives.” 
 
On matching up with Georgia tight end Brock Bowers… 
“That matchup changes because of where they position him. They do a great job of moving him around. You have to identify him in all of the different formations that you’re going to get from them. You have to have great eye discipline from them too, because of the play action pass and their ability to uniquely get those guys—him in particular—into situations where they create grass for him. You have to be able to handle the run game too. All of those things play off of that. The line of scrimmage will be vitally important in this, but you have to know where he’s at all night long.” 
 
On the secondary’s improvement this season… 
“You’ve heard me say it: good teams continue to get better throughout the course of the year. That happens as a unit, but that happens because individuals take steps. We continue to get better. We have great coaches back there. Coach (Tim) Banks and Coach (Willie) Martinez do a great job in the classroom with those guys. We’ll continue to grow. Last week, we were healthier than we were the week before. I feel like this week will be the healthiest that we’ve been in a while.” 
 
On Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter and the impact he can have… 
“He’s athletic and disruptive. He’s great on third downs rushing the passer. He’s explosive, dynamic and changes the way the game is played. If you watch the video when he’s healthy, that’s on normal downs too. With the versatility from him, he can be a problem.” 
 
On how Hendon Hooker fits the system and when the coaching staff saw that… “I think Hendon’s development since we got here is a great story too. As a leader, especially this offseason, just being comfortable and confident in his own skin. But, from the first day we got here or the first day of spring ball to who he is now, just fundamentally completely changed in who he is. Platform in the pocket, the ability to subtly move in the pocket, find the soft spot, keep his eyes down the field, be in a good position, deliver the football. His motion has become way more consistent, which has allowed his accuracy to improve. But then you pair that with his football IQ, understanding of what we’re doing and then understanding defenses at a completely different level than when we first got here, has allowed him to be extremely decisive and his eyes are in the right place, that takes him to his reading progression. Now you pair that with his fundamentals taking another jump in his game, and he’s become a guy that’s operating as highly and as effectively as anybody in the country.” 
 
On preparing the offense for a hostile crowd… “For sure. Great environments, that’s why you come coach and play in this league. You want to be in big time games, and there’s something unique about being on the road and facing that type of environment too. It’s fun and exciting. So, we’ll practice with crowd noise like we do. When we’re at home, we practice it as well, we just do it with the defense because they have to learn to communicate through it. So, we’ll try to prepare for that and be ready to handle it. We obviously know that it’ll be a great environment.” 
 
On Cedric Tillman’s return and his assessment… “I think you can see what it meant to him to be back on the field with his teammates. After his first or second catch, you could see the emotion come out. I thought he played extremely well, just watching him run out there. He was fluid, natural, playing at full speed, really liked what he did. Obviously, we had a plan to practice him for a couple weeks full speed before he got on the field. Kind of had a pitch count on him this past week. He’ll be ready to roll this week.” 
 
On Stetson Bennett and his growth from last season… “Confidence, from just the first time that he got on the field to who he is now. Complete confidence, command in what they are doing offensively. He has great playmakers around him, does a great job of distributing the ball. I think he’s undervalued in some respects with his feet. He’s explosive, he’s twitchy. When it’s not right in the pocket, he extends plays. That can be him throwing on scrambles, but also him tucking the ball and making plays. He made a couple against us last year that changed the game. You have to do a great job of bottling him up.”

R-Senior QB Hendon Hooker

On if team is driven by the adversity they’ve gone through…
“Yeah, I do agree with that. A lot of guys just have a lot of talent and have so much to prove and so much to show. We have a lot of ambition as well. Going out there and playing with a chip on our shoulder day in and day out. We just always feel like we have something to prove and that just fuels us to go work hard every day.”
 
On how he has evolved as a leader…
“I’ve grown just from learning. Learning experiences and being put in different situations and knowing how to build relationships and knowing how to talk to different individuals in a way that will help them or motivate them to get what we need to get done and help them throughout the job. They help me with my job. It’s a two-way road from being a leader and communicating at a high level. You have to understand where people are coming from in different situations. Just having an understanding of my teammates and the family here at Tennessee has helped me elevate my leadership process.”
 
On Georgia’s defense and similarities to Alabama in the back seven…
“It all comes down to guys that are out there being coachable. As you can see, they have some great coaches behind them, and they play extremely hard. That’s something that you can’t teach. The effort and attitude and toughness that they bring to the game is immaculate and that’s what SEC football is about. This is the top brand of football. It’s one the reasons that we came to the schools that we chose. That’s what we want to be in, being top competitors in the game of football. From a scheme standpoint, they play a lot of similar things. They communicate the same way. So, expecting to get certain looks from one school to the other is normal.”

Junior DL Omari Thomas

On how much the offensive and defensive line take pride in their play this season…
“We take pride in it every day. We come in, offensive line and defensive line, we are always going against each other every day in practice. We hone in on just being able to coach each other. So, different things like going against players in practice, going against Jerome (Carvin), or things like that, he is coaching me up on things he sees from me. I’m coaching him up on different things I see from him. We can always help each other and just continue to get better as an offensive line and defensive line.”
 
On the importance of containing Georgia QB Stetson Bennett…
“I feel like that is something that is not really talked about a lot. We know that he is able to use his legs and use his arm. He is a great quarterback. He makes plays. He is someone on the team that gets Georgia going and we know that he is a winner. He wants to win. He led them last year (to a national championship) and I know he wants to repeat. He is just really focused on this season. I could tell that they are just a good team, a really good team. He is a part of that. So, we just really have to hone in on keeping him in the pocket and being able to affect him.”
 
On the defensive unit…
“The defensive unit, like I said, we come in every day (to work). We don’t expect anything from outside noise or things like that. We just come in every day focusing on what we have to do, trying to get better. We believe in each other, our coaches believe in us, (the) offense believes in us just like we believe in them. It all works hand in hand that we all are just continuing to pull our end of the bargain and do what we have to do to get better.”

Senior OL Jerome Carvin

On what winning big games does for the belief in the locker room…
“Kind of piggybacking off of Big O (Omari Thomas), it starts in the offseason. That was our big thing going into the offseason. That’s the big thing Coach Heupel preached about, expecting to win. It’s games in the SEC. You’re going to play tough teams, you’re going to play ranked teams, you’re going to play teams that are going to be highly ranked. It’s all about your preparation, it’s all about your work ethic. All your preparation man – when things don’t go right, when you face adversity, you lean back on the preparation that you put in. As long as our preparation is good, we’ll be fine. That’s kind of what we preach here.”
 
On first impression of Hendon Hooker…
“When Hendon (Hooker) first got here, you could tell he was a natural leader. Wasn’t as vocal as you would want, but he’s a leader. You saw the qualities, you saw the abilities of a leader in him. Just seeing it keep developing, keep elevating as his journey moves on here at Tennessee, it’s amazing to see. Like I say all the time, he’s an exciting player to watch. I got to get out of that (fan mindset), you got to go block for this guy. Just seeing him do that, seeing him lead the whole team, see the guys, their eyes light up when they see him talk. What he says, you’re going to listen to him. It’s great to see. He’s a great leader, he’s a great player and even better person off the field. We love Hendon. He’s going to continue to be there for us and we love him.”
 
On going into a hostile environment at Georgia…
“Very excited, very excited. You’re in the SEC, every time you play on the road it’s going to be a tough environment in this conference. Really excited to go down there and play. All the guys are ready to rock and roll. We’re excited. Still have to keep a level head, got to remain focused. Even with all the distractions, like I said from the crowd. We should still be good, still be mentally focused, mentally locked in and be ready to play, so excited.”

-UT Athletics