In the fifth week of play for Tennessee Volunteers in the NFL, a rookie made his first splash-play as a pro and a seasoned vet with ties to the 2022 squad made a big play on the defensive side of the ball.
Rookie Velus Jones Jr. was a sparkplug for the Chicago Bears in just his second game in the league. He made his first career reception, linking up with quarterback Justin Fields, and took it nine yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The score came on the first drive of the second half at Minnesota and would jumpstart a second half comeback attempt that fell just short in the last 75 seconds of the game.
Back in his home state, VFL Emmanuel Moseley made his first career pick-six against Carolina, intercepting Panthers’ quarterback Baker Mayfield and returning it 41 yards to the house with just 41 seconds remaining in the first half.
Moseley, who was a quarterback at Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina before coming to UT and was backed up by none other than current signal-caller Hendon Hooker, recorded his first career touchdown with the interception return. He also added another pass breakup and two tackles in the game, helping the 49ers to a 37-15 victory on the road.
Down in New Orleans, Alvin Kamara returned to from injury and was incredible in an offensive shootout with the Seattle Seahawks. The lead back for the Saints had 23 rushes for 103 yards, an average of 4.5 yards per carry, and caught six passes for 91 yards, including a 54-yard completion which was the longest catch of his career.
Also in The Big Easy, Bryce Thompson was signed by the Saints to their active roster, playing in his first game of the season.
In the first game of the weekend, Jonathan Kongbo, a first-year Broncos who spent two years in the Canadian Football League, made his NFL debut on Thursday Night Football.
A full recap of Vols in the NFL from Week 5 can be found below.
Micah Abernathy – S – Packers Practice squad
Derek Barnett – DE – Eagles Injured reserve
Matthew Butler – DT – Raiders Had one tackle in the victory over Denver
Marquez Callaway – WR – Saints Caught two passes for five yards in the victory over Seattle
Justin Coleman – DB – Seahawks Did not play
Morgan Cox – LS – Titans Successfully executed 11 snaps in the road victory at Washington, delivering eight punts and three field goals
Jauan Jennings – WR – 49ers Caught two passes for 45 yards, including a 32-yard reception, in the win over Carolina
Jakob Johnson – FB – Raiders Had one reception for five yards on Monday Night Football against Kansas City
Velus Jones Jr. – WR – Bears Put himself on the map, recording his first NFL touchdown against Minnesota, linking up with Justin Fields for a nine-yard score on the Bears first drive of the second half
Alvin Kamara – RB – Saints Came back from injury with an emphatic performance against Seattle, posting 194 yards of total offense, rushing for 103 yards on 23 tries and making six catches for 91 yards
John Kelly – RB – Browns Practice squad
Jonathan Kongbo – DE – Broncos Made his NFL debut, playing on Thursday Night Football against Indianapolis
Emmanuel Moseley – CB – 49ers Scored his first career pick-six, intercepting Baker Mayfield and taking it 41 yards to the house in a 37-15 victory for the 49ers on the road. Added two tackles and another pass breakup in the game; injured in the game
Joshua Palmer – WR – Chargers Caught three passes for 24 yards in a 30-28 victory at Cleveland
Darrell Taylor – DE – Seahawks Had two tackles against New Orleans
Bryce Thompson – DB – Saints Signed with New Orleans and promoted to their active roster, playing in his first game of the season and third of his career
Shy Tuttle – DL – Saints Made one tackle in the game against the Seahawks
Kendal Vickers – DE – Raiders Logged one tackle agaisnt Kansas City
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With another big game looming this weekend, No. 6/8 Tennessee will look to build off its best all-around performance this season in a convincing victory over LSU and carry that momentum into Saturday’s top-10 showdown against No. 3/1 Alabama.
The Vols are coming off their best rushing performance of the year, totaling 263 yards on the ground in their 40-13 thumping of the Tigers down in Baton Rouge. Despite missing its starting left tackle, the offensive line was dominant in the win, allowing for junior running back Jabari Small to rush for a season-high 127 yards and two touchdowns.
“Anytime you can go into an away environment and run the ball, it’s big time,” junior center Cooper Mays said. “It helps when you have Hendon (Hooker) back there, he’s a good running quarterback, so that’s an extra threat to add. Just going out there doing our job, anytime you can go out there and execute it gives you good confidence going into the next week.”
UT knows in order to have success against the Crimson Tide’s talented front seven, they’ll have to bring that same mindset and mentality into the game.
“Alabama is always going to have a really good front seven as far as I’m concerned, and especially with the recent history and everything,” Mays said. “They’ve just got a lot of big guys that can run (and are) athletic. Just being able to fly around, they’re disciplined and they’re big guys that can play sideline to sideline.”
One thing that has helped the ground game be so effective is its ability to show different looks and change things up from week-to-week in order to keep defenses guessing.
“It helps a ton. Any time you can present eye candy or different ball carriers to a defense, it always kind of keeps you off balance,” running backs coach Jerry Mack said. “That doesn’t mean just the person back there standing next to the quarterback is always going to carry the ball, so it always presents a different picture for those guys.”
Much like the offensive line group, Tennessee’s defense is also coming off arguably its best performance of the year, racking up five sacks and nine tackles for loss while holding LSU to just 13 points.
Byron Young was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after posting five tackles and a career-high 2.5 sacks to lead an impressive effort from the Vols’ front seven. The Big Orange know that it will take another strong effort from their front seven if they hope to knock off the undefeated Tide this weekend.
“We have to be conscientious of our path, we have to be conscientious of our footwork, we have to be conscientious of our eyes, our hat placement (and) pad level,” defensive line coach Rodney Garner said. “That’s when all those little things matter. You know Alabama is not going to go out there and beat themselves. You have to strain, and you have to play well. That’s the only way to be competitive.”
McGrath Earns More Recognition After Strong Performance at LSU
After being named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday, UT redshirt senior kicker Chase McGrath earned some more recognition on Tuesday when he was named a Lou Groza Award “Star of the Week”.
The Newport Beach, California, native drilled 4-of-5 field goals and converted all four of his extra points. McGrath’s 16 total points were one shy of a school single-game record for points by a kicker. He is now 8-of-10 on field goals on the year and 28-of-28 on extra points.
The Vols and Crimson Tide will face off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Fans can also purchase 2023 season tickets now by visiting AllVols.com.
Videos, transcripts and player quotes from Tuesday’s media availabilities are included below.
On what contributed to the pass rush success against LSU… “I think it’s probably a combination of it all. I thought we had some inexperienced d-linemen too. I thought the guys did a really good job of maintaining their rush lanes. We talked about that all week. Obviously, they have a very mobile quarterback. We talked about trying to make sure that we keep everything condensed. Make sure that we are aware and conscientious of the escape lanes. Obviously, that’s going to come into effect again this week too. When you are playing against those type of quarterbacks, we have to make sure that everybody understands we cannot rush above the quarterback. We have to be ready to come back and understand where he (the quarterback) is trying to escape when he feels pressure coming.”
On the progress of the defense and where the growth comes from… “We are still a work in progress. The kids, they are young men that are buying in, but it is still going to come down to the details and doing the little things right. Like I tell them, the reasoning behind all the madness and the things we put them through and the things that we try to stress, is for moments like this, because every week is going to get better. It is going to get bigger. The fundamentals are going to come into play, and it is going to come down to the team that makes the fewest mistakes. We have to continue to improve. I think our kids are playing hard, but we have to play a lot smarter. We are still making too many mental errors in areas, things that we should not being doing that we have to clean up, and we have to understand why it is so important. If you have that A gap, you have to maintain it, keep it, and you have to be (aware of) how everything plays together. Just playing selfless. You have to understand my role, do my job. If I do my job, then the man next to me does his job, everybody does their job, then we have an opportunity to be successful. I think that is something that they experienced last week. So, hopefully we will continue to get more buy-in to guys understanding the importance of each individual role.”
On Dominic Bailey and Bryson Eason… “I think that Bailey kid has come a long way from where he was last year this time. I think he has made tremendous strides. We need for him to continue to grow, continue to get stronger, and continue to strain to do things at a championship level. I do think that he is trending into the right direction, but by no stretch of the imagination is he a finished product. But I do like the way he is working. Hopefully he will stay on that path and continue to do things the right way so we can have success. And the same thing with Bryson. Bryson is a very talented young man. He has a tremendous skill set. He is still learning how to play defensive line. Unfortunately, he is playing d-line in a league that you need to be able to play at a high level. It is not really a good league to be a training ground. He is a kid that came as a linebacker prior to us getting here. I think we dabbled with him last year at the end, obviously you can see his body. His body is more inclined to be an interior guy. You have to be built to be a tackle in this league, mentally and physically. Just getting him to understand the mental aspect of having that mentality where he is going to go in and battle, strain, and fight 200-300 plus pounders every single snap. That is something that he has to embrace and understand that he can be really good at it if he would fix some of the nuances that he needs to work on fundamentally. We have to continue to move the needle in the right direction with all the guys, not just those two. Every guy in the room, we have to continue to get better. We have to coach them better too.”
On Omari Thomas’s performance and leadership this season so far… “I think Big O has been consistent, but obviously if you go and talk to Big O, he will tell you too that there are a lot of things that he has to fix. He has to continue to work on being a natural knee bender. He plays too high. If he is going to be a d-lineman in this league, he has to play like a d-lineman. Don’t look like an o-lineman that we just have playing d-line. He is a tremendous young man that wants to please you and wants to do things the right way. I definitely think he’s totally bought in to what we are trying to do here, but now he has to fix the things as far as playing with better pad level, play with better knee bend, not being a waist bender, just being more heavy handed and striking, and just being more disruptive. That’s not just him. (Da’Jon Terry) has to do the same thing, (Kurott Garland) has to do the same thing. Like I stressed to them, we need big guys to play big. We don’t need big guys to play small. We could’ve just gone out and got a small guy if that’s what we are going to get. So, we need a big guy to play big.”
On Tyler Baron’s performance this year… “Tyler just has to continue to grow. We were moving Tyler inside a lot on third-down situations, trying to take advantage of some of the things that we feel his talents are stronger at. Like I told him, I look at him a lot like Marlon Davidson, a kid I had at Auburn, a strong side defensive end. Obviously on third down, you like to be able to move him inside and try to create some mismatches on some pass rush situations. I think he’s buying more into that. There has to be a mindset there for him and with Tyler, the same thing. He came here from being a LEO outside drop guy, to moving to strongside end, to now even buying into playing some three technique. Even though we sit there and say rabbits package, it’s a third down type package, but you will see if you looked at it last week, there were a lot of times where we got into rabbits and stayed in rabbits for an extended period of time during the drive, so they have to be able to play first and second down too. Obviously, there isn’t an opportunity to rush the quarterback if you don’t play good on first or second down and limit the runs.”
On preparing players for the long haul of a successful season… “One thing I always tell the guys, there are three things that don’t lie. That’s the film, that’s the mirror, and that’s the Bible. When they sit there and look at that film, no matter what they tell me or what they tell their parents, the film doesn’t lie. So obviously, I think it’s very evident to everybody that we have to continue to improve, and when you’re playing an opponent like Alabama and Coach Saban, it doesn’t matter who he loses from a player standpoint or from a coach’s standpoint. They’re sort of like a Mercedes Benz playing. That assembly line, everything that rolls off of it is a high-quality product, so we have to be high quality so we can even just go out there and compete with them. We have to be conscientious of our path, we have to be conscientious of our footwork, we have to be conscientious of our eyes, our hat placement, pad level. That’s when all those little things matter. Alabama is not going to beat themselves. You have to go out there, you have to strain, and you have to play well. That’s the only way to be competitive. Obviously, it’s good to be able to make corrections coming off of the LSU game. Obviously, there were a lot of things that we did that we needed to clean up. Obviously, it’s easier to clean it up when you’re coming off of a win. I think people are a little more receptive, and I think they receive the message a little bit better than if you were trying to clean it up with a loss. I think these guys are seeing it, they’re understanding that we have to get better, and unfortunately, we don’t have a whole lot of time. Every week, I tell them we want to keep our head down like a mule that’s out there plowing that row. We don’t want to look up. All we care about is keeping our eyes down on that row. We are just going to keep focusing on that, and let’s just try to get better day by day. Each practice, each game, let’s just see where this thing can be in the end.”
On how beneficial it is to play 12 defensive linemen on a regular basis… “Obviously, you know with how fast our offense plays and the number of snaps we’re playing, it’s important that you try to keep the guys fresh. For me, I just think that if we get out there, if we ever run out of gas, we can’t refuel in the game. It’s just like an airplane. If an airplane runs out of gas in the air, it’s over. So, there is no refueling. I’m just trying to keep the guys fresh because obviously, we do have a standard of how we want to play, how we want to run to the ball. We want to play with relentless effort, we want to strain, we want to do all those things. We want to be able to play the fourth quarter like we played the first quarter. We have no chance of doing that if we empty the tank. We have to keep the guys fresh, just for morale. If a guy knows, ‘Hey, if I go out and I practice and I bust my butt, and I try to do things the right way, do things the Tennessee way, then I’m going to have the opportunity to get to play on Saturday.’ Hopefully now, you’re going to get a better quality of practice because they’re going to be able to get that reward on Saturday. Because they all want to play. None of them want to practice, but they all want to play, so that’s the nugget you try to dangle in front of them. If you want to play, you have to earn the right. It’s nothing that’s given to you. To whom much is given, much is required. The requirement is what you do during practice to prepare and show that we can count on you to go out there and play at a championship level.”
On how Alabama’s pass rush affects the running backs… “In the SEC, every week is a challenge. Everybody has a guy up front or in the front seven that’s always going to be really good. For us, it’s really just more about making sure our eyes are in the right place from the running back position. Always having that responsibility of understanding who our assignment is. That’s where everything starts for us. Up front, it’s always going to be a battle. Just making sure that they’re set to the right people, making sure they understand the protections as they come in and out of the game. We’ll always do what we do, that’s never going to change. For the most part, making sure our footwork and eyes are always in the right place is going to be consistent for us.”
On how difficult it is for a running back to recognize a blitzing cornerback… “It just depends on the scheme of the protection that week. Sometimes, you have a situation where your eyes start already into the boundary. Usually, that’s where they bring those corner pressures. A lot of times you have to scan all the way backside, so a lot of times from a running back position, you can’t be too anxious to get out because you have to make sure that no backside responsibility is coming. There could be a safety, there could be a corner, it just depends on the formation you end up getting. For the most part, it’s something that as you see it on film you really attune those guys throughout the week. Some weeks, we get a team that is high corner pressures or low corner pressures, so you can have more sense of urgency to get out sometimes. This week, you have to be ready for everything with these guys.”
On what was impressive about Jabari Small’s performance against LSU… “Just the way that he finished the game. That’s one thing from last year to this year that we talked to Jabari (Small) about, was making sure you understand to take care of your body and be able to finish those football games. The second thing is the patience he ran the ball with. He was extremely patient on making sure he turned some of those plays that normally would go for one, maybe zero yards at times, to plus four or five yards. That comes from him staying on his track and making sure he understood how to stay tight inside the hip with whoever those pullers were. That’s one thing he’s been growing at this whole entire season. We’re a vertical run team. We want to try to make sure that we’re always ahead of the chains having plus-yardage, and he did a really good job of making some of those zero-yard gains into three- or four-yard gains.”
On how a different offensive line combination pushes the running game… “We love it. We love to line up with those guys getting a push up front. You see one of the touchdowns that Jabari (Small) had down there inside the five-yard line, the entire offensive lines’ feet were all in the end zone. That makes it a lot of easier for us as a runner, because by the time you go two or three steps, you already basically have scored. It’s in those short yardage situations as well. In those short yardage situations, we were able to push the pile, move people, get movement, distortion or whatever you want to call it, we were able to create some kind of movement where grass was created for the runners. That’s always good.”
On how pass protection for a running back translates from high school to college… “From the running back perspective, as far as a young guy in pass pro, that’s always going to be difficult. Just for the simple fact of training your eyes. A lot of those guys in high school, they’re such talented runners that they don’t even think about pass pro. A lot of high schools don’t even ask them to pass pro, just for the simple fact that they want to make sure that they get the best out of them when they get the chance to give them the football. That’s one thing that the (Dylan Sampson and Justin Williams-Thomas) of the world are still continuing to learn about, exactly where they’re supposed to place their eyes. When they get to the right responsibility, it’s really more about being physical and moving your feet as well. You have to have great feet, great hand placement and all of those different things, because if not, it’s not going to come out successful for you.”
On Jabari Small’s patience in the run game and how difficult it is to grasp the importance of begin patient… “It’s really hard; especially when you don’t come from that world that we’re living in. Our system is a little bit different than a lot of people across the country. You take a guy that’s a young guy, that’s a high school guy, a lot of times they want to rush everything, especially the speed of the game. The bodies are moving extremely fast crossing your face. To ask a guy to slow down his mental, ask a guy to slow down his footwork some, to make sure he can’t understand if you don’t slow down, you’re not going to allow those linemen to get the second level. They’re not going to be able to deliver those blocks for us. That’s extremely hard. Jabari has a lot of experience, playing running back for a very long time with his high school and college. He’s been able to see a lot of different looks. Now, he has a better feel. He really feels bodies well around him. Jaylen Wright is still growing as a runner. He’s starting to feel that a little bit more as well. Sometimes the plays will take you outside just because you have some patience about yourself, but for the most part, we’re always trying to fit those back inside.”
On what Dylan Sampson learned from his missed block that allowed a sack at LSU… “Great learning moment. He made the best out of it when he picked up the ball and went ahead and turned it into plus yardage. For the most part, he just never got his eyes to the opposite side, and that’s one thing we talk about. In that environment, big-time environment, LSU, he’s back at home, he gets his eyes fixated on one defender as opposed to understanding he has a secondary, another read to that entire protection. He just never got his eyes back over there and by the time he saw it, it was too late. But he didn’t make a bad play worse. He picked up the ball, got vertical and turned it into something positive. That’s something we talked to him about on the sideline and obviously, (Hendon Hooker) talked to him about it. That’s something that, he was embarrassed, and to make sure that it never happens again, he was in tune for the rest game. He’s been in tune in practice this whole week as well.”
On the variety the team has shown in the run game… “It helps a ton. Any time you can present eye candy or different ball carriers to a defense, it always kind of keeps you off-balance. That doesn’t mean just the person back there standing next to the quarterback is always going to carry the ball, so it always presents a different picture for those guys. Also, having (Hendon Hooker) as a threat as a runner, too. That’s always going to be really one of the best things that we do. Now, it just takes a little more pressure off us as a runner, so those guys don’t fit the box so fast, those safeties can’t be as aggressive because you have Hendon back there who can run or throw it, especially on the play-action pass. That’s always going to be good for us, if we can try to distribute the ball to different people.”
On how this run of success feels… “I am definitely taking it all in, especially with it being my last year. Through all the ups and downs, at times it has been hard, and a lot of times you might ask yourself, ‘what am I still doing this for?’ Now it’s just been nice to finally see all the hard work pay off, and just sticking things out because in life, it’s not going to always be easy, so when it gets hard you got to just stand up tall and keep fighting.”
On the key to stopping LSU’s run game last week… “Just playing vertical, playing hard and owning our gaps. We really stress a lot in practice owning our gaps, too. Every day in practice, we got good running backs and a good quarterback, so we are well prepared every time we go into each game.”
On Byron Young’s great game versus LSU… “It was great. Personally, I love seeing my brothers out there doing well, too. I think if we all work together, everybody is going to feed off of that. His success is just the start for all of us, so we are just going to feed off of that and let that be our motivation for all of us to do well.”
On the team’s success running the ball against LSU… “Anytime you can go into an away environment and run the ball, it’s big time. It helps when you have Hendon (Hooker) back there, he’s a good running quarterback, so that’s an extra threat to add. Just going out there doing our job, anytime you can go out there and execute it gives you good confidence going into the next week.”
On how to keep treating every game the same as the winning streak continues… “I would say the big thing is keeping an even keel kind of mind and spirit. I’m not a guy that gets too high or too low, so if you’re whole team kind of stays on point and gets the task at hand done, then you’ll stay on track.”
On how talented Alabama’s front seven is… “Alabama is always going to have a really good front seven as far as I’m concerned, and especially with the recent history and everything. They’ve just got a lot of big guys that can run (and are) athletic. Just being able to fly around, they’re disciplined and they’re big guys that can play sideline to sideline.”
On what has changed this year for him that’s helped his on-field performance… “I’d have to say my focus every day and my preparation every day. I’m obviously more comfortable (and) more confident at the position. I have to say my routines and my preparation throughout the week prepares me for the game on Saturday.”
On the dynamic between linebackers and rotation at position… “We’re all playing, we’re all making plays, we’re all working together. It’s whoever is out there, go do your job, that’s what’s expected.”
On keeping with routine as the games become bigger… “Just keeping the main thing, the main thing. Of course, when you win more, the bigger the games get, but we have to act like we’ve been here before. Do our job, prepare the same way every day, just go about our business like we’ve been here before.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Following an all-around 40-13 victory at No. 25 LSU, the sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers returned to Anderson Training Center Monday morning to begin prep for a top-10 showdown with No. 3/1 Alabama, who comes to Rocky Top on Saturday.
The excitement and buzz for the game is building around the country. ESPN College GameDay announced that it was making its return to Knoxville Saturday morning, coming for the second time in as many home games. With so much noise around the program, members of the team have been able to keep perspective and understand what is important, focusing on the task at hand.
“We really just take it as a grain of salt, not getting too high, not getting too low, just staying even-keeled and making sure we’re doing our job every day,” redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker said.
That is a feeling that is reiterated by his head coach. Control what you can control, that is the message coach Josh Heupel has told his team. Trust in the preparation that gets you to the field.
“The expectations that we should be concerned about are our own expectations,” Heupel said in his press conference Monday afternoon. “The reason our kids have gotten and continue to build and get better is because they’ve paid attention to the things that matter. This week, we have to prepare the right way. We have to practice well, and the playing part of it will take care of itself. The outside noise has no bearing on how we play. Let’s go compete and be our best on gameday.”
Heupel is proud of what his team put on the field down in Baton Rouge. It is a collective effort among guys who want to play for each other, and that is what winning programs are built on.
“We were playing well,” Heupel said. “That’s what it comes down to, so it’s not about me. We have a full locker room of 125 guys and a great staff. The way that we have continued to grow, the way that we continue to compete, strive to get better; it’s why we are playing the way we are. We have to have a great week this week.”
Tennessee and Alabama are set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS. 2023 season tickets are also on sale now and can be purchased at AllVols.com.
Opening statement… “Obviously, this is why you come to Tennessee and want to be in this league. You have a big-time matchup this weekend. Really excited. (College) GameDay, SEC Nation, the environment that will be here on Saturday, really excited about that. Our players have earned the right to be able to get to this point, to play a game like this. Preparation is going to be critical in this one. Alabama is really good. Offense, defense, special teams, they have really good personnel in all three phases of the game. It will obviously be a huge test for us, but our players are excited. This morning was good preparation. Need to have a great week of practice and get ready to play our best football.”
On his messaging to the team about handling outside expectations… “The expectations that we should be concerned about are our own expectations. The reason our kids have gotten and continue to build and get better is because they’ve paid attention to the things that matter. This week. we have to prepare the right way. We have to practice well, and the playing part of it will take care of itself. The outside noise has no bearing on how we play. Let’s go compete and be our best on gameday.”
On Alabama linebacker Will Anderson… “Long, athletic, he’s disruptive in the run game too. In the pass game, he has the ability to play on an edge and cause havoc. Between their personnel being good enough to win a lot of one-on-one matchups, then all their pressures and all their games up front, you have to do a really good job in one-on-one matchups, and then you have to do a great job working together as all five guys.”
On the progression of the four-minute drill in the fourth quarter… “I like that we continue to get better. I told our players today, and I said it at the end of last week too, our practices on the playing surface were really good last week. We continue to get better, which is what good teams do throughout the course of the season. Their focus, their urgency, their energy are all things that led to us playing the way that we did last Saturday. Points of emphasis that our coaching staff has every single week, being critical of yourself, continuing to challenge yourself and grow, take coaching, has allowed us to continue to grow. The four-minute drill, really excited about the amount of time we were able to chew up and eat on the clock. Still want to go finish that drive too and punch it in, but there were a lot of positives during the course of that drive. Physicality, playing with technique, our running backs doing a really good job, too.”
On if he has an update to Jaylen McCollough’s status… “No, I don’t. We learned of it really late yesterday. As we gather more information, I’ll have more for you.”
On special teams stepping up against LSU… ] “Two huge plays early in that football game. (Will Brooks) being able to scoop that fumble up on the sideline, I don’t think anybody understands how difficult of a play that is. To be running full speed, have the ball come out last second right on the sideline, be able to stay in, focus, catch it, get down and get hit. It’s a great play by him. The punt return was a huge play too. Great to see (Dee Williams) out there. We’ve talked about him, I’ve talked about him, have great trust and belief in him. For him to go out and do it right away, was awesome to see for him and the 10 other guys on that unit. Special teams is going to be critical in this one. Field position is critical. Obviously, what they’re doing with their punt returner is special, and we have to do a great job on all of our cover units.”
On Cedric Tillman’s status… “Cedric is doing good. This is part of the reason why he had the surgery, is to try to be back for this one. He is continuing to progress over the weekend, so we will monitor him. At the end day, like I said last week, our medical team and Cedric will make the right decision for him, now and in the future too.”
On the team’s flexibility at strong safety… “We feel good about the guys that have played at that position. We have flexibility in the secondary. The guys have been trained to play multiple positions. We will see as the week unfolds here, but I have great trust in all those guys.”
On what went into the opening kickoff against LSU and if the sun was a factor… “The sun might have been a factor. Where it was at in the stadium was part of the decision process for us if we had won the coin flip. I can’t tell you what exactly was the reason why he didn’t catch it.”
On Gerald Mincey’s availability on Saturday and his status moving forward… “He just wasn’t available. We anticipate him being ready to play in this one.”
On Jeremiah Crawford’s performance in his first start at left tackle… “High level execution. He did a good job in the run game. Combinations working with the guard and some of his man blocking. He did a really nice job in pass protection, too. You saw how we didn’t change the way we played, the way we did anything. We have great trust in him.”
On Byron Young’s performance at LSU boosting his confidence… “Sometimes as a pass rusher, you don’t always have control about the end result. You try to win your one-on-ones, win your games when you’re running with your interior guy. You try to apply pressure to the quarterback, but can’t always get home based on him getting rid of the football. (Byron) has been consistent, violent, disruptive, playing with speed, playing with great urgency, energy, and was able to get home. A couple of huge plays in the football game for us, changed the way the game was played. He has great confidence. He continues to get better. His best football is still way out in front of him. He is a young football player, but continuing to get better. His effort and how he is practicing is showing up in the way that he is playing.”
On defensive line development by coach Rodney Garner… “Coach (Rodney Garner) and coach (Mike Ekeler) with those two (Dominic Bailey and Bryson Eason), those young players have really continued to grow. A lot of those guys that you talked about changed their attitude and the way they approach things. I’m talking about in the offseason. Because of those things, their purpose and the way that they practice every day is so different. Now, they’re gaining a bunch in just their level of play. They understand what we’re doing. They understand the why behind it more. They are playing with a lot better technique. Coach G has done a great job of developing these guys. There is a huge difference from us a year ago at this time to who are now up front across the board, just playing with great technique and understanding what we are doing. That is allowing our guys to be extremely disruptive, to be able to win one-on-ones in pass rush, but then also being able to make plays in the run game, snag off and be disruptive.”
On defending Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs this week… “He’s explosive, so you know they are going to try to find ways to get the ball in his hands. In the run game, you are best to not let him get started. If he does, he has the ability to take it the distance. He has good vision and pace behind the line of scrimmage. When he sees a hole, he is able to hit it. He does a really good job of making people miss, too. He have to bottle him up in the run game, and then when they use him in the pass game too, you have got to do a great job at taking him away and matching him out.”
On challenges presented by Alabama QB Bryce Young… “Bryce has played at an elite level for a long time. Arm talent, being able to be accurate with the football, and a great decision maker back there. The X-factor for him is his ability to move, extend and make plays outside of the pocket and inside the pocket. He does a good job of finding the soft spot in the pocket. When he escapes, he is a thrower first and finds guys if you don’t match them out when you are in zone coverage, and then has the ability to tuck it and make big plays too. He has the ability to put and apply pressure to you in all ways.”
On Alabama QB Jalen Milroe… “Athletic and dynamic with the ball in his hands.”
On wide receivers winning one-on-one matchups… “It’s a big part of creating explosive plays in the pass game. We have great trust in those guys, and obviously Hendon (Hooker) does too. We have been able to create a bunch of big plays. In this one, that has to be a part of the game too.”
On the mindset of the team going into playing Alabama… “For us, it’s about us. We look back at last year and the things that we did that hurt Tennessee. Prepare in a great way, practice well, and that will lead you to kickoff. We don’t have to do anything extraordinary. We have to do the ordinary at a really high level, and then go lay it on the line and compete for 60 minutes.”
On opponents going for fourth-down conversions in an attempt to keep up with Tennessee’s offense, and if that gives the players confidence… “I think our players have gained confidence because of the way that they continue to grow and the way they continue to play as much as anything. There are a lot of things that go into that. Our kids have been so much more consistent in their preparation, their habits and getting the kickoff the right way. That has to be the focus for us right now. Everybody in the program is excited about Saturday afternoon, and I know our fan base is too. The great thing about being a fan is you get to enjoy the week of just the buildup. As competitors, coaches and players, it’s about your routine, it’s about your habits, it’s about preparing the right way, and then we will be ready to play.”
On his assessment of Alabama’s defense… “Yeah, typical. Great personnel. They are long. They are athletic at all positions. They are physical in their front seven. The ability to run sideline to sideline, which can cover things up. And then scheme wise, you have to be able to handle everything from them. You know what I mean? That’s front variations, that’s coverage. You have to be in sync with your front. That’s in your run game, that’s in your pass protection, and your wideouts and quarterbacks have to see the secondary the right way. Great test for us. They are a really good football team on that side of the ball and all three phases too, but it’s one that we are excited about.”
On LSU head coach Brian Kelly stating he was outcoached during Saturday’s game… “We were playing well. That’s what it comes down to, so it’s not about me. We have a full locker room of 125 guys and a great staff. The way that we have continued to grow, the way that we continue to compete, strive to get better; it’s why we are playing the way we are. We have to have a great week this week.”
On managing the outside noise about the program… “This is actually one of my first years where I haven’t deleted social media off my phone during the game week just because I kind of need it for business purposes. But we really just take it as a grain of salt, not getting too high, not getting too low, just staying even keeled and making sure we’re doing our job every day.”
On the Condredge Holloway short he wore following the LSU game… “Yeah, you know, just wanted to pay homage to one of the greats. I showed his son – his son is one of the equipment managers – so I showed his son, and he was like, ‘yeah, I know that guy.’ It was a cool little joke there. Yeah, but I just wanted to pay homage. I got a Peyton [Manning] shirt [too]. I want to throw that on coming up here soon. I didn’t really get a chance to chop it up with him [Condredge Holloway], but when I do it’ll definitely be a great day.”
On how his receivers have performed during the absence of Cedric Tillman… “They’re doing well, playing very physical. When the ball is in the air, they’re making a great effort to get the ball, or if it’s not in their vicinity to make a play on it, they definitely turn into a DB and swipe it down. [They’re] being very decisive in their route running. Just going out there playing with chips on their shoulders, and there’s nothing more I can ask for. So, just going out there every day and competing at a high level is great to see them do.”
On transitioning to defensive back after playing mostly quarterback in high school… “The biggest difference is going from throwing the ball to tackling 230-pound backs, honestly. And then having to cover every single play, which at quarterback obviously you’re not covering or nothing like that. I would just say it would mainly be the athletic strain, the physical strain is way different playing DB [defensive back], for sure.”
On preparing for Alabama QB Bryce Young… “Yeah, Bryce is super-duper talented. You know, with his game you can’t take anything for granted. He’s a great passer, he’s an outstanding runner. You have to be prepared in all facets of the game, whether that’s tight coverage or constricting running lanes to scrambling or things like that. You have to focus on all facets of your game, nothing can be lacking when playing a quarterback like Bryce.”
On facing Tennessee’s wide receivers in practice every day… “Having the best wide receiver core in the country definitely helps you get prepared every week. You’re not seeing a slouch at all ever at practice. You’re getting a guy’s 100% effort every week at practice, and I feel like that prepares us so much leading up to game day, just getting those high-speed, real high-value reps because every rep with any receiver on our team is very, very valuable because they’re all super talented and have a lot to offer.”
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Coming off a dominant, 40-13 road victory at No. 25 LSU, the Tennessee Volunteers were recognized with a pair of weekly awards from the Southeastern Conference. Redshirt senior placekicker Chase McGrath was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week, while senior edge rusher Byron Young was tabbed SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week by the league office.
McGrath drilled 4-of-5 field goals and converted all four of his extra points in a stellar special teams effort as Tennessee beat LSU by a score of 40-13—representing UT’s highest margin of victory on the road against an AP ranked opponent since 1995. The four made field goals tied for the fifth-most in a game in school history and the most by a Vol since 2019.
The Newport Beach, California, native connected on three first-half field goals that allowed the Vols to seize momentum, including a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. He made a pair of 32-yarders, a 35-yarder and a 38-yarder. His 16 total points were one shy of a school single-game record for points by a kicker. McGrath is now 8-of-10 on field goals on the year and 28-of-28 on PATs.
McGrath is a first-time recipient of SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors and the first Vol to be recognized with the award since Velus Jones Jr. on Nov. 22, 2021.
Young collected a career-best 2.5 sacks and tied his career high with 2.5 tackles for loss, while finishing with five total tackles and five total QB pressures according to Pro Football Focus. His 2.5 sacks were the most by an SEC player last week and tied for the most by any SEC player in a game all season (Will Anderson, Alabama; Jordan Domineck, Arkansas). Young and the Vols limited the Tigers to a season-low 55 yards rushing after LSU entered the contest averaging 196.0 yards per game on the ground.
The Georgetown, South Carolina, product has applied pressure in the backfield all season, leading the Vols with 4.5 TFLs, 3.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hurries.
Young takes home SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week accolades for the second time this season. He was also recognized by the league office after Tennessee’s win at No. 17 Pittsburgh—posting four tackles, two TFLs, one sack and three QB hurries in the Week 2 victory.
The sixth-ranked Vols look ahead to a top-10 matchup on Rocky Top this weekend, playing host to the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in Neyland Stadium. The Third Saturday in October will be nationally televised on CBS at 3:30 p.m. ET, and UT will welcome ESPN’s College GameDay and SEC Nation to campus for the rivalry showdown.
-UT Athletics
Vols K Chase McGrath & DE-OLB Byron Young / Credit: UT Athletics
Facing fourth-and-4 at the Tennessee 14-yard line, LSU coach Brian Kelly rolled the dice.
The Tigers were down 10-0 mid-way through the first quarter.
No reason to panic. No reason to gamble. No reason to fret.
There was plenty of time to make up a double-digit deficit, which LSU had done in previous games against Mississippi State and Auburn.
However, Kelly eschewed the field-goal attempt in hopes of getting a touchdown.
The LSU pass play came up short, thanks to a nice tackle by Vols defensive back Kamal Hadden.
You wonder why Kelly felt compelled to pass on the field goal.
If Tennessee weren’t averaging 48 points per game, would Kelly have kicked the field goal?
If Hendon Hooker wasn’t leading the top offense in the SEC, would Kelly have gambled?
Probably not.
It makes you wonder: Is Josh Heupel’s offense so dynamic, opposing coaches alter their game plan, figuring they can’t beat Tennessee with field goals so they have to be aggressive in pursuit of finding the end zone.
That wasn’t the only Kelly decision that left you scratching your head.
Down 13-0 early in the fourth quarter, Kelly went for it on fourth-and-1 at his own 46 behind a young and not-so-efficient offensive line.
Tennessee stuffed the run.
On the next play, Hooker hit Jalin Hyatt for a 45-yard score, and before you could say “geaux Tigers,’’ LSU was down 20-0.
With 29 seconds left in the first half, Kelly made another interesting decision.
With UT ahead 20-7, Kelly went for a fourth-and-10 at the Tennessee 45. Quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked for a 12-yard loss.
Hooker hit Bru McCoy for 32 yards to set up Chase McGrath’s 32-yard field goal for a 23-7 halftime lead.
When LSU took the second half kickoff and scored to make it 30-7, the wind had left LSU’s sails.
LSU went 0-for-3 on fourth-down tries. You wonder how much of Tennessee’s offense affected Kelly’s decision making.
A similar situation occurred in the UT-Florida game, but it wasn’t as egregious.
Florida took the opening possession and drove to the UT 20-yard line. Rather than kick a field goal for a 3-0 lead, Gator coach Billy Napier went for it on fourth-and-2. A quarterback run fell short.
Did Napier, like Kelly, feel he couldn’t beat the explosive Vols with field goals?
Unlike Kelly, Napier had success on his fourth down gambles, other than the first one.
Florida had fourth-and-2 at its 44 early in the second quarter, down 3-0. Napier called timeout, then had Anthony Richardson complete a 10-yard pass before throwing a scoring pass on the next snap for a 7-3 lead.
In the third quarter, Napier went for fourth-and-2 at the UT 13 and converted. The ensuing touchdown cut UT’s lead to 24-21. A field goal would have made it a 7-point game.
Napier then went for a fourth-and-3 at his own 27 late in the third quarter, down 31-21.
Who does that? Hal Mumme?
The roll of the dice worked. Florida converted and was only stopped on the drive by a lost fumble at the UT 13.
It will be interesting going forward if Alabama coach Nick Saban or Georgia coach Kirby Smart employ the same tactics: Gamble on fourth downs against Tennessee because the Vols offense is prolific.
My guess: No.
Both Bama and Georgia have better defenses than Florida and LSU.
And there’s no reason to be desperate early.
But for the rest of the teams on Tennessee’s schedule, you might see more off-the-wall risk taking.
Heupel has changed Tennessee’s offense.
He has also changed the way opposing coaches manage a game.
