University of Tennessee Athletics
Derek Dooley Bowl Media Transcript
December 16, 2010 | Football
Dec. 16, 2010
"I know everybody's excited about the bowl game. Everybody's asked me, `Why is it important to go to a bowl game?' To me, it's the benchmark standard for every program. I don't care who you are, every year you want to have a winning season and go to a bowl game. It certainly is good for recruiting as far as the direction of your program and where you're headed and what their opportunities are when they come to Tennessee.
"And it's an opportunity to continue to develop and coach your football team to get better. People ask me, `Well, are you going to do some extra practicing for the young guys?' My answer was, `We don't need to.' (In) normal practice, we practice our young guys because that's all we've got. It's a good opportunity for us to continue to coach and develop all these freshmen who've contributed so well this year but who need so much more development. So we're happy about that.
"I think it's especially important for us because we're playing in Nashville. This is the fourth stadium we've played in in Tennessee this year, which is probably unprecedented. Every stadium that we've been in the state, I feel like when we run out of the tunnel, it's like we took our show on the road because of the Tennessee fans. They've been incredible. I know it's going to be a great showing by our fans this game.
"On a roster note, Janzen Jackson is dealing with some very, very personal and family issues. He's back in Louisiana. I don't know exactly when he'll be back. We do expect him to play. We do expect him to be back at some point to prepare for the game. But that's all I want to say about it, because it is very personal and I want to respect his privacy on that. We're always going to be there to support our players on those kind of issues.
"Our bowl schedule, just so you guys get a feel, I kind of look at it in four phases. We just completed phase one. Phase one is sort of a mini-summer where our team was lifting. They were running and staying in physical condition, and we were doing some individual work and 7-on-7 work without pads. They were just throwing and catching, a little bit like we do all summer. So it was a good time to recover from the season and then to start building back a little bit, staying in shape and staying sharp.
"Phase two will start tomorrow. That's sort of a mini-camp. It's a four-practice window of training camp. We will not do anything at all that relates to our opponent. So it's all good-on-good. It's all our plays against your defense, and we play. We work a lot of fundamentals. We work blocking, tackling, catching, throwing, defending -- all the basics. So this is that opportunity you really cherish.
"Phase three will start Monday, which is we're going to go through a game week as if we were playing the following Saturday. So we'll start on Monday with a scouting report, like we always do with our team, and we'll have a standard Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday format before we break for Christmas.
"Give them two days off to get them to recover, and then we report on the bowl site for phase four, which is Tuesday of game week. Even though it's Sunday, in my mind, it's Tuesday, because the game is always Saturday. So that's where we're headed.
"We're playing a great opponent, as talented a team as I've seen all year on film. Very talented. Great coaches. Went through a lot of adversity that affected their results, but has done a great job of overcoming it. So give their coaching staff credit for the job it has done this year and keeping them focused through a lot of distraction.
"That's all I've got for you guys. Your turn."
Other than Janzen, any other personnel issues, grades or anything? Art Evans wasn't in the bowl guide.
"We'll revaluate Art's status at the end of the bowl game. We did dismiss Stephaun Raines. That hasn't been released. So Stephaun Raines has been dismissed for team rules violations. To this point, I haven't been reported any academic casualties of the six-hour rule. I think that's what you're getting at. If there is something, we'll know in the next day or two. There were one or two that we were worried about, but it's not official yet. That's really it. I forget what has happened since the season. I'm not withholding anything; I don't know what I've told you guys."
What about Montori (Hughes)?
"Montori, he's back. He was suspended for Kentucky. He's back. Who else?"
With Art, you said you're going to evaluate after the bowl game?
"He's not going to be cleared before the bowl. We'll evaluate his status going forward after the game."
When did Janzen leave?
"Janzen left Thursday or Friday. He took his last exam. I think it was a day or two after his last exam."
Was he sent home or did he ask to go home?
"No. This is his decision. It's personal. I don't want to keep diving in, guys. I know you all want to ask, and I know there's a real curiosity factor on what it is."
But whenever he's comfortable down there with that, he'll meet you guys in Nashville?
"It's on his schedule, not mine. It's on his schedule."
What will you do without him?
"We're going to prepare without him and with him. That's how we're going to prepare. Those are some discussions we'll have here soon. You know, our coaches have been on the road recruiting. They're just now coming off the road. Everybody's kind of done their little individual things, but we haven't really gotten together looking ahead on these next few days and the next two weeks because we've been putting all of our emphasis on recruiting."
You guys get 15 allotted practices, and I think you guys are getting started a little later. Will you get in all 15 and how will you balance how hard you go?
"I think there's a lot of teams that practice more than we do. Let's start with that. I'm not one of these guys, they allow us this, so we kill them. Our job, to me, is we want to develop them and grow, but we try to do what we need to do to win the football game. You're allowed to practice the Friday before the game, but you don't go out there and hit.
"So what I've done with that mini-camp is we're getting after it pretty hard. It's going to be good-on-good. There's going to be some tackling. It's going to be physical. It's going to hurt. There are three objectives. One is to bring them back into the grind of football, get them back in football-playing shape. There's a conditioning component. And then there's a fundamental component, getting them to improve fundamentally. That's where we're going to really hump them. Then when we go to game week, we're going to do it just like we did every game week -- no more, no less. Then when we get to the bowl site, we're just going to kind of redo Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday practice, but a little modified."
Is part of that because you're so young and played everybody. It's not like this, `Oh it's an extra spring practice for 12 kids who are redshirting.'
"It's only four or five guys who haven't been getting reps. So part of it's that, but it's also the camp practices. Let me say it this way: If we had more guys redshirted, we would have a little more time to integrate them into the practice. We don't have to do that. So I'm not sure we'd have a lot more practices, but how it would be structured would be a little differently."
You've mentioned the importance of the bowl on recruiting. How much did you talk about that when you were in the home with prospects and then how important is it that during that dead period you guys are still visible at some point on TV?
"I didn't really talk about the fact that we're going to a bowl. The one thing that's great about this program is the exposure you get. The players know. There was a great reception out there from high school coaches and players and fans about the last four games. The beauty of this program is they're seeing it. You don't really have to sell that part. We're really selling the other stuff, what we can do for them when they come here.
"But yeah, it is important. During that bowl week, you want to see that Power T on there and you want them to talk about you, and you want them to talk about you in a positive way. The bowls can be a great thing or they also can be not so good. If you go out there and lay an egg in the bowl game, it isn't good for the program. We're going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen. I'm not into the, we go and it's a celebration deal. I mean, we have a game. We're going to go try to win the game just like they're going to try to do. So that's how we're going to approach it."
Luke (Stocker) said he negotiated with you to get out of practice early Saturday. He's got a wedding to go to.
"You're always the one who gets me going on these tangents, you know that? I'm ready. Luke's getting married Saturday. Which my first question was who planned that day? And why not in the middle of January? That was my first question. We just couldn't wait another month.
"Then Luke, he goes, `Well, here's what you can do, Coach. You can move all the practices.' He starts laying out the Luke Stocker bowl prep plan. I told him when he got his head job, he can prepare for a bowl how he wants to do it. Until then, the University of Tennessee is going to prepare it how I want it done, and if he needs to go get married, he can go get married. So that's what's happening. He's going to miss that practice."
You're not concerned about bruises on his wedding pictures?
"I didn't think about that. (smiles) What do you want me to do? It's like I'm now burdened with Luke's wedding. I'm not making any adjustments for a wedding for our bowl prep, to answer your question. It's not that I don't love Luke. I'd love to go to the wedding and all that, but we've got an obligation to do what's the right thing for Tennessee and allow Luke to do what's good for him because I do think it's important he shows up at the wedding. So we're going to allow that happen."
So when you asked him why not a month later, what was his response?
"He didn't really give one. He didn't have to give one.
"You all are just waiting on me, here. I'm not. I'd have to answer to my wife, which is the most important thing."
Derek, back in August whenever the spit hit the fan with North Carolina, were you too busy with your own thing to pay much attention to that, or how aware were you of the adversity they faced?
"As aware as any fan, really. The only thing I'm aware of is what you read in the mainstream media. So I can't speak on any of it. I know it was a challenging time. I have a lot of respect for Butch Davis. I know what happened was not a reflection of who he was.
"That's the one fear you always have as a head football coach; that things are happening in your program that go in a direction and when you become aware of it, it's a real disaster. I had a lot of sympathy for what he's gone through. That's a tough thing."
Can you see that they came through it as a pretty good football team?
"I would say so. I thought one of the most remarkable performances they had was that first game, where they were missing I don't know how many guys. And you all know how good LSU is. They way they competed, and the way they competed all year, it's a real tribute to excellent coaching."
With all the changes that have happened at Florida recently, how worried are you that maybe some of your staff members might be contacted, and do you see any changes coming in your staff before or after the bowl game?
"I don't anticipate any changes. I think the nature of this business is there's always going to be some interest. And I hope there is interest in our coaches, because that means we're doing a pretty good job. But if we lose coaches to other programs, the last thing I'm going to do is worry about it because there's a whole bunch of coaches that'd kill to be in their shoes. I don't expect our coaches to go anywhere. I think they're all pretty happy here."
Along those lines, what were your thoughts about Urban (Meyer) stepping down and Will Muschamp getting that job?
"I was proud of Will. You know Will's a good friend of mine. He's a very close friend. We worked together for five years on the same staff. I probably talked to Will more this year than other coach in the profession during the season. It's a heck of an opportunity for him, and he's going to do a great job."
In the way that you designed the four phases of the bowl practice, you've put a lot of emphasis on days off and letting guys heal, is that something that developed from your days as a player or is it something you learned with someone else?
"I do reflect on my time as a player. I've also learned some things in coaching where we can push them the other way. It's a real balance between working them and having them where they feel fresh on game day. Because you can be too fresh on game day and you're not ready physically, or you can just be beat down mentally or physically on game day. You're always walking that fine line. It's a hard thing to ever know until they play.
"I'll just give you an example. We don't stretch. I don't know if you all have noticed that. Have you all noticed that? It's because as a player, I hated it. As a coach, I hated it because you just stand there for 10 minutes and everybody's laying on the ground with their leg up pretending like they're stretching, and they're really just thinking about how miserable the next two hours is going to be. Laying on the ground. Like we need a 320-pounder laying on the ground with his leg up working his hamstring. He runs a yard every snap. We don't stretch. We move around and start hitting and you get loose.
"In the old days, they did arm circles and then bull-in-the-ring. You just hit. Then when stuff started coming out of your nose, that meant you were ready and then you can go practice. Now we've got to go through an hour and a half, you know, stretch every muscle. But we don't do that anymore. It's worked pretty good. We haven't had any hamstrings this year, have we? I think all the science says you're supposed to move around anyway."
Daniel Lincoln.
"Yeah, and he stretches all the time. The kickers stretch. That's my point. The kickers are the only ones who stretch, and they're the guys who get hurt. We need to do a little bull-in-the-ring with them and they'll be ready. We might kick one to the end zone. Haven't done that in a while.
"What else? Anything?"
Looking back, what would you consider a turning point for the season?
"Well, results-wise, we all know what it was - the Memphis game. I really started seeing signs, and I've said this, the Alabama game. There were a lot of good things in that game that we did differently from the prior six games. I thought when we came out of that open week, we forged a new direction for us on both sides of the ball that started showing signs in Alabama. Then we saw even greater signs at South Carolina in a lot of areas, and then it came together in Memphis. I started seeing an upward trend. That Georgia game, that was without question the worst game we played all year. So we started playing a little better after that, I think."
In hindsight, how important was it getting Tyler (Bray) in at Georgia and getting him some confidence there and then still sticking with the plan and working him in early against Alabama?
"It was big, and that's why we did it. I thought it was important for him and for us. It was important for him to get his feet wet without pressure, without them really amping it up, and develop a little confidence. And for us it was to evaluate how he managed out there. When he did that, it gave me more confidence to make a move at South Carolina, and then when he did that, it gave me more confidence to go ahead and make the decision to switch.
"Listen, those decisions are very difficult. All personnel decisions are, but especially the quarterback. I've been a part of a lot of go-the-wrong-way. You pull a guy too early, then you go back. Fortunately for us, it worked out. I'm just glad it did."
The situation of having only four or five guys (redshirting) going into bowl practice, how unique has that been from what you've been a part of on other staffs?
"It was similar to us at (Louisiana) Tech. We didn't have any guys either when I went there. It was pretty depleted. Those two places, very similar. All the other places, the bowl games we went to, we were deep. We went through this same sort of deal there. I think we played a lot of freshmen there that year and didn't have a lot of guys on the roster.
"All right? Thanks for coming, guys."
