University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Tennessee 24, Vandy 14
November 29, 2014 | Football
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Tennessee Head Coach Butch Jones
Opening statement:
"First, of all I want to thank our great, great crowd, Vol Nation for coming out and supporting this football team. They've been remarkable all year long. Today exemplifies what we have here in Tennessee. Proud of our players. This game summarized our season with adversity, great resiliency and we found a way to win the football game. We always talk about impactful plays. There were a number of them. I thought our special teams were outstanding. Matt Darr flipped field position when we needed it. TK's interception in the 3rd quarter, great play and we capitalized, scored a touchdown off of that. I thought the 95-yard drive in the second quarter was big and our longest drive of the year. But again I'm just proud of everyone. It wasn't pretty but we found a way to get it done. We were behind with injuries and our players just kept working."
On the run game after Hurd's injury:
"When Jalen [Hurd] went out, we had to rely on Josh [Dobbs]. Marlin Lane is an individual who hasn't played much all year. For him to step up like he did in a critical game, it was great to see his efforts rewarded as well.
"Anytime you add the element of a running quarterback to your offense, it gives you an advantage. Josh has done a great job of being able to do that."
On the punt return from Cam Sutton:
"We felt very confident coming in that we were going to get a big return. We've been one or two individuals away. Everyone did their job and Cam provided that spark and momentum early for us. We needed it."
On the players' emotions after becoming bowl eligible:
"It's very rewarding. That's why you coach. You coach to influence young people, create positive change and build a culture. They didn't want it to end. We talked about our life expectancy and fighting to live two, three more weeks. I told them we had a team meeting Monday at three o'clock. It could be to go over our bowl schedule or it could be goodbye. And it kind of hit them. They said 'coach we don't want to say goodbye.' Again, this group has been resilient all year."
On the passing game:
"We found a way to win the football game. That's critical from our quarterback position. Yeah, we need to talk about the errant throws and taking care of the football. I thought he pressed for the first time. I thought Josh [Dobbs] was trying to make some plays. But when we needed him down the stretch, he stepped up and delivered."
Tennessee Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin
On his big third-and-1 stop:
"It was just sorting through some trash, the defensive line did a great job of keeping the linemen off the linebackers and it opened it up for us to get the running back in the hole in order to make the play."
On the fan support:
"I wasn't surprised. I know what Vol Nation is like and that is what I expected. It was definitely great. Coach Jones says Nashville is our second home and that is what it looked like tonight."
On becoming bowl eligible:
"We are just trying to keep our eyes moving forward. We are looking to get a bowl win, get a winning season and just keep carrying it over to next year."
Tennessee Quarterback Joshua Dobbs
Thoughts on the win:
"A win's a win. Obviously we have some things to clean up but we were able to get win number six. We were able to move the ball at times and we were able to go down in the end zone. The defense had our back all night. We got the win and we are definitely excited about that."
On becoming bowl eligible:
"It means everything. That was our goal coming into this season. We wanted to get to a bowl game and get our seniors to a bowl game and then progress from there. This is a stepping-stone to this program and it's definitely an exciting time to be here. I'm excited to be going to a bowl game."
On Vanderbilt's defense:
"We knew coming in that they were still a good team, they're defense especially. They were able to hold a lot of people in terms of yards and they definitely have a stout defensive front. We were able to do some things well, move the ball and put up some points."
Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason
Opening Comments:
"Congratulations to Coach [Butch] Jones and that UT team on a good win. It was a hard-fought game on both sides of the ball. Our kids competed hard. We gave ourselves a chance and, in this game, that's all you can ask for... You have to give it to these seniors for going out on the field and putting it all on the line. There will be changes that need to be made in my program."
On Vanderbilt's seniors:
"We have a good group leaving. They are the most decorated seniors in Vanderbilt history. I told them this place is always home. Our focus has to be on the future. We'll get back to it starting tomorrow... When we wake up tomorrow, it's time to grind."
On Vanderbilt picking off Tennessee:
"We needed those opportunities. You have to make sure you turn them into points, though. When you don't, it comes back to bite you. We did a good job of getting to the quarterback. We saw defensively today what we've seen all year long: being aggressive and getting to the quarterback. In terms of ball search, our guys really ball-searched well.
On Vanderbilt's defensive pressure:
"It's about mentality; schemes are schemes... We have to win our one-on-ones. We tackled better on the perimeter... We struggled with their QB runs at times. This team tackled well. We're going to find [defensive recruits] who are hungry, nasty guys who want a Vanderbilt education.
On sticking with QB Patton Robinette:
"I went into it with both those guys ready to go. Patton got things going better than Johnny [McCrary] in terms of how he bounced back and reacted to his surroundings. I thought Patton competed and I'll look to see what his future holds."
On forthcoming changes to Vanderbilt's program:
"I have an idea what I want, but what will happen is I need to take a couple of days and look back... I'm not adding [specifics]. As soon as I know, you'll know."
On the Tennessee's interception on the first play from scrimmage being called Back due to a penalty:
"It affects you because... you have an opportunity to get the ball with good field position early... That was a big momentum-changer for us."
On hanging onto the team's final second half timeout:
"I knew they would punt and I wanted to have a time out. You work on the two-minute drill every day. You work it with at least one time out. We needed it too... No regrets."
Vanderbilt linebacker Stephen Weatherly
On a season-best performance:
"Motivation, I just tried to lay it all on the line for my team, try to get us a W. It had a different feel to it, being senior night with Kyle [Woestmann] and it also being Tennessee, I guess I felt more motivated than usual to pull out a W this time."
On the team's energy:
"The energy was through the roof for this game. We made it a big emphasis to bring the energy. When our energy is high, we make plays."
On changes for next season:
"We just want to take the momentum from this specific game into next season. Whatever Coach Mason decides to change, the direction he decides to go in, we are backing him a thousand percent. We have listened up to this point. This is the game he talks about, playing a complete game. Yeah, we weren't perfect. But, out of all of our other games, this was our better game."
Vanderbilt linebacker Kyle Woestmann
On the roughing penalty to start the game:
"It's just about playing smart. I don't think it was a bad decision, but I don't think it was a good decision either. I tried to give him a little shove and lay off, but clearly the ref saw it another way, so you learn from it and lay off a little earlier and make sure it doesn't happen again."
On tonight's play being more representative of Vanderbilt:
"I think this was the first time the whole season, defensively speaking, we actually had the front, the backers and the secondary all playing as one full defensive unit and I think that showed for the majority of the night. We had some pretty sound defense 90-percent of the time, but a couple of plays we weren't sound on. Unfortunately, a loss is still a loss, and it's a bitter one, especially with people playing their hearts out, people hurt, people just playing for one another. The one thing I will say is I had a great time out there tonight, celebrating with my teammates, and it's been an unbelievable opportunity. I'm just looking forward to the defense next year, the way they played tonight, they're on the right track to be where they're supposed to be next season."
On emotions as a senior:
"Reflecting back, it's been an unbelievable journey, getting to be a senior class with the most wins ever, going to two or three bowl games straight and all of that. The one thing I will say about this season despite the tough emotions, I've seen more growth in players this season. In being a captain and a senior and a leader, I don't think anything can make you prouder than that. I told Stephen Weatherly today, after this game, 'You're finally being the person you're supposed to be on that football field. I've never been more proud.' And, that goes with a lot of young guys in that secondary finally playing some hard football, celebrating with each other and as a team. Getting to be a part of watching guys grow gives me more pride than winning 'X' amount of games."
Vanderbilt defensive back Torren McGaster
On his ability to get interceptions:
"We had gotten a lot of push up front with my guys like Kyle Woestmann and Stephen Weatherly, Barron [Dixon], Vince [Taylor], all of those guys allowed me to get those interceptions. It all starts up front."
On converting turnovers into points:
"We get whatever we take. If we can score on defense, that's what we can do. If we kick a field goal, that's what we can take. If we get a touchdown, that's even better. We take whatever we get."
Vanderbilt Tight End Steven Scheu
On uncharacteristic dropped balls:
"It's rough; we haven't done that all year. We've had a pretty sure hand all year. It's just a tough feeling; feeling like you left some yards out there. A lot of yards out there could have changed the game. You just never know what could have happened, but it's tough."
On future changes to program:
"We trust our coach 100 percent. Whatever he thinks is best is what we're going to be behind and we trust him and his decisions. If it's his decision, then we're going to back that 100 percent. So whatever he does, we're going to be with him all the way.
"We're a little curious, but no matter what happens we'll trust that and roll with it."
On using tight ends in coming years:
"I think it's pretty obvious that our tight ends play very well. We have a lot of skill in that position. We have some tight ends coming in and some that we already have that are going to step up into an even bigger role. We definitely think that's going to carry over into the offseason and next year, and I'm very excited about that."
Vanderbilt Center Joe Townsend
On interceptions by the defense:
"(The) defense played really well tonight and gave us the ball in some key situations. We just couldn't answer, so it was frustrating."
On QB Patton Robinette:
"He always looks at ease to me. Patton Robinette is the kind of guy that's one of a kind. He's a winner at life, on and off the field. I have the utmost respect for him as well as Johnny (McCrary). As I've always said before, whoever is back there we feel very confident in."
On feeding off team energy:
"Yeah defense played great. When you're playing good and you know you're doing great things it is more fun. We were playing off that. They gave us a spark, and we answered a couple of times and sometimes we didn't. We didn't answer enough."
Vanderbilt Running Back Ralph Webb
On team confidence:
"We came in with the mindset to win from the beginning of the game. We needed a spark on offense and I told my team `I got them.' I just wanted to ignite that spark and just get us going."
On looking forward:
"I think we're just going to go and watch this film, get rested up and get ready for workouts and spring ball. We're going to come back and work even harder."
On building momentum into offseason:
"It was kind of disappointing. We didn't get the win, but we have some things to build off of and we want to breakdown the film. We just want to use all good things as motivation to work hard in the offseason."
On the future of team's running game:
"We just have to be balanced. Right now the running game carried us throughout the season, but you have to be balanced. We have to get the passing game a little better. We have to get the tight ends incorporated throughout the offseason and work the wide receiving corps and get everything more balanced."
