University of Tennessee Athletics
Butch Jones Transcript (12/18/14)
December 18, 2014 | Football
Head Coach Butch Jones
(Opening Statement)
"First of all, starting off, would like to welcome Alvin Kamara to our football family. Very excited about his signing yesterday, so very excited about that. The other thing that I am extremely, extremely pleased with that I think warrants a lot of conversation, our academics. Our academics came out, we had 46 individuals on our football team with a 3.0 or above, 55 VolScholars and our overall team GPA was a 2.75, which is the highest in the history of Tennessee football, the highest had been a 2.37 before that. Very, very proud of our players and the effort that they put into the classroom. You talk about, it starts with academics first and foremost, they were able to do that. We will have 18 college graduates that go to the bowl trip to Jacksonville, so again, we talk about getting a degree from the University of Tennessee, a very proud of them. We have taken our GPA from when we came here, from the low twos to the high twos. You look at the APR, we were at 930 prior and we have had 1000 and 972. So there is a lot of hard work that goes into it, it starts with our student-athletes but it is also Dr. Joe Scogin and the entire Thornton Center, they have done a tremendous job, also the parents of our players should be very, very proud. So you talk about winning in the classroom, they won in the classroom. I think that merits a lot of conversation for that.
"Third practice in a row, you could see our bodies kind of getting worn down a little bit, we will take tomorrow, tomorrow will be a recovery day with meetings, let their bodies kind of recover from the long grind they have been in and then resume practice on Saturday. We have taken some great strides, again, the repetitions have been invaluable for our football team especially some of the young players that haven't been able to receive much playing time, so the accumulation of reps is starring to happen and that has been great to see with their progress.
"The other thing is, I would like to thank everyone is Gatlinburg, what a great evening for them, making it a memorable experience for our football team. A lot of these individuals had never been to Gatlinburg and for them to be as accommodating as they were last night to our football family, very indebted to them. Jim Ogle and everyone in Gatlinburg. So thank you."
(On the semester GPA)
"The 2.75 is for an individual semester. These kids have done a tremendous job and again our Thornton Center has done a tremendous job since day one. The restructuring by Dave Hart, everyone involved, we have the top academic advising counseling center in the country and I think it really shows. That is not lip service, all you have to do is look at the results."
(On players stepping up at the wide receiver position)
"Vic Wharton continues to get better and better and better and Vic has a great work ethic about himself and he is one of the individuals that just kept working and working and working, very proud of him. Ryan Jenkins is another individual, these reps for him have been invaluable. So they continue to progress as well. It is a great opportunity for both him and Vic."
(On Alvin Kamara's skillset)
"He has the ability to make you miss at the second level, but also has a toughness to run in between the tackles. You talk about being a complete running back, we feel he is a complete running back. Getting to be able to get him at mid year is going to be a big boost to our entire offense, we are still way down in numbers at the running back position, so the continually recruiting and elevation of that position is critical but to be able to bring him in a midyear is very important for us in moving forward. He can catch the football, he can do a lot with the ball in his hands and he is a tough competitive young man."
(On Alvin Kamara and Jalen Hurd complementing each other)
"I think they will complement each other well. As we found out, in this conference you need more than two running backs. So again, it is going to be a great opportunity for other individuals as well. You have to have two complementary backs and they complement each other just in terms of different skillsets and in terms of speed, make you miss, they are both very good at pass protection and he will be involved even more in the throwing game. So very, very excited but we need to continue to recruit that position and develop that position as well, but very excited about that. That was a great, great recruiting get for us."
(On Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff)
"Great player, very tough, very physical, complete offensive lineman, run block and pass block. I saw on TV last night, they have him as the tenth pick in the mock draft and very deservingly so. I have talked to a lot of coaches, very physical, very tough minded, tries to wear his opponent out so it is going to be a great, great challenge for us."
(On the motivation of the team)
"It has been a great spirit, great energy, we have spoken about that. Again, even going to Gatlinburg last night was critical in terms of teaching them how you go to a bowl game. Again, we can't assume anything. So the expectations of when you travel, how you represent yourself, how you represent this institution, all that. So going to Gatlinburg was critical. They understand, we talk about the importance of winning the football game. We have some messages from our former players that are in the National Football League, and I think Peyton Manning set the temperament for this football team this morning when we watched his message to the football team. They understand what is at stake, they understand the magnitude. If you are a competitor, this is what you work for, to play in games like this. They have done a great job."
(On the balancing act of bowl practice)
"It is a balancing act, it is almost like starting off being in training camp mode and then going into game week. What we have tried to do is really create a game week preparation mindset this week. Again, we have practiced Tuesday, Wednesday and now today and it has been very physical because it is going to be a physical football game. Our players understand that with Iowa. But we have tried to balance, we are doing more competitive situations, more good on good situations, more service than we ever have but that is part of bowl preparation. So even when we are running Iowa's offense with our twos, it is a chance for them to get quality reps. I have been very pleased with bowl practice so far."
(On Jalen Hurd's citation)
"Yeah, we've handled that internally and will continue to handle that. That's been about a few weeks old. It's just like raising your children. It's all about decisions and the one second rule. We'll continue to educate and talk to them. It's all about choices and they understand that. We have good character kids in this program and they'll continue. Raising my three boys, I know at some point in time they're going to make maybe a poor choice and it's all about how you handle it. It's being firm, it's being fair in your punishment and it's being stern and it's being disciplined. I think we all that have had children, they've made a bad decision one way or another and you continue to educate them. Our character of our football team and our kids is outstanding. It's just the power of choices."
(On if it affects his status for the bowl game)
"No."
(On if underage drinking on his team is a big deal to him)
"No, it's a very big deal to us. Again, maybe I look at things a little bit differently because I grew up in a law enforcement house, so I've seen it all. I've seen just about anything and everything that you could see. Shoot, I used to sneak out at midnight and ride in the police car with my dad's police officers. If my dad knew about that, I'd probably be in trouble and they'd be in trouble. I think that's really helped me, but we take great pride in that. We spend an inordinate amount of time with our personal growth and development here, and we talk about those issues. Again, being here for bowl preparation, it has actually accelerated that program. So, we spent about fifteen minutes today talking about that as well. That's something that we talk about every day and we talk about every societal issue. We talk about that, and I do like your vest too by the way."
(On Coleman Thomas has a home at the center position)
"Just trying to put our players in what we feel can help the team, and their best position. What we've learned, is you cannot ever have enough centers. We played in a bowl game one year and we had lost three centers. You talk about panic on the sideline. Once that experience happened, we have always tried to get as many individuals reps at center to be able to do that. He is a little bit of a natural there because that's what he played in high school. Again, continuing to grow. Again, that's why these bowl practices are invaluable. You're able to take a Coleman Thomas, where we've played him at tackle, now we can move him at center. His overall knowledge base of the offense is going to provide him the luxury of playing in multiple positions when spring ball starts. I've been really happy with him, and competition."
(On if there are any mid-term enrollees that can practice in the bowl practices)
"They'll all be joining the team once we get back and we start the semester."
(On running back Justus Pickett)
"Yeah, Justus was a walk on for us and some academic things have occurred. When you're paying for school, you have to make some decisions. So, he will not accompany us. He couldn't have anyways because of some transfer rules, but he's no longer part of the football team."
(On if Justus Pickett is done going forward)
"Correct."
(On when the decision was made)
"Well it happened right at the end of the semester when we knew, in terms of hours, that he would be ineligible for the bowl game."
(On if there is more pressure on Joshua Dobbs with receivers banged up)
"No, because we still have some other individuals that are stepping up, like we spoke about with Ryan Jenkins, with Vic Wharton, and then our tight ends as well and then our backs as well. So, we'll play our style of play in our offense and our scheme. It's just the depth that's concerning. So, your repetitions increase and that's why we've increased the amount of volume of repetitions in a row this bowl camp. We used to rotate four, and now we rotate seven."
(On defensive lineman Michael Sawyers)
"Well, Michael's been back, but we've moved him around him a little bit just because of scout teams from the offensive line and defensive lines. We'll continue to evaluate him and he knows what he has to do, but it's been good to have him back."
