University of Tennessee Athletics
Butch Jones Transcript (12/21/14)
December 21, 2014 | Football
Head Coach Butch Jones
(On making sure the team stays focused during break)
"You constantly try to educated them. They have kind of been in uncharted waters not just for this entire bowl preparation but the entire season. You have to rely on your maturity and only the ability to play on a center stage, January 2nd in the TaxSlayer Bowl and they had a great week, about 10 days of preparation for this great bowl game. Now it is what you do with it when you go home. But it is also very deserving for them going home and being able to be with their family and their relatives over the holidays."
(On providing reminders to the team during break)
"They will get constant reminders. But again, they have done a great job and it leads me to believe that they will be mature when they go home as well. But they will have some constant reminders."
(On the team handling the bowl preparation)
"I thought they have handled it exceptionally well. They have been very, very physical, we have had to back off in nature kind of the last few practices because of the physicality. But we also understand we are playing a very physical Iowa football team. But I think they have handled the work capacity, the work volume very well, spirits have been high. That is the thing, the hardest thing to build in a football program is the culture, the standard, the expectation. The way you practice, the academics, all that. That is the hardest thing about building it. Now the next step is maintaining it. But we have been through the hard process, I think that shows with getting to a bowl game, a January bowl game with a 2.77 overall GPA and it shows with our work ethic. But I think they have handled it exceptionally well."
(On the physicality of Iowa)
"It is a great challenge and they are a very physical football team and we are going to be challenged on each and every snap and they know that. So there is a lot of physicality, a lot of mental toughness, the physical toughness, everything that goes into playing a line of scrimmage game like this game will be and it will be a line of scrimmage game. Obviously they have our respect and they have our attention, all you need to do is watch them on video. Very, very imposing offensive line and defensive line as well."
(On the ability to get the quarterback and get sacks helping the defense)
"It does and the big thing now is for the three technique or the one technique to be able to win a one-on-one matchup and what happens sometimes is when you are explosive off the edge it does create some one-on-one matchups inside. But also some of their sacks are what I call `opportunity sacks' where the interior defensive front has done a great job of generating a push up the middle and now the quarterback flushes the pocket and they are able to get that sack. A lot of times although sacks are individual statistics they are really team statistics as well in terms of the secondary, the linebackers, but also the whole entire defensive front."
(On Derek Barnett going up against Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff)
"It is a great opportunity but also a great challenge, he is going against an individual who is going to be a first round NFL draft pick, has played in a lot of football games, has maturity, has the strength and conditioning element and a full time college football program for a number of years. So this will be his biggest challenge to date."
(On the development of Curt Maggitt)
"Curt [Maggitt] has really worked on his game, we talk about working your craft each and every day, you hands, your get off, everything is about stance mechanics and your get off and you have about 1.9 to 2.2 seconds to run an 11-yard circle, basically, to get to the quarterback. So you have to be thinking, it is a strategic game, but it is also a conditioning game, the ability to rush the passer. He has really worked exceptionally hard at that."
(On how wide receivers Vic Wharton and Ryan Jenkins are responding)
"They have responded very well, they have had a very good bowl preparation. I think they continue to get better and better. I think their confidence has continued to grown. We talk about pride in performance but consistency in performance as well. I see that really generating in those two individuals. I am very pleased and I know Coach Z [Azzanni] has been pleased and they are earning that trust more and more. But you can just see by their body language, by the way they play the game, they are playing very confident right now."
(On the changes to play philosophy with shorter wide receivers)
"Yeah from the philosophy of the plays, some things that we do. You have to be a complete player and they have shown that. The thing is, they may not have the height but they have the vertical jump. That is one thing, if they have the height but if the individual has the vertical you can still throw the fade pass down there and all that. We will do something different things in moving some positions around positionally but we will run our offense but we will play to the skill set our there as well."
(On the most significant strides on defense from last year to this year)
"I think it starts up front, the ability to generate a pass rush. I think our overall style of play, generating turnovers, I think probably the most significant improvement has been in our third down productivity and getting off the field and that is something that we started all the way in spring football, really in the winter strength and conditioning program. But I think our overall style of play, the standard, the expectations and the ability to generate the pass rush. I thought for the most part we have tackled fairly well. But when you have a long layoff in between games, that is one of the things you worry about in terms of playing winning football defensively, is the ability to tackle. Our physicality and our one-on-one tackling will be challenged in the bowl game."
(On having time off for the holidays)
"Looking forward to it, our coaching staff really has not had any time off since we started this journey in August. It is making sure we complete everything possible to put us in position to win the bowl game going down to Florida. But our players have done a tremendous job but I am looking forward to being a Dad, being a husband, stepping back and enjoying Christmas a little bit. Just being thankful and grateful for many things, we are at a great institutional, surrounded by great people, and it is a time to give great, great thanks and be around kids, so I am looking forward to it."
(On the team's schedule before heading to Florida)
"Yeah, we will meet back here on the 27th and then we will have one practice on the 28th, we will practice on the next day and then leave from here as a football team."
(On how much more enjoyable Christmas is when you get to come back to coach in a bowl game)
"Much, much more enjoyable and even this time of year, when you look at the weather today and being able to go out here and do what you love to do and that is coach football, for our players to improve and practice football. Really feed off of our players, our players have had a great demeanor the entire bowl preparation, the energy that they showed. A lot of times if you are an immature football team, you are kind of just trying to pass time and you are just trying to get by and when you get by you don't get any better. They attacked the day, I have liked their overall approach so it has been a very rewarding bowl preparation and looking forward to continuing that when we get down to Florida."
(On team building activities during bowl preparation)
"We did a team movie and then we have had just a lot of sessions where individuals have stepped up and spoke. I walk in the locker room the other day and the players are playing their own game in there as a football team. Just the energy. The other thing is going to the basketball game yesterday and seeing our kids cheer on the Lady Vols. By the way, a great, great win for them, very proud of them, very excited for Holly [Warlick], it was a great win for our basketball program. That is the thing, our players came to me and said, `Coach, we want to go support our basketball team, can we move practice up?' To me, when we talk about One Tennessee, that means everything. Just seeing their temperament at the game and I thought it was outstanding, it was a great environment. Again, proud of our women's basketball team as well."
(On where the offense made the biggest stride from year one to year two)
"A number of things, you look at our plays per game are up, for the most part we have taken care of the football, we have been set back with injuries all season long and this football continues to persevere and battle through adversity. I think we have established some play makers that we will have for a couple of years. So again, I just think the overall continuity of the offense now and just the winning football, the small details, our style of play, taking care of the football, points up, red zone up. All those things have been great to see. I think also our kicking game, there were a lot of question marks going into the season, especially with the placekicking with the graduation of Michael Palardy and I think Aaron Medley has really, really stepped up and really taken ownership in that job and I have been really proud of his efforts and then Matt Darr in the punting game."
(On how thankful the seniors are to be having another opportunity to play)
"Hear it everyday, that is what makes it rewarding, they talk about it every day. They say, `Coach, we will be home right now.' So I hear it every day, they are very grateful, they are very thankful of this opportunity now we need to go take advantage of it for them."
