Postgame Quotes: Tennessee 38, Florida 28

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes |  Photo Gallery 

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones

"First of all, I think it's pretty obvious, I'm really proud of our players and the resolve that they showed tonight. That first half of football wasn't us. That was not us and every man knew it. You come out the second half and I knew this football team was not going to be denied. I knew it at the hotel. I knew it today. There was just a sense of calmness and confidence.

"We scored 38 straight points. Again, we're talking about starting fast. In the second half we had an interception and after that we scored five out of six touchdowns. We held them to 102 yards in the second half and three-and-out in every single possession but one. I thought the kicking game was big from field position, and we knew that we had to win the field position coming in here. I thought our coverage teams were outstanding, and we're down a few guys. We had some guys step up and do a great job that way. Again, it was a great team win. I'm really proud of the guys. I thought we made conditioning a factor at the end and we were able to run the ball and our throw game stepped up.

"What can I say about Josh Malone? Josh Malone has been a model of consistency. Obviously, the big throw on the vertical to Jauan Jennings and also the SportsCenter catch that he made with the ball on somebody's back. It's a great team win and puts us to 4-0. Again, I'm really proud of our guys.

"I hope you guys understand the resolve and the resiliency of this football team, and the local media should understand that. We have something special here. Must win, all that - that is not the case. We are building something special here with character and competitiveness. It's just one game. We've got to go on the road next week. The resolve of these kids, with all the expectations on this football game and you go down at half time and to have that second half performance. If you don't have character in your football program, that does not happen."

(On both lines of scrimmage taking control in the second half)
"I thought in the second half our offensive line really did a great job and I thought they pass protected well. As we all know, that was the No. 1 defense in the country and rightfully so. I have a lot of respect for them and their players and they play exceptionally hard.

"I'm proud of those guys up front. They protected. We were able to run the football. We were able to wear them down and it was just a mentality that they weren't going to be denied."

(On the defense in the second half)
"I think it's just following the process of making plays. Like I said, we did some things, that wasn't us the first half, some uncharacteristic things as a football team. We challenged them a little bit at halftime but they knew and they came out.

"I thought Derek Barnett took the game over. I thought Derek Barnett was outstanding in his leadership and his energy that he brought to our sideline and to the defense. I thought our entire football team fed off of him. Then obviously, T.K.'s big interception and to be able to cash that in for seven, that was big down the stretch."

(On the resolve, resiliency and conditioning of the team in the fourth quarter and his halftime message)
"That's kind of between myself and them, but I challenged them a little bit. They knew. The great thing is that they weren't down on each other. They were more ready to play in the second half and persevered. We knew that we had suffered some things that we've had to persevere on all season long. They knew. That's the great thing is that they knew. I really liked the way that we came out.

"What can I say about our conditioning? We knew it was going to be a hot game. We drove it home the entire week. I thought Stephanie did a great job all week of hydrating them and making sure they were hydrated. Szerszen and the strength staff did a great job but really the onus was on them. They did a great job of preparing for it both mentally and physically."

(On if this win was years in the making)
"Yeah, I just think the resolve and the resiliency and the character and the leadership. These wins like this where you're playing a rival, they hear all the noise of whatever streak it was. They're hearing it. They're hearing the boos at halftime. They could have folded. They could have come in and they could have got down on themselves and they didn't. They responded like you wanted them to respond. I'm exceptionally proud of them and I'm proud of Vol Nation. Thank you for making this a great home-field advantage. The crowd was into it. We didn't give them a lot to get excited about in the first half, but they stayed. They were energized and our players fed off of their energy in the stadium. I love them and I'm proud to be one of them."

(On Chance Hall's return)
"I'll watch film, but having Chance back, I thought from a leadership standpoint, a confidence standpoint, he doesn't say too much, but just his presence, it was really good to have him back on the field."

(On where this win ranks for him personally)
"I don't look at it in terms of me. I look at it in terms of our program. We're 4-0. That's 10 wins in a row. I'm proud of our players. I'm proud of our seniors. When you've got Kyler Kerbyson in our locker room after the game crying and saying thank you, to me that's what it's all about. It's the hard work that everyone has put into it. Again, it's just one game. We're going to be challenged again next week. I'm happy for our fan base. I'm happy for our administration. I'm happy for everyone and I love our players so I'm happy for them. Again, it's just one game."

(On the what the defense did without the usual starters)
"You're missing the likes of Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Darrin Kirkland, and Cameron Sutton, and a lot of defenses can't recover from that. But they recovered. It was the next guy in. They did a great job and I'm proud of them."

(On being able to come back from double-digit deficits)
"First of all, when you win a close game early, particularly when you don't play your best football like the App State game, I though that was needed. I thought we needed that to prove that we could not play our best, force the game to overtime, and win the football game. From that point forward, we've gained confidence in close games. So, again, I didn't see anyone blink. Nobody flinched. They just kept playing.

We talked about four things we had to do. We had to play extremely hard. We had to play very smart. And we needed big explosive plays. So we had to play hard, we had to play hard, we had to play fast, but the most important thing we had to do was play together. That was our four keys to winning the football game. I thought you saw a second half where this team play complimentary football and stayed together."

(On what changed in the second half)
"We executed. Make no mistake about it. We're in the red-zone three times and we come away with three points, and we're taking about low-red. We're talking about on the goal line. It's fourth-and-one, we have to score. It's first and goal on the one. We have to get the ball in for seven points. We didn't catch the ball very well in the first half. The great thing about it was, the maturity of our football team came through when we had guys who dropped the football come up to me and say 'Coach, I want the ball. Throw the ball to me. Give me the ball.' To me, that's something we haven't had in the past."

(On Joshua Dobbs' personality helps in situations when things aren't going well)
"That's what you want. At the quarterback position, you want a flat-lined player. You don't want the ebbs and the flows and the peaks and the valleys. You want someone who is very consistent in their approach. That's Joshua Dobbs, he's very consistent in his approach. He's very calm. He's very collected. Our team feeds off of that.

"In the first half, I thought we were an emotional team. We don't like emotional teams. We like passionate teams. I thought we were too emotional. We were living and dying on every single snap, instead of playing one snap, clear, and moving onto the next snap. I thought we were too much of the highs and lows in the fist half and it showed. The second half, we focused on the process one play at a time."

(On going back to receivers after dropped passes)
"We have tremendous faith and confidence in them. We see it every single day. They've done a great job of catching the football. We haven't had a lot of drops this season. We've seen it. For whatever reason it happened, but in the second half it didn't. That was the difference in the game. We were able to throw the football against a really good defense, and we were able to protect."

(On not going under center in short-yardage situations and on not scoring late against Florida)

"We wanted to take a knee in victory formation. We had to run one more play. We wanted to get the win and be satisfied with the win.

"We did run some under center stuff. We do have to get better in short-yardage. I'm not going to let anything take us away from this great victory tonight."

Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs

(On the dramatic shift in UT's play between the first and second half)
"Simple, just execution. We were shooting ourselves in the foot the whole first half and even on that first drive, whether it was bad ball location on my part or not making catches just simple things. We came into the locker room saying don't panic. It's simple we just have to execute, play our brand of football. Once we start executing that when the success came."

(On when the tide began to turn)
"Honestly at the end of the first half when we were down even through we got a field goal out of the drive you can feel it coming. We were driving, we were moving the ball, and we were in the red zone countless times. Even back to the first quarter we just didn't finish, didn't execute. You can feel it coming once you start getting points on the board. Then we have a big play and score a touchdown in the red zone after that we start clicking."

Tennessee running back Alvin Kamara

(On the last time he felt in rhythm offensively)
"Alvin, about every week in practice. In practice we are hot every week. It just goes back to preparation. We prepared well all week. We just have to prepare and lock in and trust each other like we did tonight."

(On his confidence that the team could turn it around)
"Second half is a new game. The first half obviously didn't go our way but I think we felt good going in at halftime about what was about to happen. We were really shooting ourselves in the foot. So going into halftime like Dobbs said he grabbed some guys, I grabbed some guys, and we had to keep the moral up. I told them, were one play away we just have to put a score up."

Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin

(On this moment in the context of his decision to return for his senior year)
"We had a lot of talks, I'll take it back to our first recruiting class, and we all said we just want to get Tennessee back to the top. I feel like today was a big stepping-stone in getting Tennessee back to the top. I feel like this win goes back to my freshman year and that goal that we all set for each other."

Tennessee wide receiver Josh Malone

(On UT's halftime adjustments)
"Really the biggest adjustment was just executing the offense. That's the big thing we talked about at halftime. We let them jump out on us early because we weren't putting points up on the board. We was in the red zone several times. The biggest adjustment that we made as an offense was finishing on the field." (On his touchdown in the fourth quarter)
"I saw the last guy get after me and looked at the pylon and said I just got to get there."

(On his confidence in the wide receiver group)
"It's a better feeling walking into the building Sunday morning just to watch film. We know we just went out there and just put it out there on the field and put it on the film. We just feel good. Each week go out there confident and compete."

Tennessee wide receiver Tyler Byrd

(On the atmosphere during the game)
"It was crazy, there's no feeling like it, to be honest. That's why I came here, crazy fans and 102,455 strong. It was great." (On being down 21-0)
"Just keeping fighting, we know that we train. You know how hard we train we know that we can make the plays that's necessary to help us win. To help propel us to the next level." (On the game slowing down for him)
"Yes, I'm finding it easier to play and it's all coming together now that I'm playing more. Getting more snaps."

Tennessee defensive back Emmanuel Moseley

(On the adjustments made after halftime)
"We beat ourselves in the first half, we did things that we normally don't do. In the second half, we came out with more energy and started making plays. The defensive line got after them and the secondary played well. Everyone played to one accord."

(On the need of the defensive line's efforts)
"When you have a d-line like our d-line, it makes it so much easier on us in the back end. You've got trust in them that they're going to get to the quarterback so he'll make bad throws; even like the one where (Todd Kelly) picked the ball off. That's because our d-line forced them to scrimmage. A dominate d-line is better on us and just helps us out tremendously."

Tennessee wide receiver Jauan Jennings

(On what encouraged him for the matchup)
"All of the things that they were talking about before the game. They said that we were the worst receiver group that they'd faced. We just took that personal because right here is the original WRU and we felt like we had to bring that back and we did."

(On errors made during the first half)
"The defense played great the whole game our offense just had to come back and compliment them. We finally did and you could tell that the shift of the game totally flopped and we were just ready to win and we did it."

(On the meaning of breaking an 11-year streak)
"It means a lot, especially to the fans and everyone who is a Tennessee Volunteer fan. It's a lot of fans that are born grow up as Tennessee fans so it just means a lot to be able to give these fans a W."

(On what the win meant to him)
"It means a lot to win this game for a lot of guys that paved the way for me to be able to play on a Tennessee team that's ranked as high as we are and we just took it to them. We didn't talk any we just played the game."

Florida head coach Jim McElwain

(Opening statement)
"Obviously, that was very disappointing. My hat is off to them and how they came out at halftime and really took it to us with explosive plays. They controlled the game. We never flipped the field offensively in the third quarter. We didn't have many plays or yards when we came up with the interception. We were playing with a long field the whole day. That's not good football, but to their credit, they came in and took it to us. It's disappointing. We have a bunch of guys hurting in the locker room. These are life lessons. Not every day does everything go like you want it. The key is what you learn from it and how you respond.

"Austin Appleby played plenty good enough for us to have a chance. We had a good plan coming out after half, but they just out-executed us. It was a great crowd in there, and we gave them a lot to cheer about. I thought we did a good job of taking them out of the game in the first half and then allowed them back in during the second half. It was a really good environment to play in. We had a lot of guys play really hard. I didn't think we tackled well. Against guys like that, you have to wrap up and take them off their feet."

(On getting turned around after a shift in momentum)
"You just have to buckle down and make a play on offense. The third quarter was kind of miserable. We had an opportunity to get a first down. We messed up a signal, which is not an excuse. You just have to run the play and make it work. It was loud in there."

(On not throwing deep passes in the second half)
"It's one of those where we were backed down. With the way they had flipped the field on us, we were a little nervous with pass protection. They have a couple of guys off the edges who are pretty good. The series that was really telling was when we got a pick and then not doing anything. We didn't flip the field the entire second half."

(On the game plan working in the first half)
"I thought it was pretty good. We had a couple of drops on third down that were huge early. Those could have solidified some drives and get the ball out and gain advantage on the field. I thought that was big. I thought Austin played pretty good for what we asked him to do."

(On counting on the defense to hold a 21-0 lead)
"Josh Dobbs is a great player. He is fun to watch and is ultra-competitive. They had some drops on the over routes early in the game. They connected on them in the second half. Give him the credit; he was not to be denied tonight. I am glad he is gone."

(On refocusing after the loss)
"I think what it does is really test who you are as a person and as a man. In a loss, some of the greatest lessons about who you are and what you are about are taught. This was a good football team that we played. They beat us today. That's the way it is. We can't change it. How do you not making it two? You go back to work and take care of the now. There's really no secret formula."

(On issues with fielding punts)
"It wasn't very smart. He caught the one at the eight. His heels were on the line and we told him not to go backwards. Same thing with Lamical Perine on the kickoff. We were five or six yards in, and we have a bunch of guys that want to go make plays. They don't understand that you don't do it by yourself. You do your job. It's an interesting thing. Once you start to get a bunch of guys out there that are trying to do their own thing is when it fails, especially in a team game."

(On busted coverage)
"They did a good job and had a good plan. There wasn't a bunch that we hadn't seen before, but there were some formation and motions that were different from what they had done. That is what you do in every game. That is where your rules and discipline and how you do your job come in."

(On lessons from guaranteeing a win)
"I hope they take a big lesson. In life, there are a lot of good things in being humble. As I said, back it up. They didn't back it up. There might be a lesson."

Florida running back Mark Thompson

(Opening Statement)
"We came out ready to play. I feel that we were a little lax, we didn't have the same intensity that we did the first half and it showed."

(On over-confidence)
"I mean they are a good team. They came out ready to play in the second half. In their previous games they came out ready to play in the second half, that's what happened today."

(On adjustments Tennessee made in the second half)
"Nah, I don't think they made any adjustments, I just think their eleven guys on defense were putting their effort out on the field. They left it all on the field."

(On the biggest lesson to take away from this game)
"Don't take any plays off! At halftime if we are up by 50 or 1, know you got to play the second half. We can't come out lax or feeling comfortable, this is the SEC every team is good so you got to play better than them."

Florida defensive lineman Bryan Cox

(On fatigue taking a toll on the offense in the second half)
"I don't really think so. They did a good job. Now is the time to circle the wagon and come together."

(On having a 21-3 lead at halftime)
"It hurts (to lose). I really don't have the words to describe it. We just have to see what happens."

Florida linebacker Alex Anzalone

(Feelings on second half)
"We didn't come out too hot and defensively we have got to do a better job; keep doing what we were doing and obviously we didn't." (On Tennessee's success)
"The biggest things, or big plays, we didn't stop them. They had a couple big plays, big passes, and a couple of long runs and that's one of things you have to stop playing defense. That's what hurt us the most." (On defense's mindset)
"If we do our job, we will be alright. I think a lot of our mistakes were actually mental and not physically." (On mentality going forward)
"Learning from this, having this draw us closer together and becoming a better team of it. Coach McElwain mentioned it can humble a lot of guys and I think that's good for our team, even though it had to happen this way."

Florida quarterback Austin Appleby

(On first half highs to second half lows)
"Tennessee has a great defense. Their crowd got right back into it when their offense got it going. I think their defense and pass rush, especially, started feeding off of that. We just came up a little bit short."

(On Tennessee defense's adjustment)
"I think it had a lot to do with their crowd. Their offense started going, created a tempo ... hats off to them. They did a really good job and we will be okay. We'll make the corrections, we've got a lot to watch, we left a lot out there. We still put up 28 in a hostile place; I'm proud of the way our guys fought. I wouldn't want to be out there with anyone else."

(On moving forward)
"We are going to find out what we're made of. We're going to make the corrections, they have to be made. It's easier to talk about the corrections when you're winning; some things kind of slide underneath the bus. When you get beat, now everything's in the light and we're going to be critical of ourselves to make the corrections that we needed to make maybe three weeks ago. Moving forward with that said, we have a lot to be confident about. This Gator team went into a hostile place and I think played well. We came up a little bit short but this is still a special group. We are going to come together and get closer... You're not going to see us go into a hole. If anything we are going to turn it up even more, work as hard as we can possibly work and we'll be back."

University of Tennessee Athletics