KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Game week preparations are in full swing for the Tennessee football team as it prepares for an important SEC East showdown with rival No. 7/8 Georgia.
The Vols (3-1, 0-1 SEC) have won the past two meetings with the Bulldogs (4-0, 1-0 SEC), with both victories coming in comeback fashion. UT was down 24-3 in its last home game against Georgia in 2015 before surging back for a 38-31 win. Last season, the Vols trailed by 10 points entering the fourth quarter before eventually winning the game on a 43-yard Hail Mary from Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings as time expired.
Vols Defense Preparing for Versatile Georgia Offense
The Bulldogs’ offense has been very efficient through their first four games and have proven they have the ability to hurt their opponents in multiple ways. Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop talked about the importance of stopping the run while also making sure you don’t get beat deep.
“We anticipate them trying to throw the ball deep on us,” Shoop said after Tuesday’spractice. “They have as much depth at running back as any team I have ever seen. They could put five different guys out there and barely skip a beat. They have tried creative ways to get two or even three of those guys in the game at the same time, so you have to be able to stop the run. Jim Chaney does a good job of throwing it over your head when you try to put too many guys in the box.”
Tennessee’s pass defense has proven to be a strength so far this season and will have to be sharp again on Saturday. The Vols rank 11th in the nation in pass yards allowed per game, giving up an average of just 140.5 yards through the air this season.
UT put forth another solid defensive performance in last week’s win over UMass, holding the Minutemen’s high-powered passing attack to just 184 yards through the air. The Vols recorded seven sacks – their most since also recording seven in a 2008 win at Vanderbilt – and shut down UMass on multiple drives in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
“As a defense, your mentality is just to win the game, and that’s what we did,” junior defensive end Kyle Phillips said. “So I think that was a step forward for us … I think last week gave us confidence that we can finish games, and that the team can put it on us.”
Despite the success on defense this season, Tennessee coaches and players know that they’ll need to have one of their best performances of the season this Saturdayafternoon.
“I think the test we’re going to see on Saturday will be the greatest test we’ve faced so far when it comes to the run game, the pass game, the speed of the receivers, the size of the wideouts,” special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach Charlton Warren said. “We’re going to need to be on our A-game for this one.”
Scott Looking To Build a “Tough” Identity on Offense
The Big Orange will face one of their toughest challenges to date offensively this Saturday going up against a deep and talent Georgia defense.
“They’re big. They’re physical. They know their defense is a true, deep SEC defense,” UT offensive coordinator Larry Scott said. “We counted up to 20 guys that they have played on defense, so they have a pretty good revolving door of depth.
“When they do rotate, they all come in and they’re all big and just as long, physical and strong as the ones that walked out of the game. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
Scott said his offense will need to be equally as tough and must be able to run the football in order to have success against Georgia’s defense.
“We want to by physical,” Scott said. “We want to run the ball and find ways to run the ball. I don’t care how creative we have to be to do that. You want to line up and be able to run the football.
“And then when you have to throw it when the defense dictates that, we want to be able to have guys that can go make plays in the passing game. Identity is really style of play. We want to represent a brand of football that is just tough.”
Tennessee-Georgia Game Info
Saturday’s SEC East showdown will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS with Brad Nessler (PxP), Gary Danielson (analyst) and Allie LaForce (sideline) on the call.
Saturday’s game will also mark the return of Checker Neyland. Fans are encouraged to wear orange or white, depending on their seat location. To find out if your section is orange or white, go to CHECKERNEYLAND.com and enter your section/row/seat number as it appears on your ticket or CLICK HERE for a seat map.
The Vols will also wear their Smokey Grey uniforms against the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. Tennessee is 3-0 all-time in its Nike Smokey Grey uniforms with wins over Georgia in 2015 and Florida and Nebraska last season.
Quotes from Monday’s Media Availability
Defensive Coordinator Bob Shoop
On which linebackers he prefers for a nickel package:
“Colton Jumper has played at a good level. Every time we all start to doubt him, he makes plays. The guy makes plays. He is like a coach on the field too. He does a good job of getting the guys lined up and settling the team down. Other than Florida, we really haven’t faced a traditional offense. UMass used some unorthodox formations. They did a good job. Elliott Berry made some good plays the other day. He had a sack and made a nice play on a screen pass. Daniel Bituli is back and forth between the MIKE and SAM, depending on what personnel grouping we are in. His best game was the first game of the year, but it’s not like he has played poorly since then.”
On the pass rush:
“We have had to find creative ways to rush the passer. We had several rushers the other day. We felt like we had a good beat on their protection. Rashaan Gaulden is one of our more productive players, so we like to blitz with him. He is a very good blitzer. Jumper did a good job as a pass blitzer, and Elliott Berry did too. Darrell Taylor, Jonathan Kongbo and Kyle Phillips all have a knack for getting to the quarterback. On third down, we either have to be creative with what we call or put our best pass rushers in the game.”
On Georgia’s passing attack:
“They have really tall and fast wide receivers. They have three guys who average over 20 yards a catch. Jake Fromm sure doesn’t look like a freshman. I think he is a very talented player. Isaac Nauta can get deep too. We anticipate them trying to throw the ball deep on us. They have as much depth at running back as any team I have ever seen. They could put five different guys out there and barely skip a beat. They have tried creative ways to get two or even three of those guys in the game at the same time, so you have to be able to stop the run. Jim Chaney does a good job of throwing it over your head when you try to put too many guys in the box.”
Offensive Coordinator Larry Scott
On Tennessee’s multiple offensive line fronts against UMass, if it was by design:
“It was kind of by design, kind of by necessity and kind of by just a feel of what we thought some guys could get done, what they could handle, the amount of volume that they could handle coming off of some of their injuries and the bumps that they had. So it was kind of a working piece the whole game.”
On what impresses him about Georgia’s defense:
“They’re big. They’re physical. They know their defense is a true, deep SEC defense. We counted up to 20 guys that they have played on defense, so they have a pretty good revolving door of depth. When they do rotate, they all come in and they’re all big and just as long, physical and strong as the ones that walked out of the game. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.”
On Georgia’s defensive front:
“They play various fronts, uneven fronts, four-down fronts, three-down fronts. They move and stem and they do some things like that to confuse your looks a little bit, which presents a challenge in itself that you have to be ready for and you have to get your kids prepared for during practice. All of those things and then make sure you scheme is so that you have enough but it’s tight enough to where you can go out and feel like you will be able to execute against all of the different things they do.”
On what the identity of Tennessee’s offense is:
“I know one thing. We want to play to our style of play, all of the time, no matter what that is. We want to by physical. We want to run the ball and find ways to run the ball. I don’t care how creative we have to be to do that. You want to line up and be able to run the football. And then when you have to throw it when the defense dictates that, we want to be able to have guys that can go make plays in the passing game. Identity is really style of play. We want to represent a brand of football that is just tough. No matter what that is, we want to have a certain level of toughness with that. Offensive football is about moving the football and finding ways to move the football and put the ball in the end zone and get first downs. That’s what we want to do on offense. We figure that out each and every week.”
Special Teams Coordinator/DBs Coach Charlton Warren
On being tested in previous games compared to this weekend against Georgia:
“Well I think anytime you have the number seven team in the country coming in I think that’s always a test. I think people have thrown the ball on us, Florida, Georgia Tech threw the ball over us, threw the ball at us. I think our guys have been tested in certain concepts and routes. We’ve had to exhibit some different technique in training with the ball in the air – but there’s a lot of room for improvement with our eyes, our technique, our fundamentals. So I think the test we’re going to see on Saturday will be the greatest test we’ve faced so far when it comes to the run game, the pass game, the speed of the receivers, the size of the wideouts. We’re going to need to be on our A-game for this one.”
On Georgia’s freshman quarterback Jake Fromm:
“I think he’s done a great job. He’s a very composed young man, very athletic, makes very good decisions with the ball, probably a little wise beyond his years right now as a freshman. I’ve been really impressed with the way he’s handled environments like Notre Dame and having to come in to replace Eason in that game. So I’ve been really impressed with him, and he’s done a great job for them.”
On how Rashaan Gaulden has taken his game to a new level this season: “Rashaan (Gaulden) plays with a certain amount of recklessness, a certain amount of energy and passion. He’s the guy that makes things happen on the field whether he’s blitzing them, whether it’s coverage, whether it’s communicating and leading or his sideline energy. I’ve been really happy and pleased with the way he’s playing. It’s hard to find guys that play as hard play in and play out as Rashaan Gaulden. His leadership, what he’s done working with some younger guys, even Nigel (Warrior) at the safety position, just the communication that happens as the game rolls on. I’ve been really impressed with what he’s doing on the field. We’re going to need him to play like that going forward.”
Junior Quarterback Quinten Dormady
Looking back at Saturday’s game:
“As a whole we didn’t play up to our standard, and we’ll get that fixed. As far as receivers go, Brandon (Johnson) obviously had an outstanding game, and I think we are continuing to improve as far as our rhythm and timing goes. That’s always good, but we didn’t play up to our standard. I have been having too many turnovers, and that’s something I need to fix going forward.”
On decision to put in Jarrett Guarantano:
“We weren’t playing up to our standard. We didn’t have enough energy and were kind of flat. That was Coach’s decision. I am here to win games, and whatever the coaches think is the best decision I will go with that.”
On the team’s lack of passion on Saturday:
“I don’t know exactly what the cause was other than we need to have more energy from the start. We need to come out with more energy from the start.”
On progress as a first time starter:
“I think it has been a cumulative effect, I can’t point out one specific area. I think each game has been a little bit different, but obviously what has gone right and what has gone wrong. I think with this past game, with the receivers we have made a huge step forward.”
On consistency as a whole from quarterback’s perspective:
“Each drive is different, but there is penalties in there, there is turnovers, things of that nature. Having a turnover in the second drive of the game on my part, kills the energy. That is probably part of the reason we didn’t have much energy going forward throughout that game. I think that is probably the biggest thing is my turnovers, and then penalties throughout the drive that puts you behind the chains.”
Sophomore Wide Receiver Brandon Johnson
On Georgia’s defensive line putting pressure on the wide receivers to get out of routes fast:
“I would definitely say we have to have a sense of urgency on the perimeter because we know that they have great defensive lineman who are going to try to get pressure on the quarterback. But I’m confident in our offensive line that they’ll be able to handle it and that as a receiving group, we’ll be able to do a good job too.”
On his confidence going into the Georgia game after an impressive showing against UMass:
“I’m confident going into this game. I’m just looking to make the most impact I can, whether that be outside on the perimeter or in the slot, wherever they need me, I’m just looking to make an impact. And the same goes for the rest of the guys. As receivers, we’re all just looking to make plays.”
Junior Defensive End Kyle Phillips
On the passion and energy level during the UMass game:
“We definitely lacked passion and energy during the UMass game. I was very disappointed. I thought we had a few good practices last week. We didn’t come out to play on Saturday and it really hurt us and impacted the game. It starts in practice, we have to bring that passion and energy to practice. We have to work on game-like reps and just know that every play in practice is a game rep. That is what is going to help us to prepare for this game.”
On the last two Tennessee-Georgia games coming down to the final play:
“This is the SEC. Any game can be determined by one or two plays. That’s why you have to be ready each and every play. You can’t slack off for one play because that could be a game changer.”
On his level of confidence:
“I think as I’ve been getting more game reps, I’ve been getting more comfortable just being out there. My first two years, I would kind of get in for one play here, one play there, but now I’m getting in for big drives and things like that, so I think that’s really helping my confidence this season.”
On the strides that the defensive line has taken recently and how that showed against UMass:
“As a defense, your mentality is just to win the game, and that’s what we did. So I think that was a step forward for us. A lot of times, we haven’t finished games. So I think last week gave us confidence that we can finish games, and that the team can put it on us. If the offense is struggling, they’ll know that we have their back.”
-UT Athletics
