FootballOctober 01, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As No. 4 Tennessee gears up for an interdivisional SEC clash with Arkansas on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC), the Vols expect to play in another loud and challenging road environment in Fayetteville. After Tuesday’s practice session on Haslam Field, a pair of UT assistants met with media to recap the opening third of the regular season and preview the contest against the Razorbacks.

Wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope stressed the importance of his room knowing their opponent, honing in on the tendencies and scheme of the Arkansas secondary. The Hogs have had success creating turnovers with six interceptions this season, which ranks third in the SEC and top-20 in the country.

As is standard every week in the Southeastern Conference, Pope looks forward to a raucous crowd and intense level of competition for his receivers when the Vols take the field at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

“They have to know who they are going against,” Pope said. “They have to know tendencies and what to expect. That is something at the beginning of the week we really harp on is personnel. I said earlier, in this league, you are going to play against elite personnel every week. That’s our main focus initially, but as we get throughout the week, the scheme becomes more of the focus point. Their personnel is really good, we are playing a really good opponent. We are looking forward to going into a tough environment and competing our butts off.”

Defensive coordinator Tim Banks has his unit thriving early in the season, as Tennessee leads the SEC and ranks first nationally in total defense (176.0) while leading the conference and ranking second in the FBS in scoring defense (7.0). Complementing an elite defensive line and experienced linebacker corps, UT’s young, athletic secondary has held its own through the first four games of the 2024 campaign.

Led by cornerback Jermod McCoy, who was recognized by the Jim Thorpe Award committee as National Defensive Back of the Week after the win at Oklahoma, Banks praised the third level’s consistency and talent despite entering the season with a limited amount of playing time.

“Like I told you guys, a lot of youth back there, inexperience,” Banks explained. “But I thought we had a talented group. They’re playing extremely consistent. They’re communicating at a high level. That’s what’s helping us play so well.”

Full comments from Banks and Pope can be viewed below, along with select quotes from McCoy.

Tennessee Football Press Conference | Oct. 1, 2024

Defensive Coordinator Tim Banks

On if he’s been surprised by the play of the secondary…
“No, you know like I told you guys, a lot of youth back there (and) inexperience, but I thought we had a talented group. They’re right where we thought they would be or hoped they would be. They’re playing extremely consistent. They’re communicating at a high level. I think that’s what’s given us a chance to play as well as we’re playing.”

On the challenge of preparing for a player like Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green…
“I think you struck the chord where it needed to be. It’s just the eyes. Everybody has to be disciplined when he starts to scramble. He’s really made some plays down the field. He’s athletic enough to break contain and go for 80 (yards), but he’s also got a strong arm that he can throw it 80. We just have to do a good job, we have to be very disciplined, not just with the backend, but our front. Making sure that we’re containing him when we need to contain him, and linebackers need to be where they need to be. It’ll really be a collective group for us to contain this kid. He’s really special in terms of running and throwing.”

On what has led to cornerback Jermod McCoy’s strong start to the season…
“Yeah, I think just his preparation. Those guys work really hard. I think coach (Willie Martinez), coach (Earnest Thomas III), coach (Taver Johnson), those guys have all done a really good job with the backend guys. We thought Jermod had a chance to be special, just based on what we saw in the spring, and it was a carryover to the fall. I just think his work ethic, his communication, he doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. He’s very even keeled in terms of his preparation and how he performs on Saturdays. We’re excited for him, and we think his best football is still ahead of him to say the least.”

On what he saw on film that made him confident in McCoy coming out of the transfer portal…
“I’d be lying if I told you we knew right away, but you can say that for any portal kid. We have a checklist of things that we’re looking for when you’re evaluating guys out of the portal. We liked his athleticism. We thought, with his background as a receiver, he had really good ball skills. I think the thing that really jumped out was how big he was when we got a chance to see him up close and in person. But we saw the ball skills on tape, we saw the fluidity in which he played with. For me personally, it was just his overall size once we saw him. We thought this kid had a chance to be special.”

On how much he has been impressed with the improved communication from the secondary…
“I think it’s been great. You see it in practice and sometimes when you’re young it’s hard to take what you do in practice to the gamedays consistently. But, I thought those guys really worked at it. It’s not just corner to corner, safety to safety, sometimes talking to linebackers. It’s very broad stroke. I thought those guys have done a good job from then and now. If I’m being honest, I think we still have room to grow that will help those guys become even better, but I like the direction we’re heading.”

On how easy it is to call a defense when you have a defensive front playing so well…
“Our d-line has done a tremendous job. All of the (publicity) they have probably gotten has been great. But when we talk about stopping the run, we talk about it as a collective group. It takes the corners doing their job, safeties doing their job. Sometimes the front gets the credit, sometimes the backend. At the end of the day, that’s always been the focal point for us, to be able to stop the run. It’s great the d-line is getting some of that (publicity). As a play caller, it makes it great, but again, everybody has to do their job for us to play the style that we want to play. Obviously, the d-line helps, they really do.”

On what is leading to the abundance of TFLs…
“I think our kids play hard. They really do. That’s one thing that we’ve always preached since we got here. We want to play hard. We need to play as hard as we possibly can and leave it out on the field. When you play that hard, typically good things happen. Since day one, we’ve always tried to play on the other side of the line of scrimmage, whether we’re pressuring or we’re with our front and you’re just kind of seeing the fruits of that.”

On how the helmet communication has affected defensive play calling…
“It’s kind of always a work in progress. I think for me, not yelling in it all the time, giving those guys a chance to be able to play football is awesome. But if you do have something to say that brings value in between plays, that’s been great as well. We’re still getting used to it. I think our kids like it. For me personally, just not giving them too much but giving them enough to be able to play as fast as they can. Like I said earlier, we want to play fast, we want to play hard, and I try not to tie up their mind with a lot of verbal communication.”

Wide Receivers Coach Kelsey Pope

On how Coach Pope would assess the receiver play through four games…
“I think we have had some success at points. I think our best is still out there. I really do. I think there’s a responsibility piece to that, that we continue to prepare and we’ll continue to see these guys grow and progress. I think we’ve had some success, but is it our max potential? I don’t think we’re anywhere close to that.”

On the advice he would give wide receiver Chas Nimrod in his return to his home state of Arkansas…
“I think that’s the message. When guys are older and mature, they understand that. You just kind of talk to him about his preparation and things are going to happen the way they’re supposed to. Obviously, there’s a little bit more juice, a little bit more focus and attention there because he’s going back home. But I think as long as he continues to prepare the right way, I think you ultimately get the stuff that you want.”

On how the wide receiver room has adjusted to play to Nico Iamaleava’s strengths…
“For one, we talk about Nico’s (Iamaleava) ability outside of the pocket. I think it’s forced those guys to really focus when plays break down, that they got to go be available and be targets for him. That’s really the biggest piece. The other thing is when you have a quarterback and you have a talent like that, he just allows you to go and use your talents, so really he makes it a lot easier on us than it would be without him. For the most part, the biggest thing is with him being dynamic outside the pocket. We have to make sure we’re being able to become targets for him whenever he’s outside the pocket.”

On how wide receiver Dont’e Thornton’s new mindset has helped him see more success on the field…
“I think that’s probably the biggest thing that he’s done has helped him. That’s been his biggest benefit. For him, it’s just being able to go play free and play confident. As long as he’s doing that, I think we’ll continue to get the best version of him. You’re question about Chas (Nimrod) was going back home and you eliminate the distractions and the outside factors. When guys can just play free and confident, you typically get the best version of them. So, that’s what we’re seeing with him.”

On how difficult it is to manage the wide receiver rotation, especially with Dont’e Thornton’s increased production…
“It’s a lot like basketball. You really have to identify what type of game it is. If you have a hot hand, you have to feed it. That’s really my mindset. He got a bunch of snaps last game, Bru (McCoy) as well because they were the hot hands. When you have a room like that, you have to be in tune and you have to be intentional with how the game is going, or who’s rolling, who’s hot right now. I think that helps you. Obviously, every guy is going to get an opportunity to get time, but that’s something you definitely have to be in tune with.”

On playing well without the ball…
“I think at times it’s been awesome but sometimes it’s been inconsistent. I think even that part of our game the best has yet to come, our best is still out there. You see at times like Bru (McCoy) last game had a tough look on corners and he was able to fit a guy up without the ball and we created explosives. There are others where we don’t have that same focus and that same intention. It’s the whole group it’s not just one guy. For me as a coach, I have to continue to push these guys in practice to be consistent with that. I think we will continue to see it in games. At times it’s been really good, other times it’s just been okay. That’s an area we are going to continue to push.”

On what the receivers need to improve…
“We have to go compete. This league is hard and every opponent we have in this league is going to be an elite opponent, we have to go compete. We have to do our best in practice. We have to focus and prepare our best in meetings. We have to strain and get everything we can because each week is gonna be hard, it’s going to be tough in this league. I think for us the mentality of guys going to strain and compete and go give our best every single week, and then let the cards fall as they may. I think that’s the mentality.”

On Chris Brazzell II…
“Chris knows the system. He understands it, he’s been really good at times. Other times he hasn’t really been to the standard. Again, it’s something that starts in practice. As he continues to go, he’s obviously progressing and getting better. I think as long as he has the right focus and comes in with the right mentality, the sky will continue to be the limit for him. The consistency piece will continue to be the factor. If we can’t be consistent, you won’t see the best of anybody at any position. Consistency for him will be the key.”

On Mike Matthews’ development…
“I’ve been impressed with his maturity, he’s grown up a ton. From a football knowledge standpoint, he wants to be a sponge. He is always asking questions, always in the building. He is a guy going down the stretch, that is going to continue to make plays for us. He’s a guy we are going to need to make plays on the outside.”

On the receivers preparing for Arkansas…
“They have to know who they are going against. They have to know tendencies and what to expect. That is something at the beginning of the week we really harp on is personnel. I said earlier, in this league, you are going to play against elite personnel every week. That’s our main focus initially, but as we get throughout the week, the scheme becomes more of the focus point. Their personnel is really good, we are playing a really good opponent. We are looking forward to going into a tough environment and competing our butts off.”

Sophomore DB Jermod McCoy

On when he felt good within the defense…
“I would say before the season, then playing through the first four games solidified that and made me feel way more confident in the defense.”

On what has made the defense work…
“I think everyone has done an amazing job. Our communication has been so good pre-snap (and) post-snap. When we see something we will tell each other and try to clean it up. The communication between us is elite.”

On why the defense has been playing well…
“Our communication and the bond that we have. We are super tied in together and that shows on the field.”