Opening Statement
“Just an awesome weekend for our athletic department, our university. Congratulations Coach Barnes, Coach Caldwell. Just lot of fun to watch those teams go compete and have a a ton of success. Look forward to watching them here this weekend as well.
“Huge week for us. We’re back off of spring break. Great to get on grass with guys today, go compete and get better. Also have the coaches clinic come this weekend. Coaches from our footprint have an opportunity to come in and be able to talk ball with us. And obviously Coach Gruden coming in and headlining the event. Will be a lot of fun to have a lot of people here on campus.”
If Tennessee needs one wide receiver to step up and lead the group or if it can be production by committee
“Well, I think you got to be good by committee. If it’s just one guy, they’re able to roll coverage to a certain player. And end of the day we’re going to need all 11. But your wide receiver core group is going to have to function and operate at a really high level as a complete unit. (I) expect all those guys to continue to grow. They’ve been really good here the first five days. Guys that have some experience in what we’re doing, have played extremely well. They’ve grown from where they ended the season. And young guys that are getting their first taste of it have made plays, they’ve grown. There’s a long journey still ahead for the entire group, but certainly the young guys too. But expect those guys to grow into playmakers for us.”
What he likes about Tennessee’s running backs
“Strong, physical play with all the ball in their hands through the first five days. As we continue, this is day three for us in in pads, you get to scrimmage, see how they operate on game day-like scenarios. But they’ve done a really good job pressing lines of scrimmage, making plays. The group as a whole is really connected. They compete hard in the meeting room. So it’s just about consistent growth from those guys.”
Why he believes sophomore wide receiver Braylon Staley could be a contributor for Tennessee this season
“Just how he’s continued to grow. And that’s last, the steps that he continued to take. What he’s done the first five days of spring ball. He’s been super consistent, has great understanding within the scope of what we’re doing offensively. Has the ability to recognize, identify coverage, get to the right spot — zone, man looks. He has played really long over the middle of the football field the first part of scrimmage.”
Who has stepped up at wide receiver for Tennessee so far during the offseason
“I don’t think there’s just one guy that’s stepped up. You look at the collective group, there’s not a lot of guys that have a ton of experience inside of what we’re doing. They’re growing individually, they’re learning what leadership looks like and (I) expect that group to continue to come together.”
What this spring looks like for sophomore Boo Carter and what he has to prove to Tennessee coaches to play on both sides of the ball
“Spring is the opportunity with your personnel, to have an opportunity to do different things with them and find out what they can, can’t do. And the same thing as schemes — offense, defense and special teams. You try to push forward. Boo has done a really good job on the defensive side of the ball. You saw him as a punt returner, electric with the ball in his hands. We’ve experimented with him on the offensive side of the football as well and he’s handled it really well up until this point.”
The progress of Alabama transfer receiver Amari Jefferson
“Limited the first couple days. Is kind of been building into contact here. Had the most work that he has had today. A guy that, it matters for him to be here. He loves the program, the culture of the program, the way we work and compete together. He’s a really smart kid. It’s going to be fun to watch him just continue to grow throughout the course of spring ball.”
