University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Vols 17, UMass 13
September 23, 2017 | Football
Tennessee 17, UMass 13
Sept. 23, 2017 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Neyland Stadium
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Tennessee Head Coach Butch Jones
Opening Statement:
"We needed to get win number three, and we got win number three. At the end of the day, it's all about getting the victory, but the performance was just flat out unacceptable. We'll get back to work tonight, and we'll work to correct it. We'll correct our deficiencies. We talked about playing with details. We did not play with details. We had five penalties in the first half. The second half we didn't have any. I did think our defense really stepped up when we needed it. We forced 10 punts and had seven sacks. I thought they changed the line of scrimmage towards the end of the game. We finally played with some energy and some passion, and I want to thank the fans for staying. I thought they made a difference at the end of the game. But it starts first and foremost with me and everyone else in our organization. It is unacceptable, and we'll get back to work tonight."
On sense of team's preparation throughout the week:
"Everything is about your preparation. In today's world, it's a challenge every day with outside clutter and distractions. The mature football teams can block all of that out. We have a lot of individuals who this means a lot to. I thought we had a very good day of preparation on Monday. I thought Tuesday was below average. I thought Wednesday was average, and I thought Thursday was better. That's what we just spoke about as a football team, is that everything is about your preparation. What happened today was a byproduct of some point in practice. It's the maturity of a young football team to understand you have to be 1-0 every day. Everyone talks about clichés and all that, but it's true. You have to win the day. You can't worry about Saturday. You got to win Monday, you got to win Tuesday, you got to win Thursday, and it's a building up process. I think we had some individuals step up, but again, it's all about your preparation."
On usage of quarterbacks Junior Quinten Dormady and Redshirt Freshman Jarrett Guarantano:
"We were looking for a spark. We were looking for some energy. I'll know more about how they played when I watch the video. It's hard to tell from the sideline. We had way too many negative yardage football plays, way too many third and long situations, and when you have that, you're not going to move the ball effectively."
On offensive lineman Jashon Robertson and defensive lineman Shy Tuttle not playing:
"They both have undisclosed injuries. We fully anticipate them to be back next week."
On getting back to work immediately:
"It's my job to make sure everything is thoroughly gone through. If we have to work around the clock, we will to get these things corrected. It's everyone being responsible for their own self-determination each and every day. We have a football team that's done that. I love our kids, they'll be fine. It's a great learning experience. I give UMass a lot of credit, but overall as a football team, that was unacceptable. I don't want to take anything away from UMass, they were gritty, we knew they were going to be gritty, we knew they were going to be better than their record showed. All you have to do is watch video to see that they have some good players, and they play exceptionally hard, and I have a lot of respect for their program."
On what UMass did defensively in the second half and the decision to bring in Jarrett Guarantano at quarterback:
"We knew all week long that we had to do a great job of blocking their movement up front. And they were committing eight to nine individuals to the box, they did a good job of moving the front and filling the gaps. You have to win with your backside cut-offs, you have to play with great intensity and a toughness about yourself. You have to get the dirty gains of four and five yards. We knew we had to beat man coverage, there was a combination of that. But not one play was the determining factor to put Jarrett in the game. I think it was a combination of a lot of things."
On quarterback situation being less settled postgame:
"I think we have two capable quarterbacks, and we will continue to work with them."
On offensive line rotating at left tackle:
"I'll wait to talk to you on Monday after I watch the video and am really able to assess everything that happened."
On the tight end situation:
"That put us a little bit behind. We were out of some 12-personel when we lost our number one and number two tight ends. I'll know a little more on Monday where they are at in terms of injury status and update. We had to do some different personel groupings when we lost two quality football players like that, but I would anticipate they will be okay, but I will know a little bit more on Monday."
On redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel:
"Trevor continues to change field position, the thing with him is continued consistency. I can't say enough for him and his ability to change field positions. He's one of those individuals who works his craft every single day, and he has turned into a weapon for us because he helps us control field position."
On sophomore wide receiver Brandon Johnson:
"Brandon's an individual that when you think of him, it's consistency every single day in practice, in the meetings, and he continues to get better and better. He gave us a big spark. I know the one third down on the dig route we needed to catch the football there, but he's an individual who played very sparingly. He was injured last year and was part of that young receiving core. He's made some big plays. He has a competitive character, and he understands what it takes to prepare, and that is probably part of his upbringing. His father is one of the best Major League Baseball players to play the game. He won a World Series Championship. He understands what it means to be driven and knows you've got to work every single day."
Massachusetts Head Coach Mark WhippleÂ
Opening statement:
"Our coaches did a great job at getting our guys ready to play. It was a good place to play. It was a tough place to play. In the second half I think the weather zapped both teams a little bit. I'm proud of the way our guys played. We wanted to get it to a one possession game in the fourth quarter, and we did. We just couldn't make the play that we needed to push us over the top."
On how much did it disrupt the offense losing R-Jr. QB Andrew Ford:
"We didn't just lose (Andrew) Ford, we didn't have Jack Driscoll. We also didn't have Adam Breneman, our best lineman and our best player. With that being said, we had to be a little conservative. Tennessee can rush the passer and they have legitimate guys. We didn't turn the ball over. We had a good drive. (Ross) Comis missed a couple of things, but he fought and he battled. We didn't get the play we needed when we just needed one more play."
On whether he thought about going for it on 4th down and 7:
"Yeah, that's why we ran the ball on third down. If we were in a fourth and three situation, I probably would have gone for it. We had three timeouts. They hadn't moved the ball. They brought (Quinten) Dormady back in and he made a throw on third down. That third down play was huge and the third down at the end of the first half was huge. That's two weeks in a row. We have to clean that up on defense. They made the play. Their kicking game is good."
On the heat effecting his team:
"I think that when we came out, it kind of stunned us. They had energy on offense. But our guys responded, and it was a factor, there is no question about it. There is no way to prepare for it. We kept looking for clouds to come over but it never happened. We didn't have Jack Driscoll in the second half. We aren't deep enough to play against Tennessee. I thought our guys played well. I'm proud of them of we just have to keep coaching them. It's hard playing these teams because they just have more. We are getting closer."
On the missed extra point being a momentum killer:
"Well they went down and scored. That has happened a couple of times this year. We haven't played complimentary football. We got our first turnover in four games and then there is a two- minute timeout and we come back with a holding penalty on the next play. It was a field position game. That's the way you have to play to win against these guys. They made the big play right before the half. They have skilled guys and they have a lot more guys than we do. They practice in this heat. If you told me it was going to be a four-point game and that we would have the ball with six minutes left with the ball on the 50-yard-line, I would've taken that any day. We just didn't get it done in the last five minutes."
Tennessee Sophomore Wide Receiver Brandon JohnsonÂ
On the team's confidence going forward:
"It's just our culture, really. It's something I can't really explain. Once you're in it, it's just the culture that we have as far as an offense goes, defense as well. Our confidence never waivers, no matter what. A win or loss, it doesn't matter."
On why the offense struggled in the second half:
"I think it was just execution. The formula is there. The game plan is there. I just say it comes down to execution."
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Tennessee Junior Running Back John Kelly
On the performance of the run game:
"We were frustrated. I feel like we just have to execute. That is one thing we could definitely work on more is just the execution of the plays that are being called and the passion behind it, but those are things we are going to be able to get corrected."
On the change between quarterbacks during the game:
"We just have to adjust to Jarrett (Guarantano) being able to run a little more than QD (Quinten Dormady). We just have to execute. Honestly, it was just on the entire offense with the execution portion. We definitely have confidence in either one of our quarterbacks that go out there."
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Tennessee Redshirt Junior Defensive Lineman Jonathan Kongbo
On the attitude of the locker room after the game:
"A win is a win, so we were happy about that. But there's definitely improvement we need to make all across the board. We need to play with some more passion, really let that kind of translate."
On not having passion during the game:
 "I wouldn't say it wasn't there completely, but it wasn't the whole game. We just need to do a better job, myself as a leader to get the other guys going as well."
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Tennessee Junior Defensive Lineman Reginald Kahlil McKenzie Jr.
On what the defense will take from the second half:
"Whenever you can put on a performance like we did in the second half, it's always going to pick you up and make your guys feel better, but it's about constant improvement and getting better every day. We have to be a better version of ourselves every week and every day. So that's the approach we're going to have to take going into this next game as a team and just get better from it."
On the defense's mindset in the second half:
"We've got the offense's back. We've got to get them back the ball as much as we can and try to get them going. It's getting out there and trying to make plays and stop them and get them off the field and get our offense back on the field and get them the ball."
