KNOXVILLE - Tennessee
continued its week one preparations for Montana on Tuesday morning at
Haslam Field with another solid day of practice, specifically working
with third-down and red area situations. While the Vols got bigger
physically throughout the off-season, the focus has shifted to training
the brain as well.
“It’s
something that you have to condition your mind,” head coach Derek
Dooley said. “We train our bodies all the time. I tell our guys that.
We lift weight and work our muscles, and our muscles grow. But if you
don’t work your mind and your brian, it doesn’t grow. Your brain will
grow. You get more mental stamina. You learn more. You have to go
condition it. What they don’t understand is when their muscles get
tired, they know how to push through it. But when their brain gets
tired, they shut it down. You shouldn’t. You have to keep pushing and
keep grinding.”
As with every season opener, the Vols are anxious to see what they have.
“I
wouldn’t use the word comfortable because there’s so much unknown and
unexpected with every first game,” Dooley said. “In many ways, there’s
even more unknown going into this game than we had last year because we
had more guys that had played last year. We don’t have very many guys
that played so there’s a lot of concern about how we’re going to handle
the first time running through the ‘T.’”
While Tennessee has been cautiously optimistic this fall, the Vols expect to be able to run the ball efficiently this season.
“I’m
hoping it’s improved and it should be because number one, we have more
guys that have played on the offensive line who we feel like are going
to be really good players for us,” Dooley said. “Number two, we have a
guy who ran for more than 1,000 yards last year. Going into the season
last year, we hadn’t. Number three, we feel like we have a little
better stable of backups to help him. Given all of that, we should be
running the ball better. I’ll be disappointed if we don’t.”
BRAY BRACING FOR MONTANA
Sophomore
quarterback Tyler Bray will start his sixth collegiate game Saturday.
The signal caller has a lot of respect for the Grizzlies and has been
paying attention to their defense. Last season, Montana had the
third-best pass defense in FCS, allowing just 140.0 yards per game
through the air.
“They
have No. 2 Trumaine Johnson, a cornerback,” Bray said. “He’s quick,
really fast. Their linebackers are really disciplined. It’s going to be
a tough game.”
Aside from a win against Montana, Bray has a another goal for the game on Saturday.
“The
completion percentage, keeping that up (is a goal). It’s been a little
low in the past. Keeping that up would be good,” said Bray, who added
70-75 percent as his target.
Last
season, Montana allowed opponents to complete 50.7 percent of their
passes. Tennessee had no starting experience at quarterback entering
last season.
“Certainly,
we’re more comfortable at the quarterback position because we have five
games under the belt, which last year we didn’t have any,” Dooley said.
“Tyler is doing a good job. He’s really working hard and I’m hoping the
results will show.”
RESPONSIBILITES, NOT SACKS FOCUS FOR SMITH
With
Tennessee set to open the 2011 campaign against Montana on Saturday,
the Vols have spent the past few days studying film and preparing game
strategy. For sophomore defensive lineman Jacques Smith, what he has
seen so far looks familiar.
“They
are a spread team,” Smith said. “That’s basically what we are going to
see this year. Cincinnati is a spread team, Florida is a spread team.
It’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, but they are a good team. I
can’t wait to play them and it’s going to be a good game.
While
Smith sees Montana’s spread scheme as an opportunity to wreak havoc in
the backfield, he also understands that his role on the defensive line
is an important one because the zone read is a key play in the Grizzly
offense.
“(The
spread) gives me the opportunity to rush the passer. That’s a good
thing, but at the same time I have to play responsibilities and not get
too much of my momentum up field because there are a lot of things that
can happen.
“They
basically read the defensive ends, therefore there are times where I
can’t be full go on getting the quarterback. I have to sit back on my
haunches, read the quarterback and play my responsibilities. It’s
really tough, especially when you get into the two-minute and you are
thinking pass, pass, pass and next thing you know they hit a draw. It’s
really tough but we practice it day-in and day-out. It is something
that we have really been emphasizing in our practices so I think I will
be prepared for it.”
NEAL BACK IN ACTION, FOCUSED ON TEAM
While
some Vols adjust from orange to white jerseys when they change
positions, sophomore Rajion Neal was happy for a color change Tuesday,
as he ditched the no-contact red top for white.
“It’s
a little negative because you kind of lose the speed of it,” Neal said
of missing time during fall camp. “But the positive of it is I had time
to learn and gain mental reps. I came back out eager to work and I’m
not shying away from anything. I’m happy to be back out here, I love
the game, I’m love back out here with these guys and I’m ready to roll.”
While
Neal spent his freshman season at tailback, his speed and vestaility
has allowed him to split time between the backfield and wide out this
fall. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry and 14.3 yards per reception as a
rookie.
“It’s
fun,” Neal said. “I can say I’m comfortable. Once again, it’s just
helping the team, helping everybody out and we’re having fun. It’s just
more ways to help this team. I’m just happy to be a part of it and be
in this position.”
QUOTABLE
Head coach Derek Dooley
(On the effort level he expects Saturday after a strong fall camp)
“I
expect that every Saturday, even if camp is bad. That’s one thing that
we can’t compromise is to go out there and lay it on the line.”
(On Devrin Young getting healthier)
“It
was good to see him catch punts. Now, he’s not going to be able to get
hit for a while. He still has a couple of weeks before he can get hit.
At least what it allows us to do now is go practice one of the things
that we signed him before to go back there and catch some punts.”
(On Montana’s strengths)
“They
have a lot of guys. What stands out really is their togetherness, how
they play as a unit, their scheme discipline and the effort that they
play with. They have some really good players at every level and it’s
going to be a good challenge for us.”
Sophomore defensive lineman Jacques Smith
(On getting ready to play Saturday)
“It’s
game week and everybody is fired up. Coach Dooley has been fired up,
I’ve been fired up. It’s football time in Tennessee, finally.”
Sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray
(On team camaraderie)
“We are almost like a big family. Everyone knows everyone, everyone can hang out with everyone. We are a big family-type team.”
(On the running game)
“We
can run the ball, pretty much whenever we want on any down. Tauren
(Poole) is a strong, fast back. Marlin (Lane) is quick. Rajion (Neal)
is quick. And, our line has been blocking well.”
Junior defensive end Willie Bohannon
(On his personal improvements)
“I
have been real detailed this year and have been trying to be consistent
every day. It’s been working out for me, just thinking that way every
day. (I have been) telling myself what I need to do better and been
into my playbook more. I need to be consistent, I have to be
consistent.”
Junior defensive back Marsalis Teague
(On Montana)
“We
definitely have to come with our ‘A’ game, as we do every week. We are
not going to overlook any team, especially Montana, which has a rich
tradition of winning.”
