KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football returns nearly all of its secondary from a season ago, and coach Willie Martinez brought in several new additions to the group. Martinez and the defensive backs met with the media on Wednesday prior to the Volunteers’ second spring scrimmage.
Tennessee will conclude its third week of spring ball on Thursday with a closed scrimmage in Neyland Stadium.
Quotes from Wednesday’s media session are below.
Secondary Coach Willie Martinez
On the growth of the young defensive backs so far through spring practice…
“With Jack Luttrell, John Slaughter, Rickey Gibson, Jordan Matthews and Cristian Conyer, they’ve been here since December. I’ve seen tremendous growth from the time they’ve got here. We actually gave them the playbook at that time. We gave them some reps during those practices. From the time that they’ve gone back to school in the latter half of January and the months of February and March, you take the nine practices and they’ve come a long way. They have matured, become very confident and have managed their time with school. The schedule is the hardest thing to understand when you’re a young player. They’ve grown a lot since December, and they’re doing a good job too. There are not ones, twos or threes. We are mixing everybody in there and giving everyone an opportunity. They’ve done a really good job.”
On how the younger defensive backs have adapted to being more versatile and playing multiple positions…
“We are not doing too much with the young players. With John Slaughter and Jack Luttrell, they’ve been working the safety and star position. The three corners in Rickey (Gibson), Cristian (Conyer) and Jordan (Matthews) have just been playing the corner position. We’ve done that on purpose to let them have an opportunity to compete and know what to do. It’s worked out really well for us, and they have been able to compete with the guys that have been here.”
On the competition of the defensive back room…
“The last year, we have had a tremendous number of injuries. Having those five guys come in here, in addition to Gabe Jeudy-Lally being here also, has made us able to compete. We have had a competition open. We don’t have a first group. We don’t have a second group. That includes everybody. Whether it’s Tamarion McDonald, Jaylen McCollough or Wesley Walker, they all are competing. We have kind of been moving everybody around to give them an opportunity. We want the competition. We have to be better. We have said that from the get-go here. It’s been really good because we have been able to evaluate more reps from everybody. We told them we were going to give them a shot, and this is the time where they will have the opportunity to know what they have. They have to prove it, and it has to show up on film.”
On how much weight he puts on prior performances when evaluating playing time for players during spring ball…
“Warren (Burrell) and Brandon (Turnage) have been out of this spring. They’ve been with us the whole time. There is a lot there. Doneiko (Slaughter) had some really good games. Kamal (Hadden) has had some moments, and they have experience. You’re hoping that they continue to improve with their fundamentals and techniques. They will be better, and they have been. We’ve had nine practices, and we’ve been pleased with the progress that we have going here. I think a lot of it has to do with the competition. That is always good. That’s healthy and the last great motivator.”
On how Doneiko Slaughter has adjusted to the cornerback role more over the past couple of months…
“He’s doing a really good job. He’s all-in. We love versatility in our defensive backs. That is what we want. When we went down with some injuries in the middle of the week of the Kentucky game, he did not bat an eye. We told him, ‘Doneiko, go over and play corner.’ He had not played corner at all besides a couple of snaps in the spring. We all saw how he played in that game and moving forward. He’s a playmaker and is someone that has proved it. He’s had a good spring and he is locked in on playing corner right now. He’s a really good player and a playmaker. You see it in him. He just has to be more consistent.”
On if recruiting taller defensive backs was a goal…
“I don’t think anything has changed. We love length. When you’re trying to go against these wide receivers that are tall and got great size, you want the length. It’s not just the height factor, you’ve got to have the long arms, you’ve got to have the speed, you’ve got to have all the other skill sets that you need. There is no doubt that we like to see those guys. Obviously, I think we saw something from the combine with the NFL, I think the average corner was like 5’11 and a half. Not that we won’t take guys that are longer than that and guys that are not that height. Obviously, I’ve been blessed in my career that two of the best corners that I’ve ever coached were 5’8 and 5’9. They come in all shapes and sizes. Obviously, you got to be very conscious of being long when you’re playing against some really tall receivers.”
On how to make sure versatility in defensive backs makes them better…
“We just want the skill set. We want to say to ourselves, if he’s the fifth best DB, then we want to make sure he’s not the backup corner that doesn’t know how to play safety. It’s kind of like that kind of mindset. It’s not trying to confuse anybody. The corners, they play left and right, they are very versatile as far as playing the boundary and the field. There’s some versatility there. The safeties are very similar for strong or free, it’s the same thing, you got to know it. It’s not as difficult as it sounds. Like I said to you earlier about the young guys, we make a conscious effort. How much do they know? How much are they capable of doing? We’re not going to take away where they’re confused. So, if they can’t do it, then obviously we don’t force-feed them. That’s why, with the young guys, we’ve kept them with one stop and not moving them around. We haven’t given them an opportunity to play the nickel spot, so to speak. Let the corners play the corners right now, because obviously they are learning the defense. With the Doneiko (Slaughter) situation, again we lost some guys, he was the next best guy ready to go and he had enough knowledge to do it.”
On expectations for Gabe Jeudy-Lally with his experience at Vanderbilt and BYU…
“We wanted somebody that had experience (and that) obviously, would fit into our culture that we built here. Gabe is a professional. Obviously, you just said it, he’s been at two places where he’s played a lot of football. We wanted that experience. We wanted somebody to come in here with the skill set, but also could challenge for the starting spot and push these guys. Not knowing where we would be with some of these injuries, and then the youth of good players, where would they be at? We wanted to bring in somebody that had some experience, and again would fit in right with our culture. He has been accepted and he’s done a great job of buying into our program and all the players.”
On if there is anyone who has stepped up to meet the expected competition level…
“Without singling guys out, I think they’ve all had their moments. You see flashes of some really good plays. It’s been really inconsistent. Again, I’m talking about all the young guys, those five guys along with Gabe (Jeudy-Lally). There might be a little bit more consistency with Gabe, because obviously he has the experience. He’s really picked up our defense. He’s ahead with knowledge because of his experience, you know what I mean? Some of the guys are not 100 percent, I’m talking about the young guys, with learning our package. That’ where the inconsistency comes in. They’ve all really done a really good job of making plays, whether it’s a pick or a really good tackle. We just want to see more consistency. That will come, that will come. We’re excited with these young guys, we really are, moving forward. By the time we get through OTA’s in June and July, and then Fall Camp, September rolls around for that first ballgame, it’s almost like they’ve been here for more than a year. That’s the goal and I think they will be in great shape.”
Senior DB Tamarion McDonald
On what he is trying to do to improve this spring…
“I am really focusing on my keys and not just doing my job, (but) focusing on my keys to help me execute my job at a high level. Also, helping the young guys, helping them get not frustrated, helping them understand that you are going to make mistakes. Just keep going really, so helping them.”
On how much more confident he is now than a year ago…
“My confidence has definitely grown a lot. The game is much slower now and I know what to expect based on formations (and) down and distance. I have a lot more knowledge than I did last year.”
On what the next step is for the secondary to take to be more consistent…
“When the ball is in the air, we have to go get it. It’s really as simple as that. We have to get better at our pass defense, no balls over our head. So yeah, when everybody is in the air it has to be ours, that’s it.”
Junior DB Christian Charles
On the level of competition from the defensive back group…
“It’s fiercely competitive in our room but we all love each other. There’s no animosity in our room, there’s no hate on each other. If someone makes a play, everybody’s happy for them. The competition is fierce, but we all love each other, and we all want to help each other learn and become as great as possible as soon as possible.”
On the improvement he’s seen from the offense…
“I would say I’ve seen a lot of improvement in Jaylen Wright’s game. Staying with the running backs like Jaylen and Dylan Sampson, as far as from the end of the season to this spring, I’ve seen a lot of growth from them two specifically.”
Senior Defensive Back Doneiko Slaughter
On if he feels more like a cornerback after last season…
“Yeah, it grew on me like you’d expect it to. I’m fine with whatever corner position. I feel like the boundary corner is more physical now since I got used to it.”
On how he views his versatility…
“I view it as a positive since it helps you learn the defense better. You stay consistent on knowing what other guys are doing on the field, so you know where to help. Staying versatile will help your game at all times. There’s no negative to that. “
On how Gabe Jeudy-Lally has fit in so far…
“Perfectly well in my eyes. He chills with the guys all the time and we feel like he’s just one of us now. We spend time in the spring just coaching the other guys too about the playbooks. So, I feel like he got real comfortable. I feel like it’s home to him.”
Redshirt Senior DB Gabe Jeudy-Lally
On why he chose Tennessee and what he saw in his opportunity here…
“The reason why I chose Tennessee is overall the goal that they have to reach a national championship. I think that Coach (Willie) Martinez and Coach (Tim) Banks really develop guys, seeing the guys that they put in the league. I know that I am coming into the back stretch of my career so I want to be in a place where I can achieve that goal. I got a little piece of going to a bowl game last year and I want to go somewhere bigger and understand the responsibilities that it takes to be able to take those steps. I wanted to be able to get coached in the classroom harder than I have before so I can take those steps to be a better football player at the end of the day, then use that to be able to help the guys out in my room as well.”
On the versatility of the secondary helping the level of play on the defense…
“Yeah, I think it is pretty awesome to see that anybody from the safety to the STAR to the corner can play any position on the field. I think it makes it better for plug and play. At the end of the day, you don’t know what is going to happen when it comes to being on the football field during a game and practice or just in everyday life, so it is good to be able to have guys just like we talked to Christian (Charles) before, guys like Doneiko (Slaughter) that can just play anywhere on the field. We have young guys who are able to do the same thing too. It’s good and it also shows a different look for the offense because they don’t really know who is going to come out each week if we decide to change something up, so it is just something that we can put in our back pocket that plays very well.”
On what his expectations are and how he has measured up to them so far…
“I mean, I didn’t come here to prove anything in my honest opinion. I came here to do my job at the end of the day. We need help in certain areas, and I am coming to help in those certain areas. If it means teaching guys, if it means getting on the field, if it means making plays that need to be made, that is what I came here to do. I think that your game itself proves what you have to do so I think that is where it comes in. My expectation of myself is to be able to teach the guys because I don’t have a lot of time left. So, teaching guys so Tennessee can be good for years on out and to be able to come in here and help us achieve that goal, right? We were a couple steps away from a national championship last year and hopefully we can build a little bit on that momentum and go to a national championship this year. It starts with the defense playing better at the end of the day and the offense just keep doing the thing that they are doing.”
-UT Athletics
