• Kelsey Pope Press Conference
• Willie Martinez Press Conference
• Cooper Mays Media Availability
• Daevin Hobbs Media Availability
• UT Game Notes
• NC State Game Notes

FootballSeptember 03, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – As game prep for No. 24/23 NC State continues, wide receiver’s coach Kelsey Pope and secondary coach Willie Martinez, along with select players met with the media on Tuesday afternoon following practice at Haslam Field.

No. 14/12 Tennessee will look to carry over its momentum on both sides of the ball from last Saturday’s season opener against Chattanooga in which the wide receivers and secondary both put forth stout performances.

UT’s wide receiver room accounted for 344 of the team’s 414 yards through the air and featured nine different wideouts that had at least one catch.

“Going out and seeing those guys make plays is awesome,” Pope said. “I also think that there is accountability with having a deep room that you have to go show up. You’ve done enough to create an expectation. The satisfying part and the best is really yet to come. We have to continue to work so that on each Saturday we can see those plays being made.”

On the flip side, the Vols’ new-look secondary held the Mocs to just 153 passing yards on 13 completions and posted six pass breakups on the day.

“We kept saying that you have to come out in midseason form,” Martinez said. “Like I said a little while ago, you don’t have preseason games where you have a scrimmage. We just scrimmage ourselves. We had to be at midseason form and that had to be with the communication, the alignments, then obviously executing the defense. I thought for the most part we did that.”

The Vols and Wolfpack will square off in primetime on Saturday night in Charlotte at Bank of American Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game will be televised nationally on ABC.

Wide Receivers Coach Kelsey Pope

On if Bru McCoy did anything on Saturday that surprised him…
“I wouldn’t say surprising, but it’s really refreshing to see him. He has a step or two that I don’t think he had before. He’s lost a ton of weight coming back from the injury. It was just awesome to see him back and in rare form from our perspective as coaches. I’m sure from a fan’s perspective, you guys watching it, it was great to see No. 5 back out there in Neyland. It was awesome.”

On what the most satisfying part of the wide receiver room was against Chattanooga…
“I think the satisfaction. I think that’s yet to come. Going out and seeing those guys make plays is awesome. I also think that there is accountability with having a deep room that you have to go show up. You’ve done enough to create an expectation. The satisfying part and the best is really yet to come. We have to continue to work so that on each Saturday we can see those plays being made.”

On if the wide receiver rotations in the first half Saturday are what the staff anticipates moving forward in the season…
“We hope to play more guys. We have a liberty in that room that we have a bunch of guys we trust. It’s been the first time we’ve had that since we’ve been here. I absolutely want to continue to play more guys. To my previous point. It has to be a trust aspect. Guys have to earn it every single week. As they keep doing that, they’ll keep seeing playing time and will keep making plays.”

On what he saw from Dont’e Thornton Jr. against Chattanooga…
“He’s just able to play fast. He caught one early which led to another. He got off to a hot start, which is awesome for him and for our group to be able to see that because they feed off one another. His biggest deal is staying positive, regarding if there are good or bad things happening. He’s done that this offseason and it’s led to him gaining a ton of confidence. As long as we keep him trending that way, I think you will continue to see him trend as well as a player.”

On if it motivates guys to know that the ball is going to arrive in the right spot from Nico Iamaleava if they work for it…
“I played quarterback in high school and college, and I played receiver at a high level for a long time. I’ve seen a handful of guys that receivers want to go play for, and you can see it and sense it. They love playing for that guy (Nico). Absolutely love playing for him. It’s infectious in practice. It’s obviously easy in the game because the crowd is there and there is adrenaline. They absolutely love playing for that guy. As talented as he is, he’s an even better teammate and a better leader. That’s’ a testament to him and the growth that he’s shown since coming onto campus. It makes our group, our camaraderie and it makes the chemistry that much better when those guys love each other, and they play hard for one another. They love playing for him.”

On what the NC State secondary does well that will challenge the offense and receivers…
“NC State is a veteran group. They have a ton of older guys. They’ll present some pictures on the backend where you have to be ready for a ton of different coverages and looks. You have to be ready for a ton.”

On the status of freshmen WRs Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley…
“As far as those young guys, they’re trending in the right direction right now. We are going to continue to take it day-by-day with those guys. They’re trending and they’re working hard to get back.”

On what Squirrel White and Chas Nimrod were able to do on Saturday…
“I think both of those guys played tremendous without the ball. We keep talking about the depth in the room. There are a lot of things that come with that that you have to be able to handle. There are positives out there, but if there is depth in the room then there is also only one ball. Every day won’t be my day. What I challenge these guys to do is that even if they’re not a five, six catch guy on that specific Saturday, you have to go affect the game. You have to do it in the run game. You have to go be a great teammate without the ball. If you watch Squirrel White and his tape from this weekend, it was his best game by far of him blocking on the perimeter. It did not matter if we were at the 50-yard line or the plus-two-yard line going in, he was being violent and he was playing hard in the run game. Chas was the exact same way. Both of those guys did a tremendous job. For me as a coach, those things are probably more fulfilling than the touchdown catches, because you don’t see it. There is no applause, nobody even notices it. It’s a character thing. I enjoy seeing those aspects being played out on Saturday.”

On the performance of Chris Brazzell II and Nathan Leacock running down a potential interception return for a TD…
“Chris did an awesome job. Especially with him getting here, he’s really the newest guy in the room. He has done an incredible job of getting himself prepared to play. He’s always in the building. He’s truly done what it takes to learn this offense and learn how we operate and do things. If he continues to operate in that way, you’ll continue to see good things from him.

“Nathan Leacock’s play, that’s what you want to see as a head coach, as a receivers coach, shoot, as an AD because that gives you a glimpse of what your football team looks like. That’s a kid who maybe didn’t play as many snaps as he wanted to early. I don’t think he had a catch at that point, and as soon as the pick was thrown, he didn’t bat an eye. He turned and sprinted in the opposite direction to stop a touchdown. They had an opportunity to go kick a field goal that drive also, and I think they missed a field goal. We kept those guys out of the end zone solely from that play. That is a kid who has battled injuries. That is a kid who has gone through adversity. He’s fighting like crazy to go make a play and add value on the field. That shows you what type of culture you have when a guy like Nathan Leacock, a young guy, he is exemplifying that. You have to imagine what that building looks like every day. Seeing him do that hypes you up in the team meeting. We praised him on the sideline. That was an awesome play. That was really good by him. That’s who Nate is. He is a fighter, and he is going to keep swinging until the very last second. That was awesome to see.”

On why he thinks the wide receiver room has such great chemistry…
“They all still want the ball. They are still receivers, but I think they truly love each other. It’s easy to go celebrate for a guy you really care about. I know his family, I know what he’s been through. It’s easy to go celebrate with a guy who I’ve been in the trenches with, I’ve sweated with, I’ve sacrificed with. It makes it really easy. Even if I want personal success, I have to go help that guy celebrate. I think that’s what you’re seeing on the outside. They all want the ball, which I want them to want the ball. We have to understand that some days are going to be my day, and if it’s not you have to go affect the game in a different way. You have to go add value some type of way.”

On if he expected the game to unfold for the slot receivers the way it did…
“That’s really just how it unfolded. You have no way to predict. You know what coverages are coming, you have beaters at a different position. It really just happens how it happens most of the time. You get designated shots sometimes, you get designated calls sometimes. That’s just the way it unfolds sometimes.”

On the character of Chris Brazzell II…
“He’s a gamer. He is one of the most competitive guys on the team. Right before kickoff, he’s screaming on the sideline. I was worried that something was wrong. That’s his demeanor. He’s in it, he’s engulfed. He immerses himself in this game. I think Chris is one of those guys who is all or nothing. He’s going to do something 100 percent of the time at full speed. That’s why you see him out there so much. He loves the game, which gives him a shot to be really successful and good at this game.”

Secondary Coach Willie Martinez

On Boo Carter’s performance in his first collegiate game…
“I thought he did a great job. We had a couple guys that played for the first time, and he was one of them. Made some plays. Moment wasn’t too big for him. Obviously, we love to see what he looks like this game, because obviously you’re going to try to make the biggest improvement from game one to game two, but I thought he played well.”

On the challenge of preparing for NC State wide receiver Kevin Concepcion…
“He’s a great player. We’re aware of it. He’s been very productive in his career. You know, just not doing more than your job, really, just do your job. Obviously, you have eye discipline. Be aware of where he’s at because he can move, he can be in any kind of position. He can be in the backfield, obviously, he can be an outside receiver, he can be an inside receiver, he’s a ball in hand guy. But, no more, no less. Not doing more than what your job is and, obviously, being disciplined to know, don’t let the motions and the shifts get you off of what your assignment is. And that’s what they do, they do a great job with their scheme, and we just have to do a great job of executing.”

On what exactly Boo Carter needs to improve on going into week two…
“I think, for the most part, all the guys, you want to make the biggest improvement from game one to game two. There’s no preseason games obviously in college, and to be able to play the amount of guys we played in the first ballgame and get the experience, the ones that didn’t have it (was important). We just want to see the alignments, maybe a little bit better. The communication has to be a lot better. That’s where we have to improve on. And that’s player to player. It’s not so much someone like Boo (Carter) or whoever it is, you know what I mean? It’s got to be between the whole backend, and we want to see the improvement of communication. Getting lined up at a faster pace and getting their eyes where they belong.”

On if the secondary’s performance in game one was typical compared to past season openers…
“We kept saying that you have to come out in midseason form. Like I said a little while ago, you don’t have preseason games where you have a scrimmage. We just scrimmage ourselves. We had to be at midseason form and that had to be with the communication, the alignments, then obviously executing the defense. I thought for the most part we did that. Obviously, we’ve got some things that we have to correct, things that we didn’t like how we executed. This is a different game from a standpoint of how much more they give us. We have to improve tremendously with the communication, like I said just a minute ago, but I thought they played hard, I thought they played energized. I think for a first ballgame it was pretty good. It really was from a backend standpoint, the entire defense.”

On the challenge of preparing for a quarterback with so much experience, such as NC State quarterback Grayson McCall…
“He’s athletic, he’s obviously had a lot of success from the previous spot that he was at. He’s got leadership. He’s got good awareness, field awareness, of what defenses are doing, so you’ve got an experienced guy back there with some weapons, athletic players outside at the receiver position, at the tight end position, the running back position. We’ve got to make sure that we’re well aware of the situations in the ballgame, you don’t have an inexperienced guy. He’s had a lot of success. We just have to do a really good job of trying to create long situations on third down and stay out of third and shorts, where they’re actually controlling the situation. He’s obviously a tremendous player, he can beat you with his running, along with his arm. He’s proven that in the past.”

On the impact the headset communication had on the defensive backfield…
“It was good. It was good to be able to show them the picture as opposed to drawing on a board. Anytime you can see it live, or what looks like live, what they just did five minutes earlier was good. It was good for communication, obviously it helped us a lot.”

On what he saw from cornerback Jermod McCoy…
“I thought, again, he’s going to continue to grow and get better and better. I saw a guy that his experience showed up in situations. We had a defensive call down in the red zone where he was very aware of what he was getting based off the call and he knew what to anticipate what kind of route the receiver was playing. The experience, the little things, he’s got great field awareness, and his experience showed up in that moment and some other plays, too.”

On how Jalen McMurray and other depth cornerbacks that played against Chattanooga…
“I think, for the most part, those guys all played really well. Jalen was, again the same thing I just answered, someone who you can see has experience. Some of his decision making and alignments and having the feel for what’s coming with the defense and the formation showed up. So, the experience showed up. There wasn’t a lot of plays he was being attacked on, but there were some and he didn’t have a chance to throw it, where he looked really good and kind of knew what was going on, so his experience really helped us.”

On how Kaleb Beasley and Marcus Goree Jr. looked in their first game action…
“For Kaleb (Beasley), obviously he had a setback early on in the spring and to get where he’s at right now is really good because he missed a lot. For him to catch up on some of the reps he didn’t have that some of the other guys had and execute it in a game (was important). He wasn’t perfect, by no means, but to see the calmness of a freshman in his first year (was impressive). I know he was here earlier than most are now. To make adjustments, didn’t do it quite well, like it was supposed to be on one of the plays he had, but he was able to take the coaching and the adjustment. It was seamless the rest of the way, so it was really good. Marcus (Goree Jr.) got in there late, was really good, it was awesome to get Marcus in there at the end. Made a tackle, made a nice play on a seam route that they threw. It’s good to get all the guys that got in there. That’s a tremendous advantage to get those guys experience in that situation.” 

Senior OL Cooper Mays

On NC State’s defense… 
“They do a really good job with their defensive scheme. That itself presents a lot of problems as far as mentally trying to get to the right guys. Moreover, they have great talent too. They’ve had a really good defense the last few years, and I’m sure further than that, and this year is no exception.”

On Nico Iamaleava’s performance against Chattanooga… 
“I thought he did really well. I’ve never claimed to know what quarterback play is like and that I know what is going on, but from the eye test of a fan, which is what I am for quarterbacks, it looked like he did really well.”

On the offensive line executing in Tennessee’s fast-paced offense…
“It takes a really high level of conditioning. That starts with the way we practice and the way we do things in the offseason. We have to practice and work out the right way. Nothing really prepares you for football actually, but we get as close as possible.”

Sophomore DL Daevin Hobbs

On how important it is to stay calm when it’s his time to go into the game…
“You’re always going to go hard on the field and give 100 percent into the game no matter what the situation is. Knowing that we have all of these defensive linemen, it just helps you know to give all of yourself on the field, and you know someone will come get you if you get tired.”

On the anticipation of playing a game in his home state…
“I am very excited for this game. My family, high school friends and coaches are coming. It’s going to be fun to be back home and be in the stadium I always went to with my dad, watching the Panthers games growing up. It’s going to be cool.”

On where he has made his most improvements from last season…
“I would say I made the most improvement in really understanding the playbook now, so I can play fast. I no longer play cautious. I know what I’m doing now, so there are no more excuses. I know what I am doing, and I need to just keep playing fast.”