Courtesy / UT Athletics
KNOXVLILE, Tenn. — With UAB set to visit Neyland Stadium on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. ET, Tennessee football coaches stressed the importance of sharpening execution after last weekend’s 44-41 overtime battle with No. 6 Georgia.
Linebackers coach William Inge said his group must clean up missed opportunities in order to take the next step.
“The biggest thing just on our end, just a couple of small things, and it usually always comes down to details,” Inge said. “Being able to finish some plays when you’re in the open space. We had a few missed tackles that we have to clean up. That’s probably the biggest thing on our end from our room that we’ve got to make sure to continue to address and work on a day-to-day basis.”
Inge also pointed to the importance of finishing drives and sequences on defense.
“Just make sure you work to finish,” Inge expalined. “Finish your plays, finish the sequence, finish on third down. Probably the biggest thing was us on third downs … If you can be effective there, now you can get them in the third down and longs and that’s been our calling card.”
On the offensive side, wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope praised the growth he’s seeing in his unit and the way players are settling into roles within the system.
“As long as they set daily habits and as long as those guys stay steadfast, I think ultimately they will find success, and it’s showing in the things that we do,” Pope said. “You can see the maturation physically through the years and how guys get comfortable and how you start playing fast. It’s a beautiful process.”
Pope also highlighted the confidence that has allowed receivers like Chris Brazzell II to make an impact in key moments. Brazzell enters Week 4 as the FBS leader in receiving touchdowns (5) while ranking second nationally in receiving yards (364).
“I think always, when you come into those situations it comes down to how confident are you in your ability to make the play,” Pope said. “(Chris) was able to do that, he’s been doing that, we’ve seen it in camp … We just have to keep him consistent and keep him confident, and I think he’ll continue to make plays.”
Full comments from Inge and Pope can be viewed below.
Tennessee Football Press Conference | Sept. 16, 2025
Linebackers Coach William Inge
On how he evaluated the linebackers on Saturday…
“The biggest thing just on our end, just a couple of small things, and it usually always comes down to details. Being able to finish some plays when you’re in the open space. We had a few missed tackles that we have to clean up. That’s probably the biggest thing on our end from our room that we’ve gotta make sure to continue to address and clean up and go through and work on a day-to-day basis.”
On how pleased he is with Edwin Spillman through three games…
“We’ve been very pleased with him from a production, from a leadership and him driving on the field. He’s been doing exactly what we would expect and anticipate, and at times, a little more, so we know his role is consistently, continuously growing. We know that he’s one of the upper guys in the room to where when we sub, or the next man that comes in, there isn’t a drop off. Often at times, he’s actually doing better when he’s in the game, so we’ve been definitely pleased with him thus far after three games.”
On what Ben Bolton has done to earn his trust…
“Because Ben Bolton has really endured what we call the ‘the battle of a Navy Seal’ where we put him through a lot of instruction, a lot of testing and a lot of pressure and he’s come out on the backside of that showing that from a leadership standpoint he understands how to lead our defense, but also from a performance and a production standpoint, he knows how to drive the defense, and put our defense in a scenario where he’s not an inefficient player when he’s on the field. So, with that he’s gained our trust and that’s why on my end I don’t think twice about putting him in the game.”
On Edwin Spillman playing for Trent Dilfer in high school…
“We have had questions to him about ‘hey are these some of the things that you guys saw that you did in high school’, from that standpoint. But the biggest thing on our end is we’re gonna trust and rely on our preparation and our understanding when it comes to how we get ready for the games. And we know just because of who he is, where they’re from, there’s going to be some bags of tricks that we just have to be ready for on defense.”
On the challenges of the perimeter passing game and how challenging it is for a linebacker in the system to play in coverage…
“It’s just a matter of you having to do your job. The biggest thing that we tell our players is you always have to understand the call itself, the concept of the call and making sure you do a great job of defending high to low. Those are the biggest things that we have to be able to work on. When the ball is in the area it belongs to us, so we have got to be able to make sure that we can go get it.”
On what he sees from Trent Dilfer and the UAB offense…
“I would say multiple in the things that they do. They’ve got a lot of personnel groups, primarily let’s say 11 and 12 personnel but then you’ll see they do a lot of good things from my perspective with No. 11. Is he a running back, is he a wide receiver, No. 0 does a lot of great things. So, what they do is they want to get the ball to the skilled players out in space and have you make the one-on-one plays, and do some things to try get your eyes and your eye discipline a little criss-crossed, to where they can get someone free over here and everybody is running over there.”
On the message he is stressing this week to the entire defense…
“Yeah, just make sure you work to finish. Finish your plays, finish the sequence, finish on third down. Probably the biggest thing was us on third downs and when you continue to peel layers away, it was making sure that you can be even more efficient on second down, because some of the second downs led to a third down and medium and third down and short. If you can effective there, now you can get them in the third down and longs and that’s been our calling card. So we have to continue to as we would say ‘bounce back’ and get to where we’ve been and do what we do.”
On how much more depth does he need and is he concerned workload-wise for certain players…
“Yes, that’s something that we’re always looking at and we tell the players from a development standpoint you have to make sure that you’re ready to go and that you’re doing the things that you need to do, to where when your number is called, you can go in and be effective and efficient. If there’s one thing that I will say looking over my shoulder that I wish I would’ve done is probably have harmony in a few more plays from our side, and that would’ve taken ten to 15 reps off of Arion Carter. But from us playing guys, I tell the guys that if you’re prepared and you’re ready, you’re gonna have a chance to go in the game.”
On what Jadon Perlotte did in preseason to get on the field and fast-track his way up following surgery…
“Just his level of preparation has been very good when it comes to him in the meeting room, but also the things he can do on the field. You can see that he shows flashes of being able to show up and being able to make some plays, and as coaches we say ‘he can do some things that we don’t have to coach’ and that’s exactly what you love, cause he’ll make a coach look really good, just from a skillset when he’s on the field. So those are some of the things that he’s been able to do and we trust him and he’s going to be on the field more.”
Wide Receivers Coach Kelsey Pope
On the process of becoming comfortable with offense as a wideout…
“I don’t think that you try to aim for two years. I think anytime you get guys here, I think the goal is to push them, to get them to have an immediate impact, but in reality it doesn’t always work out that way. What I think guys have to make sure they do is, you know they all come in with goals, I think as long as they set daily habits and as long as those guys stay steadfast, I think ultimately, they we will find success, and it’s showing in the things that we do. I also think that it’s a testament to the way we are developing guys here. It would be easy to say guys come in the transfer portal, high school, and they’re making plays right away, it would be easy to say they were already ready, but you guys can see the maturation, literally, you see it physically through the years and how guys get comfortable and how you start playing fast. It’s a beautiful process. You don’t aim for a two-year process, you want to get them in as fast as they can, but I think ultimately, you just got to push them and whenever it clicks for them, it just happens naturally.”
On the confidence level and technique of Chris Brazzell II, leading to his big plays…
“I think it’s a combination of both. You know, he and I sat down extensively like multiple times this offseason, watching his targets, all of his targets. We watched his deep ball targets, we watched the ones he made, we watched the drops, we went back and watched other guys. Him and Donte have like skill sets and a like build. We watched guys like Nico Collins in the NFL, but I think having those meetings allows those guys to see it visually. I think they retain that a lot better and they go train it after. I think in the situation it just makes them more comfortable and confident. I think, always, when you come into those situations it comes down to how confident are you in your ability to make the play? And he was able to do that, he’s been doing that, we’ve seen it in in camp when he got back, so it’s not new for us. We just got to keep him consistent and keep him confident and I think he’ll continue to make plays.”
On recruits being in attendance Saturday for the Georgia game seeing how the wide receivers played…
“Yeah, it’s awesome. I think it just helps the buy-in. Those guys see it, they see the results. They’ve heard what you said already, right? That’s guided them to this point. That gets them to the game. I think once they see those results, they’re bought in. We had a couple conversations this weekend already with some guys that we’re in a really good spot with. I think this game is going to help us get over the hump down the road. I think as much as you can show those guys, you know, it’s the things that you’re telling them and you’re preaching, it’s real. It helps them buy in, and that’s the name of recruiting.”
On how pleased he was with the receivers handling Georgia’s press coverage and guys making plays through defensive pass interference…
“I wouldn’t say pleased. I think we expected it. We got a really good DB group in our facility that we practice against every day. So, coming off fall camp and spring ball, we know that the DB group gets us ready for the physicality in this league. So, surprised, I wouldn’t say. I think those guys knew they were ready to go display it to the rest of the world. The tough thing in this league is that every team has really good corners. Every team has a really good defense. We have to continue to take care of our bodies, stay healthy and continue to win those matches.”
On QB Joey Aguilar’s deep throws being conducive to the receivers making plays…
“That’s a very underrated point, like, catching deep balls, a lot of times it isn’t about arm strength. Usually, you have to give guys a chance. When balls are perfect, we’ll take those, obviously. But, you know, 60 percent of the time, 50 percent of the time, the receivers are going to have to go make a play. I think Joey does a really good job at just giving our guys a chance. It’s a catchable ball, right? He’s putting air up under it, so even if you’re not running in stride, I can go up and attack it, because a lot of times in man coverage, the DB’s eyes are on us, he can’t play it. So, he does a really good job at giving those guys a shot to go play it. I think that makes a lot of difference at wideout, that you have confidence that you’re going to make this play, regardless of what the look is at the end of it.”
On versatility of the wide receiver group and creativity that unlocks on offense…
“Yeah, I think that’s twofold. Last season, we left the playoffs and as an offensive staff, we felt like we got to evolve. We got to go seek and learn and get some different things and we had to take accountability and look in the mirror as coaches. I think we did that with the things we’re showing on offense. It’s completely foreign to what Tennessee offenses looked like here, so far. I think the other part of that, the players wanted that. They wanted some more concepts, route patterns, route depths, like whatever. I think they have to take accountability and be able to master that and handle the workload and the capacity. I think those two things have married and now we’re in a really good spot. Like the creativity, you can go get to anything. You can move guys in different spots. Braylon Staley is playing outside, Mike (Matthews) is playing slot, Chris (Brazzell II) is playing slot. I think that just helps you as an offense, not only be cohesive, but you’re multiple and it’s hard for defenses to pick one spot, or guard one concept, or guard one guy. It just helps us stay multiple.”
On his message to Chris Brazzell II week-to-week after last season…
“Every day. They’re receivers. If you let them get too far drawn away from the role, you have to steer them back. That’s just the nature of this position. I played it, and I tell them that all the time. I was the exact same way. Coach would get steered off the role, and my coach would have to bring it back and it’s literally an everyday thing. And I think what happens with coaching this position is a lot of times, it’s strenuous and it’s exhausting, and a lot of coaches fall to the war of attrition. I think the coaches that really care about this position – that study it, that are really passionate about the receiver position – I think that passion fuels them to stay on their guys every single day and not let up. I think, ultimately, those guys, the coaches and those groups, are able to separate themselves eventually.”
On managing each receiver’s personal goals…
“They all want the ball. They all want to go for 200 yards. It’s just not realistic, so I think you have to give them reality. I talk to them all the time about situations that I have been through. My senior year of college, I came back as an All-American from my junior year and big man on campus, and first three or four games, I probably got three catches total. The portal didn’t exist then, but had it existed, I would have had to have a conversation with my family. I’m telling the guys, anytime you stick it out, it’s so much more worthwhile. It’s so much more worth it. Not only that, but you have these types of stories that you can now give back to guys that you’re going to talk to and speak to, and they can eat off of those, and they can benefit from those. It’s a daily thing, man. I love prayers, keep us in your prayers.”
