KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee was back on the practice field Monday morning after its first of two fall scrimmages took place at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
Veteran secondary coach Willie Martinez and a handful of the Vols’ defensive backs met with the media following practice to talk about the group’s growth throughout the offseason and fall camp.
A consistent theme that emerged during Monday’s interviews was the selflessness and versatility that is ever present in this year’s secondary. All of the players who spoke to the media on Monday touched on the importance of being able to play multiple positions within the secondary and doing whatever is necessary to help the team perform at its best.
“It’s the culture that we’ve built here,” Martinez said. “Those are the guys that we want to bring in here that pour into the team first, before themselves.”
With veterans like Andre Turrentine, Jalen McMurray, Rickey Gibson III and Jermod McCoy leading the charge, newcomers such as Colorado transfer Colton Hood and UT’s group of talented freshmen have been able to merge seamlessly into the room to build some impressive depth within the unit.
Great leadership, man. I really love that room,” Martinez said. That room is built with some guys that have been around here and have taken it from some of the guys that have left here, whether it’s been Tank (Jaylen McCollough) or Alontae Taylor or Theo Jackson. You can see that the room is running on its own gas.”
The full transcript from Martinez’s Monday press conference can be seen below.
Secondary Coach Willie Martinez Transcript
On his impressions of Colton Hood since he arrived in the summer…
“On tape (when we recruited him), we saw an athletic player that can actually be very versatile in playing different positions. Didn’t know anything about his personality. When he first came on campus for the first time, boy, you could tell that he could fit into our room – just from a standpoint of maturity. He commands the room with some confidence, ultimate team guy. He has a team-first kind of mentality. And then obviously, when he starts working out with us, you can see the movements and the traits. He has taken that from the summertime with his teammates and bonded really well with our team, especially in the back end connecting with everybody. Which is something we really wanted to see, leadership skills. In camp here, he has really had a great fall camp up until this point. He gives us the versatility where he can play corner, he can also play STAR, he can play dime, which he is doing.”
On Ty Redmond’s progression at STAR adding depth at that position…
“Again, Ty had a really good spring. He’s right where he left off in the spring. You know, he’s really tacked on here in the fall. Showing a lot of consistency and playmaking ability. We feel really comfortable with Ty and what he has been able to do here in one-on-one situations with some of our great wide receivers. He has a good command about our package, meaning he knows our scheme. He knows how to play to it, so you build a trust, obviously within the staff and the players. Again, he gives us the versatility I was just talking about with (Colton Hood). He can move guys around. Whenever you have guys who can play out on the edges, like (Rickey Gibson III), like (Jermod McCoy), those kind of corners, you have a lot of flexibility inside.”
On Jalen McMurray’s growth and versatility…
“I don’t want to sound repetitive, man, but the reason why we took him when we did take him is the same reason we took (Colton Hood). First yes, he has to be athletic, he has to be talented as heck, but he has to come into that room and have the leadership skills to fit in the culture that we’ve built here since we’ve been here. He’s done that from day one. And now moving forward, since he obviously has a really good shot inside playing STAR, he has that ability, because he had it where he came from. We didn’t really play him (at START) as much last year. We didn’t need to, even though he knew it. Again, he does a really good job of knowing where everyone is at, communicating with everybody. He has great communication skills. He’s really good in the meeting rooms. He gives us the experience that you want. Very similar to bringing Colton here, he gives us the depth that we want, that we need.”
On Rickey Gibson III naming Jalen McMurray the most competitive player on the team…
“There are a lot of really good competitors in the room. I’m not going to disagree with it. If he’s not in, he’s coaching. I say that, in the meeting room. If we’re sitting there trying to go through a scheme and talk about the ins and outs of the position, he’s on this side over here. He has good awareness of the room. If it’s a young guy that doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do or it’s not coming quickly to him, he’ll move his seat to get where he has to be and doesn’t disrupt the meeting. Those are the little things that again, the guys in the room can see that. Again, it’s the culture that we’ve built here. Those are the guys that we want to bring in here that pour into the team first, before themselves.”
On Rickey Gibson III’s improvement from the end of last season…
“Rickey is extremely smart, always has been. I’ll say he’s a lot better with ball skills; he’s very intentional about improving his ball skills, to track and locate stuff. You can see it when he’s doing drills. Maybe earlier in his first year or two, he was dropping balls in drills, and now it’s like a competitive thing with him. He’ll catch it even if he’s got a bad hand or a bad finger, you know what I mean? His attention to detail – very similar to what I just said about Jalen here – he’s always been coaching the young guys, even when he’s been a young guy. He’s smart. He got into a lot of plays last year, at the end of the year. As the season was going on, he was the most consistent, to be honest with you, on the edges. I know (Jermod McCoy) had an unbelievable year, don’t get me wrong, and the plays he made were phenomenal, but we leaned on Rickey a lot because he’s a guy who knows the scheme really well and was able to help Jermod last year, because Jermod was learning the defense. He’s a lot smarter, he’s more aware of what the safeties are doing, and he knows how they work with each other. Great leadership, man. I really love that room. That room is built with some guys that have been around here and have taken it from some of the guys that have left here, whether it’s been Tank (Jaylen McCollough) or Alontae Taylor or Theo Jackson. You can see that the room is running on its own gas.”
On Jermod McCoy’s recovery…
“When you made the comment about who’s the most competitive person in the room, I can arguably just say Jermod McCoy. He’s itching to do whatever it takes; he’s always been that way. I’m not surprised that he’s hit all the benchmarks to this point where he needs to hit. The guys feel it and sense it. He’s in our room, and he’s engaged. So, it’s not like a one-time thing. You saw that he was on the field doing some drills at the last practice, fired everybody up to see him go through the individual drills, but they see him also doing all the things that he does in the room, in the team room, and the energy he brings each and every day. It’s exciting, it really is.”
On how having continuity on the coaching staff helps during the preseason…
“Coach Heupel has done a great job with our staff. It starts with him and the coaches that are on this staff. When you elevate somebody or you bring in a new guy, it’s like it just flows, and that’s a credit to Coach Heupel. Knowing Coach Banks for a long time and being a part of his life for a very long time, and Rodney and I have been at the same (schools), it’s been 13 or 14 years together, so it helps. Especially when you are on the same side of the ball, tremendously.”
