Linebacker coach Brian Jean-Mary talks Tennessee’s defensive struggles at Knoxville QB Club
Tennessee linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary was the guest speaker Monday at The Knoxville Quarterback Club, looking back at the Vols’ 29-16 loss to Florida Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville and answering questions from the crowd:
Opening Statement
“Obviously the game this past weekend (at Florida) didn’t go the way we wanted it to. The challenge always for, us, SEC road game, is to come out and match the intensity of the opponent.
“Obviously with the way we’ve been the last two years, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot. Going down to The Swamp, that was gonna be a hostile environment. And we need to come out, obviously, with the right intensity and the right mindset. (I) thought it took us a little while to get going.
“We made some mistakes early on, both sides of the ball. And by the time we got into our groove, obviously the second half, we weren’t able complete the game. Obviously, that’s not who we are. That’s not who we want to be. Third game of the season, we’re still kind of finding a groove on all fronts. But we be told the guys, and Coach Heupel does a great job saying it’s time to reset, get ready for the next opponent. We still feel like all of our goals that we have preseason are still out in front of us.”
Moving on from the Florida game and what went wrong against the Gators
“So we still have a ton to play for with the schedule that we have ahead. And the kids were great (on Monday), great (on Sunday). They were ready to come back and have a great week for UTSA.
“The (Florida) game didn’t go way we wanted to go. I speak defensively, going into the week we had been really a carry over from last year. Our disruption rate was one of the best in the country. And you talk about tackles for loss, sacks, disrupting the passer with quarterback hits and quarterback hurries. We did that a a little Saturday, but not to our standard and we want to get back to it.
“Linebacker wise … obviously with Aaron Beasley in charge, we feel like we’ve been good, still have an opportunity to get better. We’re youthful in that room obviously with Keenan Pili being out, but we’ll never use that as an excuse. When you’re in the SEC you’re trying to do it at a high level, nobody’s going to feel sorry for you with the young guys that you have in that room. And we’ve always had that next-man-up mentality. Those guys have to play better and we know that they will play better.
“First road game in The Swamp, their eyes were a little big. The moment was a little big for them. But I thought once they down and started playing, but we have to keep improving there.”
On the lack of turnovers forced so far
“Obviously we want to get more turnovers as a whole unit because they’ve done a good job. Outside of the big plays, the run plays that happened during the game, solid job controlling the pass game with their quarterback who was a thrower. And then the other part that we have to get better at is getting off the field on third down. Thought we were adequate at that first two games. Didn’t go well the first half, obviously. The second half on third down (was better), but we have to do that the whole game.
“But like I said, all in all, you know, you do this long enough, there’s gonna be days like that, no matter how good you are. You like to come out on the winning side, you feel like you played the best. That didn’t happen. But the thing I always say is get a chance to wake up, the sun’s gonna come up. You got a chance to improve on the things that you feel like you didn’t get done the day before. And I think you got a very resilient team that you’re gonna see keep fighting. Our best football is still ahead of us.”
The motions and shifts on offense that Florida used against Tennessee’s defense
“The motions and the shifts, which we worked on, they had a couple of new ones, but it’s all, we call it eye candy. They want to take your eyes off your keys. And we did get caught a couple times with the eyes in the wrong spot because they do so much. But like I said, there’s no excuses. We knew the formation, knew they were gonna shift motion of time. And the ones that we did fit right, they were able to take advantage of. But if you did it, if they did it 30 times and you fit it right 25 times, you guys remember the five you didn’t. And that’s what happened.”
What adjustments were made by Tennessee’s defense in the second half
“I think we didn’t sound the alarm. We basically said just get back to who we are. I know probably everybody thinks we were in there and there were chairs flying at halftime. We settled down. And the simplest thing Coach (Tim) Banks said is just be who we are. We felt like we were trending in the right way, especially defensively from the end of last year, last two games, first two this year. And we did some uncharacteristic things and we were able to settle down and play the way we were supposed to. Now there was, and I’ll say that there was, a little more intensity (at halftime).”
If Tennessee center Cooper Mays will be back this week
“I wish I knew that. Our hallway is split offensively and defensively. We have our own problems on defense. I’m trying to get Keenan Pili (back from injury), you know what I mean? So I don’t know the answer (for Mays). We’d love to have him back, obviously. Integral part of what we do on offense and obviously one the better offensive lineman in the SEC. So I’m like you, I’m hoping.”
The freshmen on Tennessee’s defense that have impressed him so far
“I’ll say this, I think they’re all impressive in their own ways. Obviously Arion Carter has been the one that’s played the most (more than Jeremiah Telander and Jalen Smith) … I also put Elijah Herring and Kalib Perry in that boat. I think combined last year they played less than 50 plays. So really this is their first year really playing. I think all five of those guys you talk about the inexperienced part shows at times. But the one thing we tell them, and that’s always our calling card is to stay aggressive. Everybody make mistakes, right? Everybody. You watch NFL football. How could he make that throw? You know, everybody’s gonna make mistakes, right? That’s just part of the game. And as that being part of the game, when you have youth, you can’t let their mistakes that they know that’s possibly out there slow them down and take away from their aggressiveness. And I think as a unit they’re starting to get better with that. I tell them you’re gonna come back to the sideline, you’re going to get yelled at … but I like those guys, and like I said … very bright future.”
The status of Keenan Pili
“We’re still waiting on him. We knew it was gonna be a couple of weeks for him to return. Hoping we get him back. He’s still in every meeting, he’s still at practice trying to rehab to get back. Obviously it’s a big loss, but you know, like we said, this is the SEC. You’re gonna have guys that go down and that’s why you recruit, why you build depth. And not everyone has to be ready to play every play because you never know, you know, who’s gonna be the next man up. But we’re hoping to get him back sometime before the end of the season. Don’t know when that’s gonna be.”
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