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TAXSLAYER GATOR BOWL: INDIANA VS TENNESSEEJanuary 1, 2020Jeremy PruittDarrell TaylorMarquez CallawayNigel WarriorDaniel BituliJauan JenningsJacksonville, Florida HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: We want to thank Rick and his staff and everybody associated with the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl for the hospitality, the way we've been treated throughout the week. It's been a wonderful week for us. We've got a beautiful New Year's Day here. We hope the next 364 days look like this. We're excited about being here, playing a really good football team in Indiana. I know that our players are excited. We probably, if you look at this group of guys up here, as the season began, we probably didn't reach some of the expectations and goals that we had set out. But for these five gentlemen that are up here, I can't say enough about them, about their leadership. When you find out a lot about yourself and the people around you when you face adversity, and I think the way our football team has responded from the point in the season when we were 1-4 to be 7-5 now, winning our last five games, six out of our system last seven, you know, can be attributed to the men that are up here, their character, their leadership, and how they helped hold the team together. We are excited about this opportunity and we are looking forward to starting 2020 off to the right note here and sending these guys off with a win. And so with that, we'll take any questions. Q. With the 1-4 start, how did you go about collectively as a staff and keep confidence up with these guys and knowing there was opportunity to turn the season around? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: Well, when you believe in your plan, which our coaching staff absolutely does, our players do, you know, you've got to figure out what you're doing the right way and where you're not doing things the way you want to get it done. So you've got to look in the mirror, and I feel like our staff did, our players did, and everybody said, how can I do better. It's easy to always point the finger to somebody else, and the men on our staff, the men on our team did not do that. They figured out, how can each one of them improve specifically and that's something that we did and we stuck together and for the leadership of these guys up here. Q. Do you believe based on how your recruiting has gone so far and the kids you have coming back and what you've seen in the practices you've been able to get from this Bowl trip, is this a team that you believe will contend in the SEC east next year? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: Well, we're focused on one game right now and that's the game tomorrow with Indiana. You know, I can't say enough about the prep that our team has went through over the last two weeks. We had nine really, really good practices before we left Knoxville. It's one thing about this group, asking them to work hard has never been an issue. These guys work hard. They do it the right way, and you know, we've got 24 hours here before we play. One thing that I believe that our staff, our players have done is try to close all the way to the last play of the game and that's something that we'll work hard to do over the next 24 hours. Q. When you look at what Tom Allen has done at Indiana, what stands out to you about him, the job he's done and then your thoughts on what you think stands out about the team you're going to face tomorrow? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: Well, when you look at them to start with offensively, they very well-coached. They are balanced. They create a lot of mismatches. They have got play-makers on the outside. They find ways to get the tight ends the ball. They are committed to running the football. They have kind of won some games a lot of different ways, but they have a very good imagination when it comes to their offensive philosophy. I think they have got big men up front who can lean on you when you run the football and they do a nice job protecting the quarterback. The quarterback has a way that he can extend plays and hurt you with his feet defensively. Lots of movement. They play hard. They keep the ball in front of them. They keep the ball contained. They make you block them. They don't give up a lot of explosive plays and they find ways to create turnovers. You look at them on special teams, they have a dynamic returner in the punt and kickoff return game. When you look at their punt team, they give you a thousand different looks. So a very well-coached team that plays the right way. Q. Jauan, going back to the Vanderbilt game, can you describe what happened on the sideline there? Were your accurate actions intentional, unintentional, and what's this going to be like for you, mentally preparing knowing you're not playing until the second half? JAUAN JENNINGS: Unfortunately an vent took place and it was unfortunate because it was an accident. So just getting mentally and physically prepared for this game and all I'm focused on. Not really too focused on what I'm going to do in the second half. I'm here just being ready for this team and I'm going to -- they are going to have my back and I can't wait to come out there and have theirs. HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: And I'm going to add theirs, June Jennings has done nothing but do everything exactly the way we want him to since I've been the head coach at Tennessee. The guy's graduated, competed, been a great leader. In this game, you see it every Saturday, there's lots of physicality in this game. Jauan plays the right way, but one thing that we do is there's leaders in every organization, right. So I'm the leader in our organization. Greg Sankey's the leader in the SEC, and things kind of go up and down the ladder there. Commissioner Sankey made a decision on that and we're going to support it and in no way does that depict who Jauan is or the circumstances around it. He's going to be ready to play in the second half and our guys will get ready to play without him in the first half. That's the way it works. Q. (Off mic). HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: Absolutely. Q. For the defensive guys. You've had a chance to see Indiana on tape. Do they remind you of any team that you have faced so far this season and why? DARRELL TAYLOR: I don't think so. I think every team is different. We definitely seen some stuff on tape that they ran from other teams and we've definitely will probably see some copycat plays on tape once we finish watching all the film, but I think every team is different. They kind of got their own scheme and they do what's necessary for them or what works for them. Q. Tossing aside what happened in the game itself, anything you felt you needed to say to guys about what you want to see them go out and do? JAUAN JENNINGS: Not too much to say. Game of football always going to be the same whether I'm playing or whether King (ph) is playing. We just get prepared and let Coach Martin will handle all that. Q. Looking at the way the defense flipped the switch, what went into everything that you guys did and how you continued to get better over the season? DANIEL BITULI: We just bought into the season. We knew those previous games, we beat ourselves in a lot of ways. If we went out there and eliminated the mental mistakes and communicated as much as possible pre-snap and post snap, it would all take care of itself, so we started doing that, and because of that, we had the success we had in the post-season. Q. Nigel, what's the Bowl experience been like, knowing this is your last? NIGEL WARRIOR: The Bowl experience, first of all, I always like to thank the TaxSlayer Bowl. This is a great Bowl to come to. They have treated us like nothing than we supposed to. We treated us like we are somebody. Of course, you know what I'm saying, we appreciate them. This being my last Bowl game, I try to treat it like it's a regular game, you know what I'm saying, but this is pretty important. So it feels good possible here and it feels good to be with my teammates. Q. Marquez, with Jauan not being able to play in the first half, talk about the dynamic of the offense of the wide receivers. Does it change a little bit? MARQUEZ CALLAWAY: I don't think it changes. Football is a game that you have to be able to adapt. Obviously he's not playing the first half. That doesn't change anything for the other receivers. We still go to practice. We still working the scheme that Coach has and the young guys going to have to step up and know the guys going to have to be a louder voice out there. Everybody knows what they are supposed to do, whether they are a freshman or senior, everybody knows what they are doing, the game plan is simple. We just have to go out there and execute and Jauan will step in and fill in when he comes back. Q. For all you guys, staying the course and believing in the vision, at 1-4, why did you guys still believe in the vision and the plan and be able to have the kind of results you did in the second half? MARQUEZ CALLAWAY: It was a lot of football left in the beginning of the season. We still had eight, seven, eight games left, so if we started worrying about the past, we would never be here in the future. Just, you know, stay the course. Let everything play out the way it was and buy in to what Coach and them were saying. I think the young guys fulfill what they said. You know, they wanted us to go out the way we was supposed to go out, the right way and with leadership from the coaches, from top to bottom, seniors to freshmen, everybody bought in and knew what they was supposed to do, and another shout-out to the younger guys sending us out the right way. Q. How important is it to you to go out in your last game with a win and has it been difficult trying to soak up the last moments with the team while staying focused for tomorrow night? DANIEL BITULI: It's really difficult. You know, this group of guys that I was able to play with this year, it's been an amazing ride. I appreciate the relationships that I have been able to create with these guys up on the stage here right now. I just want to send us off with the win, and the way we've prepared these past couple weeks, these past couple months, has really been good. I'm really excited to be able to attack this game with these group of guys. Q. Darrell, I know when you look at -- Indiana is not a team -- they want to run the ball, but they don't throw it on every play but playing a team that throws for more than 300 yards a game, how excited do you get for opportunities like this? DARRELL TAYLOR: Yeah, I think we get really excited, just to get an opportunity to rush the passer. We can't do that until we stop the run. So once we do that, we get to rush the passer all day. I think that's going to definitely give us an opportunity to create some negative plays. Q. What have you seen from the secondary and what you might want to attack with that? JAUAN JENNINGS: I think we don't get enough secrets, just want to go out there and play football. Q. A year ago you spoke highly of the seniors you inherited. What's your takeaway from where the season started to where you are today? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: You see the talent they have as football players. One thing I'm thankful to be a part of is the character that these guys have. The toughness and the maturity that they have, the leadership, all the intangibles it takes to have success on the football field, away from the football field, these guys are going to be successful in life. I couldn't ask -- if you notice, these captains were voted on by their teammates and normally you have four. Well, the voting was so high, these are the five guys that got all the votes. It's a very unusual circumstance. I think these guys are phenomenal leaders. They are great men and they have really kind of laid the foundation for years to come here and I'm just excited to be a part of it and help them develop as players and I'm looking forward to sending them off and the relationships that we have built over the last two years will last a lifetime. Q. How much pride do you take in being able to end it right here with a Bowl game, putting Tennessee back into the postseason? JAUAN JENNINGS: Just a lot of pride, just knowing what this program has done and the history of being a program. Just playing our best and putting everything on the line, the pride that you have with Tennessee on your chest. Q. Have you thought about any New Year's resolutions for this coming year for 2020 for yourself and for this Tennessee program? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: We kind of worry about where our feet's at, and right now I'm worried about this football team and finishing this season off the right way. When the game is over tomorrow night, we'll kind of turn the page and move on to the next year. Right now, we owe it to the men that are setting up here, everybody that's associated with this program to put all of our attention, all of our effort and focus on Indiana. Q. The Indiana quarterback got a lot of freshmen honors. When you look at film, what stands out to you about him? JAUAN JENNINGS: He's a good corner, great feet, very competitive and it's going to be fun to go at him. Can't wait. MARQUEZ CALLAWAY: He's very competitive, and you know, we watch film just like we watch film on any other game, preparing like we prepare for any other game. I don't think for us we're going to change anything, but since we know he has all the highest awards and stuff, we're just going to treat it as a challenge for us. So we're going to go out there and play just like we played, but knowing that in the back of our minds. Q. Who can step into the role of leadership now? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: That's one thing about building a program. For us to be able -- these guys provided great leadership all the way through, okay. From when last season was over with all the way to this point right here, but it's important to people to respond to the proper leadership and I think as you learn to respond to proper leadership, which our team has learned to do, I think it sets them up in the future to become a leader, also. I think there's lots of guys on our football team, and we have other guys that provide leadership right now that's not on this stage. It's not like these guy are the only one. So our program is in a really good spot right now and a lot of it has to do with these men up here. I can tell you this: They are going to leave this place and they are going to leave their mark and they are going to leave their kind of I guess makeup with the other guys around them and how they prepare and how they practice and how they go about their business and how they do their schoolwork. So they have set a phenomenal example for everybody in the organization. Q. For Jauan and Darrell, I know you're focused on Indiana but what does that mean to be able to represent the University of Tennessee? There's a long list of great players that played in Mobile; what's that mean for you guys? JAUAN JENNINGS: We just so focused on January 2, I couldn't even tell you. So focused. DARRELL TAYLOR: I'm honored to have the opportunity, but like Jauan said, I'm really not thinking about it right now because we have game tomorrow and that's what we put our focus on and that's what we're doing to get ready for. Q. I know this is your first Bowl game as a head coach, but you've been an assistant at many places. Any advice for Bowl prepare you took from a previous stop? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: When you watch Bowl games over the years, there's a couple of things that really stick out. The first thing is ball security on the offensive side. So it's something that we really preach to our offensive players about ball security. The same thing to the defensive players is being able to attack the football. There's not been a whole lot of contact. You know, it's been a long time since you played a game. The other thing is tackling. You've got to do a nice job tackling in space, being a good tackling team in Bowl prep because we have not played a game since I think it was November the 31st. It's one of the things that we focused on, the first nine base of Bowl prep and we had lots of days it was good-on-good and lots of days it was competitive practices against each other, ones, twos and threes, so we have worked hard to do that. Q. It's the 75th anniversary of this game. What have you told your players and your staff about the history of this game? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: Well, this is the seventh time that the University of Tennessee has played in the Gator Bowl and having an opportunity to be part of the 75th game -- you know, I was looking at a picture a couple of nights ago, all the great players and coaches who have participated in this game. It's an honor for us to be just a small part of it, but to represent the University of Tennessee in the right way; you know, this is the 53rd Bowl appearance for the University of Tennessee. It's the fifth all-time. We have a way that we want to go about our business and we have a way that we want to play in the game. We are looking forward to it and we are very thankful to be here. Q. I know your experience is on the defensive side of the ball primarily, but cane, being 32 years old, first year as defensive coordinator, your thoughts on how he's done this season? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: I think Tom and his staff have done a phenomenal job. When you look at them, you look at the body of work that they do. They are very well-coached. They are sound. When you talk about fundamentals, you know, these guys, just the ABCs, blocking, tackling, playing with effort, toughness, they do that all of the time, not some of the time. When you look at schematic part of what they do in all three phases, they have very bright guys on their staff and they create lots of issues and you can see why they have had lots of success in short period of time. Q. Obviously you were asked about the defensive side of the ball, but the offensive coordinator for IU just got a head coaching job. How rare is that for an assistant to stay in a Bowl game and how much more difficult has that made your life that he's calling plays in the game? HEAD COACH JEREMY PRUITT: Well, I think, you know, for him staying in the Bowl game, he's finishing what he started, which says a lot about him. You know, I'm sure he sat in the living room and probably helped recruit some of these guys that he's coaching and he's helping them finish out this season, which says a lot about him. I think he's done a fantastic job. Lost a quarterback during the season. They find ways to create explosive plays every game, but they also play with a certain amount of toughness and they are physical every game. So I can see yes got offered a head job, and based off watching how they have played the last couple of years, creates a lot of problems. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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