Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs said Monday the Vols' offense has to do a better job capitalizing on in the red zone against Virginia Tech in Saturday's much-anticipated Battle At Bristol at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
photo by Tennessee Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Preparations for Saturday's Pilot Flying J Battle at Bristol against Virginia Tech are officially underway as Tennessee head coach Butch Jones met with the media at the prior to Monday’s practice.
Senior captains Joshua Dobbs and Jalen Reeves-Maybin followed Jones at the podium, offering early takes on the challenge Virginia Tech poses and offering their final thoughts on last Thursday's win over Appalachian State.
Butch Jones | Coach
"Before we start I’d like to let coach (Phillip) Fulmer and his family know that his family is in our thoughts and our prayers with the passing of his mother Nannie Lee.
"Next thing, we are excited for the Battle at Bristol. Great opportunity and has been a long time in the making. A lot of behind the scenes work that’s gone on with Jerry Caldwell, the BMS staff, Dave Hart, our administration. So we’re very, very excited to be going into this exciting week and I know it’s been a long time in the making and its finally turning into a reality.
"Obviously a good Virginia Tech football team. Coach (Justin) Fuente has done a tremendous job. I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s been able to do at Memphis and obviously at Virginia Tech. (VT athletic director) Whit Babcock is a close friend of mine and I know how excited he is about their football program and then obviously coach (Bud) Foster and 30 years of experience. When you watch them defensively, they challenge you with man to man coverage, different fronts, different coverages. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.
"Obviously an up-tempo pace on the Virginia Tech offense and a very, very talented wide receiver crew. One of the best wide receiver corps we will face all year. I thought (Jerod) Evans played very, very well at quarterback. Very, very physical offensive line, good running backs, and when you look at them defensively I believe every one of their starters have started one game or more throughout their career at Virginia Tech. So they’re very, very well coached and it’s going to be a great challenge. As we all know, too, the special teams component addresses itself in games like this. We saw that around the country (this weekend).
"Going back a little bit to Thursday night, and then moving on. Everyone in our program has to have a tremendous sense of urgency to make the progress that’s necessary from Game One to Game Two. Had an opportunity to watch a lot of football over the course of the weekend, and I know everybody strives for perfection, but it's far and few in between from it happening. That’s why it’s the first game. There are no preseason games so you find out a lot about your football team. We’re still building our identity but I thought there was a lot of things to really build upon from the game on Thursday night.
"We watched the video and at the end of the game we found a way to win a football game. To me that talks about perseverance, resiliency, and finding a way to win football games. We talked about that. That’s been a topic of conversation and we were able to do that, but I think we all know that we have to continue to move forward and make great, great, significant progress from Week One to Week Two and we’re going to be challenged with a very, very good opponent Saturday night."
Joshua Dobbs | Quarterback
Heading into Week Two, Dobbs (who is expected to play despite rumors to the contrary) explained that he was encouraged by what he saw in the film room following the Appalachian State game. Dobbs believes the Vols' run game is on-track, but the offense needs to do a better job of capitalizing in the red zone.
"We ran for about 130 yards, so we were doing some good things. Anytime you run over 100 yards, it's a productive day on the ground. Now, it's about finishing drives in the red zone, and taking advantage. If you look back on it, during the second and third quarter they had the ball the whole time. We had three or four drives in two quarters. That was the situation I was given, and I had to take advantage of each opportunity I had the ball, and keep myself in good situations, and move the ball down the field effectively.
“It will be exciting. There will be a lot of people there. We’re setting the college football record in everything. So, it will be an exciting atmosphere and an exciting opportunity for our team.
“If we are more focused on the environment than actually football itself, then we won’t come out on top. We have to be locked in to the game plan, and locked in from the first snap."
Jalen Reeves-Maybin | Linebacker
After being flagged for targeting while defending an Appalachian State punt return on Thursday, Reeves-Maybine defended his inclusion on special teams while addressing the media on Monday. The senior captain cited Tennessee’s emphasis on special team’s success and his own commitment to the punt coverage unit.
"I want to play special teams, I enjoy it. I think I’m one of the better special teams players we have and you know special teams is where you can win or lose games. If you look around the county, games are won on special teams. Last night (Sunday), the Texas versus Notre Dame game was almost decided on special teams with a field goal. I think from the outside looking in you don’t see the importance, but internally, we know special teams was our edge a lot last year, and it helped us win a lot of games last year. I don’t see myself coming off of it."
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)