Tennessee football went on the road and defeated Georgia Tech last week to improve to 2-0. Now, it turns the page to Kennesaw State for the final out-of-conference game of the regular season.

To recap the win over the Yellow Jackets and preview this week’s game against the Owls, Vols cornerbacks coach Derek Jones met with the media on Tuesday. Here’s what he said.

More From RTI: What Kennesaw State HC, Former Vols Assistant Jerry Mack Said Ahead of Game at Tennessee

On his takeaway from how his unit played against Georgia Tech

“You know, I told those guys coming out of the game, I think we were probably at a C+. And the reason I say that is because I’ve been trying to harp on where we have to get to to be as good as we can be. And I’m grading the fundamentals, I’m grading the techniques, I’m grading the stances, I’m grading being able to receive the calls, being able to read your keys and all the things that you didn’t get tested against Furman and probably really didn’t get tested against Georgia Tech that I know we’re going to need throughout the process of the season. So, really trying to make the kids understand what you have to do and the attention to detail you have to play at that position to be as good as you can be.”

On how much each week builds toward the next or if every week is individually

“It’s more of one week building on the other. I’ve done this for a long time, and I understand that every week you need to be better than you were the week before. But as a coach, you ultimately know where you have to be when you play against elite competition, when you play against elite quarterback play.

“And like the two starters, they’re going to have to play more and more reps as we get going. And that’s not how we practice. They didn’t have to play a high volume of reps against Furman, so they had to play a few more reps against Georgia Tech. But as we continue to go throughout the course of the season, I know they’re going to have to play more reps. And you can have solid fundamentals playing 20 reps, but that looks different when you play 40 because of the fatigue and everything that sets in. 

“So I’m trying to give these guys a picture of what it should look like all the time and what they can anticipate week to week.”

On what were a couple things he liked, what he is pushing to his guys after Georgia Tech

“Well, I think the most critical thing that stands out is we missed four tackles. And at our position, when you miss tackles, they turn into explosive plays. They turn into touchdowns. And making those guys understand how critical that is. In the landscape of college football now, we don’t get to tackle a lot. We don’t get to see our guys tackle a lot. We don’t get to work those drills. 

“As a matter of fact, I was talking to Ty Redmond, and the last time he made a tackle before the Furman game was the last game of the season last year because he missed time in training camp. So it’s hard to train guys to do things by just putting them in position. 

“And then just having played football and having coached football for a while, it’s a mindset too. It’s one thing to go hit a receiver when he turns around on a hitch route as opposed to hitting a 230-pound running back. It’s a mindset that goes into that. And if you hadn’t hit a 230-pound running back, it’s automatically going to make you stall a little bit. When there’s two yards of space on a hitch route as opposed to five yards of space, there’s a tendency to break down.

“And again, those are things that you can’t practice until you actually get into play. And so we didn’t look good in that aspect the other night. It didn’t show up, but if you do that against elite wide receiver play, if you do that against elite quarterback play, it’s going to show up a little bit more. So my job is to make them understand we’ve got to tidy those things up. Running really hard on the backside of a play whereas it didn’t show up this week, getting them used to doing it. 

“Because as a coach, if you don’t coach those things, it’s going to be the one time it happens where the guy’s kind of lackadaisical back there. A guy pops out, and now he tries to change speed. So those are things that are hard to simulate in scrimmage. Those are things that are hard to simulate in practice. So you have to try to overemphasize those things in games where they’re not an issue so they don’t become an issue.”

On if he plans to keep starters in longer against Kennesaw State even if the game gets put away

“Well, you have to go into every game assuming that you’re going to have to play until the end. You just never know. But, if you look at it, we hadn’t been testing a lot on deep routes. Those guys hadn’t had to cover a lot of takeoffs and come back and get in a good stance and do things. So you would like to see them get tested in a way to where it’s not necessarily about the number of reps, but how do they play when they’re tired and how do they respond to explosive plays and some other things. So I think when you go into a game like this, you have to prepare those guys like it’s any other game. And then as the game unfolds, then you make those decisions.

“But the way I coach them is we’re not on a rotation right now as far as everything. The starters are going to start and I’m going to spell those guys if something happens or whatever. But I need to be able to see those guys respond to every possible scenario they may see throughout the course of the season.”

On where Ty Redmond is at two games in after missing some preseason with illness

“I think he’s in a good spot right now, but Ty has so much growing to do. When you have Ty’s size and when you have Ty’s limbs, it’s going to be hard to do some things. He’s a tall guy. It’s naturally hard to play low when you’re that big. It’s naturally hard to be able to do some other things. So those are things that just takes repetitions and whatever. And, you know, he’s at a point right now to where I think he’s learning and understanding all of that. 

“The thing I tell Ty all the time is I want to see you strain. I want to see you play like you’re straining all the time. Ty has been so successful just being a good athlete. I want to make him understand if you tidy up the attention to detail and you really practice and play, over-exaggerating your techniques, over-exaggerating your body position, it’s the difference in a pass breakup and an interception. It’s the difference in a tackle and a pass breakup.

“So we just got to continue to build on that. All of the guys. Ty’s a young guy. He hadn’t really played a lot of football when you think about it. He’s just in a position where he’s one of the most experienced guys we’ve got. So he’s probably exactly where I would anticipate a sophomore that has played the amount of snaps that he’s played to be right now.”

On coaching up Tim Merritt after a rough series at Georgia Tech

“Well, I preach to these guys all the time about the importance of maintaining your composure when you play this position. I truly feel it’s the hardest position on the football field to play just because every mistake you make is a glaring mistake. Everybody on the field sees it. Everybody in the stands sees it. In the world we live in of social media, podcast criticism, you know that’s going on. But you’ve got to be mentally tough enough to move on to the next play. 

“And what I told him on the sideline the other night is we can correct those things. That’s my job to get that corrected. We’ve got to go look at it. But I think in that moment, as a coach, you’ve got to know how to handle it. The worst thing you can do to a young player in that situation is yank him out and take the confidence away. And when you get your hands on him, you’ve got to make him understand that if you don’t do this, then it goes from a pass interference to maybe an interception.

“But I think you have to coach guys like that all the time. And I’ve been coaching those guys like that since the first day I walked on campus because the last thing you want as a cornerback coach is for your guys to come to the sideline in fear coming to face you. I don’t think that’s coaching. It’s just like parenting. You don’t want your kids to come tell you things. You don’t want your kids to be afraid when they make mistakes. Just like you have to parent, you have to coach.

“And we go back to the film room and we look at where he was wrong, talk about his confidence, talk about his fundamentals and techniques and the things that if you don’t do this, you’re in the right position, then it’s not a pass interference call. It’s a pass breakup or an interception. 

“But it’s a trust between player and coach that enables guys to be able to say, okay, I trust you, Coach, because in those moments I played the position, you had a very low point. And I’ve learned just through coaching that you have to be the source of peace for guys in those situations.”

On what he wants to see from Tim Merritt and Tre Poteat to gain more confidence to play them

“Well, the thing of it is the guys just need to play more. You know, the only way you’re going to get better at playing cornerback in particular is to play and to get out there and to make mistakes. Cornerback isn’t a position that you draw up on the board and say this is how it’s going to happen. It’s about athleticism, it’s about posture, it’s about poise and everything that a lot of other positions doesn’t have to face. But you have to be in those moments to understand how to respond from those moments. And it’s just about playing. 

“Ty, Tim and Tre are all true sophomores and none of them have a high volume of reps under their belts. So until they get reps and we coach from those reps, they’re going to make gradual improvement along the way. I have to be patient with them, we have to be patient with them because it’s not about a light switch.”

On teaching a cornerback to be physical

“I don’t think it’s as much about teaching them to be physical as the mentality that you’ve got to have. Your mindset has to be this is my job, this is my responsibility, and you’ve got to do what’s required to do that. We’re not going to be naturally as physical as most people because we’re not their size, it’s not how we’re built, it’s not how we’re made up, and we’re actually not in those situations a lot. But if I’m only in that situation four times during the season, I’ve got to have the mindset to say I’ve got to put myself.

“At the cornerback position, I tell guys all the time, it’s not about making big hits. I don’t need you to be a big hitter, but I do need you to be a willing tackler. And in those situations where it could be the difference in the ballgame, it could be the difference in someone tying up a ballgame or taking a lead, we’ve got to be willing tacklers.”

On Kayin Lee’s speed

“I think for all the guys, you want to be able to showcase your ability. And the thing that D.O., Coach Owings, has done since he’s got here is really improve the speed of everybody at the position. We actually had four guys in our room that were over 22 miles per hour, and that’s pretty impressive. I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere where I had that, because they put the emphasis on it. 

“And cornerback is one of the positions where speed allows you to make plays, and we hadn’t been tested in that regard in game-wise. So I think the guys are anxious to be able to see that, and I’m anxious to be able to see. I know we can run with people, but can we make the play? That’s the thing even as a coach, I don’t have the opportunity to put them in the deep ball position a lot, and that’s the thing that we’re going to be judged on. Ultimately, can we play the deep ball? Cornerback comes down to making tackles and playing the deep ball, and we hadn’t been in that situation a lot. 

“So I think me as a coach and those guys as players are all anxious to be put in those moments because that’s the only way we’re going to improve is to be put in those situations.”

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The Tennessee Vols have defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and now begin the week to prepare for Kennesaw State. Sophomore defensive back Ty Redmond is an important player for the Vols, and he spoke to the media this Monday.

On How the Secondary Performed

“Uh I feel like we uh arrived to the occasion. You know, it was very disciplined. Still got some minor things to clean up, but I feel like we did uh good in the back end.”

On What He Learned

“Uh the way we create turnovers, the way we attack uh you know the run game and fit our you know our gaps when we need to fit them. So we did real good job doing that. getting the ball on the ground.”

On the Defensive Unit Creating Turnovers

“Uh I mean obviously we go into every week, you know, wanting to get a turnover, but I feel like this week we really like wanting to, you know, change the game in a positive way. You know, get the uh even a point on the board or give the offense a chance to score. So yeah, we just have the right mindset this this game.”

On if There is Anything They Do in Specific to Create Turnovers

“Uh, you know, just staying within the game plan, you know, trusting those and his defense and just doing our job.”

On What He Sees From Dejuan Lan

“Uh, you know, uh, Dejuan, he’s a great, you know, instinctive player. So I feel like in practice, you know, he makes those type of plays all the time. So when I see in the game, it’s no surprise that he makes some great plays. So yeah, I would say that.”

On Coach Heupel Addressing the Penalties

 “Uh yeah, he you know, instantly, you know, when we got back, you know, today, you know, I feel like, you know, it’s unacceptable. You know, we got to be more disciplined. uh you know we got you know better stretch games this uh this coming weeks so we got to just be more disciplined how about we go after the play.”

On How to Remain Disciplined

“Um just practice how you play you know just being yourself. Just worry about the next play. Don’t worry about you know just doing unnecessary things after the play like it doesn’t matter just play through the whistle.”

On His Own Performance

“Uh I feel like uh you know when I needed a tackle, I feel like I tackled well, you know, miss a couple, but you know, just getting the ball on the ground, just giving our defense another chance, you know, to stop him.”

On the Confidence in the Secondary

“I mean, we believe we the best secondary in in the country. So, we just got to go out like go out there and, you know, prepare throughout the week, you know, and then go out there and show everybody that we that we can be the best in the country.”

On the Defense’s Chemistry

“Uh, a little bit, but I feel like we had good chemistry, you know, just building. we spent a lot of time outside, you know, the field, you know, just hanging out. So, I feel like just building that chemistry, we got that already. So, just keep getting better every week, basically.”

On How Difficult it is to Tackle Faizon Brandon

“I mean, yeah, he really gets like everybody going at practice when like we really expected that already. We just haven’t really seen it because we can’t really like touch the quarterback in practice, but you could always see him doing the move or two. So, it was no surprise that he made that play when we needed.”

On if Faizon Brandon’s Run on 4th Down is the Reason He Believes Brandon Won SEC Freshman of the Week Again

“Uh, yes, ma’am. You know, no surprise there. You know, he puts in the work throughout the week, so it’s no surprise that he wins it.”

On How Many Weeks He Thinks Faizon Brandon Will Win the Award

“I expect him to win every week, honestly.”

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