Tennessee defensive back’s coach Willie Martinez met with the local media on Tuesday ahead of the Vols’ regular-season finale against Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium.
Ahead of the matchup, Martinez discussed the challenges that Vanderbilt’s offense presents, the growth of a number of young players and much more. Here’s everything Martinez said.
More From RTI: Star Tennessee Receiver Left Off Biletnikoff Award Finalists List
On any differences in Vanderbilt’s offense between now and a year ago
“You can see the experience, you can see the continuity of the guys that played last year, and (Diego) Pavia directing it. He’s a heck of a player and you can see the confidence, you can see the execution. They look like they’re throwing the ball a little bit more than they did last year and opening up their offense. For the most part, man, they just do a great job of executing. They’re doing similar plays, different formations here and there, but in the end of it, it’s just the execution as a group. They’ve been very consistent. And it all starts with the guy that’s got the ball. And he’s doing a great job of leading it. And you can see that obviously in their success that they’ve had moving forward the entire season.”
On the challenge for Tennessee’s secondary defending Vanderbilt’s offense and Diego Pavia when a play breaks down
“He does a lot of great things off schedule, like we like to say, where it doesn’t go in quite exactly how you’re practicing it, from a standpoint of defending a certain route. And then obviously you can get creative from there. You don’t want to lose contain as the pass rush lanes. And he can be very deadly because he can run the ball and he can throw the ball on the run. And for us, you just got to play discipline football. Basically it’s going to sound the same thing, but it’s doing our job and knowing that there’s an elite player at the quarterback position that can actually do two things. He can run the ball as he breaks out the pocket, or he can throw it. Stay on your guys and be disciplined until he crosses the line of scrimmage because he’s done a great job of being very creative on the perimeter, behind the line of scrimmage and either keeping it, throwing it. So you got to be disciplined.”
On Tennessee’s secondary only giving up two touchdowns the last two games
“Yeah, the credit goes to the players. I mean, you know, we’ve been a lot more … it’s been happening the last three or four weeks. You can see it happening where the confidence level, and I think the young with the experienced players, the young guys have gotten more reps. And the communication has been really solid. It starts there, knowing what to do and what we’re going to check to. And it’s going to happen from our back end the most because the safeties have got to make those checks and those calls along with the star. We’ve just been playing better as a group. I think the communication has been really good. And obviously we’ve made a bunch of plays that, that we weren’t making earlier in the season.”
On what led to better communication in Tennessee’s secondary
“I think the leadership, obviously you’re talking about seniors, like Andre Turrentine. Let’s start there. Jalen McMurray. Guys that are experienced guys, two guys that obviously have had a really good year and on a consistent basis. And then spreading it out to the younger guys and they bought into it. And I think they meet together on their own even when we’re out of meetings, and that’s really good to see as a group. They a great job of complementing each other, and you can see that in the last three weeks.”
On how hard it can be to develop communication, creating urgency with it
“I think it starts where you’re at. We’re in a meeting room, it’s got to sound the same way it does in that meeting room and when you take it out to the field. And whether it’s walkthroughs and the amount of reps that we take, but like we say all the time, man, the communication has to be given but also has to be received. That’s the complete communication. I think that’s where we’ve gotten better. When you’re trying to make a call to somebody and seeing eye to eye. Again, I think it’s the amount of time, whether it’s in our meeting rooms or we’re doing walkthroughs and then taking it when you go to a practice. We just had, obviously, a really good practice today.
A lot of it was some really good communication. And there was some there where we didn’t give it back, whether it’s a corner, whether it’s a linebacker is receiving it and giving the signal back to each other that I got it. That’s where we really have gotten a lot better.”
On the importance of Ty Redmond gaining confidence for next season
“Yeah, that’s huge. That’s what it’s all about. You want to be able to know what you want to know what you’re doing, but at the same time too, you want to be able to execute and you want to have a bunch of plays that consistently you can go from series to series, game to game, and you can see the growth. I mean, my goodness, since game one to now we feel really confident in him, the players around him. And you can see it. You can see it. More talkative in meeting rooms. More talkative on the field, doesn’t get down on himself. Just keeps on, snapping clear kind of mentality. At first he was letting things beat him up a little bit, I think like any young player would that’s very competitive like himself. But yeah, I just think it’s the growth. I think being here, the amount of reps he’s gotten in this league, as good as it’s is. He’s going against some really good players and he’s making some plays. I mean, it’s happening in the games, but obviously we have really good players on offense here, so he has a good feel for whether it’s a tall receiver, whether it’s a, I mean, a quick guy. He understands how to study, each guy’s skill set that’s important. Where he was just relying on his talent level and not really getting to study some of the guys that he’s going against and that’s where he’s really, really has grown— is trying to figure out who is he going against and then executing it.”
On Jalen McMurray growing as a leader during his two years in Knoxville
“We’ve been very fortunate with the kids that have transferred in, and we’re very intentional. We’ve built a standard and expectation here, a culture that it’s high level. And we make sure that the ones that we do choose to come here, and he has been unbelievable since he’s been here. Obviously, early on, every kid wants, every player wants to play more. We get that. But I think at the same time too, you got to know where you’re at, and he’s grown through that process, you know what I mean? And he’s a very versatile player and that’s why we took him. We knew he could play inside, he could play outside, but it’s really his attitude, his investment and he’s not just playing on the field and making communication, he’s actually coaching— since the day he’s been here, he’s been like that. He’s been a coach on the field. And it doesn’t matter if it’s a younger guy, if it’s an older guy. He knows when to insert himself into a conversation and not. I think sometimes guys don’t have that awareness at times, you know what I mean? With the really good players and he’s the guy who’s a great teammate. Really is. And he’s earned the respect since he’s been here. And I just said it just a little while ago,it’s fed off the group. You can see where he fits in right away, when he got here. And then his growth too as a player. He’s grown. He’s had a really good year. And that’s really been good for us on the defensive side of the ball because you have to have a really good player at the STAR position.”
On safety Edrees Farooq’s growth this season
“Oh man, yeah. He’s grown himself. Obviously, very similar. Obviously it’s his second year and when you compare him to Ty. But it’s his first time ever starting from the get-go. And he’s somebody that we count on each and every day with our communication and he’s got tp get it right. And him and Dre (Andre Turrentine) are very similar. And to see his growth, just like, I was just talking about Ty. The confidence and the play-making ability that he has produced throughout the season, you know what I mean? It’s really good to see. Good for him, good for us. He’s a very productive player, a physical player. Smart, athletic and he’s, yeah, very similar to Ty. It is awesome to see that he’s going against some really good teams, really good players, but that’s been really good for us. And that’s been the consistency that we’ve set on defense here the last three or four weeks.”
