Head Coach Ed Orgeron's Weekly Press Conference

Sept. 26, 2005

Opening Comments
After reviewing the film, we saw some positives we are really excited about. One of those was the play of Mico McSwain. He brings a lot to the offense, and we need to get him the football more in all aspects of the offense. I am really excited about the play of our freshman running back Antonio Turner. He ran the ball hard, and that's exactly what we want in the offense from our running back.

On defense, we are pleased with the adjustments we made at halftime. They were hurting us on a couple of plays, in particular the screens they ran in the second half. We are pleased with the play of cornerback Trumaine McBride and the way (Coach) Chris Rippon, our defensive back coach, is coaching them. He is doing a really good job. We had several sudden changes in the second half, and we held them to a field goal our last 3 out of 4 times. I was pleased with Kelvin Robinson's interception. It was a big play in the game.

Robert Bass got to kick to extra points, and his style of kicking looked pretty good. We expect to see more kicking from him.

On the negatives, turnovers really hurt us, critical penalties really hurt us, and we gave up too many yards rushing again. Time of possession was critical and we only converted 2-of-12 third down conversions on offense. We gave up too many big plays on the screens and missed tackles in the first half. We also missed three interceptions on the critical plays that we had.

I am looking forward to going up to Knoxville and playing a very historically powerhouse Tennessee program. They have a good running back and an experienced defensive front seven. They are a very physical football team. I am really looking forward to going up there. It will be my first time in Neyland Stadium.

Q: Can you give us a status of the starters out (Jamarca Sanford, Mario Hill, Patrick Willis)?
A: We will see as the week goes what happens. Obviously we will expect Micheal Spurlock to play Saturday, but we will see as the week goes for Mario and Jamarca. I don't know yet about Patrick.

Q: You mentioned getting Mico McSwain the ball more on offense. How confident do you feel with him learning the plays?
A: He ran his own play up the middle in our last game, so he can do it. I think that whether he can do it on a consistent basis for 30 times a game is something we will have to see. But, we feel that with preparation that he will be able to do it.

Q: How was it to have some new guys like Antonio Turner in the backfield this weekend?
A: It was really nice to see people come into the program and compete for playing time.

Q: What is the status of getting more settled on the offensive line?
A: We have to keep trying. We are going to attempt some new things. We are going to move (Tony) Bonds over to center and see if he can handle that. We are going to move Darryl (Harris) over to guard. Darryl was really good at guard for us in the spring. We feel that he is not performing at center the way that we would like him to, so we are going to put him at guard and see if that combination works a little better.

Q: Talk about the team's confidence this week?
A: I think they are fine. They are excited to play Tennessee. We are going to show them the things on film that hurt us, and the things we are doing to ourselves. We have to get better. I think we are going to have a good practice, and I think we will be fine.

Q: What do you say to critics that say that the team looks unprepared?
A: I will say this; we work very hard as a staff. We spend long hours here, and we prepare very hard. Obviously, there are some things that go on during the game that are new, things the (other) team did not show us. It takes us awhile to catch on to it. To give you an example, on their screen plays, we made tremendous adjustments at halftime it worked. I think the team is prepared as well as we can be. I know we are working very hard to be prepared, and I believe the longer we stay together (as a staff) the more prepared the team is going to be.

Q: Do you think that some of the injuries and new players coming in have had a negative impact on the team?
A: Our run defense has been hurt. We are missing tackles. There is no excuse for that. There is no excuse for whoever is playing. We have to fix it. We do have some new guys playing at linebacker. On offense, I believe that we are making some progress in the run game. Our passing game and our protection is still not where it needs to be.

Q: What about special teams?
A: I'm pleased with our special teams. I think our return game is good. Our coverage game is good. (Will) Mosley's drop really hurt us. But, with the addition of Robert Bass, we should be able to kick some field goals.

Q: Give us some thoughts on Tennessee.
A: They are physical. They have a great running back in (Gerald) Riggs. They have the two quarterbacks that they rotate in and out. They have won a lot of games. They have a lot of speed at wide receiver. It is very hard to commit too many people to the run because they can throw vertical behind you. On defense, they play a good 4-3 defense built on their front seven. They have an excellent defensive line and linebacking corps. They also have a great blitz package. They play very well at home, which is where we are playing them.

Q: How far away do you think the new players are from being ready?
A: They are not that far away. We had a couple of missed calls on defense where there was supposed to be a left call and it was a right call. That was due to a new linebacker (freshman Robert Russell) in the mix. We never had that happen with Patrick (Willis). One of those calls resulted in 31 yards rushing. If it had been the right call, there would have been zero yards rushing. Those things are going to happen. Overall, I think Shawn Slocum did a good job of having Robert ready.

Q: What are you going to change, if anything?
A: We just need to keep on grinding. We need to stick with the program. I've seen this program work with my own eyes. I've been with this team 24-7. We are going to work. I'm excited about the way our freshmen are playing. I'm excited that we can stick with our system. We are not going to change our system just because it is not working the way we want it to right now.

Q: Are you going to watch the game (UT/LSU) tonight?
A: Not as a team. We always call recruits on Monday nights, but we will have our TVs on. I'm sure our team will be doing the same thing.

Q: Do you think them (Tennessee) playing tonight will give you any advantage?
A: It should give us a little advantage. They have to play tonight and then turnaround and play us again Saturday morning on a short week.

Q: Are you going to find out what you are made of today?
A: Our practices are built such that we are going to find out what we are made of. We have to take it one day at a time. I really think our guys come out ready to go on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, regardless of who we play.

Q: Are you worried about not having enough time to prepare for Tennessee in regards to film breakdown due to their short week?
A: Not at all. We are going to watch them tonight. We studied them this summer, and we are going to have the LSU game broke down tomorrow. We have plenty of film on them. I don't think they are going to change that much.

Q: With Mico McSwain and Antonio Turner stepping up, where does that leave some of the other running backs?
A: It leaves them with a chance to compete. They will always have the chance to compete. But I think Mico and Antonio are moving ahead of them, and that they are better suited for our type of offense.

Q: Are you concerned about teams scheming against Mico and Antonio?
A: Yes, I was concerned about that last week. We are going to run more plays with them than we did against Wyoming, so that shouldn't be a concern.

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