Eric Gray discussed how close his is to breaking off long runs, what he worked on during the bye week, Tennessee’s freshmen running backs, what the team needs to do better during the second half of the season, and what he did during the bye week.
Here’s everything Gray said:
On the offense’s focus during the bye week:
“We really just wanted to go back to the basics and start over with just getting all the execution down. Make sure we’re executing at a high level, make sure everyone knows what they’re doing from the o-line to the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, tight ends. Everyone knows what they’re doing in basic run game, basic pass game, different things like that.”
On the team’s performance through five games and where the team needs to improve:
“I think we’ve done a good job from the start, we just have to learn how to finish games. We got to play 60 minutes every single game. But, like I said, it’s not a five-game fight, this is a 10-game fight. We’re here for the rest of the five games and we’re going to go out there and play hard.”
On if last year’s turnaround can help the team this season:
“Most definitely. We’ve been in this spot before, so we know the recipe to make that in season transition. I think there’s a lot we can look at from last season and see where we were at after the little change in our team last year. The same thing happened this year. We had a sit down and talked about that this is our team and we have to go change the culture and we have to make this turnaround, and I think we’re going to do it again.”
On how Tennessee’s freshman running backs are coming along:
“I think this week was a great week for them. Those guys that didn’t really know everything, just to get back on track and give them more time to get better, give them more chances to perfect their craft, perfect their skills and learn what it takes to be great in college.”
On preparing for Arkansas:
“Well actually, coming from Memphis, a lot of guys go to Arkansas. So, I do know a couple of the guys that go there. But, watching them on film, they are a great team. They’ve got a lot of momentum. I think it’s going to be a great matchup between us and Arkansas.”
On why he thinks Arkansas is so improved:
“I think they just play hard. Coach (Sam) Pittman, give a lot of credit to him for going over there as a first-year head coach and turning their program around. I think they’ve caught some momentum, and like I said, I think it’s going to be a great matchup.”
On if he’s close to breaking off longer runs:
“Definitely working on that. It’s definitely stuck in my mind. You got to make big plays, and that’s definitely what I worked on over the break, just focusing on making big plays, keeping my feet going, and I think those big plays are coming for sure.”
On what he’s seen from freshman running back Dee Beckwith:
“He’s a very hard worker. He’s very coachable. He’s a bigger back. He’s a big guy that can definitely provide those hard-nosed yards that you need sometimes.”
On if he considered going to Arkansas:
“Yes, definitely. Arkansas was definitely a part of my recruitment. I thought about going there a lot and things just didn’t work out. I came to the best place.”
On the tone of the team meeting last week:
“The tone of that message was just, ‘hey, look everybody, this is our team. We got to go out there and we got to play hard.’ Everyone was just basically saying that everyone wants to win. Everyone wants to get on the same page and go out there and just have fun. It’s fun when you win, and everyone wants to just go out there and win. It was just making sure that everyone was getting on the same page and saying, it’s going to take hard work, but we know the recipe to do it.”
On taking a break from football during the bye week:
“It was very good to be able to go home and see my family. My sister just got her masters so that was good to go back and celebrate with her, and just see all my family, and see my friends, and hit the reset button a little bit.”
