Vols senior outside linebacker Deandre Johnson was the third and final player to speak. Johnson spoke about defending Florida tight end Kyle Pitts, what it means to play against Florida as a Florida native, who he grew up liking, and how he would assess his performance to this point in the season.
Here’s everything Johnson had to say:
On what it means to play Florida as a Florida native:
“This is another great opportunity to go out there and play some really good guys. They’ve got a couple of guys at Florida that I played with in high school. It’s going to be good going against those guys again. We’re looking to compete. I’m ready.”
On if he had a favorite team in Florida growing up:
“It was crazy. I liked Florida State growing up. Everybody in the household liked Miami, so it was a big thing. I liked Florida State myself.”
On why Tennessee hasn’t had a bunch of opt outs:
“You have guys here who are bought in. We trust the medical staff around us, all the information we’re getting. Guys have been locked in practicing safety. We’re just hungry to play. Guys just want to play football here.”
On not playing a home game in six weeks and how much he misses playing in front of the fans:
“Any time we’re playing at home it’s a great opportunity to go out there in in front of our fans and put on a show. I’m definitely excited to get back in Neyland where I’m comfortable at and just put on a show. We’re happy and ready to go out there and play.”
On how much he wants to beat Florida for the first time in his career:
“That’s most definitely on the top of my checklist. I have to do that before I leave here. Saturday is another opportunity, a great opportunity to make that happen. I’m playing hard, my brothers are with me, and we’re ready to go.”
On defending Florida tight end Kyle Pitts:
“He’s regarded as one of the best in the nation. He has many strengths. We know that he’s going to be out in the pass tree trying to run a lot of routes and concepts. We’ve got to do a good job of identifying him before the play starts and making sure we’re keeping our eyes on him.”
On how he would assess how Tennessee has defended tight ends this season:
“I would say we’ve done a pretty good. I don’t think we’ve placed a guy of his caliber yet. It’ll be a good opportunity to test ours as well. We’re up for the challenge.”
On his performance to this point in the season:
“It has had its good and its bad. I can’t really say as of now. It’s too early. We’ve still got three games left. I’m trying to fight hard to get wins. It’s never going well when you’re not winning. I’m just trying to fight my hardest and empty the tank to go out there and get a win.”
On the key to being a consistently good pass rusher:
“The most important thing is keeping your body right, making sure you’re watching film, studying your opponents, studying these types of sets, what plays they like to run, watching out for snap indicators and learning new moves, new techniques with your hands. It goes on and on. Most definitely, it’s keeping your body in shape and staying sharp mentally.”
On how important it is to pressure Kyle Trask:
“That’s one of the main things we gotta do. We gotta keep him in the pocket, keep him under pressure so he makes some wrong decisions. We’ve got a big task this week, so I’m looking forward to doing that.”
On how much thought he’s put into coming back for a second senior season:
“It’s something I’ve been getting asked lately. It’s something that’s in the back of my mind. I can’t really say right now. I’m just focused on Florida right now. It’s the next game on the schedule. When I get to that time it’ll be a decision. It’s something I haven’t been thinking about too much.”
On if he’s excited about going up against a pass-heavy Florida team:
“It most definitely does, when you see those pass attempts and you see how many times they try to connect through the air. I’m going to have my ear pinned back, looking to make some opportunities off the edge and make some winning plays for this football team on Saturday.”
On potential one-on-one matchups with Kyle Pitts:
“It’ll show off my versatility even more. I just gotta keep my eyes in the right spot and play with my right technique that the coaches have taught me to play with and I should be fine.”
On if the defense has added to the playbook as a result of all of the open weeks:
“We definitely had a lot of time to put in a couple more different packages, different schemes we’ve been working on. It’s just getting to the right opportunity to use them, but most definitely, we’ve been adding some things.”
