Tennessee defensive backs coach Willie Martinez met with the local media on Monday morning after the Vols’ 10th fall practice.
Martinez specifically coaches the cornerbacks while defensive coordinator Tim Banks works with the safeties. But at both cornerback and safety, Tennessee has an abundance of competition as they look to break in new starters at all five spots in the defensive backfield.
On Monday, Martinez discussed that competition, why he likes his group and much more. Here’s everything Martinez said.
More From RTI: Tennessee Football Practice Notes And Observations From Monday Morning
On what Will Brooks has done to put himself in position to play in Tennessee’s secondary
“His preparation. Obviously he’s an everyday consistent player that is very detailed, whether it’s in meetings, whether we’re off the field, even if we’re taking a day off. He’s somebody that we’re leaning on for leadership because he’s been new here for a long time and he’s done it the right way. Obviously his teammates respect him tremendously and he’s been very consistent. That’s the best thing I can say about Will. There’s really no up and down And like I said, the players are being led the right way.”
On how close he is to finding the answers he’s looking for in Tennessee’s new-look secondary
“I think we’ve got multiple guys in multiple positions that we want to feel good about, and we are feeling good about, this obviously being their 10th practice. We want competition and we’ve got that in every position. And I’m not just saying corner, I’m just talking about whether it’s two corners on each side or two guys at Star or two guys at the boundary safety or two guys at the strong safety. And there’s more guys. And I’ve said it before, our versatility, which we recruited, allows us to be able to move guys around and play the best players, the guys that are performing and making the plays on a consistent basis. So we’re in a good place right now. We’ve just got to continue to improve each and every day like we’re doing right now.”
On where they’re at with the Star position after the season-ending injury for Jourdan Thomas
“Christian Harrison and Boo Carter are taking the bulk of the reps. We know in the back of our minds that we have others that have played the position, whether it’s Will Brooks. We have the versatility, whether it’s Andre Turrentine. With the two guys right now that are competing at this (point are) Christian and Boo and they’re doing a really good job.”
On how Jordan Matthews is progressing in his second year at Tennessee
“Jordan has done a really nice job. It really started back in the spring. You can see the improvement, the confidence. You’re seeing a lot more consistency in the play-making. But he’s had a tremendous summer. He’s one of the guys that were signaled out, was having a great summer in the weight room. Obviously on the field he’s a smart player. He’s making a bunch of plays here in camp. It has built some confidence and it’s really great to see. He’s a guy who is smart, who has got great size, ability and consistency. It’s good to see.”
On the pros and cons of using iPads on the sideline to break down game film during games
“We’re getting used to it right now. And obviously we’re trying to practice that and did it for the first time (in the scrimmage on Friday). The one thing I can tell you is obviously from an efficiency standpoint, we just got to be better at organizing it. But when we came off, it’s easier to show a picture of something, obviously, and seeing the play as if it just happened five minutes ago. I think it’s going to be a good thing for all of us once we get where we feel comfortable in doing it and how fast you do it and the organization. But you’re showing them the picture as opposed to drawing it on a board and they can actually see where they lined up. So I think it’s gonna be very efficient.”
On the new pieces in the secondary, if they can simulate cohesiveness before games begin
“Again, we have the same standards and expectations of each position, right? Nodifferent than us at defensive back and we’ve got a great mixture of guys that have been here, right? And then obviously we’ve got the young talented players that are coming in and inexperienced with that lack of reps. We’ve done a really good job from the time they stepped on campus with that leadership and every day pulling them up to the standard and expectations. And it’s obviously a lot easier when you have a really good room, a good culture and they’ve seen others do it. They’ve had success in the past and so the cohesiveness would just come from consistency in guys making playsmand again that’s— I love the room. I really do. I love the group. I think it’s one of the best groups I’ve ever been around in my career. And they care about each other. They hold each other accountable. It’s not a bunch of yelling and screaming, man. It’s really structured. It’s really cool. We’ve said it before, I think the staff has said it and it’s a lot different than it was the first year or the second year. It’s running on its own gas now. It’s kind of hard for me to get my points in when somebody does make a mistake. Somebody’s correcting if somebody’s standing right there, you know, ‘I got it, coach.’ And that’s kind of cool to see. So man, if you have that with the talent and skill that we have, we just got to be consistent every day.”
On what’s stood out about his group through 10 practices
“It was nice. We got four turnovers today. And the playmaking on the ball, actually catching it. We had a couple of drops a couple practices ago, but they’re having fun. You could see whether it’s a young guy or it’s an older guy, the encouragement, not letting guys get down when things go wrong. I guess the next play mentality of their personality and it’s kind of cool to see man. And again, it’s not perfect, but there’s a lot more of that going on than than the other way.
And so, again, like I said, it was a really good day. Get some turnovers today and that always helps on defense. You’re changing the momentum of the game.”
On what Oregon State transfer Jermod McCoy has done to impress them
“The first thing I’ll say about Jermod, he’s such a great teammate. He comes from a different situation, obviously in the dynamics of college football now, right? Different team last year, he comes to our program man, and he is who he says he was. High character. He’s a great player, gosh buggy, he’s a great kid. He’s a great young man and coming into our room he knows exactly how to feel, have a good feel for the room. The awareness of fitting in and he’s led. He’s not the loudest guy, but just little things where guys might be complaining or not sure about something, man. There’s always a positive spin to it. He sees that glass half full and I’ve noticed that from the beginning is the consistency every day. He’s a very competitive person both on and off the field. And he’s a playmaker. He’s one of those guys that just got one of the turnovers today, and when he doesn’t get something or it doesn’t happen for him— he’s harder on himself and the teammates see that. Players see that. And so he’s not much of a talker. He’s kind of more ‘I’m gonna do, what I’m saying, I’m gonna do’ and leads by a great example. He’s setting the example every day.”
On where freshman Kaleb Beasley is at after a spring injury
“He’s rebounded really well, obviously it’s great to have Beas out there and his versatility. He’s a smart player, and he’s really shown some consistency. He obviously was really rusty. He didn’t have the reps that some of the young players had, obviously from January. But again, you can see the playmaking ability that he had when he was in high school and he’s made some of those plays and it’s really good. He’s gotten better-and-better each day.”
On how Chris Brazzell has challenged the defensive backs:
“Everyday. His speed, his competitiveness. Like, Braz is very competitive and plays with a lot of fire and energy. We better do that on our side of the ball, right? I mean that’s what — gotta have great energy and stuff like that, but a very competitive, high-level player, so that’s only gonna make us better. We got a great group of wide receivers that, they’re gonna be playing on Sundays. So it’s easy for my job to just tell the kids, ‘hey man, you want, you want a great resume? Put it on video. Put it on video against these guys that are gonna be playing on Sunday. And Braz is one of those guys. Highly competitive, physical player, not very quiet, kind of cool. That’s how we like it, you know, but he’s making us better.”
On what Temple transfer Jalen McMurray is bringing to the room and what role he envisions him having:
“Yeah, I’m gonna sound like a broken record, man. Small details matter to him. Locked in and focused in a meeting. Coaching the younger players that are sitting right next to him. And not just when they make a mistake, but also, you know, he’ll point something out, man, ‘listen, just look here.’ He’s kind of telling ’em they had this call, play it like this. So he’s a great teammate. He wants everybody to be really good.
“And then on the field, a lot of energy. He wears it on his sleeve, man. I’m telling you his personality is really cool. He is totally different when he’s on the field and guys feel that. I think the opponent feels that, our offense, but it’s great to have Jalen here. He’s another guy that’s very consistent and coming back, you know, a little bump in the road here, but really come on strong here in the last couple practices.”
On why Boo Carter has positioned himself to start as a true freshman
“He’s a really good player. Guy is so talented. He’s very competitive and he’s very athletic, so he’s versatile. Boo can play a lot of positions. We’re just putting ’em right in a position where you have to make plays. I mean, you gotta be really good at the Star, the position in our defense that schematically, he’s gonna be involved almost in every play. Start off by his athleticism, his competitiveness, his love for the game. You can see it both on and off the field and it’s great to have it ’cause he’s gonna compete on every play.”
On when he realized Will Brooks could help them more than just on special teams
“We’re the back end, right? We deal with space. What better example, if you’re doing it on special teams. I’m telling you, my entire career, the great players that I’ve been very blessed to be a part of in their lives, were great special teams players. I mean really, in space. So anytime a guy’s making, consistently, plays in space, it doesn’t matter what team he’s on, it’s transferrable skills to play offense and defense. And for us, most of it’s all defense, right? Some of the same terminology is on special teams. And him being a smart player, translating that to defense, it’s always been simple for Will, and again, consistent. He’s a consistent guy you can count on every day, every drill. I just heard him, I can’t get a word in, especially if Will Brooks, if he’s in my pod in these specials team groups. We got eight to 10 guys and I want to go correct the guy and Will’s already beat me there, and sometimes he says it better than I do from the standpoint of personality. He keeps me in check myself about not losing him when you’re trying to correct somebody.
“You saw from the beginning, because again, he made some plays in space and then, okay, you, you watch him in the meeting room and gosh, he’s all over the scheme. He understands it and you knew that he’s gonna have success here.”
