Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims met with the local media on Tuesday morning ahead of the Vols’ rivalry matchup against Alabama on Saturday afternoon.
Sims discussed Dylan Sampson’s elite play, the challenges that Alabama’s defense presents, pass protection issues and much more. Here’s everything Sims said.
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On why Tennessee has been better running the ball in the second half the last two weeks
“Man, I think the number one deal— we sit here talking about starting fast, finishing strong. We just have to do a better job starting off faster. I think we’re doing a really good job of taking what’s there and I think what happens in the second half is that a lot of those plus-two runs start to happen and now it’s turning into plus-fours, plus-fives. We just got to do a really good job in terms of gaining those early on. Not trying to do anything out of the ordinary, just continue to keep doing our job at a really high level. And I think it’s going to continue to come. We just got to continue to work on starting faster though. Starting faster.”
On if they’ve made any schematic changes at halftime
“No, just continue to keep doing what we’re doing, just doing it at a higher level of execution.”
On what his thoughts were watching Dylan Sampson live against Florida and then again on tape
“I think you see him consistently do that in the second half of games lately. I think the thing about it is that man, he’s just going out there executing at a really high level. He’s doing a really good job of being able to feel the game. I think in the first half he was feeling the game, but a lot of times you’re still trying to see how the defense is playing you from a structural standpoint. How the runs are fitting up. And I think once you get in your groove in the second half, I think that’s when you see a lot of the bigger plays start to happen in terms of those four yard runs are turning into 10 yard runs and vice versa. So he’s doing a really good job but sitting back there, nothing less than what I expect him to be able to do.”
On going for it on fourth-and-one deep in their own territory, the heavy package
“In that situation, that’s something that we’ve been working on in terms of that package. The call in that situation, Coach Heupel went with it and we all supported it and then with DeSean being in there, that was his drive, you know what I’m saying? Whoever’s in the ball game at that point in time, we got trust in him and he did a really good job of being able to find his way and then not just get us one (yard) but get us six (yards). So that was awesome.”
On if he’s ever in awe of Dylan Sampson
“I mean watching it live is really, really good because I’m still in coach mode in that situation. So it’s kind of like you’re seeing it and it’s happening and you want to cheer, but also at the same time you’re still being critical in terms of the things that you’re seeing from that standpoint. Like when I go back and I watch it at night, you actually get back and get to watch it as a fan in that standpoint, as well as being critical. But the deal is he’s doing a really good job and it all shows up from a practice standpoint and then his preparation in the meeting room and then in the walk through. So what he’s doing is what he’s putting the work in to be able to do.”
On DeSean Bishop watching Dylan Sampson on the sideline
“It is not just DeSean, it is the rest of the backs as well. When you sit there and look at Peyton, you sit there and look at Cam and the rest of the guys in our room. Like when we’re in our huddle, everybody’s there. In the same situation when we’re making adjustments on the sideline, everybody’s there getting those adjustments and corrections but they also uplifting each other as well. Like DeSean will be the first guy that comes over and Samp is in like, ‘Hey, this drives on you. We got to make sure we’re doing a really good job.’ And then when DeSean’s in there, Samp’s doing the exact same thing and I think that’s the thing that pours that positive energy into each one of them. That man, no matter who in there, man, I’m uplifting my brother that’s in there right now because I know my opportunity’s gonna come, but at the same time I’m watching the game understanding when I get in there, here’s the flow of the game, here’s how they’re fitting it up on defense so that I’m able to get in there a lot quicker and make my reads a lot faster as well.”
On how he’d assess the running backs in pass protection
“Man, from my standpoint, from a running back view, man we got to do a better job of finishing. We understand who to go get. We just got to do a better job of finishing. Like at the end of the day, being in the right place, understanding the guy that you gotta go get. We just got to do a better job of finishing it off. From a technique standpoint and then just straining. That’s the No. 1 deal for us as running backs. Just make sure we’re finishing the blocks.”
On Alabama’s defensive structure, if it’s similar to Florida
“I think they’re a little bit different from a structure standpoint and kind of the way that you see them on tape in terms of how they playing it. They do a really good job going in-and-out of personnel group as well in terms of front formations and then their defensive line is very, very active, very athletic and those linebackers fit in exactly the way that you expect them to being highly downhill. Guys that run to the point of contact. Also do a really good job in coverage as well. I think the No. 1 deal that you see that they do a good job of being able to fit the run and you can see the mentality No. 1 of the coordinator that they have on defense. Which they got some very high level coaches on their side of the ball that I got a ton of respect for. But you see them, the personality comes out, you know what I’m saying, from the defensive front to also the back end until in terms of the second level, like they’re all playing together and fitting together. Structurally, we just got to continue to do a really good job from our standpoint, just understand what our assignment is and execute it at a very high level and we’ll be fine.”
On what they’re doing to make sure Dylan Sampson physically holds up over the course of the season
“It’s the same situation. We kind of do, we always do a really good job of monitoring the reps during practice and make sure that we’re taking the reps that we need to and that he does a really good job from a body maintenance standpoint. He’s always in here getting extra treatment and he always really taking care of his body from a weight room standpoint. During practice we always try to manage the reps. We always try to get our work in but not overloading from that standpoint.”
On the balance of riding the hot hand and not overloading Sampson
“It is kind of a feel standpoint in terms of, you understand once they get to a certain level, if he’s tired, alright, we got something on the back end at that point in time. Just like the drive that we had right there in the second half. Like we went on that long drive and we scored the touchdown and then we get the turnover, well he just went on that long drive. Let’s put another back end that’s fresh. So we do a really good job of monitoring from that standpoint in terms of who’s tired in that standpoint. Because we always want to have fresh legs in the game attacking defenses, especially when defenses are tired as well. So we do a really good job just monitoring from that standpoint.”
On if there’s carryover from what Alabama’s doing compared to the last few years under Nick Saban
“So for me, I wasn’t here in the past, you know what I’m saying? Being able to coach against these guys. So what I’ve seen is what Coach (Kane) Womack has been able to do so far. I think it is some carry over, especially with the four down structure a little bit, and then especially with the odd front package as well. But I think No. 1, you’re seeing him put his spin on it, you know what I’m saying? From a defensive structural standpoint in terms of what he wants his identity to be on that side of the football, but it’s still going to be Alabama. From a defensive structural standpoint, they still want run and hit.”
