What Tennessee Players Said After Vols Topped Texas A&M

Tennessee picked up a big win over Texas A&M on Saturday in Neyland Stadium, edging the Aggies 20-13 in a defensive battle.

Various Tennessee players spoke to the media following the win, including DE Tyler Baron, LB Aaron Beasley, DB Gabe Jeudy-Lally, DB Dee Williams and RB Jaylen Wright.

See what the five players said about the win below.

DE Tyler Baron

On the defensive line’s performance tonight:

“Speaking for the d-line specifically, we go into every game thinking we can dominate every single game, so I think it’s always an us thing. It’s always been us and forever will be us.”

On Josh Heupel’s energy following the game given how well the defense performed:

“Yes, he was definitely excited after the win, but we carry a mindset to win regardless of how we need to get it done so I think that’s just how we carry ourselves.”

LB Aaron Beasley

On Eric Berry’s message to the team:

“That was pretty cool – him coming to talk to us. He was a real dude and a great player. I watched him growing up. His message was really preparing your whole life for moments like these and never take it for granted.”

On having the offense’s back tonight:

“I feel like it is what it is. We can have days where we are not at our best, and we expect the offense to have our back and I feel like we had the offense’s back. And today, I feel like we had the offense’s back even though they weren’t having their best day. We had their back.”

On the adjustments made after Texas A&M’s first touchdown:

“We had to settle down. They scored pretty early. I feel like we just had to settle down. Snap (and) clear of the next play. I feel that once the game slowed down for us, we were able to play the way we know we can play, and not make mistakes.”

DB Gabe Jeudy-Lally

On whether or not the defense feels pressure when the offense is struggling:

“I don’t think it brings any pressure at all because we know that we are one team so at the end of the day we’re going to do our job and they’re going to do their job. The result is to be 1-0 at the end of the day and that’s what we did tonight. Regardless of whatever happens, we have each other’s back, so no pressure is added at all because we practice it every single week”

On Kamal Hadden’s performance the past two weeks:

“I am not sure what other people have seen, but I’ve seen a guy that puts his head down and goes to work every single day—a guy that has dominated regardless of the situation. It always looks different to other people, but when we’re in the film room, we see a guy that is going out there and doing his job. Since I’ve been here that’s all I’ve seen the whole time so I’m proud of him and I’m proud of all of us.”

On winning the rushing battle offensively and defensively:

“I think when you make a team one-dimensional it’s hard for them to win a football game. We just go out there and we want to dominate in all phases—run, pass, whatever it is—but when you get the ability to stop the run, it makes play-calling a whole lot easier. Our offensive line, Coach [Heupel] said it all week, ‘we need to dominate upfront’ and that’s what they did. Running the ball and being able to dominate is something that we put our mindset to so I’m proud of them and they helped us out.”

PR/KR Dee Williams

On the punt he downed at the 1-yard line in the third quarter:

“I wasn’t worried. After I caught the ball, I looked down to see where my feet were. I just saw the ref and that it was down at the one. And I was like, oh well.”

On what makes him a good punt returner:

“I just have to thank God for everything, for the talent I have and the ability he lets me use every day for this game.”

On making a difference on special teams:

“It’s really just my work ethic. All I know is to work as hard as I can, never get in a comfort zone or being sad that I’m not being in other positions. Just let God control everything and control what I can control.”

RB Jaylen Wright

On facing Texas A&M’s defense tonight:

“Confidence was a big thing today and preparation. I want to thank my o-line for opening up seams and standing blocks. They are a very good d-line. We just had a day today.”

On his “airborne” play:

“I saw the crease open and saw that it would be one-on-one, so I said, ‘forget it—I’m just going to jump over him.’ I hoped I would clear him and I wish I could have cleared him all the way so I could keep running, but it was still a good play.”

On how the success of the running back room fuels the entirety of their performance:

“We feed off of each other because we’re brothers. Just like I said before the season started and I continue to say, we are the best running back room in the country.”