Watch: Assistant coach Willie Martinez talks Tennessee defensive backs

Tennessee defensive backs coach Willie Martinez met with reporters on Tuesday, updating the progress of his position group through six games and looking ahead to the 17th-ranked Vols (5-1, 2-1 SEC) playing at No. 11 Alabama (6-1, 4-0) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa:

The development of Tennessee cornerback Kamal Hadden

“Well everybody has a developmental progress. Everybody will develop at certain stages in their lives, quicker or obviously it’s gonna take a little bit of time. And obviously we know if somebody that had a talent, that was talented, was athletic and knew that he had the skills just working, preparing. This is his third year. He actually, because of the injuries, this was his first time he ever went through spring ball in developing. And obviously he took it through the summer and in the fall camp. And obviously now he’s put it to work in the games on a more consistent basis.”

How they’ve seen Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe improve this season

“We thought he was a hell of a football player last year. When we were preparing for the game, obviously we thought he was gonna be the starter. He was playing well. He’s mature, obviously a year later. He’s got a great, great arm, strong arm that can make every throw. He’s obviously a dual-threat in the quarterback run game or if the pocket collapses. He’ll scramble and he’ll scramble to run. But at times too, he’ll scramble also, he’ll throw the ball down the field. He does it. He really just feels a lot more comfortable, a lot more confident. You can see it in some of the throws he makes. And obviously he’s making some really great decisions too, when not to throw it. That’s what we’re seeing more.”

The challenge in Milroe making plays under pressure and how that will affect Tennessee’s defensive backs

For the back end, whenever you’re playing coverage it is to put your eyes where they belong and stay in coverage. Someone that’s a dual-threat like him is not to worry about when he starts scrambling. Just make sure you stay in coverage and that’s the most important thing we can do with a guy. Because he will make you pay. Or he’s gonna scramble out there and yeah, he’s gone a lot of the times, but also at times too, he’ll throw the ball down the field and he’s been very successful at doing that. Guys leaving their man or getting out of coverage, that’s where he is really done a lot of damage. So we’re gonna have to be really good. The entire defense (will have to be). If the pocket collapses, man, we gotta do a good job of being disciplined, saying in our rush lanes and being in a position to flush him east and west opposed to let him get down north and south. And obviously staying in coverage.”

Kamal Hadden keeping his head down and working the last couple years at Tennessee

“We have a great culture here. I’m gonna give the credit to Coach Heup. Start with Coach Heup. When we first got here, and to the time that we are right now, we’ve got a great group of men and staff that we feel that just put their arms around each and every kid. And not to single out just one guy. I think it’s been the whole entire organization put their arms around each other and have helped each other. And you need that no matter what, whoever that might be. And Kamal, like everybody else, has bought in and you can see that. He’s obviously gotten better each and every year, each and every day. I mean, in every phase of his life, you see that. He graduated. He’s already a graduate. And that was important for him and his family, and that was the number one goal of his. And it was great to see that build some confidence and it would build anybody’s confidence. And he sees the results. He has put a lot of work into it and, like a lot of us, if you put the work into it, man, and you stay focused and just trying to win each day, just win each day. And he’s done that and move on to the next day. You know it’s the most important thing is the next rep. It’s the next thing you do. And even though it might not have been perfect, it might not have been really good, you know, reset. And he’s done that on a consistent basis and obviously he’s seeing the results from that.”

If Doneiko Slaughter is 100 percent and healthy at cornerback for Tennessee

“We went into (the last game) trying to play four (corners). We wanted to play at least four to five guys at the corner position, at least four, and we’re still in that mindset. But again, as the games go, it’s just the hot man stays in so to speak. But we’re gonna continue to play as many guys we can. You gotta be able to do that in this day and age man, with all the offenses and how talented they are and all the tempos. And that’s been good for us because we’ve been able to not only give the reps these guys that they deserve, but it’s also kept us fresh in the fourth quarter. And it’s just like our (defensive) line.

“And I kind of learned from that, you know, the (defensive) line, a lot of (defensive line) coaches rotate their guys. Because they can’t go (the whole game), obviously it’s a line of scrimmage game. But in looking at it, it’s also brought some really great results that it’s done for us too. We’ve been able to get guys in there when we needed to. We weren’t able to do that the last two years. And it’s been very beneficial for us to being able to do that. So we’ll play a lot.”

The depth in the defensive backfield helping develop Tennessee players on the practice field

“It is the last great motivator, right? I mean, when they see each other, push each other, they’re talented and they know that they gotta step it up each and every day and try and make it a competition every day. We just had it out there today. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are workdays and we call it Tough Tuesday for a reason. And only your best is good enough, you know what I mean? So it’s actually, you might have had a great day yesterday, man. It’s a new day (today). And I think the mindset, that’s the kind of mindset that everybody has. And to have that competition has only made the guys better. And it’s obviously healthy young guys. They’re doing really well on special teams and fighting for reps on defense.”

The impact Tamarion McDonald is having for Tennessee’s defense

“The same impact he’s making each and every day. I mean, T-Mac is our guy. The back end, he’s gotta set the defense, he’s gotta make the checks. He’s gotta be a very productive player when he is playing against the slots, from a run game and from a passing game. And he’s done a tremendous job. So the same things that he’s been doing just better. I would say that to every single one of the guys. And he would say the same thing to you.”

How much better the Tennessee secondary is covering this season

“Much of that is just the team overall playing. And again, I know it’s a last line of defense and we’ve gotta be really good, obviously. But it is really the credit to the entire defense. I mean, it takes 11 guys to play really great defense. Coach Banks does a great job in leading the defense and we just got more depth. We’ve got younger guys that have come in here and they’re contributing and pushing the envelope, so to speak, as far as pushing each other to be better. We’re healthier in the back end. We weren’t last year and you can’t get better unless you get reps. It doesn’t matter how good you are. And we’ve been very fortunate to be relatively healthy. I know we’ve lost Christian Charles and some other guys have been bumped up, here and there. But for the most part, we’ve been healthy and that’s helped us be able to practice every day, push each other to be better. And you can see the confidence.”