Tennessee secondary coach Willie Martinez talks depth, fallout from Rickey Gibson injury

What Tennessee Football secondary coach Willie Martinez said during his press conference Tuesday, discussing his group’s versatility and depth after losing Rickey Gibson III to injury in Week 1:

Tennessee’s depth at cornerback after losing Rickey Gibson III to injury vs. Syracuse

“Obviously we recruit here athletic kids that can be very multiple. And we’ve moved around, we’ve actually practiced guys at different positions even though you haven’t seen them in games play the position. So we’re going to rely on our athleticism and some of the players that have been bouncing from left to right. Whether it’s a young a young man, a young player like Tim Merritt or Dylan Lewis, they have the skill sets. So that gives us the opportunity to — Tre Poteat — that’s how we make it. Obviously we’ve got some veterans like Will Wright, who did a really good job this last ballgame. And we kind of shuffle them around. You got Jalen McMurray, you’ve got Boo Carter, guys that can play a lot of positions. So we’ll use that and we’ll just mix it up. And we’ll play the best lineup at the time, but will be very versatile as far as moving around.”

Jalen McMurray’s versatility, balancing if corner or star is best for him and best for Tennessee’s secondary

“Yeah, again, he’s a really good player, just like a lot of the guys we have on the back end. They’ve been practicing it. They’ve been back and forth. So it’ll just be very natural when we mix it up.” 

Tennessee getting transfer defensive back integrated quickly, how that differs from getting a true freshman ready 

“I don’t think it’s any different. The only difference would be is obviously the high school kids are young, don’t have the experience. Like we say, young guys can’t stay young anymore, since the guys have been here since December and January. We don’t view them as young anymore. So the transfer has obviously the experience coming from somewhere at the college level and that’s where he has a little bit of a separation. But you look at a guy like Ty Redmond who does a really did a great job this last ball game. He was ready for the moment. I just think it’s our culture. The standard is the standard, the expectation is the expectation. Recruit really good players and put them in spots that give you a chance to be very multiple. We’ve said it since we’ve been here. We’re going to recruit guys that are very multiple, that have the skill sets that can play at any position and we can just exactly what’s happened here. Don’t take a kid that can’t play man. Got to play man. He could be a corner, he could be a star, it could be a safety. You got to be able to play man because at some point in time in that game, all of them are going to have to play man. Whether you’re a safety, a linebacker. It gives us the opportunity to move guys around and it’s not their first time doing it. I guess I’m trying to answer the question. They’ve been at corner, they’ve been at star, they’ve been at dime, they’ve been at free, they’ve been at strong. We play left and right the whole, and we practice out here. And that schematically helps us, but also too, it builds depth, it builds continuity and obviously gives us a chance to play like we did this last ball game here where it didn’t normally flinch. Here we go, next guy, next man up, and they produce.” 

Tennessee freshman corner Ty Redmond being ready for moment, where he impressed the coaches  

“I think the thing about Ty, he’s very focused, very locked in, like a lot of the guys. The moment is not ever big for him. He’s very calm. It’s kind of his personality. So we’re not surprised how he performed. Again, he’s like that every day. He’s made a bunch of plays out here in practice, as he did when he was in high school. It’s been a continuation. But I just think the way he handles stuff, the moment is not too big and I’ll leave it there.”

How he evaluates Edrees Farooq’s first start at safety

“He did great. Obviously, he had a little bit of cramps in the opening of the second half, and obviously had to continue to get some fluid in him. But I thought he did really good, outstanding. Made some really good plays on the ball in the air and obviously was solid in the run game. Very good communicator, too.”

The recruitment of cornerback Ty Redmond, if he’s ready faster than he thought he would be

“Man, he comes from a great high school program. I mean, he’s got great coaching going on there. Now, he did transfer from another school, and that school that he transferred from had some really good coaches. I’m going to give credit where credit is due. It starts there, because that’s kind of like how we are when we recruit. You know, where are they coming from? Who’s developing the guys? Got a solid family that’s very competitive. So from a personal standpoint, when you just get to talk to them and you get to build a relationship with them, you can see the fire, you can see the competitive edge in him. But I think his training, he’s a guy that’s always training, always was when he was young. Whether he was a young man in eighth grade, ninth grade, you know what I mean? It’s been in him. I’ve had a lot of success with guys, he’s always a player, he’s a player young, he’s probably gonna be a player when he’s older. But if he just buys into the work that it takes, and he has, in knowing him.”

How Colton Hood performs during practice

“High-energy, locked in, really good with the players, his teammates, fits in right away since the day he walked in. Because here he is, he wasn’t with us in the spring. So it’s gonna take a special, special person to do that, where you kind of, how do I blend in in here? So he’s got a great personality, but he’s always an upbeat, high-energy dude. I mean, it’s not hard to figure out what his personality is because he’s the same dude every day. Obviously, really talented.”

Tightening up some zone coverage mistakes leading to big plays

“Play better technique, man. Have a little bit better thought process in the downs, you know, in the (down and distance), what we’re doing. We got third down and long and we got certain guys that are not seeing its third down and long. They’re seeing still second down and medium or something like that, where they think the run’s a part of it. That’s on us as coaches, but just executing not only the job itself, but the fundamentals that go along with it. Eye training, too. We had some missed assignments because of our eyes, and that’s always going to be a battle, man. Keep on coaching that. You know, you got to put your eyes where they belong so you get the right keys. It’s easy when you play man, right? That’s my man. That’s where you get really mad. That’s your guy. That’s your guy. That’s the him coverage. Don’t mess that one up. So that’s a great question.”