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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee football team took Haslam Field Tuesday morning in preparation for its next interdivisional SEC challenge at No. 4 Alabama. UT travels to Tuscaloosa Saturday night for the 104th meeting between the Volunteers and the Crimson Tide, set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.

Assistant coaches Jerry Mack (running backs), Willie Martinez (secondary) and select UT players met with members of the media after Tuesday’s practice to preview the upcoming matchup.

“They’re just consistent, efficient,” Martinez said. “Obviously, they’ve been doing that for a long time. The consistency and being able to sustain it is a credit to them. Obviously, we’re looking forward to the challenge. It’s a very talented football team.”

Tennessee’s defense has put up impressive numbers through the first seven weeks of the season and will look to continue those trends against the Tide. The Vols have racked up 62.0 tackles for loss, a tally that leads all Power Five teams and ranks second in the FBS. UT has forced 10 turnovers in the last five weeks and picked off eight interceptions, which ranks third in the SEC and 13th in the FBS.

The Volunteer defensive unit will face another strong test Saturday night against the league’s top-scoring offense, as Alabama leads the SEC at 45.0 points per game. Crimson Tide freshman Bryce Young tops the SEC with 24 passing touchdowns and is the highest-rated quarterback in the league (180.0), narrowly edging UT senior signal caller Hendon Hooker (179.8).

Martinez praised his secondary’s effort and energy through the first four weeks of SEC play and has called upon his group to focus on playing smarter as UT gears up for the impending stretch run.

“For the most part, I think these guys have been playing really hard,” Martinez said. “They have been playing physical. The energy’s been there. They’ve continued to progress in the knowledge of our scheme and preparing. I think they’ve done a really great job with that. I think the thing we could always do better is play smarter. We’ve got to be able to sustain it throughout the whole game—making good decisions and solving problems as we go.”

Offensively, the Vols will look to keep the ground game operating at a high clip against Alabama’s stout rushing defense. The Big Orange enters the weekend putting up 249.1 rushing yards per game (third in the SEC), while the Tide surrenders just 90.3 rush yards per contest (second in the SEC).

Five Tennessee running backs have seen action throughout the 2021 campaign, with Tiyon Evans (486) and Jabari Small (324) pacing the group in rushing yardage this season. When the duo has had to miss time due to injury, the Vols have seen significant contributions from freshmen Len’Neth Whitehead and Jaylen Wright as well as senior walk-on Marcus Pierce Jr.

“I think the room has been doing a really good job of next man up mentality,” Mack said of his RB corps. “You saw Len’Neth Whitehead get his opportunities. You’ve seen Jaylen Wright get some opportunities in the past. Everybody just has to be ready to play. You never know when an opportunity is going to present itself. So, we try to prepare the room, all of those guys … We were a little short with one man down last week. So, we had more stress on the room and they handled it well, to be honest with you. If Jabari (Small) had not been able to finish that game, I had no doubt that some of those other guys would’ve been able to carry the load.”

Full video and transcript for Martinez’s and Mack’s media availabilities can be seen below, along with select quotes from senior defensive back Theo Jackson, redshirt senior wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and junior defensive end Byron Young.

On Jabari Small’s performance Saturday…
“We’re really impressed with the way Jabari went out there and competed. One thing that you saw that Jabari did, was that he played more snaps this game than he probably has in his entire career in one game. That’s just a testament to his toughness and that warrior mindset. Actually, he performed well, as well. Protection wise, he did some really good things for us holding up. I was really impressed with the way he ran when he had to bounce plays. You saw him get to the second level and really make some defenders miss. You saw that short area quickness that I always talk about really come to life in that game.”

On how he would assess how the running backs have done in pass protection…
“Like any team, we can always get better. Right now, we’re still learning exactly what to do in those matchups sometimes. It kind of catches at times, but when to stay high on defenders, when to stay low on defenders, all those different things. We’re still growing in that aspect of our protections, but overall, probably about B-minus I would say right now, but definitely room for improvement.”

On if the pass protection has been steady or grown over the season…
“I think we have gotten better since the preseason, but obviously the numbers reflect that we have to do a much better all parts involved: offensive line, running backs, obviously everybody is involved in that protection piece in some aspect.”

On the type of player Alabama LB Henry To’oTo’o is…
“He’s a little bit of everything. When you watch Henry on film, he’s very active. He does a really good job in space, wrapping up, and making tackles. You don’t see a lot of people get pad plus two. When he touches you, you usually go down immediately. That one of the things that I’ve seen a whole lot of him. As far as a blitzer, he does a really good of bull rushing guys and pushing them back, pressing the pocket, and pushing them back into the quarterback. That’s one of the things we keep noticing and watching on film from him. Really impressed with his style of play. We’re probably not going to face two better linebackers in the country the entire year. Those two guys (To’oTo’o and Will Anderson Jr.) are really doing a great job.”

On adjusting the running back rotation due to injuries…
“I think the room has been doing a really good job of next man up mentality. You saw Len’Neth Whitehead get his opportunities. You’ve seen Jaylen Wright get some opportunities in the past. Everybody just has to be ready to play. You never know when an opportunity is going to present itself. So, we try to prepare the room, all of those guys, we usually travel about five running backs. We were a little short with one man down last week. So, we had more stress on the room and they handled it well, to be honest with you. If Jabari (Small) had not been able to finish that game, I had no doubt that some of those other guys would’ve been able to carry the load.”

On Len’Neth Whitehead’s development over the last few weeks…
“I think it’s more about just time on task. The opportunities for him to get more reps in practice. The opportunities for him to get more reps in the game. You can see he’s steadily getting better every time he gets the chance to touch the ball. He had a run the other day, if he picks his knees up in the run, he’s probably got a chance to make an explosive play. So, the more reps and the more time on task he’s able to get, the more opportunities he’s able to get, he’s another guy that we feel like the ceiling is really high for him.”

On what he likes from Len’Neth Whitehead now and what the next step for him is…
“I think to understand his size. He’s a big guy. 6’2, 220-something pounds. He’s a guy that when he runs with low pad level, he surprises himself with the opportunity and the chance he has to run through tackles, especially those arm tackles. So, I would like to see him get more powerful and become more aggressive as a runner.”

On where Jaylen Wright is with his development…
“I think he’s right where he needs to be right now. Every day, he seems to get a little bit better, from a standpoint of health wise. He was battling some nicks and bruises and things like that. He’s coming along right now. He’s kind of like a lot of these guys, day-to-day for right now. I do think, once he gets 100 percent or whatever 100 percent looks like now within this part of the season, I think he’ll be ready to rock and roll.”

On if he’s had a running back play nearly 80 snaps in a game and what it says about Jabari Small after doing that on Saturday…
“I haven’t really. Not in this style of tempo, that’s not the expectation. You usually don’t get that high of a number for the running back position. That’s why I said, just the way he battled through; he was in pain. We talk about (with) those guys; this is a man’s game. There is going to be opportunities, there’s going to be chances for you to showcase your toughness and that game Saturday was an opportunity for him to showcase his toughness. Usually, you don’t want backs playing that many snaps, but he did that and did not miss a beat.”

On opponent injuries slowing down the tempo of the offense…
“I really don’t (have a thought on it). That’s what the offseason is for. The rules committee, they’ll figure out something, as far as how to progress and how to kind of fix that problem as much as possible.”