Coach Pasqualoni Quotes Prior to Game at Tennessee
On play of James Mungro:
"For the opportunities he had, I'd say he played a consistent game. He didn't have as many opportunities as we would like for him to have. For what he had, he did all right."
On place kicker situation and Mike Shafers' missed field goal in Kickoff Classic:
"I'm going to meet with the special teams prior to going out today (to practice). We're going to sit down and discuss it. I'm not going to make any statements because it's before our special teams meeting. It was a real makable field goal, from the eight-yard line. He's probably made a 100 of those in preseason camp. You just feel bad for Mike. You have to make that play."
On play inside the red zone:
"We have to run the ball. We're a much better team running the ball than we were yesterday. We just didn't do a great job of executing in the run game which was disappointing. We are very capable of being a good team running the football. That probably cost us, not only in the red zone, but in other areas of the field. It's an area we need to do better in. And we're capable of doing a lot better."
On different formation and shifts on offense against Georgia Tech:
"In all of what we did yesterday, there was one new formation. If you've watched our games over the years, you've seen every one of those sets. There's was really only one new formation and I'm not sure how new that one was. We were involved in much more shifting. And we'll continue to do that. Some games it will be more, some games it will be less. It all depends on the game plan and how we feel they (the opponent) will react. We want to be a balanced team. We'd like to be able to run the ball for 200 yards, we?d like to be able to pass for 200 yards. That?s the goal we're always striving for."
On quarterback Troy Nunes' play in the Kickoff Classic:
"He made some good decisions. And I think he can improve, and I think it was encouraging. I think he was aggressive. What I was pleased about was his toughness and his aggressiveness. He made some big time calls. He made some big plays. Now we have to make a few more. "
On thoughts prior to Georgia Tech?s final drive of Kickoff Classic:
"We had only given up 50 yards rushing the entire day so we were pretty confident we were going to get the ball back. It just didn't work out that way. It was frustrating to end the game that way. Had we gotten the ball back and taken our best shot, then you live with the results. But it's frustrating not to get that shot."
On splitting time between running backs James Mungro and Diamond Ferri:
"You can't go through a season with one running back. You've got to have more than one experienced back. Consequently, we like to rotate backs. You can't play with one guy and that guy gets hurt and expect the next player in to know everything that is involved unless he's playing. There's a lot more involved that just running the ball. I think you have to be bringing backs along all the time."
On playing Neyland Stadium:
"We've played in big stadiums with a lot of people. My understanding is that this will be a really loud stadium. This may be the loudest place we've played. That's something we have to get ready for."
On play of defensive line:
"I said from the beginning I thought the defensive line would be a disciplined group and they would try hard. I think they played really hard. This week will be another challenge for them. We're proud of the way they hung in there (against Georgia Tech). They fought hard."
On Tennessee defensive lineman John Henderson:
"The penetration he can generate is really disruptive. He has the ability, like a bulldozer, to push everything up the field. He's a really big, very athletic guy. I can't imagine there are a lot guys out there like him. His motor runs hard. He's a talent, there's no question about it."
Player Quotes
P.J. Alexander, Offensive Lineman
On how to get the running game going:
"We have to execute better. The plays were called. We had opportunities. We just have to execute. We have to take it upon ourselves. We're a senior group up there. We have to execute the plays."
Regarding the penalties on the offensive line:
"There's no excuse. I was leaning too far back in my stance and I got anxious. But there?s no excuse for that. It should never happen. I'm planning to work on it this week and not having any next week."
On preparing for Tennessee after playing on Sunday:
"We have the same amount of time to prepare between every game. We always come back and practice to Monday. We knew what we were getting into when we said we wanted to play in the Kickoff Classic."
On knowledge of Neylend Stadium:
"I know it's loud, there's a lot of orange, and they play Rocky Top all day long. "
O?Neill Scott, Free Safety
"Yesterday was very disappointing. I think we played really hard on defense. We had a lot of good coverages. Now we've got to get ready for Tennessee."
