Coming off a bad 15-9 loss to South Carolina, Tennessee coach Butch Jones met with the media for his weekly Monday afternoon press conference.

Here’s a summary of what Jones had to say during his press conference:

  • “I thought we did everything we could to win the football game except for one thing: Score touchdowns in the red zone. We are missing big plays, splash plays. Missing tackles, missing (forcing) turnovers. It was a tale of two halves, we just didn’t execute in the second half. I understand that I’m responsible.?
  • “Alabama is the most complete team I’ve seen in a number of years. This game means so much for so many.”
  • Status of Aaron Medly? “Aaron Medley will be out for an extended period of time due to an illness.”
  • Status of Evan Berry? “Evan Berry will be at practice, starting today. Will he be available for Alabama? I can’t tell you that.”
  • Thoughts on Jarrett Guarantano? “Lots to build on. He was in here working yesterday. He will continue to grow. You can’t put a price tag on playing time. I thought the players feed off his energy. He gave us a chance to win at the end of the game.”
  • Status of Darrell Taylor? “He’s still suspended at this time. He still has some things he needs to work on.”
  • How difficult is it to focus on Alabama with your uncertain status? “I don’t worry about any of that. The Alabama game is all I focus on.”
  • Thoughts on the receiving corp? “Evolving. We need more consistency there. It’s a very, very young corp that’s learning what it takes to play in the SEC. The level of physicality, every catch is contested.