Everything Bobby Petrino said at Monday's press conference

Arkansas interim head coach Bobby Petrino held his weekly press conference Monday afternoon less than 48 hours after the Razorbacks lost to then-No. 12 Tennessee, 34-31.

Petrino talked about some of the good and bad things from the loss to the Volunteers, as well as a host of other topics including injuries, offensive line play and the team's Sunday practice.

Here's everything Petrino said:

Coach, after reviewing the film, anything jump out to you that maybe didn't during coaching the game live?

There's a number of things, but first and foremost, we have to do a better job of playing the game, doing it exactly right, how we're supposed to. We had too many errors in some of our fits on defense and some of our support on defense.

Offensively, we had too many errors on taking care of the football and protection. We made a couple bad errors on protection, but it still showed up that we played extremely hard. We were very, very competitive. I liked the way we played with emotion and excitement, but we got to actually play the game of football better to get a win like that.

At home, does anything change as far as pregame routine and all that kind of stuff, game day?

It all changes a little bit just because I'm doing a schedule I'm familiar with, so the way we practice and the things we'll do on Friday and Saturday, so it'll be very similar to what we did last year on the road, our last week on the road, except for the fact we don't have to jump on an airplane and fly, but we'll try to keep it as a normal schedule now.

Do you think the team has done a good job of flushing the game and turning focus?

That's one of the reasons I like coming in on Sunday. I like to get in and have a good team meeting, go through the special teams, then watch the entire video with our position coaches, and then we went out last night and the guys that played a lot in the game, they ran and conditioned mostly to get the soreness out. It really helps get the soreness out, helps you get better for today, and then we practiced the young guys, the guys that didn't play a lot. Now, some of the guys that played some in the game still practiced to work on improvement and getting better, and some of them wanted to practice instead of condition, and I'm always all for that. I thought it was good. I think that's what helps you get the game behind you and move forward, so today's an off day for them, and then tomorrow when we get grinding, everything's just on Texas A&M.

It seemed like Tennessee did a lot of blitzing. Is that kind of where you saw that, like maybe missing assignments on blitzing and everything?

Some of it came on third down, what you're talking about on the show looks and different things they do. Although I was very, very proud of us only having one penalty, not having any pre-snap penalties with that noise and in that stadium, which is actually pretty amazing. We did have a couple communication errors, and that's what showed up is the guard not telling the tackle one time and the other tackle not getting the call one time, and it ended up being a communication issue, although we didn't get a penalty on it. One of them, maybe it would have been better to get the penalty than the miscommunication, but for the most part, they did a nice job of handling the atmosphere and handling the noise, and I thought that was a nice job by Taylen and, of course, our offensive line.

What impresses you the most (about Texas A&M), maybe looking at their film on those two sides (offense and defense)?

They still have good speed on the defensive front. The ends are guys that can really rush the passer and come off. We played against a couple of them last year. One of them changed his number. He looks faster now being in a single digit and has had a really good year, so we got to make sure we have a way to take care of him. Last year, they had three D-linemen that were very, very high draft picks, and they look like they replaced them, so they do a nice job of recruiting there on their defensive front. The offensive front, a lot of those guys are guys that played for me when I was there. They're able to have really good retention, and they're going to have good size and good experience, so we're going to have to do a good job of making sure that we are firm up front and our linebackers do a good job of fitting the runs.

What have you seen from the A&M program that maybe has allowed them to reach its footing in the SEC?

That's a hard one for me to answer. I know back when we played them was a while back, and they were always good games. I remember being down 18 at halftime one time and being able to come back and find a way to win. But, you know, it's a school with a lot of resources, and they've got a good recruiting base when you're in the state of Texas, and they've done a nice job with it. I think they've got good players, and they've got experienced players up front. We're going to have to play good football to compete with them and have an opportunity to win the game in the fourth quarter.

You mentioned the other night at the game that A&M had a D-line and did similar things to last year. Can you maybe speak to what the strength of their defense is?

It's definitely their defensive front and linebackers. You know, their linebackers are really experienced, and they know football. You know, the guy that's calling all the calls for them out there, he played as a true freshman as a starter, and he's a guy that really knows the game. They do have an experienced back end, and they do a good job with their safeties getting to the run fits and making tackles barely across the line of scrimmage. So, we're going to have to do a good job on how we handle their force and how we handle who's coming down at what safety and making sure we get a body on them.

ICYMI: One key area Razorbacks could struggle with against Texas A&M

Have you got any updates on (Caleb) Wooden? He was hurt on the same play Aguilar was hurt. And then the guys who showed up on the report last week, (Quentavius) Scandrett, (Andreas) Paaske, David (Oke), those guys?

Yeah, Wooden's doing good. He's okay. Oke will be out for a little bit. Andreas, unfortunately, had to have a surgery, so he's out for the year. And I'm not sure about Scandrett yet. You know, he tried to go last week. He made a couple periods in practice. We thought he was going to be available, and then he wasn't able to finish the practice the next day, so he ended up on that. But, you know, there is a possibility that he could be back and ready to go.

In terms of the pass protection breaking down on the fumbles, did you see more on the quarterback holding the ball? Were the receivers not getting open? How did you see that going down?

Yeah, the first fumble was simply not pass protection at all. It was a naked play. Unfortunately, it was to his left. And, you know, he's got to know that if I'm on a position where I am with that defensive end and the ball, I just got to tuck the ball in my left arm and get as much as I can. He's trying to overdo it and do a little bit too much. The other one was, you know, did the ball, was it in his hand when his arm went forward or was it not? You know, that's a hard one to think. He thought he was going to make a big play, and, you know, I don't know. You saw the play. So there's only so much I can say, right?

Looking ahead at this game, Marcel Reed, a dual threat guy, defensively, how do you go against that and defend that?

Marcel, I know well. He was in the meeting room with me every single day in his redshirt year, and he's got tremendous quickness, tremendous speed. He's kind of a playmaker, you know, not your normal just drop back, stay in the pocket, and throw the ball. He moves around, makes plays. He can buy time and make plays, and that's the scary part of it is when he moves around and keeps his eyes downfield, you know, we're going to have to really work on plastering our man and staying with our man and not coming off who we have because we see him moving, and that will be a point of emphasis for us defensively this week for sure. We just got to try to keep him in the pocket, try to collapse the pocket, not give him room, and if you cannot give him room, then you got an opportunity.

What do you remember about (Texas A&M offensive coordinator Colin Kline) in (the 2012 Cotton Bowl), and then also kind of what do you make of his system that he runs there at A&M?

I always thought he was a heck of a runner with the football, you know, when we had to play him and even years prior to that, watching the quarterback runs, and I think he was on probably one of the front ends of quarterback design runs when he was a player, and they did a great job with it. Always had an extra blocker, made it really, really tough. He was, you know, a strong, physical guy that could really do a great job running the football, and, you know, he's done a nice job of adapting to their, you know, their talent. He seems a little bit different than what he was at Kansas State, and he's utilizing the personnel that he has. It's a great challenge for us. Defensively, we just have to make sure we recognize formations, motions, and try to get a pre-snap key of what's coming.

What have you thought of (Stephen Dix Jr. and Xavian Sorey Jr.) improvement and the linebacker group as a whole?

I think that they did a really nice job in practice. They did a really nice job in their leadership throughout the week. They gave us energy out there. Sorey, I think, for the first time all year was 100 percent healthy. You know, he missed a lot in camp, and he didn't have the speed and quickness in some of the early games, but he showed that in that game. And he actually showed it all week in practice to be the fastest first guy to the ball and playing with a lot of energy, and that helped the entire defense. And Dix came in and did a great job and had a really nice game running to the football and fitting runs and being physical. We need those two guys to play well for us defensively.

The tight ends, they've been really productive when they've touched it. Would you like to get them to ball more?

Definitely, definitely. That's a point of interest for us and something we feel like we need to do. We made some calls for them the other night, and they got covered a little bit. One maybe was a P.I. You know, I thought it was a nice ball he threw, and he tried to jump and make the turn, and we just didn't get the call on it. But we need those guys to be productive catching the ball and running after the catch and making plays for us to be consistent and to convert third downs.

You and (Jaden) Platt were both at Texas A&M in '23. Any thoughts about him and you going up against the Aggies?

It'll be fun. Platt's a great young man. You know, he was always one of my favorites when I was there. We used to talk to him all the time, and he's a very unique young man. He's extremely intelligent and extremely talented and one of the most humble young men I've ever met. So I think our relationship was one of the reasons that we got him to transfer here, and I think he's got a bright, bright future ahead of him in the game of football.

You coached against Arkansas, Missouri State, and Texas A&M. Any other times you've gone against a former team where you've coached before this Saturday against A&M?

Man, I've been in this thing for a long time, so probably I know that I had, like, Weber State, Idaho. I know that was one of those back there. I don't know. I probably can't think of any more right off the top of my head, but I remember coaching at Weber State, then going to Idaho as the offensive coordinator, then having to play them a couple years in a row. But I can't remember any besides that.

You were only there for a year, but are there always some sort of emotions that get carried into a game like this when you go back to play a school you have some familiarity with?

When you watch the video and the players jump out, you think about them a little bit and your relationship that you had with them, and that's really about it. Other than that, we're just focused on getting our preparation right and having a good week and go compete and find a way to win the game.

I know the two fumbles really stick out with Taylen, but compared to Notre Dame, it seemed like he was a much better passer. Where did you see some improvements that Taylen was able to make this week against Tennessee?

Yeah, the fumbles aside, he played a really good game. He distributed the ball. He made good decisions. He was seeing the coverages. I was really happy with his progressions and how he was able to get the ball out of his hand a couple times and make big third-down conversions, which helped us. We still did a great job on third down and converting that. This will be a big challenge this week. They've been really good on third-down defense. So, he ran the ball really well, made some big plays running the football. So I thought he played a good game, but we've got to take care of the ball to find a way to win.

Did you have any role in recruiting Reed, or was he already committed when you got there?

He was already committed. I still became part of it when I got there. Went out, did home visit, went to the high school, so I'm there at the high school. He's a very unique personality, and he was a lot of fun to be around. He enjoys life.

Unique in what way?

He enjoys life. Always has a big smile and happy guy.

Biggest areas of growth that you've seen from (Reed) those days to what you see out there now?

He didn't do a whole lot when we were there. We had three other quarterbacks that were working. Unfortunately, it's kind of like Grayson is right now. When you've made the decision that you're going to redshirt, you don't get a lot of reps in practice. So you just kind of have to work the individual drills, and that's one of the reasons why I like doing what we did last night, bringing the freshmen out and guys that didn't play in the game and getting them some reps in our offense so you get to know them a little bit better. But we didn't practice like that there.

It's been a while since you've roamed the sidelines as the head coach at Arkansas. You've been on the other side pretty recently, but what are your thoughts about coming back home as the head coach playing in this venue?

I'm going to have to think about it. You just reminded me that. I never even thought about it until right now, so I'll spend some time thinking about it. It'll be fun. I'll enjoy it.

Coach, you did incredibly well when you were the head coach here previously against Texas A&M and then the Hogs have had some difficulty since. What's changed, do you think, for Arkansas against Texas A&M? And more importantly, what can you guys change this weekend?

That's a lot of years and a lot of things to think about that I'm not qualified to evaluate and make those comments. I wasn't around for all that and don't have any idea, but we need to go out and play a good football game. We've got to be able to run the ball. They're a very difficult team to run the ball against. We've got to get to third down and short, third and medium, and convert those, keep the football, and eliminate big plays. Last week we were able to play really good third down defense, and that helped us get off the field, but we still gave up too many explosive plays, so we're going to work hard at that.

What did you like out of the two-back look with Braylen Russell and Mike Washington on Saturday?

I like it a lot. I think it helps us a lot. I like the way Braylen ran the football. With the exception of the fumble, he did a really nice job, and they made a good play on that. They hit him good, and the other guy stripped the ball, and that happens sometimes. We're definitely going to be able to get him more and more involved as we go on, and we need to, because he's a really good football player, as is Mike. I thought the two of them ran the ball really well.

A lot of your players talked about there being an emphasis on tackling the two weeks prior to Tennessee. How overall did you feel their tackling improved against Tennessee this past week?

Much better, much better. We had 12 missed tackles. We forced 19 missed tackles on them, so we broke 19 tackles, and we missed 12. So that's a definite improvement for us.

What was the main issue you were seeing with the tackling on film?

Yeah, like I said, we're moving straight ahead and going forward, and we've got to get guys to the football. The more guys you get to the football, the less room there is for them to miss tackles. One of the things that showed up the other night against Tennessee was we had some really good open field tackles, and thank God we did, or they might have took it to the house. But our safety in the open field did a really nice job of approaching right, breaking down right, and making the tackle, and that allowed us to get to third down the next time, the next series, and get them off the field.

How does the pressure change of being the head coach with the job versus being the interim head coach auditioning for the job?

I'm not thinking of it as that. I'm just going out there every day and trying to help these young men get better, help them understand that football is one of the things that helps you the rest of your life, and we've talked a lot about that in team meetings, and just trying to make it a better product out on the field. That's all my focus is right now. What happens after this happens. I'm not thinking about it one bit, and I don't have any pressure on myself on that at all. I just want us to be a better football team on the field and find a way to win the game. We've been in them. We've had our opportunities, and we just haven't been able to finish and find a way to get the W.

Justice Boone played inside quite a bit against Tennessee. Was that a third down package that maybe their tempo so fast he did on first and second as well, or was that maybe a response to Oke being out, kind of sliding him inside there?

Justin had a good game. He's done a really nice job for us. He's very tough. He's a guy that has really worked hard and has shown a tremendous amount of toughness, and he's mostly playing that in, but we did have some packages where he went inside and tried to get us a better pass rush.

How do you think the players responded to actually practicing Sunday night, just as a whole? Did any leaders come tell you, hey, this is a good idea or anything?

I think they enjoyed it. I think one of the things besides the practice of it, because the guys that play in the game, they're not practicing, but I think one of the things is getting the game watched and put behind you on Sunday night helps the rest of the week. Otherwise, we would be doing that here two hours from now, which to me has always felt a little bit further away from the game. So getting that all evaluated, understanding that once we watch the video, we got to learn from it, get better from what we learned, and then put it behind us and move forward. They ran well. They did a good job of that, and the young guys went out there and had fun. Sometimes as a scout team freshman player, you're spending the whole time just working on what the other team does. So I always felt like Sunday night was, oh, this is our offense. This is what I get to see. This is what I get to do. I know some of those young players and the twos really enjoyed getting those reps.