Everything Willie Martinez Said Ahead of Tennessee vs Alabama

Willie Martinez speaks to the media ahead of Tennessee vs Alabama

Tennessee Secondary coach Willie Martinez during Tennessee football's third practice at Anderson Training Facility in Knoxville, Tenn. on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Kns Tennessee Football Third Practice | Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Willie Martinez took the stand for the Tuesday press coverage. He had a lot to talk about, including the issues that has been visible in the secondary.

Here is what he had to say.

Martinez on Tennessee Forcing Turnovers

Sep 17, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker (5) and secondary coach Willie Martinez look on during the first half against the Akron Zips at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-Imagn Images | Bryan Lynn-Imagn Images

“Obviously we want to play elite, right? Everybody does. But the bottom line is, you want to win the game. And how can we do our part? We’ve got to be efficient in all areas, obviously, being very good on first down and trying to get the offenses in long yardage, get them behind the sticks, where we haven’t done a good job. And I think you’re aware of it, is the third downs. We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be more consistent in having those opportunities. And it has been different reasons why. Not executing it, not making the play, not knowing the situation in those moments. We’ve got to be better than that. We’ve got to get off the field. And that’s really what’s cost us and made the drives continue. Now we’ve played some pretty good quarterbacks, too. We’ve seen guys that are off schedule, whether the last couple of ballgames that we’ve played, guys that can do a really good job of breaking the pocket. And we’ve got to do a good job of plastering receivers. There are guys wide open; we’ve got to be able to be tighter on those coverages. But, the bottom line is, you want to win the games. We know that we’ve got to be better on defense. Consistent, like you said, but yeah, I’m going to leave it there.”

Martinez on What to Improve in Zone

“I think it’s a lot of it. Anticipating someone lines up in a formation and knowing the situation, whatever that D&D is, where are you at in the field. There’s always some tells to the story as you prepare for an opponent. What are the strengths and weaknesses? So there’s a lot that goes into that, the thought process. We’ve had times where guys were there to make a play, didn’t make the play, guys that did make plays. But it’s who’s the guy that they go to the most or taking the right angles. Being in the right place at the right time. We’ve just got to do a better job, collectively as 11 guys. Defense, man, if you’re not all on the same page, your holes, they’ll pick you apart. So we’ve had 10 guys doing it right, one guy didn’t do it right. We’ve had that before.”

Martinez on Safety Being More of a Mental or Physical Concern

“I think it’s a little bit of both on the whole entire group. You said safety, obviously they’ve got to be the guys that make the calls, make the checks, be on the same page. That’s very true, but they got to get it communicated to everybody else too. And I think moving forward, that’s the whole idea, man. It’s just doing your job. Everybody just do their job. All 11 guys. We’re the last line of defense (in the secondary). It’s going to be more of a focus, right? You can see it more. You can see all the mistakes from space. We’ve got to be the guys that cover it up when someone does make mistakes in front of you. So it’s the position we’ve just got to continue to grow and learn from those things and be more consistent, like I’m saying, with everybody."

For the remainder of what he said click HERE.

---