Butch Jones Press Conference Recap 9/14/15

Here's the high notes from what Jones said:

-Coach Jones had apparently heard the calls from his detractors after he dodged putting the loss to Oklahoma on himself as he immediately came out Monday and said that he and his coaching staff take responsibility for Tennessee's losses. It was a tough loss, we have to improve and move forward.

-Butch said that as the caretaker of Tennessee football, he refuses to let negativity creep into his program because there's so much going right.

-Jones revisited a familiar phrase saying Tennessee was "one play away from victory." He went on to say there were 8-10 plays that defined the game.

-He said Western Carolina is very dynamic on offense. They have a good QB and challenge you schematically. They run an uptempo spread offense and are a really well coached football team.

-We'll continue to push competition every week, you have to earn your playing time. You earn the right to play. Oklahoma did nothing magic in the 2nd half. They're a very talented football team and defense. When you're down by 14 you bring more pressure and they did that and dictated the situation. We have to learn how to close games out. You learn from it, you move on.

-To improve pass game, it starts up front with protection, then tight ends, then outside and being able to defeat coverage. We had too many critical drops. That was the most penalties UT has had with 10. When you play OU, everything you do is magnified. We had way too many negative yardage plays and pre-snap penalties.

-Curt Maggitt sustained a hip injury and will be out for an extended period of time. He's currently being evaluated, should know more by the end of the week. Jones said it's the most freakish injury he's ever been apart of. The loss of Maggitt hurts from a leadership and productivity stand point.

-LaDarrell McNeil will practice all week and play against Western Carolina.

-Max Arnold and Ralph Abernathy will be out again this week due to injury.

-Shy Tuttle and Kahlil McKenzie's playing time will continue to increase and coaches liked how they played against OU.

-Jones said his exchange with Eric Striker after the game was overblown. Butch told him he's a heck of a player and to leave with class and he would be happy if an opposing coach said that to one of his players.

-Alvin Kamara is healthy. He's a big part of this team and there were designed plays for him but the game better suited Jalen Hurd. He also said that no matter what back is in, he has confidence they can get one yard.

-There's been no change to Danny O'Brien status. He is still suspended and his status will be addressed whenever it changes.

-When asked whether he thought UT's play calling was too conservative, Butch said they did what they needed to do with play calling, Oklahoma just brought pressure and won matchups.