Everything Joey Halzle Said About Tennessee's Quarterbacks on Tuesday

Practice number two is in the books for the Vols, and following the practice session, Tennessee's quarterbacks coach Joey Halze met with the media. Halzle

Practice number two is in the books for the Vols, and following the practice session, Tennessee's quarterbacks coach Joey Halze met with the media. Halzle answered multiple questions about his quarterback room. You can read the full transcript below, and watch the press conference in the video above. 

On the relationship between Joe Milton III and Hendon Hooker

"It's been great. Joe and Hendon have a real relationship, not just on the field but off it. They have become really, really close friends. They compete with each other every day. Growing up, you always want to beat your best friend, but it's always in a positive light. That positivity and that positive energy has really just translated into our QB room. Tayven (Jackson) has walked right into that. It's been a good environment for him."

On what improvements he has seen from Joe Milton III since last year

"We've worked all offseason on touch throws across the middle and pressing our vertical run game. He has done a great job doing that. He is touching up balls all over the field. We all know he has the absolute howitzer of an arm, so we have worked on having him touch up the ball, work windows and working that aspect of his game. We know he has the other shot in his bag already." 

On what progress he has seen quarterback Hendon Hooker make this offseason manipulating the defense

 
"It has been really fun actually. He did it in the spring at a high level, and he actually did one really good one today. I'm not going to talk about it, but it was actually pretty impressive. He turned around, smiled at me and then kept going. It has been really fun to watch his improvement and to watch him enjoy doing it, where it's not like work every time. He's like, 'Yeah, I've got this.' It's been really fun to watch his improvement there." 

On how he teaches a quarterback with a strong arm to make touch throws and how valuable it is to have an experienced backup quarterback in Milton

"To start off with your second question, absolutely it is. It's probably something that's going to be rapidly disappearing, to have a backup quarterback with experience. I think that speaks to the relationship that he and Hendon have, and also the way he feels about this place. He wasn't in a hurry to jump up and leave as soon as Hendon had the type of year that he did. That's been awesome that he's been like that and that we have that type of guy in our room right now. To your first question about the touch throws, one, it's having that conversation with him, that we all understand you have this talent. Now, we need to truly work on something that's not a positive. A lot of people like to work on what they're good at, because it feels good when you're working on it. We said, 'Let's miss some throws in the spring. Let's miss some throws on routes on air, working on our touch.' He has absolutely dialed that in. It's been a huge part of his game. We have been working drills. We have several drills we work to shop windows and touch-up balls and all that type of stuff. He has really dug into that. He hasn't fought it whatsoever. It's going to be a huge improvement to his game."

On his first impression of Hooker once he arrived in Knoxville

"When we first got here, I watched every clip that every quarterback that was on campus had from game film. Hendon was clearly very talented. I was excited for the opportunity to work with him. With what everybody said about him, he was a great guy. Starting to work with him when we first got here in February, March and then into spring ball, Hendon was a guy who was way too far in the business model, meaning that nothing was fun. Everything was serious. That wasn't his best way to play. For some guys it is. It is not for him. We had to spend a long time working on having him really just enjoy the game while working hard. Working hard doesn't mean serious all of the time, though. He is fun. He is enjoying himself and enjoying his time out on the field. That is what has allowed his talent to now take over again. He's not tightening himself up with his own mind."

On how much Tayven Jackson benefits from watching Hooker and Milton

"That is huge for a young quarterback, because he has two guys above him that are not just in the building doing what they need to do every day, but guys who have also played. They can talk to, 'This is what it's like on gameday. This is how you have to prepare.' That's so uncommon, and that's a huge benefit that he is getting coming in. He can just sit and listen to these guys talk, get stuff from them, and they are both very positive with him. They're not beating him down. They kind of rib at him sometimes like you would with a little brother, but it's all positive. It speaks, again, to the culture that we not only have in this building, but specifically in that room."

On if there were times last season where Hooker was too protective of the ball

"Maybe early, but as the season went on, no. He was just extremely intelligent with the football. He made good decisions. I said it the first day that I ever came out here. I don't want a guy that comes out and plays carefully. If you're going to play in this offense for us, you're going to rip the football every single time you get an opportunity—not stupidly, not recklessly, but extremely aggressive. Hendon does a beautiful job of walking the aggressive-to-reckless line, but always with intelligence on it." 

On the uniqueness of Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton III's relationship

"Kind of two answers. One, it's extremely rare to have that kind of dynamic. But two, it really speaks to what Coach Heupel has built here culture-wise. I know I've said that a couple times in here already, but it's the truth that these guys all understand that we're all trying to get something bigger, and everyone has a role. Right now, you think you know what your role is, but you have no idea after that first snap what everybody on this football team's role is going to be. Everyone's just working the same way and working in a really positive way." 

On what allowed him to notice that Hendon Hooker's play improved when he was having fun, as opposed to having a business-minded approach

 
"Because he was exclusively business-minded when we got here. Everything about him was tight … This is an extremely talented athlete that's not showcasing any of his athleticism. We had to just bend that mind a little bit and work on his mind every single day to, 'Yes. This is football, this is fun. You have to be serious, but you have to do it in a fun way.' (Having fun) doesn't mean not paying attention. It doesn't mean being completely goofy out there on the field, and not having a mindset that we have something to go do. But there's a way to do it in which you can still enjoy the game that you're playing. When he started doing that, he started loosening up, and that's when you saw the growth in Hendon last year. I noticed that being serious every single moment of his life didn't work for him. I watched him when he was messing around playing basketball. He'd get a big smile on his face, and nobody could guard him. I told him last year in the summer, 'I want you to play football like you play basketball.' Because when he plays basketball, he knows he's the best player on the court."

On what challenge he has for Tayven Jackson as he progresses through his first fall camp

"For Tayven, he's obviously an elite athlete. It's just fun to watch him do athletic things every day. Some things that you wouldn't normally coach, he can do it and you're like, 'oh wow, that's pretty cool.' It's really for any young quarterback, the biggest thing—and I had a conversation on the field with the guys today—is just being able to reset. You make a bad play, you're going to. It's expected. You're a true freshman. You miss a read, you miss a protection, you miss something like that, awesome. Reset and go play the next play. That's the biggest thing with a young quarterback. You have to make sure that they're not living in the past all the time, because they're used to being the one that is the big dog." 

On what was the point of emphasis for Tayven Jackson after going through spring practice

"Two things with him. One, was his going from, 'OK, I'm learning and I'm watching the teaching tape and all the intro stuff,' to really diving into the tape, 'Alright, this is really like the intricacies of what we're doing. This is how to really play in it.' As opposed to just, 'This is what the play is.' That was the biggest challenge we had for him, was make sure you can come out on August 1 and operate like an upperclassman. That's what the challenge was for him. We've seen that growth from spring. Obviously, he's still young and he's still got areas that he needs to grow in, but he's doing more and more of the, 'alright, I'm going to see it. I'm going to cut it loose. I'm going to go play fast.' That's been the biggest thing for him." 

transcript courtesy of UTAD Communications