Tennessee assistant coach Alec Abeln talks tight ends on Tuesday

Everything Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln said during his press conference on Tuesday, looking back at the 31-17 loss at Georgia Saturday night and previewing this week’s game against UTEP:

On how impressed he is with Miles Kitselman’s development in such a short time at Tennessee

“I think he’s a 10-year NFL guy. Be totally honest with everybody here. Just the stuff that he does, not just in the box, but in the route. Like, I know he’s everything you want and a guy you get to coach. And, obviously, I wish I had more time with him, but it’s been a pleasure.”

What Tennessee is trying to improve on as an offense this time of year

“I think it starts with just playing smarter, eliminating mistakes that we are in complete control of. To me, that’s the basis of it. Obviously, throughout the year, the best teams in the country are getting better every single week. And that’s not just schematically adding new wrinkles, but your base fundamentals, your base run footwork, your base (of) how we’re catching the ball, how we’re putting it straight to the tuck. As the year goes on, you have to continue to get better in the fundamentals. But for us right now, it just starts with playing smarter.”

How he would assess where Tennessee tight end Ethan Davis is

“He’s continued to take steps and I think for him as he realizes the weeks that he practices really well translates to playing better on Saturday. And he’s in a spot right now where there’s just two guys ahead of him that are playing at a really high level, and I have all the belief in the world in ‘E.’ And certain games, depending on how much 12 personnel we’re in, he gets more snaps. And depending on what kind of third down menu he can see more snaps there. But he’s just gotta continue to invest and earn it during the week, and he’s done a really good job. Today was one of his best practices.”

Tennessee’s challenge of playing smart every play

“It’s just doing your job one play at a time. We talk a lot about you don’t block out noise. Like, your brain doesn’t work that way. When things are going on, you’ve got to focus on your assignment, your job, keying the football, making sure my eyes are in the right spot. It’s just detail and focus. During the week, I think our guys do a really good job preparing where they can tell you exactly what it is. Once you’re out there, especially in environments like Saturday night, it’s a hyper focus on your job and doing it one play at a time.”

Why Tennessee tight end Miles Kitselman has been so effective on the opening drive of the game

“On any of those concepts, could have been anybody’s ball just based on what you’re getting. And I think he’s a guy that I never have to worry that Kit’s ready when that ball is snapped. To be able to go execute the first drive the way we did was awesome, obviously. Got to continue that.”

Tennessee avoiding being predictable offensively

“I think we’re not a team that has a set. These are the plays we run and this is all we run. We may formation it different but we try to game plan to piss out everybody. And, honestly, it’s something that you won’t know what you get until you line up. A lot of ways, defenses  game plan us and throw out new schemes for us. That’s how we attack every week on offense where there’s core concepts, there’s core menus, but it’s more designer and more built for who you are than any other week. As the 12 continues to grow, just finding more efficient ways to do more things out of it.”

What he saw from Nico Iamaleava’s performance after everything he had to deal with 

“He’s a dog. That kid is tough as hell. When the moments big, it’s not too big for him. I think as he continues to settle in and play more, that’s a guy the entire team is going to be behind.”

His assessment of Holden Staes’ season

“I think he’s grown so much from what spring, early looked like. He’d be first to tell you just his improvement little by little throughout the course of the year. You look up and it’s like, man, he’s a really, really good football player for us. There’s tons of stuff to clean up just like all of them. But really proud of just, man, a guy that came here because he wanted to be developed and is taking steps every single day to get better.”

Miles Kitselman’s intangibles

“I think I’ve said it in here before, he just loves football. And I think that’s like, truly, if you want to be great at this game, if you want to have the success that he’s had, it starts with a genuine love of the game, and that is as intangible as it gets.”