What new Tennessee running backs coach De'Rail Sims said on Monday

New Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims was officially introduced by the Vols during a press conference on Monday. Sims was hired away from Cincinnati to replace Jerry Mack, who left for the same position with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Here’s everything Sims told reporters during Monday’s press conference:

Opening Statement

“Well, I’m thankful to Coach Heupel for blessing me and my family with an opportunity to come to the University of Tennessee. This is a rich and storied traditional program. We’re fired up to be here.

His move through the coaching ranks and what coaching in the SEC means to him after going from Division II, to FCS to FBS 

“I think when I started coaching you always want to have your feet where you’re planted at that point in time. But you always have your end goals in terms of the aspirations that you want to get to. And of course being able to get to the SEC was always a dream and a goal of mine. And I just worked hard every single day to be able to reach the goal.”

What he thought of Tennessee football growing up and what he’s seen the last couple weeks after joining the program

“When I was growing up, being able to watch them on Saturdays and, and in my opinion it was RBU. I mean, you turn around and you watched Jamal Lewis when I was growing up, Travis Henry when I was growing up, Travis Stephens when I was growing up, seeing them run through that Power T to come in here. And they were beating up on everybody. And it was one of those deals that you had admiration for the program. It was one of those deals, I wanted to be able to come here and play but I wasn’t good enough to play here. I had a teammate in high school that played here so I always had very, very fond memories of watching Tennessee on television.”

His first impressions of the running back room since he got to Tennessee

“Hardworking. They come to work every single day and they push one another. Really good young men in the room with good character and their personalities are really good. They gel together. There’s a brotherhood in that room.”

What the keys to getting started in the running back room when taking a new job

“Number one, having them understand me as a person. Wat I’m about. Kind of telling them my story and my background. And then being able to get to know them, not as a football player but as a person. Getting to know them from the inside out and understand what’s the trials and tribulations that they had to go through as young men, what’s their family dynamic and background. And then what drives them and pushes them. Because I tell them all the time, I’m not getting on you as a person when we out there between those white lines. I’m getting on you as a player. As a player, you’re never going to be right. We always got to coach you hard. But as a person, I got to love you. And I got to love you as a player as well, but I got to get on your tail as well.”

Coaching against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium when he was on the Western Carolina coaching staff

“Well, the number one thing I remember is we got our tail ran out stadium. So that’s what I remember. And honestly it’s kind of been this way my whole entire career. God has always given me a preview of places that I’ll end up. And I kind of had a little feeling when we was here that night, not knowing at what point in time that would happen, but I kind of had a feeling at some point in time it would. All I had to do was work hard and it ended up coming true.”

His perspective on the Tennessee run game in Josh Heupel’s offense before he got the job 

“My perception of the offense was it was always dynamic and it was always physical in terms of the run game. I mean, when you sit there and you look at all the different parts that kind of go along with it and the mechanics that make up this offense. It was always one of those ones that I felt like gave the defense issues from a lot of different areas. And I know a lot of people just look at it from the tempo standpoint, but it’s a lot of things that goes into it that makes it hard for the defense to have to defend. So it was one of those ones that I wanted to learn and get used to and get comfortable with as well.”

What Tennessee fans can expect him from as a coach

“High energy. Detail oriented. I’m going push my guys to their full potential. The thing about us is we’re always going to be aggressive as a unit. We’re always going to do things the right way and that that’s the No. 1 thing. We want to be detail oriented. We want to be fast, we want to be physical, we want to play aggressive.”

His coaching background including multiple styles of offense and his adjustment in the Tennessee offense, if the mission stays the same regardless of style

“It does. Always get our guys to play hard is No. 1. Being detail oriented is No. 2. And make sure we’re doing a really good job of just doing our job, no matter what offense we’re playing in, we always just got to make sure we do what’s required of us to be able to go out there and execute and get our job done.”

How much a running back like Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson helps him transition as the new running backs coach

“Dylan has been really good. So me and Dylan actually had a prior relationship. So I actually recruited him when I was at the University of Louisville, so we had a relationship prior. But he’s been really, really good in terms of helping this transition. He’s actually a coach on the field and a coach in the classroom as well, so that’s been easy.”

The importance of building relationships with former Tennessee running backs

“You know what, I think that’s important to get the understanding of what made this place so special in terms of from the running back position. At previous spots I haven’t necessarily done that, but that’s something that I definitely plan on doing here once I’m able to breathe for a little bit.”

Inheriting a running back room that has some young backs that will need development 

“I think that’s awesome because you get to mold them and shape them. I think every single day is a learning opportunity and every day is a day to get better. And I think that’s the way we approach these next, you know, with spring practice coming, up every single day is a day for us to get 1% better. And everybody in that room is young in some form or fashion, whether that’s playing experience on the field or just getting here. And I think that situation is really good so we just gotta take a bull by the horns and just go learn every single day and work.”

Where he is with the Tennessee offense after being on the job a couple weeks 

“It’s been drinking water through fire hose from the time that I stepped in this building. When I was blessed with the opportunity to get this job, it was all gas, no brakes. But understanding kind of the rhythm in the flow that they was in was No. 1. No. 2 is being able to understand the offense, which every single day that we’re in here that’s getting better and better. I think all offenses are the same per se in certain aspects of it. You just got to learn the language of the offense. So that’s the portion that’s been good. Every week that I’ve been here is getting slower, which is good. I’m talking about the whole entire transition, learning my way around Knoxville, learning my way around the building, learning faces in the building. So the more that I’m here, the more I’m getting familiar.”

Having so much success in the run game last season at Cincinnati without a prolific passing offense

“It’s a mentality. You understand that sometimes you’re going to have to run the ball when you want to. And you’re going to have to run the ball when everybody in the stadium knows that you’re running it. And I think that’s something that you got to work on every day. That’s something as a whole entire unit that we’ll take pride in. But I think it’s the pride in performance piece that that comes along with that. The understanding that you’re going to have to make somebody miss, you’re going to have to break a tackle, you’re going to have to go path plus two and be able to accelerate my feet through contact. And then still be able to get those yards after contact that we talk about a lot. So whether everybody in the stadium knows that we’re running the ball or throwing it, it’s just a mentality that you got to adjust to and adapt to be able to execute from a running back standpoint.”

What he looks for in running backs when he’s going through the recruiting process and evaluating talent

“I think one is the mental and physical toughness standpoint of it. Two is football acumen. How smart are you? And then the retention piece of it. Then change the direction, short-area quickness. I think everybody, when they look at a running back, they look at can he hit the home run? Can he get 180 yards. Yes, you look at that. But what are the other intangibles that come along with that, with short-area quickness, playing behind your pads, good body control, good balance. And then being able to be willing to put your face on somebody in pass protection, those are the things that kind of make up in terms of a high school back that you’re evaluating, you’re looking for.”

His approach to rotating running backs in games

“I think it’s all dependent upon the offense. And then what Coach Heupel wants to do. We just kind of flow from that standpoint. In the past we rotated and kept guys fresh, but at different offenses that I’ve been in, whether it’s a no-huddle or tempo offense, we’ve been able to play multiple guys and keep them fresh. But it all depends on kind of how we’re flowing offensively and then who’s in rhythm. That’s a big piece of it. You never want to get a guy out of rhythm. I always talk about when you’re playing running back, you kind of get in that groove to where it feels like you can just feel where the seams and holes are opening. So we kind of go from that standpoint and then who got the hot hand? You never want to pull off the hot hand, you want to let them eat.”

If he’s been able to look at film of the Tennessee running backs he’s inheriting

“Yes, I have. In terms of going along, learning the offense, that’s kind of the process of learning. You’re learning them as you’re learning the offense as well. And you’re looking at the things that they do really, really well. And it’s kind of hand in hand from that standpoint. And I’ll continue to watch film as we go along the way.”

His early impressions of Dylan Sampson after watching his film

“I think you see the explosiveness jump off tape. I think you see the tenacity, in terms of as he’s attacking defenses, the willingness to put his face on people and go in there and block. I think the traits that you see and what he’s shown is what jumped off the tape.”