Watch: Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle's Tuesday press conference

Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle met with reporters Tuesday morning, previewing the 19th-ranked Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) against Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS) at Neyland Stadium:

What makes Texas A&M’s defensive front so disruptive and the challenge Tennessee’s offense faces there

“They’re really, really talented up front. They got a good group of guys that have been playing together for a while and then what they do on defense, they go from three down to four down, pressure, drop eight. So they change the picture up on your front, on your ID calls. They change it from snap to snap and then they got talented players up front that they turn loose and go after the football. So they present a unique challenge this week.”

Changes he’s seen from the beginning of the season until now for Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton

“He’s been a great calming force for us as we go through games. He’s always right in the middle, doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. And he’s done a great job as we’ve had a lot of people out of being that kind of calming center force that kept us going throughout the whole game.”

The impact the return of Cooper Mays had on Tennessee’s offensive line, how evident it was on the South Carolina game film

“It was huge. (South Carolina was) another team that liked to bring a ton of pressure. They changed the front of a bunch, um, gave us some un-scouted looks and Coop did a great job getting us on the right call, getting us on the same page and allowing us to keep playing fast while we were changing calls and doing all that. And then just having him in there, I think fresh, like physically what he did inside was really impressive. So it was really good to have him back.”

What Joe Milton did well during the first five games and where he needs to improve after Tennessee’s open date

“He’s done a really good job of managing the game. Hasn’t put the ball in it in a ton of precarious situations. We had a couple of last week, which was really the first time. But he’s done a really good job with running the offense. Not just trying to go out there and be an athlete with a big arm, but running the offense at a really high level. And what you’ve asked him to do, he’s done really well. So  it’s been good to watch him morph from just a talented player into a true quarterback.”

Balancing Joe Milton using his legs in Tennessee’s offense versus the risk of him getting injured

“That’s the thing. When a guy has the ability to do that, you can’t tell him not to. It’s just gotta be from us on the staff side of how much are you gonna truly design for him. And you just gotta use the balance of when something presents itself, like we have to go play and take advantage of it without being foolish about. We’re not just gonna beat him into a brick wall for four quarters, but the way he plays, he’s gonna use his legs on his own too and you know that. And that’s what he does at a really high level. You saw it against UTSA. That wasn’t a designed quarterback run. That was him making a read and going and getting it. So you can’t say like, hey man, I need you not to pull it. Because if it presents itself, he’s gonna pull it. So it’s just us on the front end, how much do we want to intentionally run this guy?”

The development of freshman receiver Nathan Leacock and if he can become someone that helps this team

“Yeah, he has a unique skill set of size and speed. That as he’s been working back, he actually had a really good day of practice today too, which was fun to watch. It’s just been learning our system and going through it. And I think a lot of times with freshmen, people forget like, man, they’re young, they’re freshmen, like some people aren’t ready in Year 1. He’s working to get himself ready because we still got a long run on the back end of the season. So hats off to him for not saying like, hey, it’s not my year. He is still working, he’s trying to get himself on the field. He just hadn’t broken through that yet, but he is doing a really good job of pushing to get there.”

If they spend more time with players like Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod, when those players need to step into bigger roles

“Yeah, I think as coaches you’ve gotta kind of walk the line of yes, you talk them through it, what to expect. It’s different being a starter and a guy that’s coming in off the bench, but it’s also human nature sometimes. If they feel you talking too much and like, Hey man, no big deal, just like always/ They kind of start to feel like, man, maybe this is a big deal and he’s trying to calm me down. So it’s really like both those guys have a good temperament. That moment’s not gonna be too big for him. They played in big situations. So yeah, it’s more like addressing them, what the preparation looks like for a guy that is a full-time starter now in Bru’s absence and someone that’s just expected to come in and play 15-20% of the snaps.”

How that preparation changes for those players after the Bru McCoy injury

“I think it’s just overall what it’s gonna take to physically be locked in for 60 minutes of football and not come in and spell a guy and then come out when he’s ready to come back in. You have to be locked in for every different look you get. Are they going to man or the zone? Is it pressure? Are they playing to be soft, filing routes away? Like, hey, last time he jumped this, so this is how I’m gonna set up next time. And not just saying like, hey, I’m gonna come in and get these couple plays and then I’ll be right back out.”

How much Tennessee’s tight ends can step up and help fill the void left by Bru McCoy’s injury

“Yeah, quite a bit. Both of them (Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles) have different skill sets. Cali and Jacob are are different players, but they’re both highly intelligent. We could move them around, put them in different spots, which we are, and allowing them to try to get some matchups that are favorable for them. Now when you lose a guy like Bru who was your seasoned guy, it’s like, all right, how do we make this (right)? You don’t just throw one person in and just expect all the production to stay the same. It’s like how do we make this right? What do we have to do? What do we have to scheme, how do we have to formation things to get guys in a position to use their skillset? Because not everyone has the same one.”

What he’s seen from Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod since the Bru McCoy injury happened

“Yeah, one of the biggest testaments I can give to both those guys is it has been business as usual. They’ve been, even when they were in a backup role, they’ve been the guys that they come up and they get extra film every day. You see them up there, they’re grabbing the assistant coaches like, hey, can I get extra stuff? And it’s been the same. So they haven’t tried to make like a wholesale change or try to be something they’re not. They’re both just going in there and this is how I conduct my business. And they have confidence in their skillset and their preparation. We expect them to play well.”