On facing higher expectations after a nine-win season
“To me, it’s very simple – you’re never going to reach your goals or your expectations if we don’t improve on a daily basis as a team; if we don’t take little baby steps. There are no giant steps to success. We can’t just kind of cruise through now and say once we hit game week we’re going to turn it up a different level. If we want to get up here, and we’re down here right now, there’s not one step to get there. It’s gonna be a little step every single day to achieve our goals. That’s the mindset our players have to attack this summer.”
On the progression of his linebackers during spring practice
“You know the linebackers. Just because there was inexperience, there’s still a lot of unanswered questions there. I didn’t doubt the talent level we have there. The biggest question is the experience level they have there. When you get into that live-game situation and the crowd is going crazy, you’re playing an offense with some talented players and they’re motioning guys all over the place; all of the sudden you’ve got to make that read, hit the gap and make the tackle on a Heisman trophy candidate tailback. That’s when you’re going to get to see it. I do think that guys stepped forward. I do think we have a bunch of SEC linebackers here. We’ve got to make sure they’re SEC-ready this September; not just that they’re SEC-caliber players, but that they’re ready to perform at that level come this September. That’s still got a long way to go.”
On depth along the offensive line
“This spring, we had Tobias  Smith and Gabe Jackson out. You take two returning starters out, the trickledown effect becomes huge in that there’s not a lot of experience with the backups. It’s great for the backups.
Templeton Hardy got a lot of work with the ones. Dillon Day got a lot of work with the ones. Those guys have not played a lot of football for us. They need to grow up fast. James Carmon and Blaine Clausell have not played left tackle in a game, in an SEC football game. They have to grow up fast. If we can stay healthy with the ones, then you start to feel good about the depth because they will get their time to slowly develop and not be forced to be the starter.
On player development within the program
“To me, our program is all about player development. I’m a lot less concerned in how players show up as how they walk out the door.
Our job here is whether you show up as a one star or five star, or a returning starter before we got here or you never played before I got here is completely irrelevant to me. How are they going to be noticed when they walk out the door compared to when they walk in?”