[2024] Week 6 POTW

SageBow · June 5

Week 6 Offensive Player of the Week

QB Brandon Savage, #2 TENN, 31 of 47 for 563 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT in a 49-20 W vs Alabama

For the first time this year, and third time overall, Brandon Savage, National Offensive Player of the Week. A huge win on the third Saturday of October. What's it feel like winning this award?

Not gonna lie, it always feels good to see the hard work recognized but it’s not the first time so just part of the routine we envision each week.

A monster game yet again. 5 touchdowns and hundreds of yards. You’ve been tremendous this season that it’s surprising this is the first time you and I are sitting down. What is different from present Brandon to 2023 Brandon?

Just experience I think. I feel like the last two years I could sling it on occasion but I’d make some mental mistakes and relied on the OL to do most of the protections. This offseason I really hit the intangibles hard and I feel like I’m just better able to recognize the defense and run the offense with confidence all the time

That’s great to hear, especially as you enter your upperclassmen years as a now experienced vet. Let’s talk quickly about a young gun on your team. BJ Flash has come out of the gate incredibly! What do you think of him and your other targets?

Haha oh man BJ has been great. We knew we had some superstar recruits coming in this year, but we didn’t really expect any to make big contributions this season. We knew from the first practice that he unlocked something new with our offense though. That dude is FAST and he completely takes the top off defenses. Somehow he’s even quicker in person and keeps burning secondaries who don’t realize that. Love having him on the team, he’s gonna be a superstar... I guess he already is.

So far Tennessee is still undefeated and currently ranked #2 in the nation. How are you guys handling the expectations for a deep run and the pressure that comes with it?

The only expectations that matter are the ones we put on ourselves. We can't control our ranking or what other people think, all we can control is how we prepare and play each game. I think we've been doing a good job at that so far, but the season is only half done and we need to keep that focus with some tough games coming up. Really, the pressure and the crowds just bring more energy. Cheering for us, against us, it just gets us pumped up each week.

As you head into your bye week, what's your weekend plan without a game and 300 lb guys trying to crush you? Heading to see family, catching up on school, or doing something fun with your friends?

Rest, recover, rage, in that order. Just a chance to let loose for a few days and then get right back in it. We've got UGA coming up and we've already put a couple days prep time into them so we should be more than prepared. Just have to keep the body healthy for the back half.

Thanks Brandon for your time today. Before I leave, any final shout outs?

Family, teammates, coaches in that order. I know who's got my back and they know I know. Go Vols!

Week 6 Defensive Player of the Week

ILB Andy Hart, #12 FSU, 15 Tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 5.5 Sacks in a 19-38 L vs #6 Georgia Tech

Andy, congratulations on winning National Defensive Player of the Week for Week 6. Tough loss against a really good Georgia Tech team but you had an outstanding performance. What did you think of the game?

Thank you, it's an honor to be recognized and also for the nomination last week too. We've had a rough couple of weeks, two hard losses. Landrum is a really special quarterback. We had him running for his life most of the game and he still torched us, so yeah, it's one of those things. We will regroup, Coach Kirby still has faith in us, hopefully we can win out from here.

In both games you've been phenomenal, flying around all over the field. Double digit tackles, now leading the nation in sacks. What has led to this huge jump in production?

I've been in the gym non stop since the season started, and progress is never instant. Literally the first man in, last man out every single day. I feel really strong right now. When scouts evaluated me at the start of the season they probably had me down strictly as a coverage guy but this year I've been trying to become more well rounded. Lift more, and do more damage. I'm staring the quarterback dead in the eyes every single play and I'm basically trying to end his life whenever the ball is snapped. I shit you not, I also just started watching David Goggins videos this past few weeks. The guy is an absolute beast of a man. These past two weeks i have watched that video, you know the one where he is bench pressing and saying "who's gonna carry the boats"? And well yeah, I've gone out and I've carried the boats and the logs these past couple of games, and I'll keep leaving it all out there until the end of the season, mark my words on that.

Master your mind, defy the odds, as Mr Goggins says. Obviously you've heard the news on offense, Kelly Jarwin being moved in favor of Colt McIntyre. What are your personal thoughts on this as it seems the Noles defense has been outstanding but the offense has had its issues?

I had a feeling you'd ask about this. I don't know how far I want to go into commenting. The reality is, at least with the defense, we are giving up way too many points. We gave up 52 at home to UNC, and just gave up 38 to GT. Defensively we aren't helping the offense much in these big games. I've known Kelly for a long time, we are both redshirt Juniors. He's a great player, but an even better person. You go from Matt (Howard) to Kelly (Jarwin) and you really notice it. Matt was an absolute lunatic on and off the field, whereas Kelly is a lot more timid. I think he's probably going to feel it's harsh that he's been dropped this week for Colt, but I did kind of see it coming. You can't turn the ball over five times, twice resulting in pick sixes, in the two biggest games of our season, and expect to keep your job. When you have a player like Colt (McIntyre) enter the team, you have to be on your A game every week or else your job is in jeopardy. I'm excited to see Colt this week and going forward. He is a special talent, really grounded dude considering he's so young.

One thing I know for sure with Kelly is he won't quit on the team this year. He will keep grinding, and if opportunity comes, he will be ready to step back into the role and give his all for the team.

Andy back on the defensive side. You're close with AJ Kalu, last week's winner and the current national leader in interceptions, as we as Brad Davison who is 2nd in the nation in sacks, behind you. With the 3 of you guys leading this Noles defense, what do you expect from this team going into the second half of the season?

As individuals we are doing great. It's now about the whole unit as a collective biting down on the mouthpiece and stopping teams scoring so many points. That starts this week with Clemson coming to our house. We have a freshman quarterback starting now, so it's time to help him not hinder him. Play times over, I'm ready to take some souls with my brothers.

After a dominant start to the year, you're arguably the top defensive player in the nation, heading for a litany of end of season awards. What are your thoughts on this current recognition?

It's awesome. I love playing football, and when you get recognised, you know you must be doing something right. Hard work pays off you feel me? Someone even told me yesterday I'm quite high on the Heisman list. That shits wild. Feed it to me. I'm hungry.

Andy thanks for your time today, before I leave, any final comments?

Sure. I'll leave you with a quote from Mr Goggins himself:

"In every failure there is something to be gained, even if it’s only practice for the next test you’ll have to take. Because that next test is coming. That’s a guarantee."

Thanks, hopefully we get to do this again sometime soon.

This article was written with the help of @tsweezy and @Kirby

Week 0 POTWs - RB Jose Kelly, AUB / DE Luke Brown, MUR

Week 1 POTWs - QB O'Koyea Landrum, GT / DE Ethan Diaz, COLO

Week 2 POTWs - RB Ramon Mahomes, UTST / DE Kevin Casilla, NCST

Week 3 POTWs - QB Travis Knebel, BAYL / ILB Ketel Mejia, JMU

Week 4 POTWs - QB O'Koyea Landrum, GT / DE Matt Roberts, ARK

Week 5 POTWs - QB Will Outman, UGA / CB A.J. Kalu, FSU