Tennessee football is coming off a big win over Kentucky and is now turning the page to another crucial clash. This time, the Vols are on the road to play Texas A&M.

To preview the game, Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims met with the media. Here’s what he said.

On Tennessee’s running backs and run game seemingly getting tougher as games go on

“Yeah, I think number one, to the first question, I think we just do a good job of sticking to the plan. It’s playing our brand of football, just keep taking it one snap at a time, keep attacking. And we understand it’s going to be ugly, it’s going to be dirty, and it may be like that the whole entire game, and we just got to continue to stay ready.”

On the 66-yard touchdown run by Daune Morris in the first half of Tennessee’s win over Kentucky

“Seeing Daune get in there and do what he does, man, that was really good. Like you could tell early on, as soon as he stuck his foot in the ground, you knew he was gone. So I think that was huge entirely for us, as a whole entire team. That was really good for him and his confidence as he’s done that. So I think, like, seeing him get out there and do what he does, that was awesome.”

On how Tennessee has kept the backup running backs engaged behind DeSean Bishop

“It’s the same way that you got to deal with stuff in life. It’s not always going to go the way we want it to in life. We got to deal with stuff that, we’ve got what our dreams, goals and aspirations are. And every one of them sitting in that room got goals that they want to go achieve. But it’s the same deal. We’re going to work through issues when we graduate from college and our professional lives, and you just got to stay grounded. You got to stay humble. And when your time comes, you got to make the most of your opportunities. Two weeks ago, it was JG (Javin Gordon) that got in at South Carolina and had those runs. Last week, it was Doodle (Daune Morris). So never knowing when your number is going to be called, always staying ready, it’s the same situation in life. Man, we might be down one minute, and we might be up the next minute. You just got to stay locked in and stay focused, and they’ve done a good job of that.”

On if it was him running down the sideline during the Daune Morris touchdown run

“It was. And I still feel it today.”

On if the players noticed and brought it up to him, if they noticed it on film

“They do. They know me. They understand I’m always willing to as they see me running down the sideline. I may not be as fast as they are, but I’m always going to be there with them to make sure I’m giving them encouragement.”

On if that was the way the plays was supposed to go on the Daune Morris touchdown run, or if he did something different based on what he saw

“No, it was him doing a really good job of using his vision, for one. He did a really good job from the jump in terms of pressing the line of scrimmage. We had talked about that. If we get a particular pressure during that week, where this ball may end up hitting that. But he did a good job of viewing his eyes, pressing off his linemen, and then he just let his guy give him the ability to take over once he got an open field.”

On what Tennessee running backs missed in the first half against Kentucky and how those are talking points this week

“Yeah, the main deal with them missing a couple of reads is just pressing too much, just trying to make a big play happen. That’s all it comes down to, is that their eyes were faster than their feet were at times. So they were seeing stuff that they thought was daylight and was just false daylight. So just trusting it. It was some flash of color at times. They were seeing things, but that’s the main thing. And that’s human nature as a running back. At times I get in a game, I don’t want to press to go make a play. Just trust your eyes and trust your feet and everything will lead you to the right spot.”

On the qualities of Daune Morris at running back that aren’t appreciated enough 

“The fact that he’ll stick his face on people and be physical. You see right there in the game where he’s a lead blocker, and he goes and sticks his face on a linebacker and he opens up the run lane for Faizon (Brandon). It’s those things that people take for granted. They always see the speed aspect, but he’s powerful, too. He’s physical, too. I think he’s a complete package when you look at it from that standpoint. He’s still growing in that aspect, but he’s done a good job of embracing the physicality standpoint.”

On DeSean Bishop deserving to be in the Heisman Trophy conversation 

“There’s no doubt about it, he deserves it. When you sit up here and you look at his whole body of work, what he’s been able to do, you’ve got ranked teams that we’ve played against, how he’s gone out in the second half, and he’s been attacking that. Him as a whole entire person, when you sit up here and you talk about, okay, what is the Heisman Trophy? The best player in college football. That joker’s story from where he came in as a freshman to where he is now to how he sits over there and takes over games in the second half, how he’s a teammate, how he leads the team, his faith value that he’s about. When you sit up here and talk about the best player in college football, okay, statistically, it is what it is. But the best player in college football for his team is D-Bish.”

On his favorite characteristic of DeSean Bishop

“Seeing him grow every single week. Each week is different from the previous week. And I know people look at him sometimes where he’s getting this amount of carries. He’s growing in the little things. You see his vision continue to grow. He was already blessed with really good vision. You see how his eyes and his feet are married together. You see him be able to find those run lanes that it looks like nothing’s there. You see last week the dirty yards that he had to consistently get that he did a really good job. It looked like a goal-line tackle at certain points in time in open field, and he still was driving for five.

“And the fact that he doesn’t get frustrated. If he’s running for two, he’s still happy because he understands I’m going to just keep chipping away at it, keep chipping away at it, and it’s going to end up working at some point.

“And then just him, as he’s grown as a leader throughout this season, he’s grown in the classroom tremendously in terms of understanding the game, asking tons of questions. He keeps me on my toes because if you tell him something as a coaching standpoint, he’s going to come back and ask you a question if the picture changes. Why did it change? So I think just holistically him growing throughout this season is my favorite part.”