Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel met with the local media Thursday morning for his final media availability before the Vols travel to Lexington to face Kentucky.
Heupel discussed the play of Squirrel White, Kentucky’s offense and much more. Here’s everything Heupel said.
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On if Gerald Mincey has practiced this week, his status for Saturday
“He’s been with us all week long so we always make those decisions on Friday but he’s been about there and (has) looked good.”
On Tennessee’s red zone struggles
“It’s been a little bit of everything. Can be efficiency and fundamentals and technique. It’s can be penalties at times too. At the end of the day we have to go put the ball in the end zone.”
On Kentucky QB Devin Leary
“Experienced player. I think within a new system for him he’s continued to grow throughout the course of it. I think he does a lot at the line of scrimmage and in the run game he does a really good job controlling it. You can see them and their efficiency within that. The play action pass, he’s continued to grow in that. We have to do a really good job of having our eyes on our keys and one, play the run with great gap integrity but as their boot package and play action pass happen we have to do a great job of matching bodies up.”
On Kentucky RB Ray Davis, the Wildcats run game
“It starts with their five guys up front. Big, strong, physical. Their tight ends do a really good job in it with some of the condensed sets. Wide receivers are involved in critical blocks too. At the end of the day, for him, he does a great job of pressing the line of scrimmage. He uses the five guys up front extremely well. He plays with great pad level. If you’re not in a good fundamental position to tackle him he’s going to run through that stuff too. Huge test for us to win up front but the second and third levels have to do a great job all night too.”
On Squirrel White’s progression
“He’s had some of those (big) performances over the course of the season. At the end of the day, when the ball’s come his way he’s played really effectively. For us, as a young player he’s done a great job of continuing to develop. He did that last year. He’s done that during the course of this season too. In this football game, there’s going to be one-on-ones out on the perimeter. He has to play with great technique and go win some of those matchups.”
On the clashing styles of this matchup, how that changes the game
“At the end of the day, you understand the flow of this football game. They tend to snap it a little bit slower than we do from the whistle to the next play. The number of possessions in this game, you have to plan that they’ll be fewer because of the pace of play on the other side of it. When that happens, it doesn’t matter because whether it’s a 13 possession game or 10 pession game, you have to maximize your opportunities and that’s always true in this game but it’s certainly going to be true in this one because of style of play. And both sides of it, getting off the field on third downs. Your special teams play and offensively your efficiency in production.”
On putting mics in players helmets
“That’s come up over the last several years and for whatever reason it hasn’t passed at this level. With everything that’s gone I think that will come up again and I anticipate it probably passing.”
On if that would affect tempo
“I haven’t thought that far in advance of it.”
