Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the local media on Monday afternoon to kick off North Carolina State week. After a 69-3 season opening win over Chattanooga, Tennessee moves on to a much larger challenge this week against the Wolfpack in Charlotte.
Heupel discussed what he learned from watching the tape of the Chattanooga game, what he knows about North Carolina State and more. Here’s everything Heupel said.
More From RTI: Tennessee Cornerback Projected To Return From Injury Against NC State
Opening statement
“Good start this past weekend. Appreciate our fans. They did an awesome job. Players were in this morning and got an opportunity to learn from the film and got a big football game this week. Really good opponent that we’re playing. They play all three phases of the game really well together. Defensively, they’ve been really good and it will be a great test for us up front and on the perimeter and at quarterback. Offensively, they’ve got a really experienced quarterback, got playmakers around him and the special teams are really good too. So a huge test for us this week. One that we’re excited about. Traveling a few hours down the road, look forward to seeing Vol Nation show up and it will be a great contest.”
On what NC State wide receiver Kevin Concepcion does to have success, if he reminds him of any other players he’s faced at slot receiver
“First of all, he’s got elite speed. Really good hands. Makes plays on (special) teams, on the offensive side of the ball. They do a good job of of moving him around and finding space for him to work and operate. He’s strong, he’s explosive. We got to know where he’s at throughout the course of the football game.”
On how much emphasis Tennessee put before the season on being better and more effective in the middle of the field on offense
“Yeah, it’s been a part of our offense. Last year we weren’t as efficient in the middle of the field as we wanted to be. Had a good start to it this past week. There’s a lot of things within the structure of what we’re doing offensively that we can be better at too. Guys had an opportunity to watch it (on film) with their coaches today and we got to make improvements. This is good football team we’re getting ready to go play.”
On what he liked about Nico Iamaleava’s vision and anticipation with his Tennessee receivers
“I thought he was extremely accurate. Had his eyes in the right spot. Did a really good job of hitting windows. That’s in between defenders and the second level and over-under balls between second and third level.”
On Nico Iamaleava being named SEC Player of the Week
“It means that he played well in Week 1 and had an opportunity to grow, learn from the tape today, get ready for a good football team this week. (He’s a) young quarterback, going to continue to get better. Great test this week that we have coming up in NC State.”
On Tennessee’s depth on the defensive line and getting to use so many players against Chattanooga
“Yeah, a bunch of guys that played up front will continue to rotate as we go. I thought they all played extremely hard. Did a good job destructing blocks. There are some things that we got to get better at, but effort and technique for the most part was really good. One of the strengths that unit is the ability to play multiple guys so you’re fresh up front. I thought our second level did a really nice job playing physical, playing downhill, too.”
On Tennessee’s running backs playing physically in Week 1 despite being limited during fall camp
“Wasn’t surprised by the way that they ran the football. Each of them have a different story as far as their progress physically. A couple guys (Peyton Lewis and Cameron Seldon) that had offseason surgery. But throughout the course of training camp, as they worked themselves back into in playing football and playing shape, felt like they were executing those things that we wanted them to fundamentally at that the end of the runs. There’s some things that they got a chance to grow from here watching the film, but excited about the way that group played as a whole.”
On what Tennessee got from Ethan Davis and its tight ends against Chattanooga
“Ethan made some nice plays out in space. I thought the other guys did a really good job out in space as well. All three of them played solid in the core, in the run game and a couple times they were protections as well. So I like that group. We’ve got to continue growing and get better.”
On the challenges for Nico Iamaleava going from game one to game two
“Everybody faces the same challenge. As a competitor you can live in what everybody’s talking about last week. The reality is you’re only as good as your next performance. So prepare, practice the right way and get ready to go play.”
On NC State’s defense, changes in secondary
“Have some transfers that they brought in. All three levels of their defense playing together is a big part of the picks (last season) and their zone coverage. Dropping out, making the windows tough and then in their pressure, applying pressure to the quarterback, getting home and making it uncomfortable for him.”
On his evaluation of the offensive line against Chattanooga
“I thought they played really solid. We rotated some early in the football game. Some things that all of them can do better fundamentally, but all in all thought it was a solid performance.”
On how he thought LSU OT transfer Lance Heard handled the temp
“I thought he was really comfortable in what we were doing within the tempo of our offense. He performed really well. Thought he played extremely well.”
On cornerback Rickey Gibson’s status after missing the season opener
“We held a couple guys (out) on game day. You might have seen him warm up. End of the day, he’ll be ready to roll this week. Felt like for our football team and the longevity, all of it, There were a couple guys that we held out that could have played in that one but will hold for this week.”
On if the depth is at its best along the line of scrimmage as it’s been since he’s been head coach
“For sure. I think I’ve said it before, but as we’ve had to navigate our roster, build our roster back from when I first got here while taking some (scholarship) deductions, this is certainly the deepest that we’ve been and we’re close to being our full strength. Not quite there yet, but this will be the last year that we’re a little bit thin. But as a whole, just the development and the body types, athleticism that we have, this is definitely the deepest that we’ve been.”
On why Max Gilbert won the starting kicking job
“I feel really good with him. Really strong leg. I like his competitive makeup. Very confident, comfortable no matter what situation that we’ve put him in. Obviously game day’s a different deal, but really solid. So he’s got a smooth swing. He’s consistent and (we) trust him.”
