Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel answered questions from the media on the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday ahead of the Vols’ matchup against Georgia on Saturday night in Athens.
Heupel discussed Nico Iamaleava’s status, whether Georgia’s defense isn’t as deep as its been in the past and much more. Here’s everything Heupel said.
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Opening statement:
“Good afternoon, everybody. Understand the quality of the football team that we’re getting ready to go play. You look at what Kirby’s done there over his tenure. This football team, typical Georgia team, in that they’re big and physical (on their) line of scrimmages and have good skill players. Huge test for us as we go on the road down to Athens, and know it will be an elite environment.
“For us, we got to do the simple, ordinary things at a really high level. That starts with communication on both sides of the football and special teams will be huge too, in this one. And, you know, field position and how the game is played. I think third downs will be critical as well. Defensively, got to find a way to get off the field, and offensively, ways to sustain drives. So a huge test, one we’re looking forward to. We’ve had a good start to the week as far as our preparation, and got to continue that before Saturday night.”
On how he feels about storming the field and if he feels Arkansas did a good job of getting Tennessee off the field
“One of the things that separates college football from so many other sports is, you know, the passion, not just of the fan bases, but got a lot of young people that are in school that feel tied into their university. And obviously the alumni too there in the stands, and you know, obviously the field storming when you’re the opponent, or you’re on the wrong side of the scoreboard, isn’t as much fun as it is when you’re on the right side of the scoreboard. But I think it’s just, it’s a unique part of this game, and now those are, I don’t know, moments, memories that people will remember for a long time. And there’s a lot of build up to a game when something like that happens, there’s a lot of circumstances that they got to be right.”
On the latest update on Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava (concussion)
“Nico’s been good here in the early part of the week, and at this point in the week, I’ll refer everybody to the availability report that comes out later tonight, and everybody can wait with anticipation for that.”
On what’s led to Tennessee’s defense sustaining a high level of efficiency throughout the season
“I think it’s been a big part of sustaining and playing well at the end of football games, in the fourth quarter, and it’s part of the success of our defense throughout the course of the year. I think one of the things that separates this league from others that I’ve been in is just, you know what you’re facing every Saturday, and the true physical nature of the game and what the collisions are like, and what it takes, you know, week in and week out. And you know, the depth of your roster and how many guys you’re able to play is a huge part of staying fresher, staying healthier and being better in the long term.”
On the Tennessee players who are worthy of being named an All-American
“Obviously, Dylan Sampson’s put together a special year and is somebody that’s worthy of that. In this league, you can go through a bunch of rosters really quickly and find what I would say are the best in college football. Offensively, Cooper Mays, what he’s done throughout the course of this year, but also what he’s meant to us and what he’s done this year. Defensively, we got a host of guys that are playing really well. Jermod McCoy, Will Brooks. You can look at us up front, and there’s a plethora of guys that you know, maybe because of our rotation, don’t have as gaudy of stats, but their impact in the game has been elite.”
On Georgia not having as much depth defensively this year as it has in year’s past
“I think a couple years ago, they were really rare and unique, and I say that just meaning how much they were splitting their reps, really on their entire defense. It’s tilted a little bit more, where you know a guy at a position is playing a little bit more than maybe what they were doing a couple of years ago. But you put on the tape of Georgia defensive and their front looks like a Georgia front always looks like. They move like they always move. Their linebackers are athletic, big, physical and they got elite athletes on the back end. What you see on the video is a typical Georgia defense.”
