Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the local media on Monday afternoon for his weekly press conference. The Vols are coming off their second loss of the season last Saturday at Georgia and are looking to bounce back on Senior Day against UTEP.
Heupel discussed the poor performance of the pass rush at Georgia, preparing for the team’s first early kick off since September and much more. Here’s everything Heupel said.
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Opening statement
“First of all, this week’s our salute to service game, honoring all the men and women that are serving and have served. So it will be great to honor them, the sacrifices that they make, their families make. We appreciate everything that they do.
“Also Senior Day, and you look at this group of seniors, so many guys that, when I first got here, chose to stay stay here, been cornerstones in building this program. And a lot of guys have played a lot of great football for us and great leaders, but great individuals too. So it’ll be a special special day to recognize them moving on. Got UTEP this week. Opportunity for us to to grow as a football team, continue to get better and the next step forward for us.”
On if there are any concerns with this Tennessee team being able to turn the page from the Georgia loss, not look too far down the road amid playoff speculation
“This group’s extremely competitive. They work hard. They made last week a big game because of what they’ve invested. They certainly (know) today how we can, we need to be better, things that we control. It’s a group that’s been competitive on the grass and on Saturdays. And this is the next step for us. And you guys have heard me say it before, but we’re in the arena, right? We got to go make it happen. We got to continue to grow. And they recognize the opportunity that we have this week, so expect everybody to respond in a really positive way. It was that way today.”
On where this Tennessee team needs to grow the most
“There are a lot of really good things that we’ve done, and that can be throughout the season or on Saturday. But against Georgia, there’s areas that we got to get better. Offensively, red zone. And I said simple things are the things that are going to matter in the game. The ordinary everyday things, do them at a high level. It’s signal recognition. It’s alignment. It’s, no pre-snap penalties. It’s not changing the way the game is played. And there was just too many instances of Tennessee hurting Tennessee on Saturday. And that’s not taking anything away from Georgia. But the things that we can control, we got to be better at. And, ultimately, when we play good on good, those things are going to have a huge impact on the game.”
On why Georgia was able to slow down Tennessee’s pass rush, his assessment the added pressure the Vols brought in the game
“End of the day, they got a hat on a hat and and protected well and did that in different ways. Some of it was heavy play-action with with some extra bodies in there. Some of it was on on drop-back pass. And, end of the day, we didn’t didn’t get home and we got to effect at the quarterback. He was too comfortable for most of the night.”
On if it’s easier to play in the early slot because they practice in the morning
“I do think early because of our practice schedule. Like, those guys know how to get their bodies ready to roll. It’s been a while since we had a true early kickoff but our guys will be ready for this week.”
On how he would assess Nico Iamaleava’s internal clock
“For the most part (he’s) been really good. When the pocket’s been clean he’s stayed in there until the bodies were matched out and you got to go make a play. There’s been an occasion where a color flashes and he gets out, but that’s part of this game too in and extension of plays and making plays outside of the pocket. All in all, as a young guy he’s been solid, but continued growth there.”
On Tennessee punting on the first drive of the second half against Georgia
“I was right on the edge of where all things are in play, the fourth down, field goal and punt. Ultimately, made the decision based on a bunch of different factors that— tried to draw them offsides then took the delay and tried to pin them back. We’ve been good in those situations, and it wasn’t our best pin punt. But it’s inside the 15 and then defensively, just gave up a couple of plays.”
On if there’s any part of him encouraged that they were in the game in the fourth quarter against Georgia
“Man, this program is a long ways away, rear view mirror, from being okay with the wrong outcome. I think we look at the second half but the first half too, but the second half, missed opportunities. Things that we didn’t take advantage of in all three phases of the game. And all that being said, it’s a one possession game, late in fourth, and you gotta go make a play. I told the guys before the game, games like that, you got to play smart. You got to be extremely physical. We were physical but you got to go take the game in the fourth quarter too. And there’s a bunch of different reasons, but we didn’t get it done.”
On what needs to happen to get the penalties, especially pre snap fixed
“The pre snap, that can be the false guards. A couple of them in critical moments defensively, offsides a couple of times, give them free plays to push it down the field. It’s literally doing your job. The ordinary things at a really high level. I know that’s not the, I don’t know, sexiest way to say it. You know what I mean? I was trying to find another word besides that. (Brent) Hubbs, why you laughing? But at the end of the day, man, it’s doing your job at a high level.”
On where Tennessee’s wide receiver room is at right now
“I thought they did some really good things on Saturday, one-on-one’s winning. You know, we were much better on third down, than certainly a year ago against them. That’s where the game changed a year ago. Still more opportunities for us in the pass game, and that’s all 11. You guys have heard me say that again, right? It’s winning the one-on-one with route discipline and playing with technique to create some separation. It’s accuracy, quarterback, it’s protection; it takes all of it to come together and be as efficient as possible and try to create more big plays in the pass game.”
On Tennessee’s tackling, when to play the football
“That’s ball-meet-man relationships, being a player and understanding where you’re at, and can I go make a play or do I need to defend the man, make a tackle. It’s called being a player. And you know, there’s some really good things, as far as our coverage, second and third level the other night. There’s some competitive plays that they made, which you play good teams, that’s going to happen, too. And then there’s some things, could be our eyes on the snap, whatever it might be, where we’re just a little bit out of position. And you know, some of those things are what I was talking about as far how we can be better and control our controllables.”
On how much they can lean on last year’s game against Austin Peay after Scotty Walden took the UTEP job over the offseason
“I think obviously, some of their staff being there, a lot of it, you can draw from some of that, but you know, as he takes a new job, personnel, all of that plays into who he is now at UTEP.”
On ways he would like to see the coaching staff grow and get better
“Yeah, you know, I always try to point a finger at myself first. Just again, making sure that we’re putting our kids in the best position. Some of that is situational football, or whatever it might be. So how do we continue to put the 11 guys, offense, defense, special teams in the best position to go play their best.”
On his message to the younger players on the team heading into a game against lower competition on Senior Day
“We’re a long ways away from 2025, but we’re always intentional with developing our young guys, some of those that are on the field, some that aren’t. How do we continue to get them better? But also in leadership, control, command, communication, roles as well. You know, a lot of those guys are part of what we do with our guys every single week.
“So again, it’s everybody in our program continuing to take a step forward. That’s the challenge, man. You get an opponent on Saturdays, but the real opponent is yourself. And how do I continue to push forward and be my best? What are the things that I need to improve on? And you do that whether you win or you lose, and that’s how good teams become great, because everybody’s taking those steps forward. It’s a journey.”
