KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Following an unbeaten four-game home stretch, No. 6/4 Tennessee will hit the road this weekend for a primetime showdown between two of the SEC’s top teams as the Volunteers prepare to take on No. 11/10 Georgia in Athens.
Adding to the atmosphere will be the presence of ESPN’s College GameDay and SEC Nation, as both pregame shows will be on site for Saturday’s contest that will feature a national broadcast on ABC at 7:30 p.m.
“Obviously, we’re getting ready to go play a great opponent,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “You look at (Georgia) in really every phase of the football game – extremely talented and coached extremely well. They play hard. They play fundamentally sound. They make you earn it in every way. One that will be a great environment and a great opportunity for everybody inside of this program.”
One of the keys to UT’s success this season and throughout the Heupel era has been the team’s consistency in approach and preparation on a weekly basis, regardless of opponent. The Vols will lean on that once again this week in the leadup to a battle between College Football Playoff contenders.
“Every week, you have the opportunity to play the biggest game of the season,” Heupel said. “It’s the only one that’s on your schedule. We’re in the arena — coaches, players, and you better be in the present. That’s what we focus on, no matter who the opponent is.
“We understand the quality of the opponent that we’re playing this week. Focused on the here-and-now. Your preparation and practice matter. Get ready to go play this game Saturday night.”
Videos and quotes from Monday’s availability with Heupel and select players can be seen below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“First of all, for Veterans Day, just want to say thank you from myself and really our whole program for all the men and women that have served our country and continue to serve our country. The sacrifices that they make and that their families make are certainly appreciated by everybody, but certainly by everybody inside this program.
“Turning to the game, obviously we’re getting ready to go play a great opponent. You look at (Georgia) in really every phase of the football game – extremely talented and coached extremely well. They play hard. They play fundamentally sound. They make you earn it in every way. One that will be a great environment and a great opportunity for everybody inside of this program.”
On Nico Iamaleava’s status…
“Yeah, he was with us today. Had a really good day. Feel like he’ll be in great shape for Saturday, but you guys can monitor the report that comes out on Wednesday and track it through the week. But I certainly feel like he’ll be in a good spot.”
On the value of giving Gaston Moore more reps with the starters this week in practice…
“Gaston gets reps throughout the course of practice, every day, every week. And that’s why he went out and played the way that he did, too.”
On what he is communicating to his team regarding the run defense this week…
“Yeah, there are some free yards that I don’t want to say we’ve given away, but integrity of the defense, gap sound, guys a little bit out of position, creates some of the vertical seams that guys have hit us on the last couple of weeks. So, it’s really all three levels being tied in together, alignment and assignment and playing with technique.”
On winning a conference game with a backup quarterback…
“It was a good performance as a football team. There are some things that we have to grow and be better at, but the first half, did a lot of things well. Some red zone things offensively that we obviously have to correct, but you look at the second half performance and guys going out and continuing to compete and playing smart football for the majority of the second half. I was proud of the way they continued to compete. In this one, you have to go earn everything against them. Offensively, extremely talented, playmakers out on the outside, good offensive line, talented running backs, quarterback is a dynamic player. Defensively, it’s a typical Georgia defense.”
On Lance Heard’s improvement on film…
“Certainly. Lance is a guy that missed a bunch of training camp, missed some practice time in the middle of the season. As a young player, this is really the first time that he’s been a starter, second year in college football. Just continues to get better. That’s an understanding of what we’re doing, but also playing with fundamentals and technique.”
On Boo Carter winning the punt return job and returning kicks on the road…
“Yeah, we are comfortable with him. You guys have seen really three different guys back there that have the ability to return for us, feel comfortable with all of them. I said it after the game, it wasn’t just what Boo did last week. It’s just a culmination of him growing as a young player to gain the trust, and that’s not just over a week’s worth of practice, but really an entire month, his consistency and growth.”
On what makes Dylan Sampson tough and durable…
“I think it’s all of it. His maturity, the change in the room with the two guys that we lost, his growth physically, all those things play into him being the guy that can carry the bulk of the load and really him playing the way that he has throughout the course of the year.”
On Georgia quarterback Carson Beck…
“Yeah, he’s an extremely talented quarterback that’s played extremely well throughout the course of the season. He’s the key that turns the ignition for them on the offensive side of the football. Playing quarterback, man, sometimes what people see isn’t just the quarterback play. It takes all 11 playing together. He’s a really good football player.”
On the value of showing a play versus saving it for the right moment…
“At the end of the day, every Saturday is a new season. You can look at the scores every week, and you can see that play out. So, it’s all about putting your guys in the best position to be successful.”
On Cam Seldon’s season to this point…
“As a young guy, he’s had to battle his way through some injuries early in spring ball, limiting some of what he was able to do during the course of training camp. Built his load, kind of got nicked up in the middle part of it and missed some time. He’s just a young player that’s going to continue to get better. I love his attitude, his effort, his want-to. He’s a guy that’s always in here watching extra films, so he’s got a great future in front of him. He just has to continue to chase it.”
On how much more prepared his program is to play at Georgia compared to 2022…
“Yeah, more prepared. We’ve been in all of our systems longer. This football game is different than the last one. Still facing a great opponent. You have to handle everything that comes with being in a game like this. You earn the right to play in big football games by what you do during the course of the season. Some of the things that didn’t go well last time were a direct reflection of who we were playing. Some of it was some things that we can control, too. In these games, you have to do ordinary things at a really high level consistently. For us, that means you have to prepare at an elite level. You have to practice really well and put yourself in a position to go play good football.”
On if he treats Georgia week as a big game or any other game…
“Every week, you have the opportunity to play the biggest game of the season. It’s the only one that’s on your schedule. We’re in the arena — coaches, players, and you better be in the present. That’s what we focus on, no matter who the opponent is. We understand the quality of the opponent that we’re playing this week. Focused on the here-and-now. I was around the game long enough to understand what people are talking about in the future, that’s not controlling what you can control. Your preparation and practice matter. Get ready to go play this game Saturday night.”
On how he would rate his wide receivers’ physicality this season…
“When you’re playing a good football team, everybody talks about physicality and line of scrimmage, and that’s always true in this league. But you better be physical out on the perimeter, too. Our guys have done a good job within the scope of what we’re asking them to do, to play with fundamentals, play hard and block when they need to.”
On the biggest challenge with Georgia’s defense…
“Well, it starts with their personnel because they have really good personnel. First level, second level, third level. They create pressure with their front four. They do it out of their pressure packages. They’re able to mix up their looks on the back end, so you have to recognize what’s going on out on the perimeter, quarterbacks and wide receivers. Your tight ends, they all have to be on the same page. You have to do a great job in protection. But it starts with having the ability to run the football, too. If you’re one-dimensional, they’re going to make it really tough on you all night long.
On Peyton Lewis’ biggest area of growth from fall camp to now…
“I just think complete understanding of what we’re doing, understanding how to play with pad level. The jump from high school to college football and playing college football inside of this league, it’s dramatically different. He’s a guy that continues to grow every single day. He’s been really reliable for a young guy that’s gone in. You see that on offense, but he’s done a great job on special teams, too.”
On Jermod McCoy’s adjustment to the SEC…
“We expected him to come in and play extremely well. He had shown that on tape against good competition. His athletic traits, his mind for the game and ability to soak up information and grow every single day. So, we expected him to play at a really high level. I love what he’s done and how he’s competed this fall.”
RS-Senior DL Dominic Bailey
On what he remembers from the trip to Athens in 2022 and what kind of position the program is in now compared to then…
“The last trip I think it was a great environment to be in, obviously we came up short but it’s a great place to play in. The fans are great. We’re just really focused on this week and we’re not really worried about the last trip.”
On what they have to do defensively to cut down on allowing long runs…
“Just play our brand of ball, finish what we started. How we started the season, we need to come back in with that edge again and just keep our foot on everybody’s necks when we have them down basically.”
On some of the issues that have led to giving up more long runs over the last couple games…
“Just not fitting our gaps properly, being in the wrong place. This week we just have to lock in on the little things (like) footwork, technique, using our hands, getting separation and getting off blocks.”
RS-Senior DB Will Brooks
On the importance of opportunities on special teams…
“Special teams is a great way to get on the field and show you can make plays at this level. It definitely helped me just getting experience and getting the speed of the game down and going against SEC guys week in and week out. Just getting game speed and building confidence in yourself that you can make plays.”
On difficulty defending Carson Beck and Georgia’s offense …
“Yeah, I mean they obviously have a really good run game. Carson Beck, he is a good quarterback, so he knows how to find open receivers. They do a lot of stuff. They are pretty balanced. Their offense is good. We will have our work cut out for us on defense.”
On his first impression of Jermod McCoy…
“When he first got here he showed how good of a player he has been. Just from even the first practice back in spring ball. He has been making plays his entire time here. He has just continued to grow, just learning the defense, preparing the right way and building chemistry with the whole back end and secondary. He has been a great addition to our secondary.”
Senior TE Miles Kitselman
On how the tight ends feel about the different things they are able to do out of 12 personnel…
“Each week, the more and more we use it, the more and more we get comfortable in it and more confident in it and just continuing to expand what we can do out of that.”
On the biggest challenge Georgia presents for the tight end position group…
“They play really hard, super sound, a very smart group. We just have to come out and keep doing what we’ve been doing. Keep executing, keep paying attention to the small details, don’t take anything for granted, and just keep preparing like we’ve prepared, and we’ll be just fine.”
On what he saw from Gaston Moore versus Mississippi State…
“Gaston (Moore) is a super confident dude. He has talked about how he feels really confident in his game and how he’s ready at any point in time to get out there. And just coming out there, obviously, all of us other 10 guys out on the field making sure that he knows that we got him, whether that is protection or details on the route. But yeah, Gaston is a super confident kid and everyone has faith in him.”
