KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 10/11 Tennessee will look to rebound from a disappointing result on the road at Georgia last weekend as it returns home for the final regular-season contest at Neyland Stadium this season against UTEP on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Saturday’s game will serve as Senior Day for the Volunteers, who will honor their departing seniors during a pregame ceremony before they run through the T one final time.
“You look at this group of seniors, so many guys that when I first got here, chose to stay here and have been cornerstones in building this program,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “A lot of guys that have played a lot of great football for us. Great leaders, but great individuals too, so it will be a special day to recognize them.”
Looking back on last weekend’s loss to the 12th-ranked Bulldogs, Heupel reinforced the need for the team do to the little things at an elite level.
“I said the simple things are the things that are going to matter in the game,” Heupel said in regard to Saturday’s loss in Athens. “The ordinary, everyday things and doing 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.
“There are too many instances of Tennessee hurting Tennessee on Saturday. That’s not taking anything away from Georgia, but the things that we can control, we have to be better at. Ultimately, when you play good-on-good, those things are going to have a huge impact on the game.”
The Vols’ main focus will be putting together a complete, 60-minute performance on both sides of the ball Saturday afternoon as they look to hit their stride and remain in contention for a College Football Playoff berth.
Quotes from Monday’s availability with Heupel and select players can be seen below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“Good afternoon, hope everybody’s doing great. First of all, this week is our Salute to Service game honoring all the men and women that are serving and have served. It will be great to honor them and the sacrifices that they make, their families make. We appreciate everything that they do. It’s also Senior Day. You look at this group of seniors, so many guys that when I first got here, chose to stay here and have been cornerstones in building this program. A lot of guys that have played a lot of great football for us. Great leaders, but great individuals too, so it will be a special day to recognize them.
“Moving on, we’ve got UTEP this week. Opportunity for us to grow as a football team, continue to get better and (take) the next step forward for us.”
On the team’s culture and ability to move on from the loss at Georgia…
“This group is extremely competitive. They work hard. They made last week a big game because of what they’ve invested. Today, how we can, we need to be better, things that we control. It’s a group that’s been competitive on the grass (in practice) and on Saturdays. This is the next step for us. You have heard me say it before, but we are in the arena, have to go make it happen. Have to continue to grow, and they recognize the opportunity that they have this week. I expect everybody to respond in a really positive way, and it was that today.
On growing offensively and defensively…
“There are a lot of really good things that we have done, and that can be throughout the season or on Saturday against Georgia. There are areas that we have to get better at offensively, red zone. I said the simple things are the things that are going to matter in the game. The ordinary, everyday things and doing 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. There are too many instances of Tennessee hurting Tennessee on Saturday. That’s not taking anything away from Georgia, but the things that we can control, we have to be better at. Ultimately, when you play good-on-good, those things are going to have a huge impact on the game.”
On Georgia being able to slow down the pass rush…
“At the end of the day, they got a hat on a hat and protected well. They did that in different ways. Some of it was heavy play action with some extra bodies in there. Some of it was on dropback pass. At the end of the day, we didn’t get home, and we have to affect the quarterback. He was too comfortable for most of the night.”
On playing an early time slot as a team that practices in the morning…
“I do think early (kickoff), because of our practice schedule, those guys know how to get their bodies ready to roll. I know it’s been a while since we had a true early kickoff, but our guys will be ready for this week.”
On how to approach Nico Iamaleava’s internal clock in the pocket…
“For the most part, it’s been really good. When the pocket has been clean, he’s stayed in there until the bodies were matched out, and then you have to go make a play. There’s been an occasion when color flashes and he gets out, but that’s a part of his game too in extension of plays and making plays outside the pocket. All in all, as a young guy he’s been solid, but continued growth there.”
On the decision to punt on the opening drive of the third quarter…
“We were right on the edge of where all things are in play. Fourth down, field goal and punt. Ultimately, made the decision based on a bunch of different factors. Tried to draw them offsides and then took the delay, trying to pin them back. We had been good in those situations. It wasn’t our best pin-punt, but it’s inside the 15, and defensively just gave up a couple of plays.”
On his outlook on the Georgia game as a measuring stick for the program…
“This program is a long way’s away, rearview mirror from being OK with the wrong outcome. I think we look at the second half, 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. All that being said, it’s a one possession game late in the fourth, and we have to go make a play. I told the guys before the game, games like that, you have to play smart, you have to be extremely physical. We were physical, but you have to go take the game in the fourth quarter too. There’s a bunch of different reasons, but we didn’t get it done.”
On what has to happen for penalties to get corrected…
“At the pre-snap, that can be false starts, a couple of them in critical moments. Defensively, offsides a couple of times, giving 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 sexiest way to say it, but at the end of the day, it’s doing your job at a high level.”
On assessing the receiver room as a whole…
“I thought they did some really good things on Saturday, winning one-on-ones. 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’ve heard me say that again, 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 to try to create more big plays in the pass game.”
On doing ordinary things at a high level when it comes to defense and tackling…
“It’s ball-me-man relationships and being a player and understanding where you’re at. Can I go make a play or do I need to defend the man and make a tackle? It’s called being a player, and there are some really good things as far as our coverage, second and third level the other night. There are some competitive plays that they made, which if you play good teams, that’s going to happen too. There are some things, it could be our eyes on the snap, whatever it might be, where we’re just a little out of position. Some of those things are what I was talking about as far as how we can be better and control our controllables.”
On using the Austin Peay tape from last year to prepare for UTEP…
“I think obviously some of their staff being there, a lot of it, you can draw from some of that. As he takes a new job, personnel, all of that, that plays into who he is now at UTEP.”
On how the coaches can improve coming off a loss…
“I always try to point a finger at myself first, and again, just making sure we’re putting our kids in the best position. Some of that is situational football or whatever it might be, so how can we continue to put the 11 guys — offense, defense, special teams — in the best position to go play their best.”
On young players seizing playing opportunities this week…
“Man, we’re a long way 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, 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. 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 is taking those steps forward. It’s a journey.”
Senior TE Miles Kitselman
On how important it is to flip the page and prepare for next week…
“Yeah for sure. I have already flushed the loss. I’m really ready to stop talking about it. Ready to move on. We got UTEP this week. Learn from our mistakes last week and keep moving together as a team and really come together. You never know what is going to happen, and we are going to be ready for the next opportunity we get, which is this Saturday against UTEP.”
On what the emotions will be like for Senior Day…
“Everyone keeps asking me if I’m excited or ready for it, and I don’t really know how to feel about it. I’m definitely sad. I don’t think the emotions have quite hit me yet. I wish I had a lot more time here in Knoxville, it’s a great place. I think I have enjoyed my time here a lot. I’m just really excited to go out there and play in Neyland. Hopefully not for the last time, but I’m just really excited.”
RS-Freshman LB Jalen Smith
On assessing the linebackers from Saturday and their coverage…
“At the end of the day we just have to refocus, regroup and just make sure that we’re better in coverage next time and be able to execute the calls better.”
On the team’s morale after the loss…
“It’s been good. We just got to make sure that we focus on the two games that we have coming up, and this week against UTEP, that’s all we can focus on. That’s the main focus right now just moving forward, just turning a page and learning from our mistakes from last game, just making sure that it’s better.”
On team leadership when moving on after a loss…
“Coach Heupel, that’s a whole team thing, just everybody making sure that we move forward. That’s not a position (group thing), that’s everybody. We’ve got to make sure that we learn from the mistakes and learn from what we did wrong and go out and practice better. Practice more focused and pay more attention to detail to make sure that we’re better every Saturday.”
