Breaking news:.Josh Heupel Head coach of Vols lands commitment from…
Breaking news:.Josh Heupel Head coach of Vols lands commitment from…
Josh Heupel
Everything Josh Heupel said ahead of Vols’ playoff bout with Ohio State
Tennessee will play Ohio State in its College Football Playoff debut on Saturday.
The 9-seed Vols’ (10-2) bout with the 8-seed Buckeyes (10-2) at Ohio Stadium in Columbus is one of the more anticipated match ups in the first round with a quarterfinal and Rose Bowl game berth against 1-seed Oregon on the line.
Tennessee is a near touchdown underdog on the road as it prepares to put its nationally heralded defense against an Ohio State offense that boasts plenty of options at skill positions.
As for the Vols’ offense, which was sluggish at times in the first half of the year, they will look to build off of some momentum late in the season to try and inch Tennessee closer to the national championship game.
Ahead of the high-profile clash between Tennessee and Ohio State this weekend (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN), Vols’ fourth-year head coach Josh Heupel met with the media for the last time before kickoff on Wednesday.
Here is everything he said about the match up, Tennessee’s offensive resurgence, its defensive turnaround and more.
“We just finished up another day of preparation here. Excited to get to kickoff with our guys. Understand the quality of the opponent that they’re getting ready to play. The atmosphere of the game itself (is) going to be electric. We’re excited to go play this one.”
On Tennessee’s ability to win games early in SEC play despite slow offensive starts
“I think there was a stretch there in the early part of the conference schedule where offensively, you know, we didn’t perform our best in the first half. And, you know, that’s coaches and players together. At the end of the day, it’s always about how you finish and being on the right side of the scoreboard. I think this group as a whole, one of the things that I really appreciate about them is how mature they are as competitors, the ability to play the next play independently, play for each other. (They’ve) got a great mindset and you know, as you get into games like this against great opponents–they’ve got good scheme, good coaches and really good personnel–understanding there’s going to be ebbs and flows in the ball game and you’ve got to continue to play and compete. So, I think as much as anything, that’s a real credit to the guys that we have in the locker room.”
On defensive coordinator Tim Banks, defensive success
“We have taken steps every single year. And, you know, we don’t talk much about it, but when we first got here, I think we had 55 scholarship players on campus and as we rebuilt our roster, navigated some of the things that we had to, we continued to take steps. Our players got great trust in what we’re doing, but also, our coaches. When you have that, they’re able to trust in the information that you’re giving them, continue to grow and push forward, continue to get better fundamentally. And, you know, just added depth on our roster. The ability to play as many guys as we have this year had allowed us to stay fresh during the course of a ball game, but throughout the course of the season, as well. Our depth in past years has been something that has kind of caught up with us at the end, but Coach (Tim) Banks does a great job of leading that side of the football. Does a great job with scheme and developing our personnel.”
On the challenges of developing and keeping depth in the transfer portal era
“Roster management, I don’t think there’s anything easy as far as any of it goes in today’s landscape. You know, our personnel department has done a great job, our coaches, evaluating and going and recruiting young men. And ultimately our players are a huge part of the culture that we’ve built here, which allows you to recruit guys. It’s a big part of being able to retain guys, as well.”
