KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Returning to the Anderson Training Center following its first loss of the season, the Tennessee Volunteers got back to work in preparation for the 2022 home finale at the end of the week against Missouri.
It was a gloomy afternoon of football in Athens, Georgia. Between the descending rain and a slower start than the Big Orange would have hoped, Tennessee’s vision of an unbeaten season went by the wayside. But, with lots left to play for and great optimism on the horizon, the team returned to the building energized and ready to build on some weaknesses that came to light Saturday afternoon.
“The energy in the building was good,” head coach Josh Heupel said, taking the podium Monday afternoon. “Were guys disappointed after the game? Yeah. If they weren’t, then we would have real issues. We had an opportunity, one, for them to go into the position meetings and unit meetings and just see the landscape from the coaches’ perspective. They had the chance to watch it with them. And then as a team too, just watch how the game unfolded and things that we did, that we can control the game and make it play out differently. That’s the great thing about this sport, is that you only get one opportunity. You play 10 times, it unfolds differently 10 times every time. For us, let’s go back and control what we can control, which is how we prepare, how we practice and how we go play this Saturday. As a competitor, you’re only as good as the next one. You guys have heard me say that. It’s true after a win and true after a loss. For us as a program, it’s time to get better.”
As said by Heupel today and all season long, each week provides an opportunity to get better and to grow. 1-0 every week, the team thinks. Just win that week. That is the same approach Tennessee has welcoming the Missouri Tigers to Rocky Top, with a little added meaning because it will be the final game at Neyland Stadium for a group of distinguished seniors.
“It’s unique in that you pause for five minutes before you go back in the tunnel. You get a chance to see your family, take it in one last time,” Heupel said on the festivities honoring seniors pregame. “Obviously, our appreciation as a program and our fans too, to recognize those guys, what they’ve meant, what they’ve done inside of our program. When you run back in, then you got to reset, and it’s got to be just about football for 60 minutes.”
“This is my last time in Neyland. It’s surreal, bittersweet,” quarterback Hendon Hooker said, looking to an emotional weekend for any ballplayer to run out of the T. “Very excited to see a lot of my family members there that haven’t had a chance to see me play since I was little or in high school. It’s going to be a day for the family and a day for the Vols to go out there and enjoy Neyland.”
Hooker’s impact has been widely felt in just two short years on Rocky Top. Fans and coaches alike see the way he leads and how guys rally around him, it is a special part of who he is and is derived from his elongated growth in college football.
“To put it into words, I think is really tough,” Heupel said on the impact Hooker had has on the Tennessee program. “He has been such a leader, such a dynamic play maker, he has been so consistent in the building. He is a huge part of the culture that we have from within the locker room and the ownership we have from within it. I don’t think anyone inside of our program—players, coaches, or our fans—would ever take anything from him for granted. He has had a huge impact, and excited to get back out there and play one more time in Neyland. We have a lot of football ahead of us, (excited) to continue to compete down the home stretch with him.”
Another impact player who has shown up in a big way this fall is LaTrell Bumphus. A Tennessee native, Bumphus has spent six years on Rocky Top, has battled through adversity, and through all his determination, is producing at a high level on UT’s talented defensive line.
“It’s going to be special for sure,” Bumphus said, speaking on his senior day. “It’s finally coming around. In the past, like you said, it’s probably like my third senior day. It’s kind of surreal, I’m going to just soak it all in, enjoy it with my family and try and just take it all in. Don’t let the moment go too fast. Take advantage of the time I got, because it will be the last time I’ll get to run through the T in Neyland Stadium.”
Limited tickets are available for the final home game of the 2022 season. Fans looking to purchase tickets can do so at AllVols.com. The Vols and Tigers are slated for a noon ET kickoff on CBS.
Videos and a full transcript of head coach Josh Heupel, along with select quotes from quarterback Hendon Hooker and defensive lineman LaTrell Bumphus can be found below.
Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“Hope everybody’s doing well. Excited to get back to Neyland and see our fans here this Saturday. [It’s our] ‘Salute to Service’ game. Obviously, we want to thank all of the men and women who have made so many sacrifices to give us the opportunity to do the things that we do. It’s also Senior Day. It’ll be a great day to recognize those guys that have meant so much and poured so much into this program. Obviously for me, just thinking back to when I first got here, these guys have been a huge part of laying the foundation, helping our program build extremely quickly over the last two years and building this program back to where it should be, which is competing at the highest level. Excited to celebrate that with those guys.”
On his assessment of the first practice back after Saturday’s loss…
“The energy in the building was good. Were guys disappointed after the game? Yeah. If they weren’t, then we would have real issues. We had an opportunity, one, for them to go into the position meetings and unit meetings and just see the landscape from the coaches’ perspective. They had the chance to watch it with them. And then as a team too, just watch how the game unfolded and things that we did, that we can control the game and make it play out differently. That’s the great thing about this sport, is that you only get one opportunity. You play 10 times, it unfolds differently 10 times every time. For us, let’s go back and control what we can control, which is how we prepare, how we practice and how we go play this Saturday. As a competitor, you’re only as good as the next one. You guys have heard me say that. It’s true after a win and true after a loss. For us as a program, it’s time to get better.”
What was Georgia able to do to limit the passing game… “We had a couple opportunities but didn’t hit them at times. The other thing too was just, you look at some of the things that we did to ourselves, pre-snap penalties. That makes the game a whole lot tougher. You lose some of the rhythm that we’re accustomed to playing with and want to play with. It changes the way the game unfolds. Third down, situational football. We had the ball on the plus side of the 40 six times. There are things that they did. Certainly, we didn’t protect and didn’t win sometimes on the outside. Hendon was a little bit off. You combine all of those things together, and it plays out the way that it did.”
On trying to handle competing with other teams in CFP contention…
“There’s a whole month of football. There’s a lot of ball left to be played by everybody in the country. Up until this point we have done a lot of things right. Obviously in that ballgame a week ago, credit to Georgia too, but obviously we didn’t come out on the right side of the scoreboard. There’s nothing that we can control other than who we are, how we approach it and how we go play and compete. At the end of the day, it’s about trying to find a way to be the best team on the field during the 60 minutes. That’s all we are concerned about.”
On players getting beat 1-on-1 compared to schematic breakdowns against Georgia…
“There’s a whole lot of things that everybody can do different. Me, our assistant coaches, our players too. There’s a lot of things that we didn’t handle well and things that are certainly are within our control, and things that we’ve done at a really high level throughout the course of the season. We’ll get better at that and have opportunities to improve upon those things and play a lot better football here down the stretch. Georgia is a good football team, too.”
On why Georgia’s defensive line was effective in applying pressure to Hendon Hooker…
“They are a high amount of pressure team. That’s a little bit higher than what we scouted but not a whole lot higher than what we had anticipated going into the football game. There’s a combination of things – from communication up front, losing some one-on-ones up front, to not winning on the outside or Hendon (Hooker) not reading them right – it’s all of those things together that make that game play out the way that it did. Situational football is going to be critical against a good football team like they are. You look at some of the things that we did before the snap that we are certainly in control of. It changed the way third downs were played. It changed situational football. Again, we weren’t good on the plus side of the territory, had opportunities. There’s nothing we can do about that. What we can do is correct it moving forward. This group, that’s who they are, it’s what they are about. They’re competitors. If you don’t wipe a slate clean, whether you win or lose, you’re setting yourself up for failure in not getting ready to play your best football. This group will rebound.”
On challenges on both sides of the ball that Missouri will bring…
“Yeah, I just thought on the defensive side of the ball, looking at them statistically, they’ve been really good against the run. They play tight pass coverage too. They’re one of the top three or four scoring units inside of our league defensively. They’ve played at a really high level and make you earn it. Offensively, have some weapons out on the outside that are explosive and can create big plays. We have to do a great job of handling the line of scrimmage and applying pressure to the quarterback too.”
On leveling out the emotion on Senior Day…
“Yeah, you try to prepare them. It’s unique in that you pause for five minutes before you go back in the tunnel. You get a chance to see your family, take it in one last time. Obviously, our appreciation as a program and our fans too, to recognize those guys, what they’ve meant, what they’ve done inside of our program. When you run back in, then you got to reset, and it’s got to be just about football for 60 minutes. A year ago, our guys handled that pretty well. It will be important that our guys do that here too. A lot of those guys are going play lot of football for us.”
On Hendon Hooker’s impact on the program…
“To put it into words, I think is really tough. He has been such a leader, such a dynamic play maker, he has been so consistent in the building. He is a huge part of the culture that we have from within the locker room and the ownership we have from within it. I don’t think anyone inside of our program—players, coaches, or our fans—would ever take anything from him for granted. He has had a huge impact, and excited to get back out there and play one more time in Neyland. We have a lot of football ahead of us, (excited) to continue to compete down the home stretch with him.”
On learning more about his team after a loss…
“I think you learn a lot about your football team no matter what the circumstance, in how they reset and go to the next one. From the first day I got here to today, we have learned a lot about our football team. They continue to prove to themselves, but also to us, that they are fierce competitors, that they are able to handle adversity, reset and move on, get better and grow, and that they accept things and try to improve upon those things. This group, I don’t know if learning something about them is what I’m thinking about this week, as much as I believe in who they are, their DNA, and look forward to seeing that unfold this week.”
On sustaining long-term success…
“You stay true to the values that have gotten you here. The cornerstone pieces of who each individual has to be in the building, who we are collectively going to be. Continue to build connection and culture from within the building. You have the ability to develop the guys that are inside your program and continue to recruit at a really high level. If you put all of those pieces together, we are going to continue to get better as a program. No doubt in my mind, we are in the beginning stages of what this program is going to be.”
RS-Senior QB Hendon Hooker
On the Georgia game…
“A lot of self-inflicted mistakes. Georgia came out and played a great game. Hats off to those guys. We definitely left a lot of plays out there from not doing things that we normally do on a daily basis. It comes back to little things, paying attention to detail. We didn’t do that on Saturday.”
On taking part in senior day in Neyland…
“I envision it being another day at the office. This is my last time in Neyland. It’s surreal, bittersweet. Very excited to see a lot of my family members there that haven’t had a chance to see me play since I was little or in high school. It’s going to be a day for the family and a day for the Vols to go out there and enjoy Neyland.”
On Missouri’s defense…
“They’re incredibly physical on the line of scrimmage. Their linebackers read really well. Their safety is incredible, has good size and can move really well. Defensive backs on the outside play really aggressive, scrappy and play hard. Looking to go out there and compete at a high level on Saturday and get back into our game.”
RS-Senior DL LaTrell Bumphus
On senior day…
“It’s going to be special for sure. It’s finally coming around. In the past, like you said, it’s probably like my third senior day. It’s kind of surreal, I’m going to just soak it all in, enjoy it with my family and try and just take it all in. Don’t let the moment go too fast. Take advantage of the time I got, because it will be the last time I’ll get to run through the T in Neyland Stadium.”
On importance of rebounding this week against Missouri…
“It’s going to be very important. We just have to go back to work this week and correct those small things that we were working on. As long as we can get the small things corrected, I think we can take care of the big things. It’s very important that we get back on the track, get back to work. I don’t think we need to do anything special, we just have to make those small connections.”
On what stands out about Missouri’s offense…
“For me, what stands out is the run game. They play a lot of tackle over, bringing the extra tackle too, so it’s going to very important for us to read those keys and get in the right positions.”