KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With the 2023 home opener in the books, No. 11/9 Tennessee now turns its attention to its SEC opener and first true road game of the year as it prepares to head down to Gainesville to take on Florida this Saturday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
During his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon, head coach Josh Heupel expressed that he and the team as a whole are fully aware of the challenge that lies ahead this weekend at The Swamp.
“Looking forward to going and playing a really good football team here,” Heupel said. “Great opportunity. You come to Tennessee because you want to play in these types of games and these types of environments. Sitting on primetime Saturday night. Great challenge in front of us (against a) really good football team. They’re big, strong and athletic on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The skill players on both sides are really good. Great speed and will be a huge test for us.”
With Saturday marking UT’s first road test of the season, Heupel was asked about how to combat the loud and raucous environment that the team will encounter down in Gainesville.
“You’re not going to completely tune out the noise,” Heupel said. “Once you get the play call, you’re focusing on your job. It’s 11 guys inside the white lines. I don’t care if it’s at home, on the road, in the backyard, these guys have been doing it for a long time. You do have to control your emotions. You have to be able to execute a play from within yourself. That will be a big part of the football game.”
A major reason for the Vols’ 2-0 start to the season has been the play of the defense, which is holding opponents to just 13 points per game and 270 yards per game, both marks that rank top five in the SEC and in the top 30 nationally.
“We’ve done a good job of disrupting blocks at the line of scrimmage. Second and third levels have fit it right,” Heupel said when asked about why the defense has been so productive so far this season.
“At the end of the day, we’ve changed the line of scrimmage here the first couple of weeks. This will be the best offensive line that we’ve seen. They’re big, strong, they’re athletic and look like a typical Florida offensive line.”
In the first two games, Tennessee’s offense wasn’t able to get off to the fast starts it has become accustomed to over the past two seasons. A quick start offensively could play a pivotal part in Saturday’s game as the Big Orange will look to build early confidence and try to take the crowd out of the game.”
When asked what the offense could do to start faster, redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren said he believes it’ll come down to the little things and simple execution.
“Just sticking to our basics, our bread and butter. Getting in some confidence plays and just making plays,” Warren said. “I think the biggest part is seeing a guy make a play down the field or having a back find a crease and have a good run. Not necessarily something that’s huge like a 75-yard touchdown but putting good plays together and getting that first down. Getting that ball rolling is really big for us.”
A full transcript as well as select player quotes from Monday’s press conferences can be found below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“Today, everybody that was around in 2001 remembers (9/11). Thank you to all of the people that served and sacrificed their lives and health in a lot of ways, too. Obviously, it’s a day that this country won’t forget.
“Looking forward to going and playing a really good football team here. Great opportunity. You come to Tennessee because you want to play in these types of games and these types of environments. Sitting on primetime Saturday night. Great challenge in front of us (against a) really good football team. They’re big, strong and athletic on both sides of the line of scrimmage. The skill players on both sides are really good. Great speed and will be a huge test for us.”
On how the team has responded after the Austin Peay game…
“Really good. Good energy out on the grass with them today. Really good in the meeting room too. I anticipated that from these guys. We have strong leadership and guys care about their performance, but they care about how they get there too. I said it after the game too, that I didn’t feel like we didn’t prepare the right way. At the end of the day, we were on the right side of the competitive edge to go play the way that we are capable of. That being said, there’s a lot of things that we did really well too during the course of the game. I thought the effort, strain, energy and technique on special teams was really good. Defensively, they played really sound the majority of the football game. Gap assignments allowed a couple of big runs early in the football game, but other than that it was really good. Offensively, we ran it for near eight yards a carry, and we had some efficiency in the passing game too. Penalties, in the red zone in particular, dropped balls and hitting a couple of more passes would lead to a different score, certainly one that we all want, but those are all things that we control. It was a big point of emphasis today with our guys. Control the controllable, which is what sits in that room and how we prepare.”
On if Saturday was a good time to have a game where they did not perform to standard
“It can be. Absolutely. As much as anything, the competitive edge that you have to be on the right side of it is extremely important. The difference between success and failure in this game is really small. It wasn’t all 11 all at one time. We can be better, need to be better. These guys care. They have a great care factor behind them. We’ll have a great week of practice.”
On the last time they played at Florida in 2021…
“First of all, they are always really athletic. They’re physical at the line of scrimmage. It’s a great environment. At the end of the day in this game, yesterday has nothing to do with today. The previous play has nothing to do with what’s going to happen on the next play. It’s about preparing the right way and practicing the right way. That will lead to you playing the right way.”
On what he saw in the passing game that needs to be fixed…
“At the end of the day, we have to go make some plays. That’s throwing it a little bit better, and that’s catching it a little bit better. There are big chunks of yardage and open grass for us to go make. Joe (Milton III) will tell you that he has to hit a couple of those. We have to go make a play out on the perimeter. Some subtle things fundamentally that can help you be more accurate with the ball, but we’ve seen him operate like that. He just didn’t execute it very well early in the football game.”
On what he likes from the linebackers, specifically Elijah Herring…
“Destructive, communicated at a high level. He’s a young guy that his best football is going to come down the pike. Great confidence in him. From the rest of the guys that played too, saw a lot of things that we liked. There are a couple of things that we busted on too. Gave up a pass down the middle in the fourth quarter, but we can correct those things. At the end of the day, that group is going to have to continue to grow up quickly. We’re going to need all of those guys as we go down the stretch.”
On if there is a reason team has not had much success on third down so far this season…
“Not just one thing. We have to be better at calling it, blocking it, executing in the pass game. We’re capable of it. We just have to be better. That will be big in this football game too. You have to convert, you have to stay on the field, you have to give yourself the next set of downs.”
On if there is an update on Cooper Mays…
“He was with us last week, warmed up with us. We made a decision pretty early in the week that he probably would not play in that football game. Anticipate him having a good week of practice here and being ready.”
On if he has seen receivers drop passes in practice…
“We didn’t anticipate that happening.”
On how much concern there is in regard to the potential for Cooper Mays’ first action to be against Florida…
“If he’s playing, we have great confidence that he’s going to play at the level that he wants to and we need him to, too.”
On what he’s seen on tape from Florida’s skill players…
“They have great team speed, athletes that can go make plays in space. You have to bottle up the run game. That’s a huge part of what they do, and it sets up their play action pass. A year ago, they hurt us with some of that. We have to be able to fit the run, play assignment-sound and play the ball well when it’s in the air.”
On how to tune out the Florida crowd…
“You’re not going to completely tune out the noise. Once you get the play call, you’re focusing on your job. It’s 11 guys inside the white lines. I don’t care if it’s at home, on the road, in the backyard, these guys have been doing it for a long time. You do have to control your emotions. You have to be able to execute a play from within yourself. That will be a big part of the football game.”
On how good it is to see Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles get rewarded in the game…
“Two guys that do it right every single day. Both have the ability to make plays. It’s been great to see those guys get an opportunity and go execute here early in the football season. Those guys are a huge part of what we do in the pass game and in the run game. Anticipate those guys continuing to have big years.”
On what the run defense has accomplished so far this season want what they can do to stop Florida’s rushing attack…
“We’ve done a good job of disrupting blocks at the line of scrimmage. Second and third levels have fit it right. At the end of the day, we’ve changed the line of scrimmage here the first couple of weeks. This will be the best offensive line that we’ve seen. They’re big, strong, they’re athletic and look like a typical Florida offensive line.”
On how to approach film study with Joe Milton III so he can move forward…
“At the end of the day, you have to point out what needs to be corrected. You have to be truthful in what you’re seeing as a coach, and players understand that too. They see it, they recognize it, and he understands the game. Great thing about Joe is he’s really been making really sound decisions. That’s in our run-pass option, it’s in our drop back. We as skill players, that can be wideouts, tight ends, running backs and him, just have to be a little bit better at times. Plan on us executing better this week.”
Redshirt-Senior TE Jacob Warren
On McCallan Castles’ touchdown vs. Austin Peay and the celebration…
“Tight ends, we’re going to celebrate when we get in the endzone and we’re going to enjoy it. Just dancing, making a fool out of ourselves. How he prepares and the athlete that he is kind of shows up in that moment. He was able to make one miss and step out of one, and then accelerate and get to the endzone. I was really special. It was cool to watch and I’m sure he talked about guys like Bru McCoy on the perimeter blocking for him. He’s extremely grateful for guys like that. It’s cool for him to step up and make a play like that.”
On how the offense can get into a rhythm earlier in the game…
“Just sticking to our basics, our bread and butter. Getting in some confidence plays and just making plays. I think the biggest part is seeing a guy make a play down the field or having a back find a crease and have a good run. Not necessarily something that’s huge like a 75-yard touchdown but putting good plays together and getting that first down. Getting that ball rolling is really big for us.”
On the challenges of playing in Gainesville…
“It’s challenging for a couple of reasons: The weather, first of all. It’s warm and humid in Florida so we’ve been preparing for that. It’s been humid and warm here, so we’ve been doing a good job of exposing ourselves to that type of environment. Obviously, the crowd is the same way like when you come to Neyland Stadium. They’re not necessarily rooting for you, so just kind of getting used to the noise and the ruckus, and hopefully being able to quiet it down before it gets too out of hand.”
Redshirt-Senior TE McCallan Castles
On his touchdown against Austin Peay…
“Made one guy miss, and I just saw Bru (McCoy) putting a guy in the endzone. I think that is more impressive than the touchdown itself, the fact that he drove that guy 40 yards in the end zone. It is a great block; that is why he is probably going to be playing on Sundays, because that dude just plays hard and he gives effort for everybody, even on plays he is not getting the ball.”
On his mindset after a drop early in the game…
“You have to park it and reset. Stuff is going to happen; it is football, it is never going to be perfect. You just have to move onto that next-play mentality and come back.”
On playing at Florida…
“For me, every game is crazy, because these are my first SEC games. So, I am super excited; it is going to be a great area to be in, The Swamp for a night game. It is going to be crazy.”
Sophomore LB Elijah Herring
On the team’s response to Keenan Pili’s injury…
“We hit it with the next-man-up mentality. We just have to be prepared for anything that could happen, because it’s a long season, and anything could happen, so everyone needs to be prepared and ready to be the next man up.”
On his performance in the game against Austin Peay…
“I think I played pretty good—can’t play perfect, but you still leave some stuff out on the field, hit (the film) next week and try to not make those mistakes again.”
On the defensive mindset going into next week…
“We take it one snap at a time and try to correct the mistakes we made on the field when we go back to the sideline. We all talk about it, get it fixed, and then we move on to the next play.”