KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 21/19 Tennessee got things back on track with a 45-14 victory over UTSA last weekend and will look to carry that momentum into an important SEC east matchup against South Carolina on Saturday night at Neyland Stadium.
Saturday’s showdown against the Gamecocks will be the first night game at home this season. During his Monday press conference, head coach Josh Heupel talked about the effect UT’s crowd can have in big games like this and what he expects to see from the Tennessee faithful this weekend.
“Home field advantage matters. We need energy and momentum. We need to make it extremely difficult for them to communicate. For us, our fans need to be a huge part of this football game,” Heupel said. “They have been every Saturday that I have been here. I can’t wait. I expect there to be a lot more boats tied up on the river this week, and I expect the Vol Walk to be electric. I cannot wait for the noise and the energy inside of the stadium.”
The Vols will also look to build off their best offensive performance of the year after totaling 512 yards, including 303 on the ground in the win over UTSA.
No one had a bigger impact in last week’s offense outburst than sophomore running back Dylan Sampson, who rushed for a career-high 139 yards on just 11 carries (12.6 avg). The Louisiana native also had a pair of touchdowns and broke off three runs of 29 or more yards in the game, including a 41-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter.
“Dylan is a great teammate in here,” Heupel said. “He wanted more touches for sure the previous week. For whatever reason we just didn’t get that done, but he is the same guy inside of the building. He is competitive and cares and embraces every role that we put him in. He competes for those roles too.
“He is dynamic. The things that he does at the line of scrimmage that are real subtle: pressing the aiming points, delivering a center-guard, guard-tackle combination to the second level, being able to feel things that are happening on the backside of the run when it is fast flow over the top to be able to come out of the backside. Those are all really special. Everybody sees his gift when he gets to the third level and makes people miss with the ability and speed to take it the distance, but it is the things he does early in the run that give him the ability to get to that spot.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s contest is slated for 7:30 p.m. on the SEC Network.
A full transcript of Heupel’s press conference and select player quotes from Monday can be found below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“Looking forward to this weekend. Really good opponent that we’re playing. It’s an opportunity for us to open up conference play here at home. I’m excited to see our fans. We need a great environment on Saturday night. It’s special that we get an opportunity to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our 1998 National Championship team. Coach (Phillip) Fulmer and the entire crew, we’re welcoming those guys back. Excited that they get a chance to be there for this one as well.”
On if it was good to play a non-conference opponent at home before a tough SEC slate…
“The schedule is what it is. I thought our preparation was good last week. We went out and did a lot of things really well. There are still some things that we have to correct. We’re excited about this one. Getting back into conference play, that’s why you come here. You want to play in big-time games like this. Really good opponent, they’re good on both sides of the line of scrimmage, their quarterback is playing extremely well, and we have to be at our best on Saturday night.”
On the significance of the South Carolina game after last season’s matchup…
“It’s a new week every week. It’s a new year too. Last year, they were more physical than us. They competed harder than we did on that night. We didn’t handle the environment the right way. Those were lessons that had to continue to move forward with us as a program. Last year has nothing to do with this week. Last week has nothing to do with this week. The previous play has nothing to do with the next one. We have to focus on our preparation and be ready to have a great competitive spirit for four quarters.”
On South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler’s performance against Tennessee last year…
“He’s a really good player. He’s played at a high level. He’s played a lot of football. He’s playing extremely well right now. He was dynamic in that football game, but he has that in his arsenal. For us, the line of scrimmage is important. We have to do a really good job, and we have to get them into third-and-long. Last year, we didn’t get off the field on third-and-longs. Some of that was coverage, some of that was him extending and making some really special plays. We have to do a great job of bottling him up and applying pressure at the same time.”
On if he watched South Carolina’s game last weekend…
“I got home at the very end of the game. I wish with a four o’clock game, I could get home early, but I don’t. Between recruiting and knocking out some of the media things that I have to do, didn’t get home until the very end. They’re a good football team. They have lost a couple of close ones. They played really well on the road at Georgia in all three phases of the football game. They lost a tough one to North Carolina. This is a really good football team.”
On any indicators last week in practice that the team would perform well against UTSA…
“I don’t think there was just one thing. I do think that they had great intentionality in the way they prepared all week long. They had really good practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then followed that up by finishing out the right way on Thursday and Friday. Today, I challenged our guys to think about what some of the things are that they have to stop doing in their preparation, because they’re not helping you, what’re the things that you have to continue to do, and what’re the things are that you have to do to up your game. I think that’s important for everybody inside of our program.”
On if the efficiency of the high-tempo offense in the first half was a sign that the offense is getting closer to where they need to be…
“A week ago, I talked about self-inflicted wounds, not playing smart on the offensive side of the football and hurting ourselves. In this last one, we didn’t do those things. That allows you to play in tempo, and it allows you to be ahead of the chains or in manageable situations where you’re not in third-and-15. That helps everybody out. It helps your quarterback, it helps your offensive line out, it helps us stay in rhythm, and it helps us move the football.”
On any takeaways from the team’s performance in the third quarter vs. UTSA…
“Biggest takeaway for me — I believe I said it after the game to you guys, and I know I talked to our football team — the competitive edge that you have to have in this game, it’s razor-thin margins that you’re playing on. If you’re not on that edge the right way, the game will turn quickly — for a play or for however long you’re not on it. Again, this football team has to continue to grow and mature. That shows up in not hurting ourselves, being assignment and fundamentally sound, but it also shows up in the way that we handle no matter what is going on in the game. We talk about playing it like it’s 0-0 for 60 minutes, don’t look up until the scoreboard ticks zero. In this football game, that will be important. Good team, they have good players, they have good coaches. They’ll make plays at some point during the course of the ballgame. You have to continue to refocus and go play the next one.”
On if there was anything that was changed last week to help speed up the tempo…
“We really haven’t done a bunch of checks to the sideline. Joe (Milton III) controls most of the football game for us. It’s been true since we got here. That’s not really something that has slowed us down, typically.”
On what he sees as the identity of the SEC this season after four weeks…
“I think college football in general, and this league, every Saturday is its own entity. Your preparation, a play here or there that turns the momentum in the football game a little bit, it’s fine lines. You have to show up. You have to be prepared. You have to have great competitive spirit. You have to play extremely hard, and you have to do the ordinary things at a really high level. In this league, and across college football, there’s a ton of parity. When I say that, the separation is really thin. You have to be on the right side of it.”
On how Elijah Herring has grown during last few weeks starting at linebacker…
“A guy that played a lot of football for us on special teams a year ago. He’s continued to develop at the linebacker position when he first got here. In high school, he played on the first level. He’s continued to progress with his ability to have his eyes on the right spot, steer pullers, get to the right gap and continued to do a better job of tackling. He’s violent, he’s disruptive, he cares, he practices hard, he’s got the right makeup.”
On if anything changed in Joe Milton III’s health status…
“I know there’s a picture out there, but for us routinely on Sundays, we’re going to make sure our players are healthy. We have diagnostics inside with our doctors, but we’re going to make sure that medically they check up on them as well. Joe has been good, feels good. He was with us today, so anticipate him being ready to go play really well.”
On it being the first night game at home this season and the importance of the crowd…
“Home field advantage matters. We need energy and momentum. We need to make it extremely difficult for them to communicate. For us, our fans need to be a huge part of this football game. They have been every Saturday that I have been here. I can’t wait. I expect there to be a lot more boats tied up on the river this week, and I expect the Vol Walk to be electric. I cannot wait for the noise and the energy inside of the stadium.”
On South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler’s accuracy presenting a challenge to the Vols’ secondary…
“He has played a bunch of football. He understands coverages and sees rotations. He takes himself to the right spot based on the coverage and the beaters that they have up on their schemes. He has the ability to make and extend plays with his feet. He is accurate with the football. You have to do a great job. You have to control the line of scrimmage. You have to apply pressure to him. You can’t let him out of the pocket at the same time. When he does scramble, you have to match the personnel out in space. He created a bunch of big plays against us last year outside of the pocket. He’s a really good football player that poses a problem. We have to do a really good job up front and on the second and third levels in our coverage.”
On the young receivers’ performance against UTSA…
“Saturday was a good opportunity for those guys to get more reps than they had early in the season. I think I said it last week, that we had planned on playing those guys some more. I really liked what they did. There are (moments) where we could be a little bit better between quarterback and wide receiver on some of the downfield passing. We were close on it, but we have to go hit those things this week, but I like what they did. They played competitive, with fundamentals and technique. They played hard.”
On his evaluation of special teams so far…
“Special teams, like some of the things I was talking offensively, you can’t do things that hurt you, that change the field position or change the momentum of the football game. We have to clean up a couple of those things that everybody saw on Saturday. At the same time, we are playing extremely hard with great fundamentals. I like some of our eye discipline in it. So, there are some real positives too.”
On South Carolina’s special teams unit…
“They are aggressive. You’re going to see fakes. You are going to see them try to create an extra possession on special teams. Their cover units are really solid. We have to do a really good job in that phase of the game this week.”
On South Carolina’s defense…
“Physical. Their safeties are heavily active in the run game. A year ago, they hurt us in some of our protections as well. They defeated us in some one-on-one situations. They are big, strong, physical and long at corner. They are playing good defense.”
On Dylan Sampson…
“Dylan (Sampson) is a great teammate in here. He wanted more touches for sure the previous week. For whatever reason we just didn’t get that done, but he is the same guy inside of the building. He is competitive and cares and embraces every role that we put him in. He competes for those roles too. He is dynamic. The things that he does at the line of scrimmage that are real subtle: pressing the aiming points, delivering a center-guard, guard-tackle, combination to the second level, being able to feel things that are happening on the backside of the run when it is fast flow over the top to be able to come out of the backside. Those are all really special. Everybody sees his gift when he gets to the third level and makes people miss with the ability and speed to take it the distance, but it is the things he does early in the run that give him the ability to get to that spot.”
On the offensive line at this point in the season…
“Some really good things. Some of the efficiency in the run game, and there have been times where we pass protected extremely well too. At the end of the day, we have to continue to get better in that area. We have to keep the quarterback clean to be able to make some plays down the football field.”
RS-Senior TE McCallan Castles
On what he knows about the team’s game against South Carolina last season…
“Yes, obviously it didn’t go the way they wanted it to last year, but that’s last year. This year, our whole goal is to be the best team on the field on Saturday no matter who we’re playing. Obviously, they’re going to be a solid SEC team, so it’s just about trying to be better than they are on Saturday.”
On the team’s shift in energy in the locker room following the loss against Florida and heading into the game against UTSA…
“I think we just showed up on that Tuesday for practice and you could tell everyone was ready to compete. We just handled our business, ironed out the details that we messed up at Florida and performed at a higher level — doing the ordinary stuff that you should expect to do.”
On what stands out about South Carolina’s defense…
“They have a solid front line and they’re big, fast, physical guys like everybody you’re going to see in the SEC. They hit and they cover the ball pretty well. You have to have a game plan and prepare like any other game, but just be ready for faster opponents than last week because they’re SEC guys.”
RS-Junior DL Bryson Eason
On the importance to get a good pass rush when facing a quarterback like Spencer Rattler….
“Just make sure we keep him contained and just stay disciplined. Do our job, just do what we do, try and be disruptive and go out here and have fun with my guys. That’s really what it’s all about. We just like to go out there and have fun. Do our job of course, but just go out there and enjoy, play loose, play free, play fast. Just go out there and be disruptive, do our best that we can do to just disrupt Spencer Rattler and get him off his game to make it easier for everybody else.”
On if they’ve watched the film from last year’s South Carolina game…
“We’ve been focused on watching film that they’ve played in these previous weeks. Just different types of things that they’re doing, the look tendencies that they have as an o-line, a quarterback and as an offense. We really haven’t been focused on anything that happened in the past, just what’s going on now and what’s occurring now.”
On if the change in run defense in the second half against Florida carried into the UTSA game…
“Feel like it was just the mindset. We chose that we were going to do it, that we wanted to do it, so we did it. That’s really it. We just came together down there and did what we’re supposed to do. Hate that it came in the second half, but we got it done and we want to continue to carry that mindset throughout the season.”