Game day is finally here as Tennessee football prepares to face Georgia in a rivalry showdown at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. With ESPN’s College Gameday in town, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel joined the set for a few minutes to discuss the scene in Knoxville and the top 15 matchup.
Heupel discussed what needs to change from last season’s game, Tennessee’s defensive injuries and more. Here’s everything Heupel said.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Star Nate Ament Fires Up Fans At ESPN’s College Gameday
On what it does for a year when you earn an early season rivalry win
“Since we’ve gotten here, our program has continued to grow and that’s a credit to our staff and our players. This fanbase is unrivaled in college sports and today is going to be electric. You guys probably drove past Vol Navy, the boats have been tied up since Wednesday. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. Got to to play against a really good Georgia team. Have to play smart, fast, physical for 60 minutes.”
On Joey Aguilar’s short time at Tennessee
“He’s well traveled during the course of his college career. I have great respect for the journey he’s gone through. He has a great appreciation for the opportunity he has here with his teammates, his coaches and this fanbase. He’s played really well the last two weeks. Very consistent. Really calm demeanor in who he is. He went about it the right way when he got here in May and today is the next step in his journey and our journey.”
On what needs to change for Tennessee in this matchup against Georgia
“Ultimately, you have to play a complete game. You have to be able to win at the line of scrimmage. You got to stay out of third-and-longs. Then you have to be able to concert on third downs too. A year ago, we weren’t very good on the plus-side of the territory (field). We have to get into the scoring zone and get points out of those opportunities.”
On being down two corners, his expectations from the defense
“This game doesn’t care about injuries. Next man has to step up. We got a lot of young guys. One of our themes during the offseason was young guys don’t have time to be young. They’ve continued to grow. Me talking about young guys not being young, that was forced upon our coaches and leadership at each (position) room. They took great command of that. Young guys have grown. This is our biggest test but in the secondary, we have guys that we like and trust back there. We’re going to have to go win. That’s going to be in zone coverage. We’re going to have to make tackles out in space off the perimeter screen game and then when we’re in man coverage we have to go win.”
On getting off the field on third down against Tennessee’s offense, substituting
“We don’t want them to get their best rushers in. There’s always a balance to it. Our personnel, putting them in the right spot. Picking and choosing when we’re using our tempo. It is certainly a form of how we’re going to apply pressure during the course of every ball game. We need that to be an advantage for us today, as well.”
On Neyland Stadium’s atmosphere
“Neyland is always lit. Checker Neyland is a little bit more special. Today is going to be college football as good as it gets inside of that stadium.”
On if he has a boat in the Vol Navy
“Down coaching, that’s where you’ll find me. (laughs)”
