Under Josh Heupel, Tennessee football has done a good job of using tempo and a hurry-up offense to keep defenses on their toes. Against Arkansas this Saturday, the effect on the opponent could be more than usual.
With the Razorbacks now led by interim head coach Bobby Petrino and the defensive staff overhauled, it should be a relatively new look on that side of the ball. While the unknowns could be a headache for the Vols, it’ll also be the first time Arkansas’ defense will be playing in a game under the new staff, as well.
That’s when tempo could become crucial. While Tennessee is going to have to make sure it identifies the defense, it could also benefit from going fast and not letting the Razorbacks catch their breath while trying to get used to the new aspects.
“The tempo for us, it’s like I said, it’s always been a weapon,” Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. “But you’re exactly right. If they’re doing something completely new, like let’s push the gas a little bit here and see if we can create some eye violations. And on the same breath, you’re walking the line with your guys of if it’s something they have not seen before, we need to make sure that we’re ID’d correctly. We need to make sure that our eyes are in the right spot, too. So it’s kind of walking that line early of not letting off the gas, not playing slow, but also making sure that we’re targeted the right way and we’re not talking ourselves into negatives.”
More From RTI: Tennessee Football Reveals Uniforms For Home Game Against Arkansas
To toe that line that Halzle mentioned, it’ll take strong play at the quarterback position. Joey Aguilar, who didn’t have a full offseason to prepare for the Vols’ offense, has done a great job of handling the tempo when Josh Heupel and his offense want to go fast, though.
That’s a combination of the mental and physical aspects of playing the position.
“He’s handled when we play with tempo, he’s handled it extremely well,” Heupel said. “Been a good decision-maker. Been accurate with the ball. Seeing pictures from the defensive structure, got himself in the right placed. In today’s game, in the scope of what we do, tempo is always a portion of what we do. We got to be able to execute in all phases, whether we’re playing fast, whether we’re shifting, motioning, all those things. There’s some unknowns going into this one from them defensively and we got to do a great job of adjusting.”
On the season, Aguilar is responsible for 1,459 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions through five games. He’s run for a total of 58 yards for two touchdowns, as well.
Now, he’s gotten the chance to catch his breath. Tennessee had an open date this past weekend to prepare for Arkansas. The Razorbacks head to Neyland Stadium after firing their head coach, Sam Pittman.. The Head Hog will be an interim in Petrino come next Saturday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET and will air on the SEC Network.
