As a part of the new programming schedule for the Vol Network, the new Voice of the Vols, Mike Keith, is hosting a show every Thursday with guests across UT Athletics. Ahead of Saturday’s clash against ETSU, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel joined ‘The Mike Keith Show‘ to field questions.
He touched on celebrating the win over Syracuse, his background on the defensive side of the ball despite being a quarterback, the challenge of facing ETSU, his unique punter and more.
Here is everything he said.
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On being the 1-0 coach of Tennessee
Heupel: “Feels like a long time ago. Each week is its own and excited to go open up at home here this week with this group. It’s been a good week of preparation and just got to continue that as we get to kickoff.”
On the picture of him giving the leather helmet to his son, where it is
Heupel: “No idea (where it is). (Sports information director) Bill Martin might have that at his house. Jace, it was fun to have him be a part of it. Guys were great with him. His phone blew up from all his buddies back home afterward. That was a great time with him.
On his son being a ball player, what he likes best
Heupel: “Football, basketball. Played baseball, as well. Thinks hes a quarterback and he can spin it pretty good. We’ll see where it all takes him.”
On it bringing back memories of him and his dad
Heupel: “My entire childhood as far back as I can remember, being around the guys, being in the locker room, being in position meetings, staff meetings. Working the equipment room, doing laundry, fixing cleats, face masks. At that time, the old screw-ins. Just great memories of being a part of something and being around great people that in my childhood are still great friends of mine that played for my dad. It’s always fun to have your family around and being a part of it.”
On his dad teaching him to love defense
Heupel: “I grew up in defensive meetings. Linebacker and DB meetings. Just learning installs of defensive schemes. That was a big part of my growth as a football player, too. A big part of my success playing quarterback.”
On Tennessee’s history of having good defenses and kicking
Heupel: “That’s what General Neyland would say, right? I think there is so much that’s changed around the game, outside of the game of football, in particular over the last five years. When you get between the white lines, the game hasn’t changed. That’s why the maxims still live inside of this building. We recite them before every game. Our players believe in them. At the end of the day, I think it’s important that you play three phases of the game together to give yourself a chance to go win every Saturday.”
On what’s asked of a defense with new rule changes, defenses catching up
Heupel: “I think, our offensive staff gets tired of me saying this at times, it’s cyclical. There’s constant growth and changes schematically, let’s say from the offensive side of the ball and defenses continue to evolve and grow and it just kind of runs its way back in circles in some way. Today’s game is certainly played in more space than it was 30 years ago, 50 years ago, but a lot of the same principles are still there. I think that’s the fun part for coaches is continuing to evolve and grow and change week-to-week, but certainly year-to-year, as well.”
On how much he looks at others in the offseason and tweaks his own philosophy
Heupel: “January, Febuary and during the course of spring ball in particular, you’re looking at what are the things you’re seeing schematically from other sides of the football defensively in the scope of league play. Then, you’re looking at things and tools that you need to be able to attack it. But then it goes to who your personnel is and how you attack it. And that’s the fun part of coaching football. There’s so much change every single year, just starting with your own personnel, that you get a chance to paint the picture a bit different every single year.”
On having a background in defense from his dad
Heupel: “I think it’s a huge part of who I am as a coach. If you want to win championships, you’ve got to play elite defense. That starts with your defensive line and that’s certainly been a focal point since we got here. The way we’ve recruited that position room, our defensive staff has done an elite job. But certainly, if you want to go play at the highest level in this league and across the country, you’ve got to be able to play elite defense.”
On what resonates with recruits that has led to success
Heupel: “First of all, this is an iconic brand inside the scope of college football. You look historically, wins, bowl wins, championships, national championships, all of those things. One of the top programs in the country. You combine that with an unbelievable fan base that is not surpassed by anywhere in college football, our game days are unrivaled. You look at the city of Knoxville, the continued growth of this city and the campus. And then you combine that with the style of football where we play really aggressively in all three phases of the game. The product that we’ve been able to put out there since we got there. And I think who we are inside of this building. We recruit to who we are. Very transparent during the recruiting process. They can feel the connection that everybody has inside of this building. You put all those things together, what we’ve been able to do is not just recruit elite talent, but recruit guys that fit the profile of what a Tennessee football player is, on the field, off the field and in that locker room.”
On the advantage of being in year five
Heupel: “Any time you have continuity with the right people that are in the building and everybody is able to be in sync, and that happens through experiences, through time, being better communicators, me, leaders of departments, you’re able to tie everything together at a better level than you were in year one. Through all of that consistency that we’ve had, we’ve certainly had to continue to tighten the loop of communication and our processes to focus in on the right players.”
On if he spends more time hanging on to guys who have committed or with the future classes in the fall
Heupel: “You’re always recruiting three recruiting classes at one time. You got the current class of ’26s, you got ’27s and you’re pushing forward on ’28s, too. It’s a combination of all those things. Recruiting is the lifeblood of your program. You better be pouring into it every single day and our staff does a great job of that.”
On coaching against Will Healy’s ETSU
Heupel: “Discipline. Play extremely hard. You look at schematically what they’re doing now, they’re very aggressive. From offensively, the tempo, applying pressure, playing out in space. Defensively, multiple pressure packages and defensive structures. And same thing on special teams. They’ll be very aggressive in this game.”
On punter Jackson Ross, what Mike Keith should ask him
Heupel: “Jackson is a character. Infectious energy guy inside of our building. Has a lot of fun, but highly competitive, as well. Really skilled off the field, too. Anything that he does, he’s super talented in.”
On recruiting Ross
Heupel: “It’s the craziest film that I’ve ever watched. It was live – his ability, he was hitting bombs in the pocket. Then, they had him rugby right. They were essentially having guys run like a post pattern at 50 yards and he was able to hit the guys in stride.”
Keith: “With a kick?”
Heupel: “Yeah, with a kick. Then, at the very end, they flipped it over and he went left-footed. I’ve never seen anything like that. Super talented.
Keith: “Have you ever had an Australian punter before?”
Heupel: “Had not. Nope. First one.”
Keith: “As a traditional football guy, was it hard for you to get used to?”
Heupel: “Absolutely not. It’s like a golfer being able to hit every club that he’s got in his bag. He’s a real utility knife and gives us a ton of versatility in what we do.”
On his excitement for Saturday
Heupel: “There’s nothing like a home game walking into Neyland and seeing 30+ thousand. Can’t wait to see our fans inside of that stadium.”
