Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel answered questions from the media on the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday following the Vols’ heartbreaking loss against Georgia and ahead of its non conference matchup against UAB.
Ahead of the game, Heupel discussed lingering on the loss against Georgia, Joey Aguilar’s strong performance and much more. Here’s everything Heupel said.
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Opening Statement
“Good afternoon. Beginning of the week, we’ve had really good work. Got an opportunity to be back home, play in front of our fans again and play a good football team in UAB, in particular, what they’ve done offensively. We got an opportunity to get better this week, grow and compete against a good football team. And I’m looking forward to the week. We’ve had a great start. Got to continue that here as we continue to push to the end of the week.”
On Tennessee’s 21 points in the first quarter against Georgia, the importance of scripted plays to start a game
“I think everybody has early thoughts that they would like to get to, but it’s not like we’re going down a specific pattern of plays. Situations pop up where you’re at on the field and then certainly defensive structures. We got off to a good start by all 11 playing together and were able to score some points in the first quarter. Second quarter, we missed on some things.
They played well. And a combination of that led to a few points there in the middle part of the game. But to me, offensive football a lot of the times is doing the ordinary things at a really high level when it’s going good and when it’s not, one or two things may be off and I thought we had good competitive composure and continued to fight. Just ended up on the wrong side of it.”
On trying to manage a game like that, with so much emotion and so many lead changes and momentum changes
“Yeah, it’s just when you play a really good football team and you’re a good football team too, those are the games that you like being a part of. Great competition, physicality, momentum swings and continuing to fight. And again, those are the ones you like being a part of for sure.”
On updating the health of Tennessee freshman wide receiver Radarious Jackson
“Yeah, I don’t have a full update here. Obviously, you guys can pay attention to injury reports that come out, although it may not this week, but he’ll be out for this game and we’ll kind of see where he’s at the following week.”
On how in the past he has dealt with younger quarterbacks trying to deal with mental hurdles of college football
“Playing quarterback, whether you’re young or old, comes down to a really good understanding of what you’re doing.
It’s the throw game. Obviously, your protections, comes down to your eyes, being able to recognize what you’re seeing, defensive structure, rotations and then get yourself in a good fundamental position. There’s a lot of little things that go into it and it doesn’t matter what position you’re playing, if you’re struggling, whatever it might be, it comes down to the normal everyday things. I think learning how to go play the next play, no matter what position you’re playing, is something that’s really important. And not letting one play affect another. Sounds easy, it’s really hard. But as a coach, whether you’re a position (coach), coordinator or head coach, it’s helping your guys grow and propelling them forward.”
On the status of Tennessee’s David Sanders Jr. this week
“I don’t know. We’ll see. I talked about that on Monday. It’s something where he’s not necessarily in control of it. And when I say that, it’s a unique situation. He’s chomping at the bit. He’s been a great teammate through the adversity. It’s another thing that, in particular, our young guys have to learn or navigate. At some point in this game, everyone gets nicked up. He’s done a great job of mentally staying engaged. As soon as our medical staff clears him, he’ll be ready to go play.”
On learning from the mistakes against Georgia and if that can be beneficial down the road
“Well, I think win, lose, draw, when you get back in the building as a coaching staff on Sunday and then with your players on Monday, it’s always about the growth of the things that you control. You play good teams and you’re going to be in a one-on-one battle and maybe not win every one of those one-on-one battles and as part of being a competitor, but the things that you can control, can be eye discipline, fundamentals, technique, communication, the things that we have ownership of. It’s always about how do we do those things better. And I think anytime you’re in a ball game where you’re playing great competition, which is really every week inside of this league, all of those things— the lessons, the video, the experience, always has a chance to make you better as long as every individual, and collectively as a team, you take ownership of those things. And our guys have done a great job of that. And we’ve had a good week of preparation here for this one.”
On how impressed he’s been with Joey Aguilar’s play
“Yeah, I think first thing is just who he is and his kind of comfortable, confident in who he is as a person. Also as a player, relationship driven. He’s done a great job of becoming a part of this football team. And then the work that goes into it in a short amount of time to master what we’re doing offensively with everything that you see on the other side of the football defensively from week to week. Really proud of the work that he’s put in on game day. Really calm, really confident, plays the next play, doesn’t get rattled. Just got a great demeanor on game day and all those thing we’re really excited about and appreciate with him coming into the program.”
