KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 15 Tennessee has put Auburn behind it and is looking toward Arkansas. The Vols had a big second half Saturday to beat the Tigers 24-14 at Neyland Stadium, behind a 220-yard, three-touchdown day from Knoxville native DeSean Bishop.
On Monday, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel joined The Mike Keith Show to close the door on Auburn. Heupel and Keith discussed what the team did and who stood out in the win. Below is everything he had to say.
The main step Tennessee took from Texas to Auburn
“First of all, you just try to be the best team on the field on a given Saturday. Defensively, continued to grow. Dominated at the line of scrimmage, point of attack. Played extremely hard, all 11. I thought our corners made some really nice plays when they got challenged. Ty Redmond, the double move down the sideline, fundamentals, technique, playing through the wide receiver’s hands. It was great to see.
“Special teams took a massive step. We have some young guys that are really growing up on our cover units. Joel Wyatt did a phenomenal job. He was a real problem at gunner on our punt team, downs one of them at the 1-yard line.
“Offensively, I told the offense earlier today, sometimes the results aren’t exactly what you want when you want them, but I thought we took a step at every position. Had some things go the wrong way in the first half. Competitive composure, came out and played extremely well in the second half.”
What stood out on film from DeSean Bishop’s 220-yard, 34 carry performance
“Ran like a grown man for 60 minutes. Dirty yards in the interior. When it reduced, then it was time to bounce it. He bounced it at the right time. He was pad plus two all day long. Just an elite performance by him on Saturday afternoon.”
What he liked from George MacIntyre after he entered at quarterback
“When you get that call in the middle of a ball game, being able to flip the switch and get yourself ready to go play. He was composed. He handled situational football extremely well, four-minute mode that we were in, draining some of the clock. He was decisive in the pass game and accurate in the pass game. So really liked a lot of what we saw from George.”
On sophomore Nic Moore’s first start at left guard
“Played really well. First time playing at guard. Obviously started Week 1 at center. He had gotten some reps during the course of training camp and spring ball at guard. Made a really good adjustment going out there during the course of game week. Played extremely well. There’s some things that he’s going to learn from, some fundamental techniques, some small things, but played extremely well for us there.”
The common thread in Tennessee’s fourth-down defense, with opponents 0-for-5 this season
“It’s been different situations. Playing with gap integrity, playing with great eyes. You look at the fourth-down stop against Auburn, heavy package in what they do, typically an inside play. We recognize it. Arion Carter sets a hard edge on it. Your inside pursuit has time to go make a play on the back. Nathan Robinson, [Jeremiah] Telander go and make a big-time tackle. But it’s all 11 playing with fundamentals and technique within the scope of the scheme that allows you to have that type of success.”
On cutting penalties from 20 in the first two games to 14 in the last three
“It’s a choice in a lot of ways to not do something post-whistle that hurts the team. We’ve been smarter in that way. We’ve grown before the snap. Offensively, still a couple of them the other day that we’ve got to eliminate. It’s changing the way situational football is being played out. Continued growth in fundamentals and technique, where playing penalties aren’t occurring as much as well.”
On what makes Carson Gentle fun to coach
“He’s smart, tough and a relentless competitor. He’s a tough dude. He cares about this program in a great way. He’s a phenomenal teammate in his versatility. You look at him playing on the defensive line, he’s played on the edge, played on the interior. You look at what he does on special teams, plays on multiple units. You flip forward to the offensive side of the ball, he shows up in our short-yardage package. He’s extremely smart, is able to soak in a lot of information, and you know he’s going to play with great fundamentals, technique and, as much as anything, he’s going to play with everything that he has.”
