No. 15 Tennessee football is set to face the Arkansas Razorbacks on Saturday in Fayetteville. Kick off is set for 4:15 p.m ET/3:15 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on SEC Network. Matt Schumacker will have the play-by-play with Aaron Murray as the analyst. Taylor Davis will report from the sideline.
Thursday, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel previewed the upcoming game with Mike Keith, on the Mike Keith Show. Everything Heupel said is below.
On Keith’s playful push to name a starting quarterback
“That’s one way to start the show. No chance, I’m telling you. No chance. None.” (Said with a laugh)
On Heupel would do it for $20
“Can’t do it.”
On the competitive advantage of not naming a starter
“Any time as a coach, you know exactly what you’re getting, who you’re getting, skill sets that you’re facing. It’s at all positions, but certainly at that position too. It allows you the luxury of being able to scheme throughout the course of the week in preparation. There’s going to be differences in how you call the game, differences in what you’re practicing to face an opponent. So find out Saturday.”
On managing DeSean Bishop’s week after 34 carries
“Certainly at the beginning of the week, we’re mindful of that. Obviously, DeSean, heavy workload, but that can be true at a lot of different positions. So you take that information. That’s kind of the science behind it, and how do you build their week? Getting the work that they have to get in, but being mindful with everything that’s going on. How are they at their best Saturday afternoon when you kick the ball off?”
On Daune Morris bouncing back from the Auburn game
“You play ball. It’s not going to be perfect. There’s some things that he would do differently. Being intentional in the course of your week and your preparation, but also your practice habits all lead up to it. He’s been great this week, and he’ll be ready to go. Played really well on Saturday, and been good all season in terms of where he’s come from since he arrived on campus.
“The game’s not perfect. We all want it to be. We’re striving for perfection every day, understanding as coaches, and your players have to understand that too, that it’s never going to be. It hasn’t been for anyone in any ballgame.”
On the challenge of Arkansas’ defense
“We faced this defensive coordinator previously. He’ll present different structures, pressures. I think through the course of this season, with his defensive personnel, he’s continuing to evolve to fit it to them as he’s found out more. The line of scrimmage, I say it every week, that’s where the game starts for us offensively. We’ve got to do a great job of creating some seams in the run game. That happens because of communication. It happens because of physicality and fundamentals and technique. Your tight ends are going to be a huge part of that one. We’ve got to create movement, get our guys to the third level, and then we’ve got to go create some big plays.”
On defending mobile Arkansas QB KJ Jackson
“Line of scrimmage, gap integrity, but you’ve got to be able to tackle him. That’s in some quarterback design run. It’s when they do drop back, his ability to extend, find a lane, escape and make plays with his feet. It forces you to have gap integrity. It forces you to destruct and get off of blocks when they’re in plus-one in the run game.”
On young players taking on bigger roles
“Young guys continuing to grow. I think a great example of that is Joel Wyatt’s impact on the football game last Saturday. A guy that has been playing gunner for us. He’s playing on really all of our teams and just continues to grow. I talked about it on Monday with our guys. That’s a guy that we challenged late in training camp to really start taking ownership and taking strides to be ready to go play at a high level. He’s become a great practice player, and that’s parlayed itself into him playing consistently out on the edge. Last Saturday, he changed the way the game was played.”
On special teams play earning snaps on offense and defense
“You don’t know when your opportunity is coming. You better be prepared for your opportunity and be ready to go hit it in the mouth. Tevis Metcalf last week at nickel, a great example of that. Finds out extremely late in the week he’s going to be starting, and he goes and plays extremely well. It’s because of how he prepared in practice. Coaches and your teammates are going to trust what they see. It’s not just once you get in the game, it’s before you’re there. And young guys are continuing to grow and understand those things.”
