Two days after No. 17 Tennessee fell to top ranked Texas by three points at Neyland Stadium, Josh Heupel joined the Mike Keith Show to look back at the first loss of the season and ahead to Auburn. Heupel praised a defense that kept Arch Manning under pressure all afternoon, explained how Jackson Ross turned a practice trick into an onside kick weapon and made it clear the offense has to be better as a unit. Here is the full interview.
Did the flow and style of the Texas game go the way you expected?
“I wouldn’t say exactly how we expected it to, no. I thought our defense played extremely well after the first series. Gave up some things in the first series that we can match out and do a better job on. Thought special teams were solid majority of the football game. Offensively, we drive on the first one, miss an opportunity to maybe get seven out of that drive. But then sputtered for a long majority of the football game, just 11 guys all doing their job at the same time. It was kind of mix and match for a majority of the football game. Guys came in and we learned from it and we got to carry those lessons forward.”
What did the defense do well to get so much pressure on Arch Manning?
“Got a handful of sacks, applied pressure all day long. We were able to get them into some third and longs. That came from doing a really good job in the run game on first and second down. But I thought our pressures bottled up the quarterback, didn’t let him escape a majority of the day. I thought our twist game, even in the run game, some of our run stunts performed really well.”
What has Kayin Lee added to the secondary?
“A guy that has had experience, has great confidence in himself, has really developed from January through spring ball. But by the time he came back in training camp, a much more confident player in what we’re doing, schematically greater understanding, and a guy that’s a playmaker.”
What opened up Qua Moss’ 57 yard punt return for a touchdown?
“That was a challenge to that unit here really the last couple of weeks. Qua’s got great confidence back there. The more time on task, the number of reps he’s gotten continued to grow in that way. We were doing some really good things in the core, but we were losing some of the one on ones out on the edge against their gunners. Did a better job giving some space for Qua to catch that thing, get it started, and then we matched out bodies. We played with good fundamental position and leveraged things the right way, and then Qua’s able to take it the distance.”
How did you find out Jackson Ross could drop kick an onside kick?
“Really talented guy with both of his feet. We were out there, and this is a year and change ago, and we were going through our specialized kicks during one of our practices, and he started just messing around and doing it and became a real weapon and something that we’ve been rehearsing for a while now.”
It’s unusual to see somebody who can do that.
“It is. He’s really talented. Obviously, he can kick right and left, and his ability to play some tricks with the ball, pretty special.”
How did Faizon Brandon play?
“I love that he continued to battle, competed, gets nicked up early in the football game, resilient, comes back, did some things at a really high level. Some throws that he missed, some throws that he didn’t let go, some things that he’s got to learn from and continue to grow in. And he had that mindset today when he came in.”
What stands out about Auburn as preparation begins?
“A football team that’s playing really well. They’re extremely talented, physical on the defensive line, athletic second and third levels. Offensively, a quarterback that’s a dynamic playmaker. He’s going to be a plus one in the run game. So we got to do a great job against him. And they’re making plays out on the perimeter, too.”
What is the challenge for the team coming off its first loss?
“The challenge for our football team is to not let one Saturday affect what happens when we come back into the building on Monday. Whether you win or lose, you’ve got to flush it. As a competitor, everyone around you is going to talk about what happened the previous week or flash forward all the way to the coming Saturday. You’ve got to be in the present. You’ve got to prepare the right way, practice the right way to give yourself a chance to go play the way that we need to.”
How do you keep the offensive struggles a team issue rather than one position group’s?
“In position, in unit and in the team meeting, you got to be real with guys or they’re going to see through that. We addressed the performance holistically, offensively, not up to our standard. Opportunities to go change the game, win the game, even at the end of the game. The five guys up front, yep, they got to play better in the run game and in protection. But it’s all 11 operating together. Quarterback’s got to be a piece of it. The tight end’s got to be a piece of it. Your running backs and wide receivers play a part in it too.”
What did you think of the atmosphere at Neyland Stadium?
“I think administration is going to do half price drinks every ball game. But the atmosphere was electric. I knew it would be. Our fan base is second to none and a great home field advantage all day on Saturday.”
