Josh Heupel breaks down Tennessee's defensive effort against Texas A&M
In a low-scoring contest vs. Texas A&M, head coach Josh Heupel was thrilled to see Tennessee’s defense step up and help secure the win.
Following the game, he commented that the unit was lights-out after the very first drive of the game, where they gave up a long touchdown drive to the Aggies. However, the Vols only allowed a pair of field goals after that.
“You know, really the first drive, after that they played really pretty dialed in football, man,” said Heupel when asked about the defense. “Gap integrity, did a good job in the run game, got after the quarterback. The mixture of our coverages. We were in the right place at the right time.”
Sure, there were a few explosive plays even after the first drive. But in total, the UT defense came up big every time they needed to.
“They hit a couple of play actions. But all in all, man, just the physicality, the effort, the strain and playing smart football, you put that together and it’s a great performance by those guys today. Man, great performance.”
For Heupel and the Vols, such a low-scoring rock fight is a stark contrast from the shootouts they’re used to. But hey, the Tennessee head coach will take SEC wins any way he can get them.
“I can’t remember a lot of that. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in one of these. And I’m good with it. I like coming out on the right side of it,” said Heupel when asked about the nature of the game.
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“Obviously, offensively, want to be more efficient when we can be, but I’ve said it from when I got here, the expectation, the standard is to play elite defense here. Not just good defense. This is the home of Eric Berry, Al Wilson, Reggie White, the standard is to be elite.”
Heupel then admitted that perhaps the Tennessee defense wasn’t in the greatest shape when he initially arrived on campus but the unit is certainly coming along now.
“And when I got here, we were devastated on the other side of the defense side of the football, just with things that were outside of our control. We continued to build it. From scheme, understanding the scheme to recruiting guys, the depth on the defense side of the football. We’re just getting started as to what we will be on that side week in and week out. But I love the performance of those guys tonight.”
Last Saturday’s big step forward on defense could be a sign of the stronger defensive program as a whole that the Vols will become.