Josh Heupel lauds the Tennessee defense following win at Pitt
There are no questions about the Tennessee offense. Josh Heupel’s up-tempo style has picked right back up where it left off with 93 points through two games. However, it’s the Tennessee defense that will determine how great they can be. Although they bent at times during their game against Pittsburgh, they didn’t break as the Volunteers earned the 34-27 win.
Heupel continued to praise his defense during his Monday press conference. Although he’d like to see more from the secondary, he says the defense’s presence was felt throughout.
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“The havoc numbers from the defensive line and our pressures from the second and third levels showed up,” said Heupel. “There’s some things in coverage that we can tighten down and be better or more disciplined in that are going to force the quarterback to potentially hold on to the ball a little bit longer.”
Tennessee’s defense produced through all four quarters. They finished with 64 tackles, three sacks as a part of five tackles for loss, four pass deflections, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
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It’s not a performance that the Volunteer’s defense would have had against an offense like Pitt a year ago. The Panthers hung 41 just last season on Tennessee in Knoxville. The newfound effort and energy from the defense to start this season, though, has been the difference in Josh Heupel’s eyes.
“The relentlessness, the energy, the strain from our defensive guys that were applying pressure to the quarterback was really strong all four quarters. I think that trumped out and won late in the football game too,” said Heupel. “I was pleased with a lot of what we did.”
Hendon Hooker and the Volunteer offense are going to put up points. They just weren’t always able to win shootouts when they got into them last season because of the defense. Through two games, the defense has made a difference for Tennessee. It got them a win against Pitt this time around and could pay dividends for the Vols as 2022 continues to unfold.