Josh Heupel shares the key to limiting Jalen Milroe

For all the talk about Tennessee’s offense, it’s the Volunteer defense that has earned some praise as of late. Now, ahead of the third Saturday in October, Josh Heupel will need a great effort from them again in order to go down to Tuscaloosa and slow Alabama QB Jalen Milroe down.

Heupel spoke about what his defense will need to do to contain Milroe during his press conference on Thursday. While he has stepped forward as a passer as of late, his legs remained Heupel’s main focus as he needs the defense to do everything they can to keep Milroe in the pocket.

“You’ve got to have great gap integrity in normal downs,” explained Heupel. “You’ve got to do that in situational football too, in particular in the red zone.”

“It’s not just designed runs for him, too,” Heupel continued. “His ability to escape and make plays with his feet off of dropback is a huge factor in the game too.”

Milroe has been one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation this season.

With his arm, Milroe has thrown for just under 1,400 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four interceptions on 64.4% completion. Those have improved over Alabama’s past month as he has posted 948 passing yards, six touchdowns, and only two picks on a 68.9% completion rate over the Tide’s recent 4-0 stretch, one that came after Milroe found himself on the bench for one contest.

That’s when Milroe’s legs then come into play. Through his six appearances, he has rushed for an average of over 11 times per game for decent yardage as well as five scores total.

Heupel’s defense will need to be ready to adapt on the fly when they face Milroe this weekend. He wants Tennessee to respect him as a passer but to do whatever’s necessary to keep him right where they want him.

“You do have to apply pressure to him, you can’t just sit there at the line of scrimmage. They’ve got good skill out on the perimeter too,” said Heupel. “We’ve got to push the pocket but we can’t let him escape it either.”

Manning on Tennessee vs. Alabama: ‘The series has been so one-sided since 2022’

Peyton Manning had a little fun ahead of the rivalry showdown between Alabama and Tennessee when he appeared on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Thursday.

Alabama had won 15 straight games in the series prior to last season but Manning, who obviously starred for the Vols, only wanted to focus on 2022.

“It’s funny. I mean, I can’t think of the last time Alabama’s beaten us?” Manning joked. “We obviously took care of business last year. The series has been so one-sided since 2022. So I’m gonna tune in Saturday but I think I kind of know what’s going to happen. We’ve kinda had our way with them since 2022.”

Still, Manning expects Alabama to be ready to go after the Vols finally ended the losing streak.

“It’s going to be a dogfight. I mean, Nick Saban, for some reason? I think he remembers that game from last year,” Manning said. “He remembers the pictures of the cigars. I was having one as well in the locker room. It had been a long time since we had had a chance to do that. I know Coach Saban’s going to have those guys ready.”

However, Manning expects Tennessee to be ready to play too and added that Josh Heupel has challenged his team to prove both that it has taken a step forward and that last year’s win wasn’t a fluke.

“I also think Coach Heupel has challenged our team…To be known as a really elite team? We’ve gotta be able to win on the road,” Manning said. “We didn’t do that last year in Athens and in South Carolina. So this is our first big road test. It’s going to be rocking in Tuscaloosa.”