Josh Heupel stresses importance of playing smaller schools

Tennessee is fresh off of their 52-49 victory over then-ranked No. 3 Alabama, and has since taken their ranking and sit at the No. 3 spot in the AP Poll for the first time since 2005. The Volunteers will break in their new and improved ranking against a much different opponent this weekend, as they take on FCS team Tennessee Martin. Head coach Josh Heupel spoke about the importance of playing schools like UT Martin ahead of their matchup on Saturday.

“I do think it’s important having been around the game with my dad at a small college to having been at an FCS school,” Heupel said. “These games support their football department, but in some ways support their entire athletic department as it continues to trickle down.”

Heupel’s father Ken was a longtime head coach at Northern State University, and Heupel himself started off his collegiate career at Weber State before transferring to Oklahoma. It is currently unknown how much the Volunteers will be paying to host the Skyhawks, but they did pay their opening day opponent Ball State $1.5 million to pay them in their week one contest, and any dollar amount in the vicinity of that should surely help UT Martin.

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“And I think it is important that these games are played, I think it speaks to the healthiness of football on all levels and I think that’s really important that we balance all those things as we continue to move forward,” Heupel said.

ESPN’s College Football Power Index gives the Volunteers a 99.4% chance of defeating the Skyhawks this weekend, in a matchup that will kickoff this Saturday at noon and will air on SEC Network.

Jabari Small raves about Josh Heupel, his competitive nature

Tennessee‘s 52-49 upset win over Alabama was one of the most thrilling shootouts in recent college football history. The Crimson Tide had an opportunity to break a 49-49 tie and take the lead late, but a missed 50-yard field goal attempt left the Volunteers with the ball on their own 32-yard line with two timeouts and 15 seconds left in the game. Many coaches may have have taken a knee and the game into overtime, but not Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel, which was not a surprise to running back Jabari Small.

“No sir, he’s very very competitive,” Small said. “Very competitive, aggressive, he wants to win, that’s our coach. He’s a winner, very competitive, he doesn’t blink in the heat of the moment, keeps the same poker face. He wants to win so I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Quarterback Hendon Hooker completed two quick passes to set up Tennessee for a 40-yard field goal attempt by kicker Chase McGrath with two seconds left in the ballgame, which he nailed, sending Nayland Stadium into pandemonium as they snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.

The gutsy call by Heupel paid off in a major way for the Vols, and was a true reflection of his competitive coaching style that’s led them to one of the biggest turnarounds in college football the past two seasons.

“Coach Heupel he does a good job of keeping his composure and he has like a natural poker face, so it’s kinda hard to read. But he’s just one of those competitive people, he’s always thinking about the next play or till the clock hits zero, so that’s just the competitive nature he has,” Small said.

Heupel’s competitive nature has already taken the Volunteers to new heights and brought back their winning ways, as they now rank No. 3 in the nation, their highest ranking since 2005. Tennessee’s hot start has been historic, but hopefully for them it’s more than just a start, and they can keep the ball rolling for the remainder of their schedule.