Video: Tennessee coach Josh Heupel talks season-opening win over Virginia
NASHVILLE — Tennessee opened up the 2023 season by soundly defeating Virginia in the mid-state. After the game, Josh Heupel met the media to discuss the win.
“Thanks to Vol Nation for showing up in a big way,” Heupel said. “I believe we set another Nissan Stadium record for attendance. I think that happened the last time that we were here, too. Obviously everybody here understands how important the mid-state, this area, is, first of all, just our fans base, our alumni that are here, but also on the recruiting side of it. So a great, unique opportunity to open it up the way we did this season here in Nashville.”
The Vols got the football to start the game and went on an eight-play, 62-yard touchdown drive taking 2:47 off the clock. Tennessee went for it on fourth-and-five at the Virginia 9-yard line and Joe Milton III threw left to sophomore running back Dylan Sampson, who won the race to the front pylon for the touchdown. Sampson also added two scores on the ground.
Milton ran for multiple scores on the day and Jaylen Wright was special in the running game as he carried Tennessee down the field on several key scoring drives.
Milton would pick up his second touchdown pass on the day he found senior Jacob Warren early in the 4th quarter.
“It’s a really positive win,” Heupel said. “There’s a lot of things to take away from it on the positive side. At the same time, there’s a lot of ways that we can be a whole lot better as a program.”
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Heupel pleased with defensive performance
Tennessee’s defense drew plenty of praise from the head coach and all that watched the game. Sophomore edge James Pearce picked up two first quarter sacks and Tyler Baron added another as the new look Vols defense flashed added depth and plenty of size and speed.
“Defensively, I thought the way that they started in the first half, (the first) three, four possessions for sure on the wrong side of the 50-yard line, (the Tennessee’s defense goes) up immediately and hold them to a total of three points, I believe. I thought our front four did unbelievable job of playing on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
“Thought we tackled well for an opener and did a really good job. On third down, secondary was rock solid early in the football game and that carried over for a majority of the football game.”
What’s Next: After starting the season with the neutral-site game against Virginia, Tennessee opens the home schedule on Saturday against Austin Peay at Neyland Stadium, a 5 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN+/SEC Network+. The SEC schedule opens at Florida on September 16, a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN.
