What Josh Heupel said Monday to start Tennessee-Georgia week

What Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said during his press conference on Monday to start Georgia week, previewing Saturday night’s 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time kickoff (TV: ABC) at Sanford Stadium in Athens:

Opening Statement

“First of all, Veterans Day, just want to say thank you for myself and and really our whole program for all the men and women that have served our country and continue to serve our country. The sacrifices that they make and their families make, I certainly appreciate it by everybody, but certainly everybody inside this program. 

“Turning to the (Georgia) game, obviously getting ready to go play a great opponent. You look at them really in every phase of the football game, extremely talented, coached extremely well. They play hard, they play fundamentally sound. They make extremely well. They play hard. They play fundamentally sound. They make you earn it in every in every way. And one that will be a great, great environment and a great opportunity for everybody inside of this program.” 

The status of Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava

“He was with us today. Had a really good day. Feel like he’ll be in in great shape for Saturday. But you guys can monitor the whatever the report is that comes out on Wednesday and and track it through the week. But certainly feel like he’ll be in a good spot.”

If there’s any value in giving backup QB Gaston Moore reps with the starters this week in practice in case he’s needed at Georgia

“Yeah, Gaston gets reps throughout the course of practice every day, every week. And that’s why he went out and played the way they did too.”

Tennessee wide receiver Dont’e Thornton’s injury status

“Yeah, I feel like Dont’e will be ready to go on this one too, but you can find through the injury report. It starts on Wednesday.”

Tennessee’s run defense the last two games, what coaches are emphasizing after giving up some yards

“Yeah. There are some free yards that, I don’t want say we’ve given away, but like, integrity of the defense, gap sound, guys a little bit out of position, you know, creates some of the vertical seams that the guys have hit us on the last couple of weeks. So it’s really all three levels being tied in together, alignment, assignment, and then other technique.” 

What it means for Tennessee to be able to handle an SEC opponent with a backup quarterback in the game

“It was a big performance as a football team. There’s some things that we got to grow and we’ll be better at. But first half, did a lot of things well. Some red zone things offensively that we obviously got to correct. But look at the second half performance and guys don’t have to continue to compete. Playing smart football for a majority of the the second half. I was proud of of the way they continue to compete. And in this one, I mean, you have to go run everything against them. Offensively, extremely talented, playmakers on the outside, a good offensive line, talented running backs, quarterback is a dynamic player. Defensively, it’s a typical Georgia defense.”

If Tennessee OL Lance Heard starting to find his footing, if coaches have seen that on film

“Yeah, certainly. Lance is a guy that missed a bunch of training camp, missed some practice time in the middle of the season. And as a young player, this is really the first time that he’s been a starter. Second year in college football. Just continues to get better. That’s an understanding of what we’re doing, but also playing with fundamentals and technique.”

Tennessee DB Boo Carter’s performance as punt returner against Mississippi State

“We are comfortable with him. You guys have seen really three different guys back there that have the ability to return for us and we feel comfortable with all of them. I said it after the game, it wasn’t just what Boo did last week. It’s just a culmination of him growing as a young player to gain the trust and that’s not just over a week’s worth of practice, but really an entire month, his consistency and growth.”

Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson’s offseason and mindset allowing him to be such a bell cow back

“It’s all of it. His maturity, the change in the room with the two guys that we lost, his growth physically. All those things play into him being the the guy that can carry the bulk of the load and really him playing the way that he has throughout the course of the year.”

Georgia QB Carson Beck’s struggles as of late

“He’s an extremely talented quarterback. He’s played extremely well throughout the course of the season. He’s the key that turns the ignition for them on the offensive side of the football. Playing quarterback, sometimes what people see isn’t just the quarterback play. It takes all 11 playing together. He’s a really good football player.”

The value of showing a play or formation to make future opponents prepare for it

“At the end of the day, every Saturday is a new season. You can look at the scores every week, and you can see that play out. So it’s all about putting your guys in the best position to be successful.”

Tennessee RB Cam Seldon’s season with inconsistent playing time

“It’s just, as a young guy who’s had to battle through some injuries. Early in spring ball, limited in some of what he was able to do. During the course of training camp, built his load and kind of got nicked up in the middle part of it. Missed some time.He’s just a young player who’s gonna continue to get better. I love his attitude, his effort, his want to. He’s a guy that’s always in here watching extra films. He’s got a great future in front of him. He’s just gotta continue to chase it.”

How much more prepared the Tennessee program is to play in a game this magnitude then they were in 2022

“More prepared. We’ve been in all of our systems longer. This football game is different than the last one. Still facing a great opponent, and you got to handle everything that comes with being in a game like this. And you earn the right to play in big football games by what you do during the course of the season. And some of the things that didn’t go well last time were a direct reflection of who we were playing. Some of it was some things that we can control too. And in these games, you got to do ordinary things at a really high level consistently. For us, that means you got to prepare at an elite level. You got to practice really well and put yourself in a position to go play good football.”

If he leans into every day being the same or if he emphasizes that this is a big week to his team

“Every week, you have the opportunity to play the biggest game this season. It’s the only one that’s on your schedule. We’re in the arena— coaches, players, and you better be in the present. So that’s what we focus on no matter who the opponent is. We understand the quality of the opponent that we’re playing this week.”

If he had that mindset as a player or if it evolved 

“I am focused on the here and now. I was around the game long enough to understand that, you know, what people are talking about in the past or in the future, that’s not controlling what you can control. Your preparation in practice matters so you’re ready to go play this game Saturday night.”

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia winning his case against the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility, would Tennessee consider doing the same for tight end Miles Kitselman

“Man, I had no idea that lawsuit was going on. So I’ll refer to compliance and my meeting with them here in the near future, and I’ll get back to you on that.”

The physicality of Tennessee’s wide receivers this season and how important that will be against Georgia

“When you’re playing a good football team, everybody talks about physicality and the line of scrimmage, and that is always true in this league, but you better be physical out on the perimeter, too. Our guys have done a good job within the scope of what we’re asking them to do, to play the fundamentals, play hard, and to block when they need to.”

Georgia’s defense

“Well, it starts with their personnel because they have really good personnel. First level, second level, third level. They create pressure with their front four. They do it out of their pressure packages. They’re able to mix up their looks on the back end, so you gotta recognize what’s going on out on the perimeter. Quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends, they all gotta be on the same page. You gotta do a great job in protection, but it starts with having the ability to run the football, too. If you’re one dimensional, they’re gonna make it real tough on you all night long.”

The biggest area of growth for Tennessee freshman running back Peyton Lewis since the start of fall camp

“I just think complete understanding of what we’re doing, understanding how to play with pad level. The jump from high school to college football, and playing college football inside this league, is dramatically different. He’s a guy that continues to grow every single day. He has been really reliable for a young guy who’s gone in. You see that on offense, but he’s done a great job on special teams, too.”

If he’s surprised how quickly Tennessee DB Jermod McCoy has produced after transferring from Oregon State over the offseason

“We expected him to come in and play extremely well. He had shown that on tape against good competition. (He) has athletic traits, his mind for the game and ability to soak up information and grow every single day. So we expected him to play at a really high level, but love what he’s done and how he’s computed this fall.”