Everything Josh Heupel said on Monday to start Arkansas week

Everything Tennessee Football coach Josh Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday as the fourth-ranked Vols begin preparations for the trip to Arkansas Saturday night (7:30 Eastern Time, ABC) at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium:

Opening Statement

“Good afternoon, everybody. Good to see everybody again. First, just with the weather that that came through this region, just want to convey our thoughts and prayers going out to everybody. Everybody that is dealing with loss of power, loss of loved ones. So much damage was created here, certainly in this footprint. And so our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody. And again, hopefully everybody gets back to normal as quickly as possible.

“For us, guys got back in the building today, had good work out on the grass as we push forward to get ready for Arkansas. First of all, I know it’s going to be a great environment there. This is a really good football team. There are a couple plays away from being undefeated. You look at the way that they played this past weekend, they’re playing extremely physical, both sides of the line with scrimmage. Defensively, one of the best teams in in the country. And offensively, they’re rushing the football about as good as anybody. And they’ve created plays on special teams. So a huge test for us this week to prepare the right way and get ready to go play our best football.”

If Tennessee accomplished what it wanted to during the bye week

“Yeah, I thought the guys in the middle of the week worked extremely hard. They were intentional in the way that we went into meetings, trying to improve upon some of the things that we need to in all three phases of the game. Practice was really crisp. And the weekend off got them a chance to physically continue to heal up as we get ready for this week. Mentally, they get a little bit of a break as well. So all in all, really good.”

What makes the Arkansas defense so effective, playing aggressive and forcing nine turnovers so far

“Well that’s the first part. They create a bunch of turnovers. I think they play extremely hard. All three levels of the defense are tied in on the run game. They’ve done a really good job against the rush. They’ve done a really good job on third downs, too. They make it difficult to go create and pick up first downs and create explosive plays.” 

How Tennessee’s depth played out during the first four games compared to how they viewed it in the preseason

“I feel like the guys that have been playing have continued to grow up. There’s obviously areas that we need to continue to improve on. That is everybody that is stepping on the field. I think the rotation has helped us on both sides of the football. And got a lot of young guys who are playing a lot of meaningful snaps on special teams. I think those guys continue to improve. As the season goes on, man, you never know when your opportunity’s going to come. You’re going to get thrust into the middle of it. So continuing to prepare the right way, and this team’s had that right mindset. And that depth is important as you go through this conference schedule.” 

How Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson has grown as a physical, every down runner

“First of all, he’s always been an elite competitor, been able to reset and go play the next play. I do think his off season this year, continuing to add size and strength to his frame has allowed him to handle a situation a little bit different than his freshman year would’ve played out. But he’s got great trust in the guys in front of him. We have great trust in him. And on that drive (when he ran eight straight times against Oklahoma), obviously he was a difference maker during the course of that drive.”

Finding the right balance as a player between confidence and knowing there’s more improving to do

“The right place to be is right here, right now. Being in the present, you can look at the scoreboard from this past weekend and really every weekend across America, you have to be an elite competitor every single day. You got to prepare the right way. That’s why it’s important that you have a routine. You have to practice with great urgency. You got to finish the week the right way. You got to have the same competitive makeup, the same competitive DNA every single day and you have to show up when you buckle your chinstrap and the ball gets teed up. You better have that on game day too. Otherwise the separation in this game, it’s really tough. They got scholarships, they got really good coaches too. The separation inside of this league is, they’re small margins. You got to win in the margins in this league.”

The challenges Arkansas’ quarterback Taylen Green, the Razorbacks offense presents

“Dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands. That’s quarterback design, quarterback runs, it’s read game, which can be first or second level reads for him. It’s when plays break down, he’s got the ability to escape, out run people, get outside of the pocket and make plays. Anytime you’re facing a quarterback that’s that dynamic, that is where the game starts for you defensively. You got to, on pass plays, push the pocket but you can’t let him escape and the quarterback run game. You better have your eyes on the right place, play the play based off of what you’re seeing the right way and then be in a fundamental position to squeeze and go make the play.”

What he was able to do with family during the open weekend

“Yeah, the weather didn’t cooperate quite the way I would’ve liked to, but got a chance on Saturday, spend a bunch of time with my kids and wife. Played catch and watched a couple of games and had a great weekend with them.”

Where he has see Nico Iamaleava improve during the first month of the season and what are some steps he would like to see him take

“Yeah, continued growth, taking care of the football. It’s presented itself different ways. At the end of the day he’s gotta make it right and at times that means not turning a negative play into one that that kicks us in the butt. It’s okay in some of those situations to go punt the football. He’s got really good command and understanding of what we’re doing, seeing different structures than what we’ve seen during the course of the week on film, being able to adjust during the course of the game. Love a lot of what we’ve seen. The great thing about him at this point is his great competitive composure. Goes and plays the next play independent and free. He’s handled himself well on the road. He and the offense have some areas that we can continue to grow in that area. That will be another big challenge with this football game as we head to Fayetteville and understand the type of environment we’re gonna get ready to go play in.”

How important players like Keenan Pili are when going up against a mobile quarterback

“All three levels of the defense gotta be tied in together. Your first and second level in particular, guys do a great job of bottling him up in the run game, but when he drops back in pass, rush integrity, and that can be off your pressures, it can be off your twist game, it can just be a base four-man rush. You gotta push the pocket, you gotta make him uncomfortable. At the same time, you gotta keep him bottled up.”

How he would like to see offensive lineman Larry Johnson III build off his performance in the Oklahoma game

“Yeah, there’s some things that he did at a really high level, but just like any young player, you take those experiences, the snaps that you get, ‘how can I be better?’ And that can be in the pass game, it can be in our run game. Continued growth from those guys. You know, some of the successes, some of the things that maybe he didn’t do at a really high level on certain plays. It’s all 11 guys operating as one. It can be communication, it can be bumping off twists, whatever it is. All 11 of ’em gotta operate as one.”

What makes the Arkansas running game so effective

“Their offensive line’s playing at a high level, but he’s got the ability to make the numbers right for them. Anytime the quarterback run game’s a part of it, you get a chance to make the numbers right and so you gotta play gap integrity, assignment sound, but then you also gotta destruct blocks to get off and go make a play. His speed, how dynamic of a player he is makes that a difficult thing to do. ‘Cause he’s got the ability at times to just outrun the defender.”