What Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said about Texas A&M during Monday's press conference

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel met with reporters for his weekly Monday press conference, previewing the 19th-ranked Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) hosting Texas A&M (4-2, 2-1) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS) at Neyland Stadium:

Opening Statement 

“Last week was a good week, (a good) opportunity to get some work in on the field at the same time, get some guys healthy here. I think everybody enjoyed their weekend off coach had a big week recruiting on Thursday and Friday, so a lot of good work there. This is a big football game that’s coming up (against Texas A&M), a really good football team that we’re playing. Checker Neyland, excited to see all of our fans in the atmosphere Saturday afternoon. I know our guys and our staff are ready to get back on the field.

“Really good football team we’re playing. You look at them, really in all three phases of the game, they have scheme and players that can change the way the game’s played defensively, playing as good as anybody in the country. Offensively, a veteran quarterback and skilled players that can make a bunch of plays. And on special teams, extremely dangerous as well. 

“We also get a chance to welcome Eric Berry back here. Two-time All American guy that’s gonna be inducted into the Hall of Fame here later this year. Guy that represents everything that’s good about about Tennessee football, and excited to have him back here home.”

If Dont’e Thornton can play Tennessee’s outside wide receiver position

“Yeah, he can … we’ll see as he gets back on the field this week. He’s worked at both spots.”

The keys to Tennessee having success against Texas A&M’s run defense

“They’re good at stopping the run. They’re good at getting after for the quarterback too. First of all, they got really good skill. And when I say that, probably about the big scale up front too. They’re physical, they’re dynamic, they’re thick, they play strong. They’re multiple up front. They’ve created a bunch of negative yardage plays in the run game and that’s giving them the ability to go get after the quarterback. Second-and-long, third-and-long, too. So you gotta do a great job in communication. You gotta win some one-on-ones when you’re in a one-on-one. Your double team’s gotta be good enough to change the way the line of scrimmage looks too. So (it’s a) big test for us upfront and across the board.”

What a Bobby Petrino offense looks like at Texas A&M in his first season as offensive coordinator 

“Well, first of all, I’ve said already they got really good personnel. Quarterback is a smart decision maker. He’s able to extend and make some plays with his arm. But he’s always got some balance in what he does too. So we gotta do a good job of the run game and be able to handle all the different pass concepts that you gonna see from him.”

How Tennessee wide receivers Kaleb Webb, Chaz Nimrod and Dont’e Thornton are different than Bru McCoy

“Yeah, the offense won’t really change. Those guys have been involved in perimeter screens where they’re the ball carrier. They’ve been involved with their blocker. Offensively, we feel good about their development. They got a practice where we’ll prepare well and get themselves in a position to go play well. We certainly expect that from them and I know they’re excited about the opportunity.”

If he expects to settle on one player to replace Bru McCoy or if it will be a rotation of Tennessee wide receivers 

“I expect all of them to play at a high level. We’re gonna need all of those guys. That’ll be through the course of Saturday, but also throughout the course of the season. So I expect to see all those guys.”

How Tennessee’s tight ends (Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles) can help make up for the loss of Bru McCoy and how Castles can get back on track after struggles vs. South Carolina

“Bounce back. Don’t let one one play affect another play. Being able to reset is extremely important at every position. When you’re a competitor, you’re gonna play for 60 minutes. Not every play is going to go your way on Saturday. Don’t expect our guys to play perfect. We strive for it, but that’s just not the nature of this game. There’s good players on the other side. They got coaches that are scheming it too, so it’s not gonna be perfect. Understand that reset and go play as hard as you can from snap to whistle. Cali will do that, man. He’s a a really good player. So the tight ends, yeah, they’ll be a part of what we do in the passing game. Need them to continue to come on. They’ve created some big plays. Some big plays that we’re close on, too, with them. So they’ll be a factor game.”

Texas A&M quarterback Max Johnson having to take over for Connor Weigman after Weigman’s injury, the difference in the two players

“Not a ton of difference. Both of them were able to extend and make plays. I don’t think they philosophically have changed what they’re doing. Max’s guys played a lot of football, played in a lot of different environments, does a really good job of taking care of football. He has the ability to extend and make plays and throw the football down the field when the play breaks down or when he is got pressure on him. So we gotta do a great job of matching guys out out on the perimeter.”

Jacob Warren being on pace to produce more than he did last season and if that’s his improvement over the offseason or the ball finding him more this season 

“Sometimes it can just be the ball finding him, based on the coverages that you’re seeing. But I also think Jacob has developed as a dynamic leader for us on the offensive side of the football. He’s had continued physical development, which has allowed him to play his best football that he has up until now. Fundamentally, that’s in the pass game, but it’s also what he’s doing inside of the core too. And the run game has been really good.”

The importance of the bye week for players dealing with injuries like corner Doneiko Slaughter

“Yeah, important for Doneiko, important for some other guys. Inevitably in this game and certainly in this league, it’s a physical battle every time you’re on the football field. So Doneiko, we anticipate (him) being ready to play. Again, he’s gotta go through the week and be in the right position, but anticipate that happening.”