KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The third-ranked Tennessee Volunteers returned to Anderson Training Center Monday morning and kicked off the week of practice with a prime-time battle against No. 19/17 Kentucky looming on Saturday, October 29, at Neyland Stadium.
It was a team effort for the Volunteers (7-0, 3-0 SEC) in their last game against UT Martin. Eighty-six different student-athletes took the field for the Big Orange while six freshmen made their collegiate debuts against the Skyhawks. The record-breaking offense did what it does best: break records, shattering the record for points scored in a half in the modern era (1933-present) with 52 in the first two quarters.
Hendon Hooker set a record himself, passing for a touchdown in his 19th consecutive game, surpassing Heath Shuler’s previous high-water mark of 18 in a row from 1992-1994. Hooker spoke to local media Monday afternoon and discussed what has allowed the passing attack to be so dynamic this season.
“Battling through different adversities, being on the same page and having chemistry and gelling, all that comes into play through the time we spent this offseason,” Hooker said, speaking about how he has connected so well with each of his receivers this season. “How much more work we have put in this offseason, knowing and being more comfortable in this offense and knowing what the coaches want to see in different situations has definitely benefited us.”
Head coach Josh Heupel also stepped up to the podium and discussed how his group has been able to lean on its leaders to continue the daily growth and preparation the Tennessee ball coach has emphasized day-in and day-out.
“We’re still in the beginning stages of this journey, really the halfway point,” Heupel said. “For us, the preparation, being real with each other, competing every day is going to be critical. It’s critical today, this morning. It’s critical tomorrow when we get back out on the grass. So far, these guys have handled it the right way. There are still things that we pointed out today, not just on the field performance, but in our preparation that can be better. Accountability to one another in this program is going to be important as we keep going.”
Being at Tennessee, Heupel has been able to see the passion and excitement the fan base has towards every single game. In the Southeastern Conference, every game means something, if not more. Each game has a different meaning to a different person, and that makes each week exciting, the stakes that are on the line each and every game.
“You talk to different generations of Tennessee fans, and you’re going to get a different answer as far as what the big game is,” Heupel said, discussing this week’s showdown with Kentucky. “Certainly, neighboring states here, this is a big football game. I think it’s unique that there are so many of them that get circled by the fanbase. It’s a great thing about being here, is that you’re going to play in a bunch of big games.”
The Vols will be back at it tomorrow at Haslam Field. Tennessee and Kentucky (5-2, 2-2 SEC) are set to square off at 7 p.m. ET inside of Neyland Stadium on ESPN. Tickets to the contest are sold out.
A full transcript of coach Josh Heupel and redshirt-senior quarterback Hendon Hooker can be found below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“Good afternoon, hope everybody is doing great. Big ball game this Saturday, really good opponent. They play well in all three phases of the game. The next part of this journey for us is a big one. Got started with our preparation this morning. Unique in this one that they (Kentucky) have had two weeks of preparation. Our players got to have a real sense of urgency here this week and get prepared to go play our best football. Obviously, coming off of Saturday’s performance, there were a lot of really good things. There are some things we have to clean up, too. Our players got a chance to see that and talk through it this morning, in particular, our young guys that got action in the second half just continuing to grow as go through this and being ready to play when their opportunity comes.”
On last year’s win over Kentucky and if teams have a psychological hurdle they need to clean to be successful in big games…
“I don’t believe that there was a psychological hurdle that our program had to get over. It was a preparation/performance hurdle that we had to get over. That was a big win for us as a program to be able to go do that on the road. You saw the excitement from our players at the end of that ball game just as we were beginning that journey last year. It was one of the steps, one of the hurdles for us to prepare the right way, practice the right way and then go out and execute. It led us to play the way we did on the back half of the season.”
On the status of Cedric Tillman and Jaylen McCollough….
“Cedric (Tillman), we’ll continue to evaluate here as he goes through practices this week. Jaylen (McCollough), you guys saw that the campus part of his process is complete and so now it is just the other part of the process.”
On if he’s been surprised by his team’s ability to stay focused and block out the outside noise when they’ve never been in this position…
“Up until this point, absolutely. We’re still in the beginning stages of this journey, really the halfway point. For us, the preparation, being real with each other, competing every day is going to be critical. It’s critical today, this morning. It’s critical tomorrow when we get back out on the grass. So far, these guys have handled it the right way. There are still things that we pointed out today, not just on the field performance, but in our preparation that can be better. Accountability to one another in this program is going to be important as we keep going.”
On team leaders being even keeled and if that’s led to success in big games this season…
“Well, I just think the leadership from our football team and the guys that we have that have grown since we’ve gotten here over the last 20 months – their ability to put in work, see that work pays off, the ability to reset, is an area that when we got here, we had to grow in, one that we have grown in. You guys have heard me say this a bunch. The leadership within your locker room is really, really important and for those guys to grab ahold and not be satisfied with where we are, what we have done, but in sports it’s all about your next performance. That determines who you are and what you’re about. We are excited for this one on Saturday.”
On if any younger players gained more of his trust after playing on Saturday …
“There were a lot of guys that did a lot of positive things. I wouldn’t want to just point at one guy. On offense, defense, special teams, guys that had opportunities that performed well. The challenge is still to continue to grow, and you’ve heard me say this, good teams get better individually. That’s the challenge too. For us this week, looking back on last season’s performance, you see guys out there and it’s dramatic to see the improvement. And that can be from Hendon Hooker, it can be from Jalin Hyatt, from guys on your defensive line, Omari Thomas, just continuing to push and get better. Then when you get your opportunity, you take advantage of it.”
On how the coaching staff applies analytics to their game strategy…
“For us during our gameday meetings – as a staff, offense, defense, special teams, understanding the game plan. How we see things possibly unfolding, situations that we would potentially be in, trying to talk through those things. Analytics is a part of the game. I think there’s still a feel, an eb and flow to every football game too, that for me, is important to have a feel for during the course of it.”
On what he sees from Chris Rodriguez and what he’s added to Kentucky’s offense since returning…
“(He’s) dynamic and (has) the ability to do a really good job with the ball in his hands. For them offensively, I think it’s unique in that the tempo of play is so dramatic between the two offenses. It’s a different style of football game. Understanding that (there will be) limited opportunities for us, and I’m saying that just the number of possessions that will be in this football game. So, it’s something that as a football program we’ve got to understand going into this one too.”
On what the biggest difference is between this year and last years’ offensive line…
“Just a year within what we’re doing. We’ve had consistency at the offensive line position. We’ve had a couple of guys who have been in and out, but everybody has been playing their natural position as far as what they trained in during training camp and spring ball, continuity up front, a year of growth and understanding of what we’re doing from Coach (Glen) Elarbee and their communication. They continue to get better fundamentally and that’s allowed them to play at a really high level. That’s pass protection, obviously, trying to keep Hendon (Hooker) clean and then what we’re doing running the football.”
On Jerome Carvin’s growth as well as the entire offensive line …
“A ton of growth for him. Just continuing to physically change his body, allowing him to play in a better football position consistently, which allows him to play with better technique for an entire football game. He’s one of the great leaders inside of that room. It’s a group that’s really tight. They like being around each other, like hanging out together. They compete well together. They push each other during the course of practice. That group, just another year of maturity in what we’re doing. From Coop (Cooper Mays) to Jerome (Carvin) to Darnell (Wright), (Javontez) Spraggins, they’ve all taken huge strides.”
On wearing Summitt Blue accessories last weekend…
“Just the unique opportunity. 50th anniversary of Title IX and all the opportunities that’s afforded young women. I’m a dad and got a daughter and want her to have every opportunity to do everything that she dreams of. And certainly here, on the University of Tennessee campus, Pat Summitt’s influence and what she accomplished and achieved – her legacy that still lives on in women’s sports, but certainly here on campus from what she meant to Tennessee fans all over the country – it was just an opportunity to celebrate those things.”
On if there is an update on QB Tayven Jackson’s injury…
“Tayven (Jackson) won’t be available this week. He’ll be out.”
On the challenges Kentucky QB Will Levis presents…
“Smart, understands offensively what they’re doing. Really good decision maker. Ability to push the ball vertically and horizontally. Accurate with the football. Mature player, he’s played a bunch of football. Everything kind of runs through him. He does a lot of checks at the line of scrimmage, I think in their run game too, and puts them in the right position.”
On the offensive line’s confidence in short-yardage situations…
“We have been successful. You don’t ever take that for granted here, as we continue on the back half of the season. It’s a sense of pride for those guys. They want to be able to run the football. Obviously, a majority of the time, that’s what you end up doing in those situations. You have to create movement and win on single blocks, but double teams too. Those guys have been really good in that situation here.”
On Elijah Simmons’ injury status…
“We’ll see throughout the course of the week, but I think he’ll be available.”
On what Kentucky does defensively to create problems…
“They’re really good. Top-15 (total) defense, top-10 scoring (defense). They are multiple in their fronts, multiple in their coverages. For all those reasons, you have to have great communication in your pass protection and your run game. As a quarterback, you have to do a great job of seeing rotations. We have to do a great job of winning up front, and then go out on the outside and win some one-on-ones too. That’ll be important throughout the course of the game.”
On position groups that have been most improved…
“I wouldn’t single out one or two position groups. I think as a football team we continue to get better week by week.”
On Kamal Hadden’s availability…
“All the guys that were nicked up, we’ll find out their availability here on the back end of the week. Should have just said that at the beginning.”
On importance of being physical against a Mark Stoops coached team…
“The line of scrimmage is something that we talk about winning every single week. Both sides of the line of scrimmage, defensively and offensively. Certainly, important in this one too. They are a physical football team style of play. Multiple personnel groupings, getting into heavy sets, heavy run game and heavy play action off of it to create a bunch of big plays. I think they’re second in the league in big plays through the air. Something that we have to do a great job of handling. You can’t let them be efficient on early downs and play from ahead of the sticks.”
On uniqueness of Tennessee having so many rivalry games…
“It is (unique). You talk to different generations of Tennessee fans, and you’re going to get a different answer as far as what the big game is. Certainly, neighboring states here, this is a big football game. I think it’s unique that there are so many of them that get circled by the fanbase. It’s a great thing about being here, is that you’re going to play in a bunch of big games.”
RS-Senior QB Hendon Hooker
On facing a highly touted quarterback on the other sideline…
“Yeah, the quarterback community is worldwide. It is always cool to interact with the quarterbacks in the pregame or postgame, whatever it may be and kind of chop it up with them and see what they are thinking and vice versa. It is always a blessing to just be a part of the quarterback community.”
On whether he has seen other defenses change what they do with him and his receivers…
“Yeah, many times we come out, for example this past weekend, they came out and ran a lot of Cover 0 and mixed in some Cover 2 in there. We were not really expecting that, but we were expecting a lot of pressure. There have been plenty of times that we come out and there are looks we don’t expect, and we just go out there and play our game. We come back to the sideline and communicate with the coaches up top and watch our game plan and move on from there.”
On what he has seen from Kentucky defensively so far…
“Yeah, they look good up front. They have some young guys up there but are very fast at the back end. They have some experience with corners and safeties. You know, usually we see them kind of drop out in a lot of coverage, in previous years, but they are bringing more pressure this year. So, excited to go out there and compete at a high level.”
On how much more complex they are on the passing game this year…
“I think just us having some processes that we have been through this past year, and we have encountered this year that we known how to handle. Battling through different adversities, being on the same page and having chemistry and gelling, all that comes into play through the time we spent this offseason. How much more work we have put in this offseason knowing and being more comfortable in this offense and knowing what the coaches want to see in different situations has definitely benefited us.”
On how the pressure mounts how do they use that to their advantage…
“Just keeping the main thing the main thing, and that is winning ballgames. How we win ballgames is how we prepare. Preparing at a high level and being able to come into the meeting room and lock in and be able to communicate with coaches and players about the looks we are getting and how we want to accomplish different plays. It is something that we and pride ourselves in. If we are being perfect – you will never be perfect but getting close to that is what we strive to do.”
-UT Athletics
