#7/6 Vols Turn Attention to Mississippi State to Cap Homestand

FootballNovember 04, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Another night game is on tap at Neyland Stadium this weekend as No. 7/6 Tennessee caps its four-game homestand by hosting Mississippi State on Saturday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

It will mark the Vols’ final SEC home game of the season and will also serve as this year’s Homecoming Game.

“Another pivotal game on the schedule,” head coach Josh Heupel said on Monday afternoon. “Mississippi State team that’s continuing to get better throughout the course of the season, really in every phase.

“It will be a great environment. Looking forward to seeing our fans. They have been awesome here during this run of home games. Hopefully they rest up and are ready to roll this Saturday too.”

The Big Orange will look to take another step forward offensively after racking up 477 yards in their win over Kentucky last week.

Redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava played a large part in the success against the Wildcats, putting forth his best performance in an SEC game to date with 292 passing yards and a touchdown on a career-high 28 completions.

It was an extremely productive game for UT’s tight ends, as well, with Iamaleava frequently targeting them in the passing game. The group totaled nine receptions for 124 yards in the victory, led by a career-day from Miles Kitselman, who finished with six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

“I think we all did a great job throughout the week of practice last week just building confidence through each rep, getting the ball in our hands and showing Nico that we can be a safe outlet for him whenever he is in trouble. And then when it opens up in the passing game, knowing he can depend on us to throw the ball downfield and we will make a play for him,” said junior tight end Holden Staes, who caught three passes for 27 yards on Saturday.

“I think on Saturday me, (Miles Kitselman) and (Ethan Davis), we all did a great job with that, just being honed in on the details of what goes into each play, and when the ball came out, we each had our opportunities to make plays, and that’s what we did for this offense.”

Videos and quotes from Monday’s availability with Heupel and select players can be seen below.

Head Coach Josh Heupel

Opening statement…
” Hope everybody is doing great. Good luck to Coach Caldwell and Coach Barnes as they get ready to tip off their seasons here in the next couple of days. Looking forward to this Saturday with our team. Last SEC home game for us. Another pivotal game on the schedule. Mississippi State team that’s continuing to get better throughout the course of the season, really in every phase. It will be a great environment. Looking forward to seeing our fans. They have been awesome here during this run of home games. Hopefully they rest up and are ready to roll this Saturday too. Looking forward to this week of preparation and getting ready to go play.”

On Nico Iamaleava’s performance against Kentucky…
“I thought he was really good. Decision-making, eyes. Did some good things controlling the run game too that a lot of people do not see. Made plays as well. There were some really special plays by him during the course of the game. Continued to compete extremely hard, played it independent and just continuing to grow as a player. Really good performance.”

On discussing playoff rankings…
“Playoff rankings at this point do not matter. You do not have control over it. What you have control over is your preparation and how you play. Ultimately, that determines where you are at or where you are not at. For this football team, understanding that we have to continue to grow and get better and control those things that we are in control of. This team has to continue to get better. It will be out on Tuesday night. You remember what the first rankings were last year? I do not either. Does not matter. What they remember is where you finish here as November wraps up.”

On Nico Iamaleava’s impressive third down throws in fourth quarter against Kentucky…
“In those critical moments, him being him. It is needed, but it is also special from a young guy to be able to handle everything that is going on within the scope of the game. That is one of the things that he has done pretty well throughout the course of the season. There are some things that I want back, he wants back. His ability as a young player to go play and be willing to play on the edge — which you have to at that position. It is rare to have a young guy that is able to do that.”

On placekicker Max Gilbert regaining confidence…
“If you have seen me kick, you would know I am probably not the guy to help him with the swing. Max (Gilbert) hit the ball really well the majority of the year. He hits it that way in practice too. For him, resetting from kick to kick, but from week to week too. It is important for him — just like any other player — to have a great week of preparation. I just think from the first kick to the second kick he kind of over-corrected, and kind of did the same thing on the third one too. Go find your groove, hit your sweet spot and go play ball.”

On Peyton Lewis earning more trust from the coaches…
“Young guy. When he came in here, had to have a couple surgeries and was limited during the course of spring ball and some of summer because of that. Kind of built him up throughout the course of training camp as far as the physical part of the game. For a young guy, he is really mature, really consistent in how he practices. Because of that, he has just continued to grow throughout the course of the season. He is a great example of special teams for young guys being an awesome launching point at times. Gain confidence, understand the speed and the flow of the game. He went in the other night, and it was seamless for him.”

On Will Brooks’ instinctive timing…
“I think his growth in the understanding of what we are doing, allowing his physical traits to take over and make some of the plays that he has, it’s tying all of those things in together. Brooks, man, he is one of the hardest workers on the football team, willing to do anything and everything. Previous years, you guys have seen how important he is to the special teams part of it. Guys like that — when they get their opportunity — they typically go take advantage of it like he has up until this point. We are going to need him to continue to make plays as we go down this stretch.”

On the importance of recent success late in the season…
“It helps if our guys approach it the right way. That can happen through any circumstance that you are facing. It comes down to your mental makeup, your competitive nature. Understanding there is an opponent on Saturdays, but the real measuring stick is you are competing against yourself and helping our football team be their best.”

On Nico Iamaleava and Miles Kitselman improvising on their touchdown against Kentucky…
“Players making plays. It was a great job by Nico. Big time play. Understanding all the bodies, where they are at. Having the physical traits, being able to make that play, and then Kitselman being on the same page and making a play.”

On Mississippi State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. …
“I just think he continues to get better in what they are doing. A young player that is continuing to get better but has a good future in front of him. They have some dynamic playmakers on the outside. He has done a good job decision-making and continuing to become more and more accurate and decisive with the football. He is playing really well.”

On tightening up the defense during Saturday’s game…
“It takes all 11. You have to have gap integrity. We got out of gaps a couple times, and that creates the explosive plays that you saw from them. It comes down to communication and everybody being tied in together.”

On his relationship with Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby…
“Knowing Jeff (Lebby) for a long time, dating all the way back to Oklahoma when he was still a student there. Great respect for him, his staff. It is not just Jeff that I know. I know a bunch of their guys. Good people, good coaches and doing a good job down there. So, it will be unique in that I have sat in the staff room with those guys before.”

On improving on the slow starts in the first half…
“Well, we do have to play cleaner football. I told the guys today, ‘Don’t focus on what the result is in the first half you want.’ We want to start fast, obviously, but focus on the details of your job. That comes every day in our practices, our meetings, walkthrough, all of it being tied in together. We need to, we want to start a lot faster than we have here in the last few weeks. We are capable of it. We have to take advantage of things and do the simple things at a high level. In particular, down in the red zone where we have had to kick too many field goals the last few weeks, we have had turnovers, we have gotten behind the chains, things that we control. We have to be better.”

On what makes the red zone difficult offensively and defensively…
“Everything gets tighter down there. Self-inflicted wounds always hurt you, but they hurt you even more down there because the windows are tighter if you are throwing the football. The bodies are tighter in the run game. We have to execute at a higher level, and that is not only third down, but it is third down, first and second down too. It is not major things, major overhauls … Sorry, I paused there just to make sure I was phrasing that the right way. It is really ordinary things, and we can do that. We control that.”

RS-Freshman LB Jalen Smith

On his production in the Kentucky game…
“Just film study. Just making sure that my eyes are correct everywhere and locking in on my keys. Just being prepared really helped and contributed, as well as the D-line playing vertical. They kept me clean all night, so I was able to go make plays.”

On adjusting to the speed of the game in his second year…
“Most definitely. (Keenan Pili), he’s helped me a lot despite his injury. As well as (Arion Carter) and (Jeremiah Telander), we just make sure that everybody’s on the same page, that everybody’s eyes are on the right thing and everyone is locked in on their assignments and preparing the right way.”

On adjusting the linebacker rotation after Keenan Pili’s injury…
“It’s next man up. It’s a tough loss. We all love Keenan, and we all look up to him and respect him, of course. But now that he’s out, we just have to focus on the next man up, and everybody needs to be ready. You never know what can happen.”

Junior TE Holden Staes

On the tight ends’ contributions to the passing game…
“I think we all did a great job throughout the week of practice last week just building confidence through each rep, getting the ball in our hands and showing (Nico Iamaleava) that we can be a safe outlet for him whenever he is in trouble. And then when it opens up in the passing game, knowing he can depend on us to throw the ball downfield and we will make a play for him. I think on Saturday me, (Miles Kitselman) and (Ethan Davis), we all did a great job with that, just being honed in on the details of what goes into each play, and when the ball came out, we each had our opportunities to make plays, and that’s what we did for this offense. So, just going forward, I want to keep doing that for the guys and just building trust with the coaches.”

On being developed at Tennessee…
“I think coming in, I wanted to just be a complete tight end, and I have done that since I have gotten here. I have been developed really well by Coach (Alec Abeln), just demanding a lot of me in the pass game, pass pro game and the run game. As the season has progressed, just taking pride in my job so whatever play comes in, just doing it to the best of my ability. If it’s a pass and they need me to catch the ball, I’ll do it. If it’s a run and I need to open up a seam for the running back, I’m going to do it to the best of my abilities. So, just trying to be an all-around tight end that can help this offense in any way.”

On the tight ends involvement in the passing game…
“Just knowing we have a gunslinger quarterback. I think the biggest thing with our offense is we have so many weapons across the board at receiver, at tight end, at running back. I talked about this a little earlier in the year, but some games you know the ball may not come to you just because we have so many downfield threats, but when the ball does come to you, just let Nico know that you are ready for it and you are going to make a play for him and the rest of the offense. Just being consistent in that regard.”

RS-Junior DB Jakobe Thomas

On being the first player on the field after the Vol Walk…
“I’ve just always dreamed of being here, so I take advantage of every moment I get to be in the stadium as a player. Because I know my time here is short, probably like everyone else’s. Just being able to embrace the environment and watch the stands fill up, it just helps me get my mood and get my mojo going. I don’t like to be dressed up for too long anyways.”

On the similarities between the Mississippi State and Tennessee offense…
“They go fast. They play with tempo, a lot of offenses nowadays play with a lot of tempo, but they try to push the tempo as fast as they possibly can. We have to communicate well as a defense and get back to our home alignments but there’s definitely a lot of similarities. They like their big plays, so we just have to go in this week and prepare right in our home alignments and do the right things and be us.”