KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 15/15 Tennessee is expecting and preparing for a typical knockdown, drag out SEC battle this Saturday afternoon when it squares off against No. 6/3 Georgia inside of a sold-out Neyland Stadium (3:30 p.m. on ABC).
The Vols know they will encounter their toughest test yet when it comes to facing off against the Bulldogs’ stout defense that is consistently one of the most physical units in the country and features playmakers at all three levels.
“They are extremely physical as a football team, they’re well coached across the board, but the line of scrimmage, the combination of those things with their skill sets, their talent and the athletic traits that they have, I think it’s a combination of all those parts,” head coach Josh Heupel said during his Monday press conference.
Led by quarterback Joey Aguilar, UT’s offense will look to keep its hot start to the season going this weekend. The Vols enter the contest ranked second nationally in total offense (605.0 ypg) and fourth in the FBS in scoring (58.5 ppg) following a record-setting performance in a 72-17 victory over ETSU last weekend.
“We do a really good job putting pressure on our guys in practice. We do a really good job of making our guys uncomfortable in practice, that way game day feels like it’s easier,” wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope said while meeting with the media following Tuesday’s practice.
“I think that with the DBs we go against in practice, the way we challenge these guys in practice – with the tempo, with the urgency, the focus – I think all of that stuff has to get you prepared for game day,” Pope added.
The full transcript from Pope’s Tuesday press conference can be seen below.
Wide Receivers Coach Kelsey Pope Transcript
On the challenge for his wide receivers against the Georgia defense…
“I think they try to throw a lot at you on the back end. Normal downs, they play a bunch of different coverages. You’ll see some two-man, you’ll see some two, you’ll see one-one blitz, cover three, quarters, like they do everything, right? What we have to focus on is just working on our technique, make sure we are getting to the line, getting the pre-snap plan and just being able to go operate after that. A good thing about practicing the way we practice, our defense throws a lot at us too, so we are kind of used to that type of volume; seeing different looks and being able to ID it on the fly. It’s just about going to go battle every snap, operating with technique, and going to win one on one matchups.”
On if the Georgia defense is more physically or mentally challenging…
“I think the challenge is always in practice. We do a really good job putting pressure on our guys in practice. We do a really good job of making our guys uncomfortable in practice, that way game day feels like it’s easier. I think that with the DBs we go against in practice, the way we challenge these guys in practice – with the tempo, with the urgency, the focus – I think all of that stuff has to get you prepared for game day, and you have to put stress on these guys. And I think ultimately if you do that, game day feels like a breeze. That’s been our model, and we are going to continue to go with it.”
On the challenge of some players and coaches not playing against Georgia before…
“We face good secondaries. You know this team is a really good team, but we have faced good secondaries before. I think part of playing a good opponent is you have to understand your opponent, but you can’t give them too much credit either. If we go out and do us, if we go out and compete, if we go out and execute the way we are supposed to execute, we will get the results we want.”
On Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley playing with a chip on their shoulder…
“I think they all have chips on their shoulders. I think they all keep receipts. They have heard some of the stuff like we all have, but that’s the good thing about being an athlete, is you can channel that stuff the right way. In the end, you can have the world in your hands. You can have the last say so, and I think those guys are very in tune with that and channeling it the right way, which is in practice with the way they work and the way they prepare in the building. We just have to keep doing that to build consistency. That’s what we are looking forward to now. We don’t want to be one-hit wonders. We don’t want to have a few good games. We have to build consistency in order to be a real, elite offense.”
On Chris Brazzell II’s productivity and growth…
“I think he’s grown up some. I think that room has benefited each and every one of those guys. It starts with Chris, it starts with (Mike Matthews), it starts with (Braylon Staley). Even the young guys, right? (Travis Smith Jr.), (Radarious Jackson), (Joakim Dodson), some of those guys coming in the room. They’re setting the standard every day, and I think that creates competition. What you see is guys can’t take plays off, they can’t take days off. So naturally, you just get almost an environment of excellence that they’re trying to achieve daily. Even when they don’t meet it, they still know the things that they need to get better at. They’re aware of it. As long as they’re chasing, I think we put ourselves in a spot to go be successful.”
On Joey Aguilar’s relationship with the wide receiver room…
“It’s awesome. Joey is a people-person. He does a really good job, even back to the summer and spring, of spending time with those guys. I can’t tell you how many times we leave a meeting — I tend to go over in the receiver meetings, we tend to stay longer — and the guys are like ‘Coach we have to go, we have dinner with Joey,’ which is kind of cool to see. He’s poured into those guys, and he is very emotionally adapted to who they are. He understands how to get on to each guy, which sometimes is in different ways, but he’s very emotionally intelligent when it comes to talking to those guys and pouring into them. Which at the quarterback position, you have to have because you have a lot of personality for the most part in wideouts. You have to know how to deal with those guys and which buttons to push in order to get the most out of them. Hats off to him, he’s done a great job of not only investing, but studying and learning those guys to be able to get the most out of them. They want to go play hard for him, which you guys saw on Saturday.”
On his takeaways from Radarius Jackson, Travis Smith Jr., and Joakim Dodson’s performance vs. ETSU…
“You saw a different array from a couple of those guys. Like Radarious, you saw him make a couple big grabs, huge grabs. Travis played hard in the run game. He didn’t get as many looks or as many touches, but I thought he graded out well. Joakim is still coming along as well, with him getting here in the summer. He’s done a good job of adapting and kind of carrying that week-to-week. He’s done a good job of coming along in such a short amount of time also.”
On Chris Brazzell II’s comfort level in his second year in the offense…
“I think year two is always easier in any realm. Chris obviously didn’t go in fall camp because he was being held out dealing with injury, but what he’s done sense he’s been back is just operating with urgency. He’s been in the building, and he’s giving himself a shot. With that kid, a lot of times when he prepares and on Saturdays, when he’s able to just play and not have to think, you get the best version of him. We’ll continue that model and that routine. For him, it’s just continuing to prepare and keeping his routine the same. I think he’ll be able to play loose and continue to make plays.”
On the early explosiveness from his receivers…
“I think early in the season, it’s twofold, right? You enjoy seeing the success, but too much of that enjoyment can stunt your growth. On the other hand, I think the kids need to see success because it creates a buy-in that helps you create that consistency down the road. Obviously we enjoy seeing it, but I enjoy seeing it because now, I know for sure that there’s a buy-in. What we have to do, like I continue to preach, it has to be consistent. It has to be day-in and day-out, week-in and week-out, and we can’t get away from our routine, our habits and our details.”
On Mike Matthews and Chris Brazzell II’s confidence after performing well against ETSU…
“I think it’s huge. Playing this position is 99 percent confidence. There’s a lot of wide receivers around the country that make a ton of plays, and it’s because of confidence. As a coach, you have to understand that. We were up by a hefty amount, but for me, having those guys operate and finish that game going out on a high. I think that’s crucial, especially going into a conference game. Not that you’re trying to get away from whatever the mission is, but if you have receivers playing confident, you have your quarterback playing confident, I think you have a shot to be really good on offense in any league, anywhere. You look at the opposite; when they aren’t confident, I think that shows also. So, I think being in the receiver room, it’s all about how do I get these guys confident? How do I keep them urgent, and how do I keep those guys detailed? I think if you can check off those three boxes, you have a shot to have a good room.”
