University of Tennessee Athletics
Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Heupel, Vols Making Final Preparations For Road Trip to No. 4 Alabama
October 21, 2021 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel gets his first taste of the rivalry with No. 4 Alabama on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa as his Volunteers completed their Thursday walk through and prepare for their final practice on Friday at Haslam Field.
"I'm excited that we get an opportunity to go play in this one," Heupel said. "As soon as I touched down here in Knoxville, this was a game that this fan base and these players know is important and one that they're extremely excited about. For a lot of our coaching staff, this is our first time to be in this game and environment. We're looking forward to going down there and competing with our group of guys."
This year's version, the "Fourth Saturday in October," is set for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network with Jason Benetti, Greg McElroy and Katie George on the call.
Head Coach Josh Heupel Media AvailabilityÂ
Oct. 21, 2021Â
Opening Statement
"Hey guys, hope you had a great morning. Good day at work, walk through day for us. Guys are excited, have to continue to prepare the right way here. Obviously, huge test in Alabama. One that the kids are really excited about, staff too. We'll finish it up here in the next 48 hours and get ourselves ready to go, play our butts off and have fun doing it."
On how they've split reps between the quarterbacks this week…
"Hendon has gotten some work over the course of the week too. The other guys have gotten some work. Medically, we will make a determination where all those guys are at here when we get through tomorrow's practice. At the end of the day, our training staff is a decision maker as far as if are our guys are ready to play and compete or are they not."
On if he believes K'Rojhn Calbert will be able to play this season…
"Our medical staff and our strength and conditioning staff have done a really good job in the rehab process. He's worked extremely hard, reasonable expectation that he has an opportunity to play as we get to the last quarter of the season."
On if the team is prepared for another SEC road game…
"I mean, you try to replicate that in the way that you prepare. Create crowd noise for your offense to have to deal with in communication. We did some of that last week actually playing at home, just knowing there was going to be great environment for our defense too. We're further along in who we are as a program this year. I think our kids will handle it the right way and be dialed into their assignment and be able to communicate."
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On where Dee Beckwith is with his development…
"Someone that during the course of the early part of training camp is still trying to find his way in that position group. Last couple weeks, he's probably had his best weeks as far as just practice habits and understanding of what we're doing. So, he'll be a guy that will be with us this weekend."
On if any linebacker has stepped up since Juwan Mitchell was ruled out for the season…
"Guys have continued to grow, some of our young guys. In particular, you've seen Nick Humphrey do some really good things on special teams. Aaron Willis has taken more reps and continues to grow. Last couple weeks, our primary guys have taken a bulk of the reps. All those guys have to be ready to go play this weekend."
On sophomore DL Omari Thomas' development this season…
"I think for Omari, it starts with his habits and who he is. I think he's got a chance to be a great leader inside of our locker room and inside of this program for a long time. (Along with) his understanding of what we're doing and playing with better technique, he's continued to change his body. I'm talking about from the spring to summer and to where we started fall camp. He had a huge play last week and we expect him to play with great effort all the time out on the football field. He's a young guy who's learning what it takes to play at that position at a really high level."
On how the team is handling the 48 hours prior to kickoff…
"We're going to find out this afternoon, into tomorrow and how we handle Saturday too. Our team continues to grow. That's true in the last 48 hours. That's true in their practice habits earlier in the week too. I think we're continuing to improve in the areas that our coaching staff and myself feel are very important in giving yourself a chance to go play at a really high, efficient level."
On what people have told him about the Tennessee vs. Alabama rivalry and his excitement to now be a part of it…
"I'm excited that we get an opportunity to go play in this one. As soon as I touched down here in Knoxville, this was a game that this fan base and these players know is important and one that they're extremely excited about. For a lot of our coaching staff, this is our first time to be in this game and environment. We're looking forward to going down there and competing with our group of guys."
On Joe Milton III's recent play…
"I think each situation is different and presents itself different opportunities and different challenges. Last Saturday, there were a couple of things that he did well. Obviously, on the last play everybody can see that he didn't handle that the right way in that critical situation. There were some things during the course of the Florida game that he did well in the two-minute drive. There are some things that he has to do better at. He's just got to continue to grow, fight and compete. That's in the meeting room. That's on the practice field. It's all of those things."
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On how he expects Joe Milton III to respond to adversity…
"I expect him to handle it like a great competitor does: learn from it, grow from it and have it drive you in the way that you practice and meet the following week. He's been good this week, and I expect him to grow from it. I expect the guys who weren't in the game to learn from it and grow from it too."
"I'm excited that we get an opportunity to go play in this one," Heupel said. "As soon as I touched down here in Knoxville, this was a game that this fan base and these players know is important and one that they're extremely excited about. For a lot of our coaching staff, this is our first time to be in this game and environment. We're looking forward to going down there and competing with our group of guys."
This year's version, the "Fourth Saturday in October," is set for 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network with Jason Benetti, Greg McElroy and Katie George on the call.
Head Coach Josh Heupel Media AvailabilityÂ
Oct. 21, 2021Â
Opening Statement
"Hey guys, hope you had a great morning. Good day at work, walk through day for us. Guys are excited, have to continue to prepare the right way here. Obviously, huge test in Alabama. One that the kids are really excited about, staff too. We'll finish it up here in the next 48 hours and get ourselves ready to go, play our butts off and have fun doing it."
On how they've split reps between the quarterbacks this week…
"Hendon has gotten some work over the course of the week too. The other guys have gotten some work. Medically, we will make a determination where all those guys are at here when we get through tomorrow's practice. At the end of the day, our training staff is a decision maker as far as if are our guys are ready to play and compete or are they not."
On if he believes K'Rojhn Calbert will be able to play this season…
"Our medical staff and our strength and conditioning staff have done a really good job in the rehab process. He's worked extremely hard, reasonable expectation that he has an opportunity to play as we get to the last quarter of the season."
On if the team is prepared for another SEC road game…
"I mean, you try to replicate that in the way that you prepare. Create crowd noise for your offense to have to deal with in communication. We did some of that last week actually playing at home, just knowing there was going to be great environment for our defense too. We're further along in who we are as a program this year. I think our kids will handle it the right way and be dialed into their assignment and be able to communicate."
Â
On where Dee Beckwith is with his development…
"Someone that during the course of the early part of training camp is still trying to find his way in that position group. Last couple weeks, he's probably had his best weeks as far as just practice habits and understanding of what we're doing. So, he'll be a guy that will be with us this weekend."
On if any linebacker has stepped up since Juwan Mitchell was ruled out for the season…
"Guys have continued to grow, some of our young guys. In particular, you've seen Nick Humphrey do some really good things on special teams. Aaron Willis has taken more reps and continues to grow. Last couple weeks, our primary guys have taken a bulk of the reps. All those guys have to be ready to go play this weekend."
On sophomore DL Omari Thomas' development this season…
"I think for Omari, it starts with his habits and who he is. I think he's got a chance to be a great leader inside of our locker room and inside of this program for a long time. (Along with) his understanding of what we're doing and playing with better technique, he's continued to change his body. I'm talking about from the spring to summer and to where we started fall camp. He had a huge play last week and we expect him to play with great effort all the time out on the football field. He's a young guy who's learning what it takes to play at that position at a really high level."
On how the team is handling the 48 hours prior to kickoff…
"We're going to find out this afternoon, into tomorrow and how we handle Saturday too. Our team continues to grow. That's true in the last 48 hours. That's true in their practice habits earlier in the week too. I think we're continuing to improve in the areas that our coaching staff and myself feel are very important in giving yourself a chance to go play at a really high, efficient level."
On what people have told him about the Tennessee vs. Alabama rivalry and his excitement to now be a part of it…
"I'm excited that we get an opportunity to go play in this one. As soon as I touched down here in Knoxville, this was a game that this fan base and these players know is important and one that they're extremely excited about. For a lot of our coaching staff, this is our first time to be in this game and environment. We're looking forward to going down there and competing with our group of guys."
On Joe Milton III's recent play…
"I think each situation is different and presents itself different opportunities and different challenges. Last Saturday, there were a couple of things that he did well. Obviously, on the last play everybody can see that he didn't handle that the right way in that critical situation. There were some things during the course of the Florida game that he did well in the two-minute drive. There are some things that he has to do better at. He's just got to continue to grow, fight and compete. That's in the meeting room. That's on the practice field. It's all of those things."
Â
On how he expects Joe Milton III to respond to adversity…
"I expect him to handle it like a great competitor does: learn from it, grow from it and have it drive you in the way that you practice and meet the following week. He's been good this week, and I expect him to grow from it. I expect the guys who weren't in the game to learn from it and grow from it too."
Players Mentioned
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DL
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