Josh Heupel on preparing for Will Levis, Kentucky's defense

Shortly after Mark Stoops took the podium in Lexington, Josh Heupel did the same in Knoxville. The second-year coach of the No. 3 Volunteers spoke to reporters for roughly 13 minutes about his team and what they’ll face vs. Kentucky on Saturday night. I know the color orange hurts your eyes so I watched the press conference so you wouldn’t have to. You’re welcome.

Mum on player availability

Tennessee has been without wide receiver Cedric Tillman, who suffered an ankle injury vs. Akron on Sept. 17, for four games. Heupel did not provide much of an update on whether or not Tillman will be able to play this weekend. Prior to getting hurt, he had 17 receptions for 246 yards and a touchdown in just three games.

“Cedric will continue to be evaluated here as he goes through practices this week,” Heupel said.

Safety Jaylen McCollough was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly punching a man who entered his apartment on Oct. 9. He was cleared of violating the school’s code of conduct but when he’ll return to action remains uncertain. The four-year starter has missed the last two games.

“Jaylen, you guys saw, that the campus part of his process is complete and so now it’s just the other part of the process,” Heupel said.

Contrast in styles, praise for Will Levis

Like Stoops, Heupel spent part of his press conference discussing the difference in tempo between the two teams. The Vols lead the nation in scoring (50.1 points per game), yards per attempt (11.4), and completions of 30-plus yards (27). Slowing Tennessee down will be a challenge, but Heupel said the same could be said for the Vols adjusting to Kentucky’s pace.

“For them offensively, I think it’s unique in that just the tempo of play is so dramatic between the two offenses. It’s a different style of football game, understanding that limited opportunities for us. And I’m saying that just the number of possessions that will be in this football game. It’s something that as a football program, we’ve got to understand going into this one too.”

Heupel called Kentucky’s Chris Rodriguez “dynamic” and had even more praise for quarterback Will Levis. In six games this season, Levis is 114-164 for 1,635 yards (69.5%), 13 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. He has another two touchdowns on the ground. Against Mississippi State, Levis and Rodriguez led the offense to a perfectly-balanced victory, with 239 yards passing and 239 yards rushing.

“Smart,” Heupel said of Levis today. “Understands offensively what they’re doing. A 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 and I think in their run game too and puts them in the right position.”

On Kentucky’s defense, explosiveness

Kentucky is holding its opponents to 16.4 points per game, a far cry from Tennessee’s 50.1 points per game average. The fewest points the Volunteers have been held to this season is 34 vs. Pitt on Sept. 10. For Kentucky to have a shot at an upset, the defense will have to stand tall.

“They’re really good,” Heupel said of the Cats’ defense today. “Top 15 defense, top 10 scoring. I think they are multiple in their fronts, multiple in their coverages. For all those reasons, you’ve got to have great communication in your pass protection and your run game and as a quarterback, you’ve got to do a great job of seeing rotations. We’ve got to do a great job of winning up front and then go on the outside and win some one-on-ones too. It’ll be important throughout the course of the game.”

Mark Stoops’ teams are defined by their physicality, but with Levis and several dynamic playmakers at wide receiver, Heupel pointed out this year’s Cats are explosive as well.

“They are a physical football team, style of play. Multiple personnel groupings, getting into heavy sets, heavy run game, 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 and something we’ve got to do a great job of handling. You can’t let them be efficient on early downs and play from ahead of the sticks.”

Want more? Check out Heupel’s entire press conference below courtesy of our On3 sister site VolQuest.