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What Josh Heupel said about Tennessee-Arkansas on the SEC Teleconference

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey10/08/25GrantRamey
Josh Heupel
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel is looking for his first win against Georgia. Photo by IMAGN.

What head coach Josh Heupel said Wednesday on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, previewing No. 12 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) against Arkansas (2-3, 0-1) on Saturday (4:15 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium:

Opening Statement

“Good afternoon, everybody. Have had a good start to the week here and got to continue to win the preparation here as we get ready for kick off. Obviously, there’s been staff changes with Coach Petrino, changes on the defensive side of the ball, but also the reality is this is a really good football team. Obviously, disappointed with how the Notre Dame game transpired middle of the second quarter on, but you look at that, couple of close defeats, one-possession games a couple weeks prior to that against a ranked opponent. Really good football team. Defensively, we’ll see what we get from a new staff. We’ll have to adjust throughout the course of the ball game. From them offensively, dynamic quarterback. Throwing the ball extremely well. Has playmakers out on the outside. Obviously, he’s got a huge impact on the game with his feet, that’s scrambling, extending plays, throwing it down the field, picking up yards off the scramble with his feet. The ability to use him in the quarterback run game and tilt the numbers in their favor. Huge test for us, but one we’re looking forward to when we get to Saturday.”

If he has crossed paths with Bobby Petrino, his thoughts on him

“Seen him from afar for the most part. Coach Petrino has done a great job as a head coach and as an offensive mind. They’re going to stress you. Does a great job with the run game. With the quarterback they have now, the quarterback run game being a part of that. He’s always done a good job throwing the football down the field and you’re going to see a lot of concepts from them. You have to handle motions, shifts, trades, all of that. Communication will be really important in this football game for us defensively.”

Arkansas defensive changes, how Tennessee prepares

“Little bit of all of that. I think on game day, it’s going to be critical for our players to communicate at a high level on the field. But then also coaches and players, once you get to the sideline, be able to adjust, be sound in what you’re doing, ultimately have to do a great job of adjusting during the course of the game.”

If there is a revenge factor to the game for Tennessee

“I think everybody certainly remembers the disappointment of that night. It’s a part of how you move forward as a program. Focal point during the offseason, when I say that, controlling what we can control and continue to push to ultimately become our best. One play doesn’t have anything to do with the next. One week doesn’t have to. You look at college football scores across the country week-to-week and understand it’s a new season every single week. Last year is last year, but certainly, we need and want to go play our best brand of football and that’s what it takes to win in this league, that’s what it will take against Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.”

Tennessee using tempo against the Arkansas defense, Joey Aguilar using tempo

“He’s handled when we play with tempo, he’s handled it extremely well. Been a good decision-maker. Been accurate with the ball. Seeing pictures from the defensive structure, got himself in the right placed. In today’s game, in the scope of what we do, tempo is always a portion of what we do. We got to be able to execute in all phases, whether we’re playing fast, whether we’re shifting, motioning, all those things. There’s some unknowns going into this one from them defensively and we got to do a great job of adjusting.”

The status of Tennessee defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs, how he has handled the injury

“Daevin had a great offseason and was playing extremely well during the course of training camp. Unfortunate, but those things happen in this game. Done a great job in the rehab process and I think our medical report, first one of the week, comes out tonight, so stay tuned.”

Tennessee affecting the opposing quarterback

“We’ve done a solid job throughout the course of the early part of the season. We’ve applied pressure with four guys, gotten to him, affected him, made him throw in uncomfortable platforms, made him move, also sacked him. Some of that has been with our pressure package, as well. I hear them talking about the front, but really in all of the entire defense, there’s been some really good things. There’s just some things that we control that we feel like we can execute at a higher level. That’s always the point of emphasis, control the controlables and make the opposing offense earn everything.”

New Arkansas defensive coaches, how much a defense can change

“It can change a bunch. Last year, different defensive structure from than anything they had shown presents itself in that game. Certainly, they have the opportunity to be a lot different than they’ve been. For us, we’ve seen a lot of different structures. We’ve got to be able to adjust. Target guys the right way in our run game, in our protections and understand what we’re seeing from the secondary. Quarterback having his eyes in the right place, but wide receivers reading things and being in the right spot, too.”