What Josh Heupel said about Tennessee-Alabama on The Mike Keith Show

What head coach Josh Heupel said on The Mike Keith Show Thursday afternoon, previewing No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) at No. 6 Alabama (5-1, 3-0) on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ABC) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa:

What stands out about Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium

“I think as much as anything, it’s this rivalry and the passion of the fan bases and what this game means historically to both programs and inside the landscape of college football. This is a really special football game, and it’s one that everybody in both programs and fan bases point to.”

If anything at Tennessee practice changes because it’s Alabama week

“I think you’ve got to be careful about changing who you are from day to day and week to week. I think the consistency of your preparation matters. You’re playing a lot of big football games in the scope of this league and I think that matters, but certainly this game matters. And you look at it historically, it’s had a huge impact on where people stand inside the scope of this league and nationally. But also this is a this is a game where legends are made and fan bases remember players because of things that happen specifically in this game.”

If he has to tell Tennessee players the historic significance of the game

“Well, I think you always got to educate your players as they’re coming into your program of the historical nature of the program, the rivalries and the great games. And certainly we do that during the course of the year, during training camp and by the time you get to this point, everybody understands the importance of this game.”

If Tennessee running back Peyton Lewis has changed at practice after a strong game vs. Arkansas

“I don’t. The reason that happened a week ago is because of who he is and how he competes on the field every day. It’s another lesson to, in particular young guys, of preparing for your opportunity and being ready to go take advantage of it. You know, the way he finished that football game in particular, the third and fourth quarters, a huge part of us winning the game.”

Who Peyton Lewis is as a running back

“Yeah, really good vision, understands what we’re doing in the run game, is able to press the line of scrimmage, help the guys in front of him deliver blocks. He’s got the ability with his speed to bounce and get outside and make plays, and he’s got the ability to get behind his pads and finish plus two.”

The challenge for Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar against Alabama

“It starts with protection, giving him time to work through his progressions, him recognizing the structure and the coverage that he’s seeing on the back end. Our guys are going to have to go in with some one-on-one situations as well. Ultimately, it’s going to take all 11, but for him, it starts with his eyes and recognizing what he’s seeing.”

Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell bouncing back

“I don’t think you have to get him restarted. You know, sometimes coverage dictates that the ball goes somewhere else. And Chris was a huge part of Braylon having a massive game in the middle of the football field. And Chris played a really high level and man, can’t wait to go play with him on Saturday.”

If Tennessee’s defense stopping the run better is as simple as better angles and better tackling

“Football at its core is a simple game. It’s playing assignment sound. You can’t go one-for-one, you gotta destruct blocks, and then you gotta tackle. There’s some things early in the football game (against Arkansas) that we didn’t play the way that we’re capable of. During the course of the football game, there were times that we played it extremely well. You gotta be dialed into the details in this one. When kickoff happens, everybody’s going to want to go play and win, the details in your preparation are what give you a chance on game day.”

How Tennessee can get Alabama’s passing offense out of rhythm

“I think you gotta do a great job up front. You gotta be able to apply pressure, you gotta get hands in his face, you gotta be able to make the windows tough. And then out on the perimeter, you gotta play with discipline. You gotta go win when you’re in man to man, when you’re in your zone principles, you gotta recognize the structure, the route patterns, who’s two, who’s three, and mash things out.”

What’s special about Tennessee freshman Jadon Perlotte

“Man, as a young guy that missed some time early, just having to rehab some things coming out of high school. He’s got all the athleticism. You can see that on the tape really quickly. He eats up space. He’s extremely violent when it comes to the point of contact. He’s got natural hips, explosive twitch inside of his body. And he’s just really done a good job of continuing to progress in the understanding of our defense. At the end of the day, he’s a playmaker.”

How a young player earns trust from his coaches on the practice field

“It’s always a player’s responsibility to earn the trust of their coaches, but their teammates as well. And that proof happens Monday through Friday. And ultimately when they get get the opportunity to go play, when the lights are on, you gotta see those things translate to the game field. And that’s the growth and the journey that every player inside of this game is on. It is constant progress and mastering the fundamentals, technique and scheme.”

Joshua Josephs being so consistent in Tennessee’s defensive front 

“I think his offseasons have mirrored what he’s done on the football field and he’s just continued to grow as a man and his consistency and how he competes every single day. And ultimately you put that together for a stretch of years like he has, you continue to grow and he’s playing at an elite level.”

Josephs being an example for Tennessee’s other defensive players 

“Yeah, I think the leadership and the example that he sets inside of that room is a part of the development of what we’ve seen from those guys.”

What Tennessee has to do to win at Alabama 

“Physicality is gonna matter in this one. That’s in the core, both sides of the line of scrimmage, it’s gonna matter out on the perimeter as well. And you gotta win the money downs — third and fourth downs are going to be critical in this one. Offensively, to stay on the field, defensively to get off of it, and I think that’s really critical. Special teams, we got to win that phase of the game.”