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

What head coach Josh Heupel said during his appearance on The Mike Keith Show on Thursday, previewing No. 15 Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) at Mississippi State (4-0, 0-0) on Saturday (4:15 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network) at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville:

How Mississippi State has improved from Year 1 to Year 2 under Jeff Lebby

“I just think in Year 2 the development of their players that they had a year ago, they’ve obviously added to their roster, deeper roster. In Year 2, the guys that have been there, the understanding of the scheme. So I think it’s steps in every area for them as a program. And you mentioned that they’re playing extremely well. Going to be a great environment. Will be a big test for us on Saturday.” 

What Blake Shapen is doing at quarterback to make the Mississippi State offense better

“Well, he’s just playing extremely smart. He’s a good decision maker. He’s accurate with the football. Down the football field, perimeter tags, big part of their extension of their run game. I think he’s just operating extremely well, efficiently in the scope of it. And they have the ability to play 11 on 11 and use them in the run game as well. So that’ll be a big part of the football game, us handling that portion of it.”

Blake Shapen running for 20 or more yards on two runs last week, how hard that is to defend

“Well, I think when you’re applying pressure, you got to keep them bottled up. So your lane integrity while you’re trying to get to the quarterback is going to be really important, not to let him escape out of the pocket. But again, the 11 on 11, using him in the quarterback run game, you’ve got to play with discipline.” 

If he has seen opposing defenses start to adjust based on what they’ve see from Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar

“Well, I think this weekend, (Mississippi State plays) multiple defensive structures, our recognition of it, our communication up front. Joey recognizing those things and seeing it, but also even our wide receivers. So it’s going to take all 11 playing together to play efficient and effective and create some big plays.”

If teams are starting to defend Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell II differently

“Well, I think Chris obviously has had a great start, but you’ve also seen the other guys at the wide receiver position play a big part in the football game and showcase the ability to go win. So it’s tough to just roll coverage in one direction (with) the ability to work the middle of the field with our slots and our tight ends. So being balanced in what we do can help some of that.”

Adding new looks to Tennessee’s play calling on offense

“I think that’s the fun thing about year to year, the changes that you make based on personnel, what you’re seeing from defenses on a consistent basis. And then during the scope of week to week during the course of the season, continuing to evolve, grow, change, attack the structures that you’re going to see from a given defense, but also play off of what you’ve done previously.”

What he wants to see from Tennessee defensively vs. Mississippi State

“Yeah, in the tempo, when Mississippi State’s playing with that, our ability to communicate and get the signal, get lined up, make the adjustments based off of formation can be extremely critical in this one. That’s what tempo is trying to do to you. And for us defensively, we see that during the course of our preparation all year long. But the ordinary things are going to be really important in this one. And then with the spacing that they have the ability to play in, you gotta tackle well out in space. And you gotta be able to cover in one-on-ones.”

On the defense practicing against tempo

“It does help them in their preparation. It’s not something that they’ve never seen, and it’s a huge adjustment during the course of the week. So, for our defense, they’ve seen it. They’ve had to go against a tempo offense, and now it’s about execution.”

His assessment of Tennessee’s running backs

“They’ve done a great job with the ball in their hands, being physical with how they finish the runs. Great job of pressing the line of scrimmage and helping the offensive line and tight ends execute in the run game and their doubles coming off to the second level. Done a good job in pass protection. So really pleased with what they’ve done. It’s a really good group. We have depth, but there’s still a lot left out there for them as well.”

Tennessee being steady so far this season

“Well, it’s a long season and your competitive makeup and the consistency of that is a big part of performing on a consistent level throughout the course of the season. For us, good teams continue to get better. We have a chance to be a really good team. We have to continue to get better. This is our next opportunity. We’ve had a really good week of preparation, but we got to finish it out and get ready to go kick it off.”

The challenge of playing at Mississippi State being fun

“Absolutely. It’s a highly competitive group made up of individuals that are extremely competitive. You know, they love playing, they love the preparation, and we get a chance to go kick it off Saturday afternoon.”