What Tennessee's Josh Heupel said about Oklahoma during his Monday press conference

Everything head coach Josh Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday, previewing No. 14 Tennessee (6-2, 3-2 SEC) against No. 17 Oklahoma (6-2, 2-2) on Saturday night (7:30 Eastern Time, ABC) at Neyland Stadium:

Opening Statement

“Great to have Ben (McKee) back in the building. So great to see you. Also, I know Coach (Josh) Elander was just introduced in here a second ago and I want to wish him, his family, and everybody congratulations. Excited to see him continue to help our baseball program continue to grow. I want to wish Tony good luck, too, obviously. Since my first day I’ve gotten a chance to see what he’s done in helping build that program, winning the national championship, but also what he’s done for this campus too. So excited for him and that opportunity. 

“Great week of football here this week, obviously a huge contest with a really good football team that we’re getting ready to play. Excited to be back in Neyland, see our fans. Dark Mode, need them (the fans), Neyland effect, to be a huge part of this football game on a Saturday night. So looking forward to the day with them.” 

Where he thinks this Tennessee team is defensively after watching the Kentucky tape

“Some things that were really good, there’s some things that weren’t. You get a guy out of a gap and you create a seam and a couple of big pass plays. 

So at the end of the day, it’s all 11. There’s a lot of good. Man, the correctables got to get corrected. That’s what we did this morning. That’s what we’ll continue to work on this week. But I’m excited to go play with those guys.”

How to keep a team locked in after a road win, coming home to face a team like Oklahoma 

“Yeah, watch the tape. Getting ready to play a really good Oklahoma team. Defensively, one of the top teams in the country in every statistical category. Their front is big, strong, physical, relentless. Tackles for loss, sacks. Not giving up a bunch of big plays. Huge test. Offensively, dynamic quarterback that’s a playmaker. Does that through the air, does that with his legs. He’s got good skill around him, so a huge test. 

If it’s too simplistic to say something seems to be missing with this Tennessee defense, after the success it had last season

“It takes 11 guys doing their job at a high level, ultimately. And yeah, our personnel is different in some places and that forces you at times to be different, too, in the positions that you’re putting some of your guys in. So, end of the day, get ready to go play this week.” 

If it’s harder for a coach to win immediately at a job or to sustain success after winning early

“It’s all hard. In this league, in this game, it’s all hard. Takes a great staff, takes everybody being on the same page, takes players buying in. There’s a lot of work that goes into it.” 

Oklahoma’s offense compared to last year

“The quarterback is a playmaker. He extends plays when the initial reads aren’t there and does a great job on scrambles, keeping the play alive, throwing it down the field and using his feet when it’s not. Everything’s matched up, so you gotta apply pressure to him, but you gotta try to find a way to keep him bottled up, too. And they’ll turn the numbers into their favor of the quarterback run game, and he’s really good in that, as well. Their offensive lines have continued to get better throughout the course of the year.”

If he can ignore coaches getting fired around the country

“Well, you see it for sure. But it’s like anything, same thing with our players. It all comes down to controlling what you’re in control of and that’s the work that we put in on preparation and ultimately going out there and playing in a really good way.”

Tennessee freshman LB Jadon Perlotte

“Yeah, I think it’s a testament to a guy continuing to prepare and continuing to fight to continue to get better. I pointed out Radarious (Jackson) in the way that he played on Saturday to the entire football team. He was out for four or five weeks and comes back, and he’s ready for the opportunity and plays in a really good way. So, Jadon is fast, violent, and has made some plays. Obviously, has a couple turnovers, makes a big play on the quarterback sack last week and just continuing to dive into the game. And details and master those things.”

Why the sack number for his defense has gone down 

“A little bit of a combination of everything. Teams have gotten it out quickly. Sometimes there’s chipping on the edges and that typically buys them a little bit more time. It also slows down their route structure. So combination of all those things, running quarterbacks, you’re always, you got to stay on the right side of the line of applying pressure, disrupting the pocket, but not letting them get out.”

The injury status of Tennessee corner Colton Hood

“Stay tuned to the injury report.”