Tennessee's Josh Heupel talks recruiting, previews ETSU on The Mike Keith Show

Everything Tennessee Football coach Josh Heupel said Thursday during his weekly appearance on The Mike Keith Show, talking recruiting and previewing the home opener against against ETSU:

Tennessee being 1-0 to start the season

“Yeah, it feels like a long time ago. Each week is its own and (we’re) excited to go open up at home here this week with this group. And it’s been a good week of preparation. Just got to continue that as we get to kickoff.”

His son Jace wearing the leather helmet on Saturday, if he got to keep it

“I don’t think he got the leather helmet. We have no idea. Bill Martin might have that at his house. But Jace, it was fun to have him be a part of it and . The guys were great with him. His phone blew up from all of his buddies back home afterwards and it was a great time with him.”

Which sports his son likes best

“Football, basketball, played baseball as well. Thinks he’s a quarterback. And he can spin it pretty good. But we’ll see where it all takes him.”

Saying that spending time with his son around his Tennessee teams reminds him of his childhood with his father, who was also a football coach 

“I mean my entire childhood, as far back as I can remember, being around the guys, being in the locker room, being in position meetings, staff meetings, working in the equipment room, doing laundry, just, fixing cleats and face masks, at that time, the old screw-ins. Just great memories of being a part of something and being around great people that in my childhood are still great friends of mine that played for my dad. And it’s always fun to have your family around and be a part of it.”

Saying his dad taught him to love defense  

“That’s right. Man, I grew up in defensive meetings, linebacker and (defensive back) meetings. And just learning installs of defensive schemes. And that was a big part of my growth as a football player, too. A big part of my success playing quarterback, I think.”

The importance of defense and special teams in football 

“That’s what General Neyland would say, right? I think there’s so much that’s changed around the game, outside of the game of football, in particular, over the last five years. But when you get between the white lines, the game hasn’t changed. And that’s why (General Neyland’s) Maxims still live inside of this building. We recite them before every game. Our players believe in them. And at the end of the day, I think it’s important that you play three phases of the game together to give yourself a chance to go win every Saturday.” 

If rule changes have allowed defenses to catch up to offenses across all levels of the sport

“I think our offensive staff gets tired of me saying this at times, but it’s cyclical. And there’s constant growth and changes schematically, let’s say from the offensive side of the ball, and defenses continue to evolve and grow. And it just kind of runs its way back in circles in some way. Today’s game is certainly played in more space than it was 30 years ago, 50 years ago. But a lot of the same principles are still there. And I think that’s the fun part for coaches is continuing to evolve and grow and change week to week, but certainly year to year as well.”

How much they spend in the offseason looking at changes and tweaks in scheme 

“Well, January, February, and during the course of spring ball in particular, you’re looking at, OK, what are the things that you’re seeing schematically from other sides of the football — defensively — in the scope of league play. Then you’re looking at things and tools that you need to be able to attack it. But then it goes to who your personnel is and how you can attack it. And that’s the fun part of coaching football. There’s so much change every single year just starting with your own personnel that you get a chance to paint the picture a little bit different each year.”

Having a background on the defensive side through his father, how it’s part of his football DNA at this point  

“Well, I think it’s a huge part of who I am as a coach. And if you want to win championships, you got to play elite defense. It starts with your defensive line and that’s certainly been a focal point since we got here. The way we’ve recruited that position room, our defensive staff has done an elite job. But certainly if you want to go play at the highest level in this league and across the country, you’ve got to be able to play elite defense.”

What about Tennessee’s football program resonates with prospects on the recruiting trail

“First of all, this is an iconic brand inside the scope of college football. You look historically, wins, bowl wins, championships, national championships, all those things. One of the top programs in the country. You combine that with an unbelievable fanbase that’s not surpassed by anyone in college football. Our game days are unrivaled. You look at the city of Knoxville, the continued growth of the city and the campus. And then you combine that with the style of football where we play really aggressively in all three phases of the game. The product that we’ve been able to put out there since we got there. And then I think who we are inside of this building. We recruit to who we are, very transparent during the recruiting process. They can feel the connection that everybody has inside of this building. And you put all those things together. What we’ve been able to do is not just recruit elite talent, but recruit guys that that fit the profile of what a Tennessee football player is on the field, off the field, and in that locker room.”

How much having continuity on the Tennessee coaching staff and recruiting staff has helped recruiting efforts through five years

“Well, I think anytime you have continuity with the right people that are in the building and everybody is able to be in sync. And that happens through experiences, through time, being a better communicator, me, leaders of departments. You’re able to tie everything together at a better level than you were in year one. And through all of that consistency that we’ve had, we certainly have continued tighten the loop of communication in our processes to focus in on the right players.” 

How much time is spent hanging on to 2026 commitments versus recruiting 2027 and 2028

“Man, you’re always recruiting three recruiting classes at one time. You got the current class of 26s, you got 27s and you’re pushing forward on 28s too. So it’s a combination of all those things. Recruiting is the lifeblood of your program. 

You better be pouring into it every single day and our staff does a great job of that.”

What characterizes a team coached by ETSU head coach Will Healy 

“Discipline. Play extremely hard. You look at schematically what they’re doing now. They’re very aggressive, from offensively the tempo, applying pressure, playing out in space, defensively multiple pressure packages and defensive structures. And the same thing on special teams. They’ll be very aggressive in this game.”

On Tennessee punter Jackson Ross  

“Jackson’s a character that is an infectious energy guy inside of our building. Has a lot of fun, but highly competitive as well. And really skilled off the field too. Anything that he does, he’s super talented in.”

Recruiting an Australian punter 

“It’s the craziest film that I’ve ever watched. It was live. His ability, I mean, he was hitting bombs in the pocket. Then they had him rugby (kick) right. But they essentially were having guys run like a post pattern at 50 yards and he was able to hit the guys in stride (with kicks).”

“And then at the very end, they flipped it over and he went left footed and it was, I’ve never seen anything like that. Super talented.”

If he had ever worked with a Australian punter before Jackson Ross, if it was hard for him to adjust to it

“Had not. First one … absolutely not (hard to adjust). It’s like a golfer being able to hit every club that he’s got in his bag. He’s a real utility knife and gives us a ton of versatility in what we do.”