FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel praised his team’s resilience following Saturday’s 24-17 win over Arkansas, the Vols’ first victory in Fayetteville since 2001.
Tennessee led 7-0 at halftime before Arkansas scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter. The Vols eventually reclaimed the lead behind explosive plays from DaSaahn Brame and DeSean Bishop.
The win marked Tennessee’s second SEC victory of the season and its first on the road.
Heupel acknowledged the mistakes that nearly cost Tennessee the game but pointed to his team’s ability to respond.
“There’s a lot of things we got to do better in beginning, middle parts of the game,” Heupel said. “But I love how we finished.”
What Heupel had to say after the game:
On George MacIntyre’s performance in his first career start…
“I don’t know that he was getting better as the game went on. I do think he finished really strong. But there were some really good things early in the football game, too. This game comes down to the finest of details. Right before half, the fumble, he’s just got to clear the back. That’s something that’s day one.But I thought he did a really good job in some adverse situations just playing the next play and pulling the trigger. It was a winning performance by him ultimately.”
On Tennessee’s 94-yard game-winning touchdown drive…
“Competitive composure. Just going and playing the next play. Defense gets you a stop. There’s a chess match. It’s going back and forth, and able to hit some runs, hit a couple throws, and ultimately get in the end zone. Great effort by DeSean, obviously. But collectively as a group, all 11 did their job on that drive, and that’s what it takes.”
On the important of preventing Arkansas from scoring before halftime…
“Huge, huge play. Changes the game. It can change your season. It’s actually something that through our experience we’ve talked about, shown to our players. That’s why our offensive guys are going to be involved in tackling at some point during the course of the offseason. It’s a big-time play, just continuing to compete. Get a guy down, and it’s a three-point play or a seven-point play, right? That ends up negating all of it, and it’s a straight wash walking in at halftime.”
On Tennessee’s response after Arkansas scored consecutive touchdowns…
“There’s a lot of clock. Whether you’re up or down, it’s 0-0 for 60 minutes. Play each play independently and go continue to compete. That’s what they did.”
On whether Tennessee learned to win a different way…
“I think they showed that they are resilient. No matter what the circumstances, they’re going to continue to play and go play the next play. That’s why it happens today. Again, proud of our group handling it that way.”
On how Tennessee created Brame’s 68-yard reception…
“Play action, a little eye candy to hold some of the interior. They’re playing their post safety extremely deep in our 12 personnel stuff today. Just playing off of one guy’s eyes, and DaSaahn does a great job wrapping it on the back end. Good throw by George. Really good run after the catch by DaSaahn.”
On Faizon Brandon’s Injury and availability…
“Just with what he was dealing with, he really didn’t rep during the course of the week. George knew on Monday that he was going to start this week. We’ll continue to play it by ear as we keep going. The strength of one room can never be one guy. I know most of you guys are tired of me saying that, but that’s the truth of it.”
On how has Brandon responded to MacIntyre starting?
“Faizon’s dealing with an injury. George handled it well when Faizon got named the starter, and Faizon has handled it well dealing with his shoulder. Continuing to stay invested at practice, in the meeting room, helping that room out, and was here for emergency use only this week.”
On Xavier Gilliam’s Consistent Impact…
“Smart, tough, relentless competitor. Loves ball. He’s the same dude every day in the meeting room, on the practice field. That parlays itself into playing consistently on game day, too. He’s been playing extremely well, holistically, as has the entire D-line. Those guys are doing a really good job of, for the most part, controlling the line of scrimmage, affecting the quarterback, and playing well off of each other within the scope of the scheme.”
On the third down completion to Braylon Staley…
“At that point in the game, it was critical. We’re able to get points out of it. There’s some things on third down that we didn’t execute. There’s some things, that’s all 11. And then there’s some things that we did at a really high level, too, that were able to keep us on the field and allow a couple of those drives to get points. That’s a point of emphasis. We got to continue to grow in our third downs.”
On Linebacker’s coach William Inge’s recovery after a serious health scare…
Before leaving the podium, Heupel offered an emotional update on assistant coach William Inge, who had been hospitalized following a serious medical emergency.
“I’ve got one more thing. Coach Inge faced a ton of adversity and was really fighting for his life. It kind of came out of nowhere. There’s a lot of people that have been praying, our football family, university, but our fans too. Sometimes it’s rare in this world that you get to see a true miracle right before your eyes. But that’s truly what we’ve been able to see following Coach Inge, and that’s what his family is seeing too. He’s doing really well. He should be able to get out of the hospital here the middle of next week, hopefully, and begin his rehab process. If you ever question the power of prayer, anybody that’s seen this can attest to the power of prayer. So I just want to thank our football family and people across the country inside of college football that have had him in their prayers. Very thankful that he’s coming out the other side of it. Thank you.”
