Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with reporters during the Vols’ bye week to discuss the team’s response to its 27-24 loss at South Carolina, the development of quarterback George MacIntyre and the importance of correcting mistakes entering the final four games of the regular season.
Heupel emphasized discipline, execution and the opportunity for players to recover physically and mentally following eight consecutive weeks of football. He also discussed DeSean Bishop’s growth, the development of Tennessee’s younger players and the challenges of navigating a chaotic field-storming situation at South Carolina.
Here is everything Heupel said, organized by topic and lightly edited for clarity.
Opening statement: Using the bye week to improve
Heupel: “Bye week. Got on the field today with our guys. Good work. We were in the building yesterday, what’s a typical Monday for us. Opportunity to get healthy physically as much as you can at this point in the year, and the opportunity to get better. Everything in this game is about how you finish. You look back at last week and us not finishing the game that we needed to, and you look forward to going to finish the season the way that we need to. So a lot of growth needs to happen this week for us.”
On Tennessee’s response to the South Carolina loss
Heupel: “Just autopsy the game. You show each series, offense, defense, special teams, all offense together. Opportunities that we’re in control of to change the way the game’s played. In this league, every week, you’ve got to control the controllables. And if you don’t, turn the ball over, you’re going to lose. It’s tough to win in this league. So a lot of things that weren’t controlled. You’ve got to do better. Got an opportunity to finish the way that you need to.”
On making Tennessee a smarter football team
Heupel: “For some of it, experience is going to help you in those moments, for sure. Some of it’s your preparation. There’s some unique things that happen during the ballgame. Braylon’s out, Mike moves to the slot. Again, get the full signal, go communicate, go execute. So it’s nothing extraordinary. It’s doing ordinary things at a really high level consistently for 60 minutes.”
On whether mistakes in practice translate to games
Heupel: “Guys that consistently show that they’re not going to play smart aren’t playing on game day. So that’s where it starts.”
On DeSean Bishop’s personal growth and development
Heupel: “I think it’s the great thing about college football. Come in, the first 18 years of your life are what you’re born into, and you have an opportunity to grow, to learn and to become the man that you may not even know that you want to be, but have the opportunity to be. And DeSean is a great example of that. For him, it all starts with his faith. But a guy that’s accountable, disciplined, works extremely hard and has taken full advantage of the opportunity, the resources, the exposure to different things since he got here on campus, and has absolutely flourished. He represents everything that’s good in college athletics.”
On Bishop’s workload over the final four games
Heupel: “That’s certainly the objective in this game. If you’re focused on that, you’ll have no chance to accomplish it. You have to be in the present. DeSean is a massive part of our football team and has played at a really high level. He’s got a chance to heal up this week, too. We’re going to need him at his best as we go on the final stretch.”
On George MacIntyre’s development since Auburn
Heupel: “Every exposure you have, you learn from, you gain confidence from. There’s some things he did at a really high level last Saturday. There’s some things that he’s going to be a lot better in and we’d like to have back, too.”
On MacIntyre’s three touchdown passes called back against South Carolina
Heupel: “Yeah, if you’re simply looking at results of plays, that can be extremely misleading. Stats that show up on the sheet, different reads, throws, whatever it might be, too.”
On the quarterback situation during the bye week
Heupel: “No, they’re both practicing and practicing.”
On how the bye week benefits Tennessee’s young quarterbacks
Heupel: “There’s a little bit more time to catch your breath mentally, physically, emotionally, recharge the battery, and that’s important for everybody. For our offense, defense, other things. Even your coaches, too.
“It’s eight straight weeks of football, but your lead-in is training camp and everything that goes into getting prepared for it. It’s been a long stretch. You get Saturday afternoon as coaches to kind of recharge, too, because players get a little bit more time. When they’re in the building, that’s practice, it’s your meetings. You’ve got to maximize it and prepare the right way and take advantage of it.
“So it’s not a full week off, but there’s moments and times to recharge, and I think the totality of all that’s important for everybody, but young players, too.”
On Tyree Weathersby’s emergence along the defensive line
Heupel: “A guy that’s grown tremendously outside of the game, and that’s part of it, and become a really dynamic football player, too. A guy that’s battled some injuries when he first got here and does a great job of taking care of his body. But he’s smart, he’s tough, competitive, takes ownership inside of that defensive line room, and he’s played really good football.”
On tight end DaSaahn Brame’s development
Heupel: “I think he’s continuing to get better, more comfortable, more confident. Young player that is playing more snaps. Got some play last year, but certainly has made a bunch of plays for us. One gets called back last week, but made a bunch of plays. I thought in general, in particular in passing, that was his best performance.”
On balancing fundamentals with Kentucky preparation
Heupel: “A little bit more fundamental time, but still getting started on defense as well. At the same time, opportunity for everybody in the building to kind of reset on some of the fundamental things that go into playing this game at a really high level. The margins are small. It’s a six-inch step up front, pad level, it’s quarterback reversal.”
On South Carolina fans storming the field
Heupel: “At the end of the day, we’ve been on both sides of the coin in those situations. And do you worry about your players? Yeah, absolutely. But it’s a circumstance that we’re allowed to happen, too. I don’t know how you judge who’s at fault or whatever. It’s straight chaos getting off the field in those situations or circumstances, which we handle inside the play.”
