Coming off of a 29-16 loss at Florida last Saturday, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel made his weekly appearance on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday.
The No. 24 Vols (2-1) host UTSA (1-2) at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, looking to bounce back in a non-conference clash before kicking off a critical four-game SEC stretch that begins vs. South Carolina next week.
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Here is everything Heupel said.
Opening statement
"(We) had two really good days of practice. The energy in the building has been really good. Obviously, everybody was disappointed when they came back in the building on Monday with how we performed on Saturday against Florida. At the same time, as a competitor you've got to take the lessons forward with you, got to learn from it and you've got to go back to work and compete and get ready for the next one. Our guys have done a good job of that so far this week. We've got a really good football team that we're playing. (UTSA) is, one, a proud program. Their performances over the last couple of years, winning conference championships. They're tough, they're physical on both sides of the line of scrimmage. It will be a good test for us. Looking forward to getting back inside of Neyland Stadium and going and playing well."
On how wide open the SEC has looked through three weeks
"It's hard as far as actually watching video. If you play a day game, you get a chance to watch some maybe on a Saturday evening, you get a chance to watch other teams play, but during the course of the season it's really tough. You see scores, but that's not always indicative of the game and how it was played and those types of things. I think today's landscape in college football, you know, every Saturday is kind of it's own identity, man. Who shows up, the competitive spirit, a play here, a play there, you know, changes the way the game is played in particular early in the football game. So, in this league, everybody has got really good talent. There's good coaches across the board. If you don't show up and perform at your highest level, it gets real tough, real quick."
THE VOLREPORT SHOW: Can Tennessee bounce back vs. UTSA?
On how team has responded in practice
"Good competitiveness. They've been physical, there's been strain, so I like all of that. We've got to continue to take ownership of the things that we can control, in particular on the offensive side of the ball. You look at just the penalties from a week ago and even some of the previous week, the efficiency, how we've hurt ourselves. You can't do that in college football and put yourself in a position the way you need to, to help your football team win a football game. We continue to work on that. We pinpoint those things and point them out every day and place importance on them. At the end of the day, a week ago I thought we let one play effect the next a little bit and as a competitor you can't do that. That'll be show up and be important in this football game, too."
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Key takeaways: Vols' run game looks to regroup after Florida performance
On the role the fans can play vs. UTSA
"First of all, (UTSA) is a really good football team. I said it earlier, they're proud, they're competitive, they're tough, they're physical and they're coached well. They have really good players in all three phases of the football game, so it will be important for us that we show up with the right mindset, competitive spirit, that we compete really hard but as always, man, our stadium is as good as anywhere, if not the best in the country. I know our fans are disappointed in last week's performance, but at the end of the day, man, we're going to need them on Saturday. I expect Vol Navy to be packed and I expect, you know, 35,000 at Vol Walk. Once that ball is kicked off, the energy inside the stadium is going to be important. We need to make it as tough of a road environment as we possibly can. Our fans are consistent. They do that every week."
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