Notebook: Vols geared up for first road game under Josh Heupel
KNOXVILLE —— Tennessee makes its way down to Gainesville on Saturday night for Josh Heupel's first SEC game as head coach of the Volunteers.
It'll be a tall task for Heupel's Vols. They're walk into the Swamp as double-digit underdogs in a primetime game under the lights. Tennessee (2-1) is coming off a 56-0 win over Tennessee Tech, while No. 11 Florida is coming off a narrow 31-29 loss to No. 1 Alabama.
“Everybody in the building’s excited (about) the opportunity to start conference play," Heupel said this week. "Know the level of competition’s going to rise this week. Looking forward to the challenge going down there on the road, first road game for us as a program here. Obviously the week of preparation is going to be really important, paying attention to details.
“You get on the road, communication is going to be critical in all three phases of the game, something that offensively is going to be critical in particular, but looking forward to the challenge. Guys came in the building (Monday), had an opportunity to watch the video with them, get some work on the grass and ready to get going here."
Heupel was 11-4 in road games during his time at UCF. Tennessee is hoping that Heupel's first road win as coach of the Vols is its first win in Gainesville since 2003.
Who starts at quarterback?
It's the biggest question facing the Vols heading into Saturday's game. Joe Milton injured his ankle towards the end of the first half against Pittsburgh and hasn't played a snap since.
Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker, who opened the season as the backup quarterback, started last week against Tennessee Tech and threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-25 passing. Hooker added 64 rushing yards and a score on nine carries.
"There are positives (in the quarterback room) in all of those guys and what they’ve done," Heupel said. "Decision-making at times, being really accurate with the football, decisive.
"I think first and foremost, we have to take better care of the football at that position. That’s where our turnovers have happened on the offensive side of the ball. There are plays in the passing game that we’re capable of making from that position too. That is the quarterback. It’s also the wideouts, it’s also the protection, too. All those things have to come together. You’re going to have to hit those plays when you have a chance. In this ballgame they’re tough to come by.”
Milton was able to participate at times in practice this week, but it was Hooker who took most of the first team reps. Heupel stated Thursday that Tennessee wasn't considering a two-quarterback system.
Can the Vols slow down Florida's rushing attack?
If Tennessee's quarterback situation was settled, this would be the biggest question heading into the game. Florida enters with the second-best rushing attack in all of college football.
The Gators ran for 244 yards against Nick Saban's defense and now boasts the No. 2 rushing offense in the country through three games. Dan Mullen's offense is averaging 335.7 rushing yards per game and has rushed for 1,007 yards, which is the highest total through the first three games of a season in 40 years.
“I think they do a good job of spacing people out," Heupel said. "The quarterback run game is a huge part of what they do, and that’s been a part of what he’s done for a long time. That’s speed option, it’s power read, it’s essentially triple-option off of different schemes and you’ve got to play disciplined, you’ve got to be able to tackle the quarterback in space, you’ve got to do a great job of tackling their running backs. They’re strong, athletic, they finish runs. They’re talented in the backfield.”
Tennessee has fared well against the run through three games this season. It's held Bowling Green (32), Pittsburgh (96) and Tennessee Tech (35) all under 100 rushing yards and is only allowing 54.3 rushing yards per game, which ranks second in the SEC and fifth in the country.
“I think we’ve got the guys, they’re playing hard," defensive line coach Rodney Garner said. "They’re playing for one another. We’re playing vertically, for the most part. We’re trying to create knockbacks. When you’re getting 10 and 11 hats to the ball, obviously you’ve got an opportunity to be successful, but we have so much room for improvement when you sit there and you look at the film, just playing with more of an edge, just even improving our fundamentals with our hat placement, our hand placement, our pad level, disengaging and tearing off blocks, just doing all those little things that it’s going to take."
Other Tidbits
- Heupel on Tennessee’s injury situation going into the Florida game: “Believe we’ll get some of them back. It’s day to day with the health of these guys. We’re more banged-up than I would want to be at this point in the season. We are where we are. Cannot wait for the 70 guys to get on the plane and go fly down to Gainesville. We’ll be healthy enough to go play good football.”
- Heupel on linebacker Juwan Mitchell's status: “He’s been able to be with us on the grass a little bit this week. We’ll see where he’s at when we get through tomorrow and then be able to determine where he’s going to be.”
- Aubrey Solomon caught the attention of Heupel and Garner for his performance against Tennessee Tech.
“I thought Aubrey did some really good things," Heupel said. :Obviously the play behind the line of scrimmage, tackled, disruptive. He’s continued to get better as his investment inside of our building has become greater. Do things right outside of the game, eventually good things happen if you keep competing. Thought he did a good job the other day.”
“Like I shared with Aubrey, Aubrey has hung in there and he’s making strides," Garner said. "I’m proud of him for at least staying the course. Obviously he had a long ways to go when we got here, a lot of things that he needed to work on. But he persevered, put him on scout team, he worked his way through it, kept a good attitude and he’s just showing that he wants to be a part of the program.
“But I was proud of him, the way he went out there and he got his opportunity on Saturday. He went out there and he showed up and he performed, and he did a good job for us, so hopefully he’ll be consistent and he’ll do the things that it takes to be able to gain and earn more playing time."
- Kodi Burns on Tennessee's part in the deep ball not being completed consistently: “You’ve got to get open, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job of trying to separate versus man-to-man and have some guys running. And, like I talked about, obviously, throughout the course of fall camp, didn’t really name a starting quarterback. And whenever you have quarterbacks rotating with different wideouts, different receivers run at different speeds, and so now that we’re starting to slow it down and you know who the core guys are, you get those reps and you get that continuity.
“And that’s why I say, man, just be patient. I think it’s going to come. We’re going to hit those deep balls, and if we do hit a couple of those, I think it’s a different season right now. We’d feel a little bit better about where we are right now."
- Alontae Taylor on what it takes to be successful against Florida: "Mindset-wise we just have to be consistent (and) play physical. It's going to be a physical game all four quarters. So come out like I said, be consistent, play physical, match their intensity, match the energy. It's going to be a night game, ESPN, seven o'clock. The stadium's going to be crazy, so just come in ready to play, keep the main thing, the main thing."
- Ja’Quain Blakely on what they will need to do up front to try and contain Florida’s run game: “Watching them up front, they have a strong o-line, so as a unit we need to play vertical, contain the quarterback, the running back (and) keep the running to a minimum. Just play hard and play vertical.”
Matchups to Watch
The interior of Tennessee's o-line vs. the interior of Florida's d-line
Sophomore Cooper Mays is set to return to the starting lineup at center after missing the past two games due to injury. It'll be a big boost to the Vols, but Mays better be ready to go from the jump. Florida redshirt-seniors Antonio Valentino and Daquan Newkirk, as well as sophomore Gervon Dexter and 400-pound Desmond Watson will be a tall task. Mays, Jerome Carvin and Javontez Spraggins must play well for the Vols.
Tennessee's receivers vs. Florida's secondary
Florida's secondary is vulnerable, particularly with the availability of its best corner — Kaiir Elam — in question. With redshirt freshman Avery Helm and true freshman Jason Marshall likely playing large roles, the Vols must take advantage. If UT can finally begin connecting on the deep balls, we're talking about a completely different ball game.
Tennessee's defensive front vs. Florida's offensive line
Florida rushes the ball better than just about anybody. Tennessee's defensive front will need to do a great job of swarming to the football and gang-tackling if it wants to slow down the Gator run in order to give its offense a chance.
Stats to know
- Tennessee and Florida are meeting for the 51st time. The Gators lead the series 30-20.
- Florida has won four in a row over the Vols. Tennessee’s last win against the Gators came on Sept. 24, 2016, in Knoxville by a score of 38-28
- UT is seeking its first win in Gainesville since a 24-10 win over the Gators on Sept. 20, 2003. Heupel would become the first Vol head coach to defeat Florida in his first try since Phillip Fulmer did so on Sept. 19, 1992. The last UT coach to win in Gainesville in his first game against Florida was Bill Battle on Oct. 24, 1970
- The Vols are averaging 3.08 offensive plays per minute, which is tops in the nation. Utah State is the next closest at 2.95. UT's 77.67 plays per game ranks 13th in the FBS.
- Tennessee has eclipsed the 30-point mark in each of its first three games it is averaging 42.7 points, which ranks third in the SEC and tied for 15th in the country. It’s the first time that UT has produced 30 or more points in its first three games of a season since 2004.
- Tennessee has outscored opponents 38-0 in the first quarter this season. The Vols are one of two SEC teams yet to surrender a point in the first quarter (Arkansas).
- The Vols have held three straight opponents under 100 yards rushing in the same season for the first time since 2005. This season, UT held Bowling Green (32), Pittsburgh (96) and Tennessee Tech (35) under 100 yards rushing. UT is allowing only 54.33 yards rushing per game, which ranks second in the SEC and fifth in the FBS.
- Five Vols call the state of Florida home, including wide receiver Andison Coby (Fort Lauderdale), linebacker Morven Joseph (Lakeland), offensive lineman Kingston Harris (Orlando), quarterback Joe Milton III (Pahokee) and defensive back De’Shawn Rucker (Tallahassee).
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