Vols Seeking Consistent Preparation Going Into Game Against Akron

(utsports.com) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Coming off a road victory at No. 17 Pittsburgh last Saturday, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the media for his weekly Monday press conference to recap the Vols’ big win and preview this weekend’s contest against Akron.

“Excited about the way our kids competed this Saturday and proud of our ability to find a way to win a game that was against a good opponent,” Heupel said. “Obviously, we did not play our best in some areas, but we found a way to come out on the right side of it.”

Saturday’s game was far from perfect and presented the Vols with plenty of adverse situations, ones which might have been too much to overcome for last year’s team. However, the program’s growth from the start of last season to now and the culture that has been built during that time proved to be a major reason why UT was able to come away victorious.

“The accountability that we have inside of our program, doing the right things in every area of your life, it shows up in how you play,” Heupel said. “The mental toughness, physical toughness and the ability to strain when things aren’t going your way, being relentless and playing together in all phases of the game. It’s just the growth of individuals and the growth of our units together. All that adds up to us having the ability to fight and win a game in overtime like we played.”

While the offense was impressive in spurts during Saturday’s win, Tennessee’s defense was the story of the game, holding the Panthers in check for much of the game while putting constant pressure on Pitt’s quarterbacks.

“With just our front four, there were times that we did a great job,” Heupel said. “Tyler Baron’s strip-sack at the end of the half. Obviously, Tre (Flowers) with pressure at the end of the football game. It was a combination of both of those things and, as the game went on, I thought the coverage on the back end forced them to hold it for another count. Early in the football game, we were a step short of being able to hit the quarterback. I thought the combination of what we were doing was really good. I thought coach Tim Banks and our defensive staff did a great job in game planning and preparation, had our guys ready to go compete.”

Senior linebacker and Tennessee’s leading tackler Aaron Beasley attributed a lot of UT’s defensive success early this season to the team’s understanding off the defense and the ability to play fast.

“I would have to say we’re just out there playing, playing fast, not thinking as much, not worried about messing up,” Beasley said. “We’re really out there just playing ball and playing fast. I think that’s the biggest thing for us.”

As the Vols prepare for this week’s opponent, Akron, Heupel harped on the importance of consistency when it comes to preparation.

“The challenge every week is really us,” Heupel said. “Our preparation has to be consistent, your process of how you approach and get to game day is what takes you to game day to play your best football. If you ever deviate from that plan and change it, you’re setting yourself up for failure. We talked about that in the team meeting today.

“College football has always been this way, but certainly this past weekend and the first weekend, you see it. Everybody’s got 85 (scholarship players) and they’ve got good coaching staffs, so you better prepare and be ready to compete in a really good way. Your competitiveness cannot deviate from week to week.”

Kickoff for Saturday’s contest against the Zips is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed digitally on SEC Network+ and ESPN+ on the ESPN app.