Josh Heupel discusses important moment in Tennessee's win against Alabama that's been overlooked
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel discussed an important moment on Thursday from UT's memorable win against Alabama last season that's been mostly overlooked. Heupel was asked about the Alabama game during an appearance on "The Paul Finebaum Show" and he revealed that he considered using a valuable timeout during Alabama's final possession, but he […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel discussed an important moment on Thursday from UT's memorable win against Alabama last season that's been mostly overlooked.
Heupel was asked about the Alabama game during an appearance on "The Paul Finebaum Show" and he revealed that he considered using a valuable timeout during Alabama's final possession, but he wisely opted to keep the timeout.
“A lot of great moments," said Heupel about Tennessee's win over Alabama. "Had a discussion whether you call a timeout and try to ice the kicker, didn’t want to do that. Wanted enough time, if there was enough time on the back end of it if he missed it, to give us a chance to go and put a drive together. At the end of the day, you try to put your kids in a position situationally, what you think you’re going to see, give them an opportunity. You can go run some plays where you can pick up some chunks."
“Our guys operated and did a great job, from the offensive line to obviously Hendon, in particular that last throw, where he’s getting hit as he’s letting it go," continued Heupel. "But Ramel Keyton, great coach. Bru McCoy, goes up and grabs the ball and gets hit. They were able to go execute, not perfectly, but we were able to go execute the kick. We wanted our protection to be a little bit better than it was on that play, but it worked.”
Tennessee ended up using both timeouts on their final drive. And considering there were only 15 seconds on the clock when the Vols got the ball back after Alabama's missed field goal, I'd say those two timeouts were critical.
Heupel used the first timeout after Hendon Hooker's completion to Ramel Keyton (nine seconds on the clock after Keyton's catch). The next timeout was used after Hooker's completion to Bru McCoy, which put the Vols in field goal range.
It's possible that Tennessee could've got by with just one timeout since the clock stops on first downs. But having both timeouts allowed Heupel and offensive coordinator Alex Golesh an opportunity to survey the situation after the completion to Keyton and get the Vols into a good look. It also eliminated any potential confusion as Tennessee's players raced to get into position. Additionally, if the Vols don't get the ball snapped as soon as it's set after the completion to Keyton, it's possible that there wouldn't have been enough time to call a timeout after the completion to McCoy (there were two seconds left on the clock after the completion to McCoy).
So yes, it's possible Tennessee would've won the game with just one timeout on their final drive, but it seems very unlikely.
Coaches get criticized heavily for bad timeout usage/time management, but they're rarely praised for correctly handling a tough clock situation. Heupel managed the clock situation beautifully against Alabama. And it's a big reason why the players on the field had a chance to win the game.
Josh Heupel just made Lane Kiffin look foolish and recruits are going to notice
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel just made Ole Miss Rebels Lane Kiffin look foolish and recruits are going to notice
Featured image via Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
