‘The head coach is different this week’ – Vols insider leaves no doubt about Josh Heupel’s mindset before Tennessee vs Georgia game
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is “different” this week ahead of his team’s showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs. It’s not a bad different, though. VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs pointed out on Friday during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will that Heupel “relishes” playing in big games. “The bigger the game, the looser […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is “different” this week ahead of his team’s showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs.
It’s not a bad different, though.
VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs pointed out on Friday during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will that Heupel “relishes” playing in big games.
“The bigger the game, the looser [Josh Heupel] is in the moment with his football team”
“Tennessee has gotten better playing Georgia,” said Hubbs. “They played them the best a year ago that they’ve played them in this series. And the head coach (Heupel) doesn’t get tight. The head coach is different this week than he was last week. The head coach last week was not a very happy camper. And those games are not at the top of Josh Heupel’s wish list. He understands them, and you gotta go get better — you got to use it the right way. And he tried to do that, certainly in the second half (against East Tennessee State), playing all of his young people.
“But this week, this head coach, the competitiveness in him — he relishes playing in these types of games, so he doesn’t get tight. I don’t think his football team will play tight tomorrow. Will it be enough? I don’t know. But what I’ve seen out of him in four years is that the bigger the game, the looser he is in the moment with his football team. And I think Tennessee will play pretty free tomorrow.”
Heupel, dating back to his days as a player at Oklahoma, has never been afraid of the moment.
But that, of course, doesn’t guarantee anything on Saturdays in the SEC. There’s a lot of guys on both sides of the ball that will be ready to meet the moment.
I think Hubbs’ note on Heupel being “different” this week is a good thing for the Vols. I think it means that Tennessee will have the right intensity and focus against Georgia. And most importantly, as Hubbs noted, I think we’ll see Tennessee play free against Georgia.
But I think the same will be true of the players on the Bulldogs’ sideline, too.
It should be a heck of a game on Saturday in Neyland Stadium. And it may come down to which team makes the biggest plays late in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee Volunteers News
‘We’re not real close’ – Georgia’s Kirby Smart details his personal relationship with Tennessee’s Josh Heupel
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart was asked this week about his relationship with Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel. Tennessee and Georgia will meet on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville in one of the biggest college football games of the season so far. The Bulldogs have won eight straight games in the rivalry. Smart is […]
