Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel confirms exactly why Georgia Tech blocked the Vols’ first punt of the game
Tennessee looked like they were in trouble early after Georgia Tech blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.
Tennessee was on the wrong side of a big special teams play in the first quarter against Georgia Tech on Saturday night.
The Vols beat the Yellow Jackets 45-24, but Tennessee fans were a little nervous early in the game when Georgia Tech blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to take a 10-7 lead.
Vols punter Jackson Ross often rolls out “rugby style” to punt — in order for the punt coverage to get downfield — but he took a little too long on that one and it allowed Georgia Tech to make a big play.
Ross said during fall camp that he scouts other teams so he can know how long he has to hold the ball before punting or if he needs to get the punt off quickly.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was asked on Saturday if he thought Ross overthought things on the punt that got blocked.
Heupel quickly said that’s exactly what happened.
“Yes, he did,” said Heupel. “He’ll learn from it. We’ll be better for it. It’s the first time he’s done that in his career. Those guys take a lot of pride. Sometimes you get defined by one play in the game, but we’re fortunate that we overcame that play. But he’ll learn from it and ultimately we’ve got to be better than that.”
Ross made the adjustment and didn’t have any issues on his other punts throughout the night.
