Quote from Vols redshirt senior shows how the spirit of the team has changed under Josh Heupel
If you haven't noticed, this isn't the same ole Tennessee Vols team that we've seen over the last 15 years. Sure, we've seen some Tennessee teams get off to good starts before — most notably in 2016 when UT started 5-0 under Butch Jones only to collapse in the final half of the season — […]
If you haven't noticed, this isn't the same ole Tennessee Vols team that we've seen over the last 15 years.
Sure, we've seen some Tennessee teams get off to good starts before — most notably in 2016 when UT started 5-0 under Butch Jones only to collapse in the final half of the season — but this Vols team is just…different.
And we saw that on Saturday evening against Pittsburgh.
Things went as badly for the Vols as they possibly could've against the Panthers.
There were quick three-and-outs, a muffed punt, tipped passes that fell into Pittsburgh's hands, and a field goal that Tennessee blocked that somehow still went through the uprights.
It was disastrous at times.
And yet the Vols still won the game.
That's a game that Tennessee loses 15 times out of 15 times before this season.
Josh Heupel's culture change, however, is what led to this win for the Volunteers.
And that's something that was captured perfectly by Tennessee redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren during an interview with Dave Hooker.
"This isn't us, this is not our ball, this is not how we play," said Warren of the Vols' early struggles against Pittsburgh. "Let's figure out how we can get back to that. And we were all completely confident that once we started clicking and making adjustments and just playing the right way we would be just fine."
"That was the message on the sideline. Don't get discouraged. We are literally playing the worst that we could play and it's 10-0. It's not out of hand yet."
Warren said he knew the team would figure it out and come back. And that's exactly what they did.
That's a championship mindset. Understanding that sometimes games don't go according to the script. Adjustments have to be made to win games.
The Vols didn't get flustered when things weren't going their way. They dug deep and found a way to win. It wasn't pretty, but it ended with a win instead of a loss.
Tennessee is a mentally strong team. They showed that against Pitt. Getting battled tested like that on the road early in the season and still getting the win is going to serve this team extremely well the rest of the season.
There's a new vibe at UT under Heupel. This team isn't surprised when they win because they expect to win. That belief can be a powerful thing for a college football team.
Featured image via Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
