Tennessee HC Josh Heupel comments on 'opening up the playbook' against Florida
Over the first couple of weeks of the 2023 season, plenty of Tennessee Vols fans and college football analysts have wondered if UT's offensive game plans have been "vanilla". The Vols haven't taken many shots down the field and the majority of their passing plays have been throws behind or around the line of scrimmage. […]
Over the first couple of weeks of the 2023 season, plenty of Tennessee Vols fans and college football analysts have wondered if UT's offensive game plans have been "vanilla".
The Vols haven't taken many shots down the field and the majority of their passing plays have been throws behind or around the line of scrimmage.
Fans and analysts have speculated that maybe Vols head coach Josh Heupel and his staff are "saving" plays for the Florida Gators this weekend.
On Wednesday night during Vol Calls, a caller asked Heupel if that's the case.
Heupel, unsurprisingly, didn't dive too deep into his play calling philosophy, but he admitted that some things have been saved for bigger games.
"There’s some things, particularly probably last week, that situationally you’re trying to hold," explained Heupel. "At the end of the day, this is one of the biggest games on the schedule. It’s the biggest game on our schedule right now because it’s the only one we play this week. You’re going to need to take advantage in every situation. We’ve got to play smart football. We’ve got to put our players in great position to make plays in all three phases of the game. And you’ve got to call it aggressive and you’ve got to play it aggressive.”
The Vols are going to have their hands full in the Swamp.
Florida hasn't been a dominant team in recent years, but they still have plenty of talent. And Gators head coach Billy Napier has a history of winning, so it would be unwise to write him off just yet. Florida is more than capable of winning on Saturday night and if the Vols don't execute better than they did against Austin Peay, they won't be leaving Gainesville with a win.
But if Tennessee plays like they're capable of playing and if the defense continues its strong play from the first two weeks of the season, then the Vols should emerge from the Swamp as a 3-0 team.
Tennessee and Florida kick off at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday night. You can watch the game on ESPN.
Tennessee defender comments on Vols’ players-only meeting ahead of the Florida game
A Tennessee defender commented on the Vols’ players-only meeting ahead of the Florida game
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
