NC State safety says playing against Tennessee Vols' up-tempo offense will be easier than practicing against it
NC State Wolfpack safety DK Kaufman may have accidentally given the Tennessee Vols some bulletin board material ahead of the matchup between the two teams in Charlotte on Saturday night. Kaufman spoke to reporters on Tuesday and he was asked about NC State simulating Tennessee's up-tempo offense in practice. The senior defensive back suggested that […]
NC State Wolfpack safety DK Kaufman may have accidentally given the Tennessee Vols some bulletin board material ahead of the matchup between the two teams in Charlotte on Saturday night.
Kaufman spoke to reporters on Tuesday and he was asked about NC State simulating Tennessee's up-tempo offense in practice.
The senior defensive back suggested that it will be easier to play against Tennessee's offense in a game than it will be to play against it in practice.
“We’re doing a good job of that (simulating Tennessee’s tempo),” said Kaufman. “Just trying to get everyone to hurry up and get back to the ball….just getting everybody to hurry up and run back and get in their positions. It’ll be easier in the game because we’ll know where the ball will be placed on the hash. When we’re at practice, they switch hashes. So it’s really harder at practice honestly.”
“Yeah, for sure,” added Kaufman when asked if he feels like NC State’s defense will be able to handle Tennessee’s tempo after practicing against it. “Practice is always harder than a game — at least it should be. Here it is.”
Kaufman also noted that the biggest challenge about facing Tennessee's offense isn't necessarily the scheme, but the tempo.
“Really just the biggest thing is just that tempo," explained Kaufman. "You know, they try to hide a lot of things with the tempo, but [the] good thing [is] that we have coordinators who have played [against] this offense before. So we’ve really been able to adapt and pick up some things."
‘It’s really just all about us at the end of the day," added Kaufman. "You know, we’ll lock in and do what we have to do. I’m sure that our game plan is good enough to stop it. But that’s a good team…it’s going to be a dog fight for sure. It’s going to be fun.”
Kaufman wasn't talking trash — in fact, he also told reporters that if NC State doesn't play better against Tennessee than they did in the season-opener against Western Carolina, they'll get embarrassed.
Still, he seems awfully confident that NC State won't have any issues with the Vols' tempo (which is must faster this season with Nico Iamaleava starting at quarterback than it was last season with Joe Milton).
Josh Heupel and his team have historically used perceived "slights" as motivation (we all remember the 2022 Kentucky game and the 2022 LSU game). That's why Tennessee would be wise to plaster Kaufman's words on every offensive player's locker this week — even if he wasn't trying to rile up the Volunteers.
