Josh Heupel weighs in on one Tennessee Vols player who had a game to forget in win over Kentucky
Sometimes you just want to go somewhere and hide when things aren't going your way on a football field. However, there was nowhere to hide for Tennessee Vols kicker Max Gilbert on Saturday night against Kentucky. Before a national audience and over 100,000 fans in attendance, Gilbert missed all three field goal attempts. He pulled […]
Sometimes you just want to go somewhere and hide when things aren't going your way on a football field. However, there was nowhere to hide for Tennessee Vols kicker Max Gilbert on Saturday night against Kentucky.
Before a national audience and over 100,000 fans in attendance, Gilbert missed all three field goal attempts. He pulled his first attempt wide left from 43 yards, pushing his next wide right from 40 yards, and then pulled his final attempt wide left from 34 yards.
Fortunately, Tennessee hung on to win 28-18, so the misses didn't ultimately cost them the game. However, one has to wonder where Gilbert's head is at after the worst performance of his college career.
Josh Heupel weighed in on his kicker after the game, and he didn't indicate he'd lost any confidence in him going forward.
"I do have confidence in him. He’s got to find a way to start fast during the course of the football game. He’s kicked it extremely well up until the last couple weeks. (He) hit one late against Alabama too. He kicked well in practice. The routine and getting warmed up after coming in the locker room, wherever it might be, just have to get him into the flow of it. Because of how it’s gone offensively, it’s not like he’s had chip shots to start it out either. He’s good enough to pop in and otherwise execute.”
It's interesting that Heupel notes that Gilbert needs to start fast during the course of the game, which is particularly appropriate since he missed two of his three kicks in the first half on Saturday.
However, that exact same advice applies to all of the team outside of the defense. Tennessee's offense managed a meager 7 points in the first half – a continuously troubling trend – against the Wildcats and failed to find their way into the end zone several times in the frame. Dropped passes and flawed execution by the offense led to pressure on Gilbert that the offense could have avoided with better play themselves.
Still, the Vols will need Gilbert at his best in key games down the stretch against Georgia and even Vanderbilt. We'll find out on Saturday night against Mississippi State if he has his yips behind him – or if Heupel will have an issue on his hands he's got to address quickly.
Tennessee’s marching band had the perfect tribute to the 2024 baseball national champion Vols during UT’s win over Chattanooga
Tennessee had a very creative hat tip to its baseball team on Saturday afternoon
