Everything Josh Heupel Said Ahead of Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech

The Tennessee Volunteers picked up their first win of the season against the Furman Paladins. While the win is worth celebrating, the Vols will quickly turn to the next chapter of the 2026 season as they take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets inside Bobby Dodd.

This is a game that many fans believe will be a true test to determine where the Vols stand ahead of some of their biggest games of the season.

To kickstart the week, Josh Heupel spoke to the media. Here is everything he had to say.

Josh Heupel's Opening Statement

“Good afternoon, everybody. Great opportunity this week. I don’t think we’ve played at Bobby Dodd Stadium in close to 40 years, but a great opportunity against a really good opponent. A lot of steps forward that we need to take as a program to be ready for Saturday night to play our best football. A ton of respect for Georgia Tech with what they’ve done down there, and the program that they’ve built. It’ll be a great environment for a football game, and we need to get prepared to go play our best,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Jim Knowles' DC Debut

“I thought our ones played extremely well, assignment sound. I thought our front seven played extremely well. A lot of positives in game one of year one defensively. There are some things that holistically we’ve got to continue to grow in, but a positive showing,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What They Saw Physically Following Coach Derek Owings' Campaign in the Offseason

“Our guys did a great job. Coach Owings and his staff have done a great job. Saturday, it wasn’t like everybody played full 60 minutes either. But I think the gains, the strides that we’ve made in that area have parlayed itself into us playing with the type of physicality that we want to," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What Wrong After Watching the Tape

“A couple of things on the edge, tight ends. We just got to clean up some of their fundamentals. A couple of it was just communication on a different front than what we anticipated and don’t block it right. At the end of the day, it’s nothing major. It’s doing the little things. When you get ready to go on the road at night, the little things add up really quickly. Those are some of the small things that we’ve got to grow into to be ready to go play all the way that we need to Saturday night," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on the Offensive Line Having Depth and If He Would Like to Settle Into a Core Group

“New center playing. Some of our issues, some things that we need to clean up, stem from communication. That’s all five of them. Ultimately, during the course of the season, you’re going to need more than just five. The guys got their grades today. There’s areas of improvement for all of them. We’ll see how we play it on Saturday night as we go through the week," Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Jim Knowles as a Game Planner

“I think he’s good at being able to be different from week to week in presentations, rotations, pressures. I think he’s a good in-game adjuster as well,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Arion Carter Being the Only Captain Saturday

“He’s the strongest leader in our locker room. He represents Tennessee in the exact way that I and our administration, our staff would want somebody to represent Tennessee. It’s a no-brainer on Saturday to have him be the guy out there,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Arion Carter Donating $427 to a Cancer Research for Every Tackle He Makes

“I think it’s indicative of who he is, right? He’s passionate about a cause for multiple reasons. Obviously, his girlfriend, but his family history, as well. A guy that cares about community. So, I think it’s indicative of who he is as a person. The dollar amount certainly keeps the story alive,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Arion Carter Being a True Volunteer

“Young guy that came in was very mature, very focused. He’s grown tremendously as a football player, as a leader. You look at his success off the field, that’s in our community, it’s graduating with honors, how much of an impact he has inside of our program. He represents everything that’s good about college football. It certainly represents everything, the right way,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What He Saw From Georgia Tech Quarterback Alberto Mendoza

“He played extremely smart the other night. You can see him be able to progress through his reads. One through five, get all the way to the back side of the counter set and do it extremely quickly. He was accurate with the football. Athletic enough to extend and make plays as a passer, and has the feet to go gain yards afterwards, too. I thought he played extremely well the other night,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Who Needs to Step Up Following Joakim Dodson's Injury

“Tyreek (King) is the first guy that needs to continue to grow. He’s done a good job. I mentioned that during the course of training camp. He got some action the other day. He just needs to continue to grow. We’ve got great trust in him. Certainly, there’s urgency, if there wasn’t before, he certainly recognizes that now,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Joakim Dodson's Injury

“You just hate it for him. One really good kickoff return, unique just in how he gets tackled and the leg plants. From year one, finishing the season to January, just how he prepared, practiced, trained. Saw great strides in him as a player. Disappointing, you put all that work in, and you get one game of football. That’s always hard for anybody that goes through that,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on What He Wants to See From Faizon Brandon This Week

“Prepare the right way. Empty the tank in your preparation. That’s understanding what we’re doing. It always comes down to little things. That’s at home or on the road, but on the road, it’s even amplified. Great communication, control, and command of what we’re doing. He’s going to have to make plays, but he’s got to take care of the football, as well,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Georgia Tech Being a Physical Team

“They are a physical football team. They’ve had some turnover on their offensive line, but they still have a ton of experience. I think over 90 starts on the offensive line. Their running back room is as deep as anybody in the country. They’re physical. They run downhill. They’ve got great pad level. It’ll be a physical football game on Saturday night, and we have to win with physicality,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on Justice Haynes

“He’s a dynamic player. He is extremely physical and runs with great pad level. He’s got really good vision. We’ve seen him before as a program. He’s a special talent,” Heupel said.

Josh Heupel on No Early Deep Shots

“I anticipated them being pretty soft early in the football game. That’s why there weren’t a bunch of shots down the football field, but you talk about playing smart football, the little things adding up. We’re behind the chains on drive two and drive three from self-inflicted wounds. All of that is a part of why the first quarter was the way that it was,” Heupel said.

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