Everything Josh Heupel Said On Wednesday's SEC Teleconference Ahead of Pitt

Tennessee is set to travel to Pittsburgh (Pa.) on Saturday for a top-25 matchup against No.17 Pitt at 3:30 pm ET on ABC. Earlier today, Josh Heupel spoke to the media on the SEC Teleconference. Below is everything he had to say.

Opening Statement

Excited for our program. Facing a really good football team. Our first test on the road this year. The composure and toughness you have to show on the road, we are excited to go compete. It has been a good week of practice so far. Excited to finish the preparation before we head off to Pittsburgh later this week. We faced them a year ago and understand who they are and what they are about. We are excited to go show who we are.

On Hendon's Familiarity With Pitt

I think there is value in what we did a year ago and what we saw for him and what we are doing offensively. Going back to his time at Virginia Tech, I think there is not a lot of value in that because things have changed schematically and for him as a player.

On Ranked vs Ranked Matchup

As far as rankings, those things don't matter at this point in the year. The challenge for us is to prepare the right way to be our best and go compete fiercely on Saturday. Don't go up and down with the flow of the football game, but be a great competitor for sixty minutes, that is one of the things I talked to the guys about today at the end of practice. The excitement is we understood they are really good team and a team we played a year ago. We have an understanding of who they are at the core. They are physical, tough, and a smart football team. Some of the things we did in the game a year ago, we can't afford to do. This is the next game in the journey for us this year. Our guys have been really good and they have prepared the right way. They are excited about it absolutely. Excitement alone is not going to help you go win this football game.

On Getting Too Excited Early in the week

The energy on game day is different than your energy and focus during the course of a practice. We need to be focused and intentional, but the game is not today. We have to continue to build that throughout the course of the week. For us, we have finished our Wednesday practice and will have another practice in the morning. I feel like the last two days have been really good. They have been intentional. We haven't been perfect, but you are never going to be perfect in practice. A big part of us for Saturday is winning the next 72 hours and getting ourselves prepared as we build towards kickoff.

On Not Looking at Scoreboard Video

I think whether if you are up or down, we are focusing on trying to play each play independently and competing in a fierce way. I thought our kids did that on Thursday. I say that there were some young guys that you put in a ball game and them getting an opportunity, they are a little bit not focused and it gets real sloppy, real quick. Obviously, there was the one offensive series where we turned it over with our young guys that we would like back. I thought, for the most part, our focus and the way we competed during the course of the ball game was really positive. One of the things I noticed was the way our starters were invested when they were on the sideline, and it was the young guys' turn. They were into the game just like they were going to go back out there and play. That speaks to our growth and maturity standpoint from where we were a year ago at this time.

On Hendon's Performance Week One

Very Decisive. Was making the right decisions. Took care of the football in a really good way. I thought he handled a structure that was a little bit different than what we had prepared for in a really good way. I think he has a really good grasp of what we are doing and why we are doing it, and based on what he sees from the other side, attacking the right side of the field.

On what he has seen from Kedon Slovis

I think Kedon plays extremely smart. He has a really good grasp of what they are trying to do. We have to do a good job of handling the play-action pass in this football game and getting them off schedule. He has a ton of experience. He is new to what they are doing at Pitt, but he has played a lot of football.

On What He Has Seen From Bru McCoy.

Smart. Tough. Competitive. Focused. Gets better every day out on the practice field. I thought for his first game action, and what we are doing offensively, he handled himself in a really mature way. I am talking about from the whistle of the previous play to the next snap. I thought when the ball was in his hands, he competed fiercely and did a good job just route structure-wise. Showed a lot of growth from when he first got here. Excited about his continued growth over the course of this season.

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