The 2024 college football season enters Week 2.
Tennessee (1-0) will look to remain undefeated after a 69-3 win versus Chattanooga last week. The Vols will now face North Carolina State (1-0) at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina (7:30 p.m. EDT, ABC).
Fourth-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media on Monday and previewed the upcoming matchup.
“Good start this past weekend,” Heupel said. “Appreciate our fans, they did an awesome job. Players were in this morning and got an opportunity to learn from the film.
“We have a big football game this week. Really good opponent that we are playing. They play all three phases of the game really well together. Defensively, they’ve been really good. It will be a great test for us up front, on the perimeter and at quarterback. Offensively, they have a really experienced quarterback; they have great playmakers around him. Their special teams are really good, too. Huge test for us this week. It’s one we’re excited about, traveling a few hours down the road. Looking forward to seeing Vol nation show up. It will be a great contest.”
Everything Heupel said on Monday in preparation for the Wolfpack is listed below.
On what wide receiver Kevin Concepcion does well for North Carolina State
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“He has elite speed, really good hands, and he makes plays on special teams. On the offensive side of the ball, they do a really good job of moving around and finding space for him to work and operate. He’s strong and explosive. We have to know where he is throughout the course of the football game.”
On emphasis they put on being more effective over the middle of the field on offense
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“It’s been a part of our offense. Last year, we weren’t as efficient in the middle of the field as we wanted to be. Had a good start to it this past week. There are a lot of things within the structure of what we’re doing offensively that we could be better at, too. The guys have had an opportunity to watch it with their coaches today, and we have to make improvements. This is a good football team we’re getting ready to go play.”
On what he liked about Nico Iamaleava’s vision on when connecting with receivers
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“I thought he was extremely accurate and had his eyes in the right spot. Did a really good job of hitting windows. That’s in-between defenders at the second level and over-under balls between the second and third level.”
On what it means for Nico Iamaleava to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors
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“It means that he played well in Week 1 and had an opportunity to grow, learn from the tape today and get ready for a really good football team this week. Young quarterback who is going to continue to get better. Great test this week that we have coming up in NC State.”
On what it was like to finally see the defensive line depth in action
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“A bunch of guys that played up front will continue to rotate as we go. I thought they all played extremely hard. Did a good job disrupting blocks. There are some things we have to get better at, but effort and technique for the most part was really good. One of the strengths of that unit is the ability to play multiple guys so you are fresh upfront. I thought our second level did a really nice job playing physically and playing downhill, too.”
On if he was surprised on how the running backs were able to be physical, despite previous health issues
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“I wasn’t surprised by the way they ran the football. Each of them has a different story as far as their progress physically. A couple of guys had offseason surgery, but throughout the course of training camp, they worked themselves back into playing football in playing shape. I felt like they were executing those things that we wanted them to fundamentally at the end of the runs. There are some things they have a chance to grow from here watching the film, but excited about the way that group played as a whole.”
On how he felt about tight ends, particularly Ethan Davis
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“Ethan made some nice plays out in space. I thought the other guys did a really good job out in space as well. All three of them played solid in the core, in the run game, and a couple times they were in protections as well. Like that group, we have to continue to grow and get better this week.”
On Nico Iamaleava’s Week 1 to Week 2 progression and a challenge that a quarterback faces in that second game
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“Everybody faces the same challenge. As a competitor, you can live in what everybody is talking about last week, but the reality is that you’re only as good as your next performance. Prepare, practice the right way and get ready to go play.”
On what makes North Carolina State impressive in the secondary
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“They have some transfers that they brought in. All three levels of their defense playing together is a big part of the picks and their zone coverage dropping out, making the windows tough. In their pressure, applying pressure to the quarterback, getting home and making it uncomfortable for him.”
On his evaluation of the starting offensive line
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“I thought they played really solid. We rotated some early in the football game. Some things that all of them can do better fundamentally, but all-in-all, thought it was a solid performance.”
On Lance Heard’s first game and his adjustment to the tempo of the offense
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“I thought he was really comfortable in what we were doing within the tempo of our offense. He performed really well. I thought he played extremely well.”
On the status of defensive back Rickey Gibson III
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“We held a couple of guys on game day, you might have seen them warm up. End of the day, he’ll be ready to roll this week. I just felt like for our football team and the longevity, there were a couple of guys we held out that could’ve played in that one, but we’ll hold them for this week.”
On if he thinks the offensive and defensive lines are the deepest since he has been at Tennessee
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“Yeah, for sure. I think I’ve said it before, but as we’ve had to navigate our roster, build our roster back from when I first got here while taking some deductions, this is certainly the deepest that we’ve been, and we’re close to being at full strength. We’re not quite there yet, but this will be the last year that we’re a little bit thin. As a whole, the development, the body types and athleticism that we have is definitely the deepest that we’ve been.”
On redshirt freshman placekicker Max Gilbert
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“I feel really good with him. Really strong leg. I like his competitive makeup, very confident and comfortable no matter what situation we’ve put him in. Obviously, game day is a different deal, but really solid. He’s got a smooth swing, he’s consistent, and I trust him.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 12:12:00
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