Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel. Photo by Tennessee Athletics.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel answered questions from reporters on the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday in his last media availability before the Vols head to Fayetteville to face Arkansas.
Heupel discussed Arkansas’ success offensively on third down, the challenges that quarterbacks Taylen Green presents and much more. Here’s everything Heupel said on Wednesday.
More From RTI: Best of Arkansas Sports’ Andrew Hutchinson Talks Tennessee’s Trip To Fayetteville
Opening Statement
“Good afternoon everybody. Big football game in front of us this week. Obviously we’re playing a really good Arkansas football team. You can look really in every phase of the game and see that they’re playing well. It’s a football team that’s a couple plays away from being undefeated and I know that’ll be a great environment Saturday night. So we got to do ordinary things at a really high level and, and play extremely smart football to give ourselves a chance in this one. Defensively, those guys are doing a great job against the run. And really all three levels of the defense are playing in coordination, in sync. And offensively, their ability to run the football, running back is playing extremely well. And their quarterback, being as mobile as he is, got a chance to have a huge impact on the football game. So we got to do a great job on him on quarterback designed runs. We got to do a great job of as we’re applying pressure and trying to push the pocket, not letting him escape and extend and make plays. And it’s a football game that our team’s looking forward to.
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They’ve had good preparation so far this week. We got to continue to prepare the right way to give ourselves a chance to go play good football on Saturday.”
On Tennessee transfers Addison Nichols and Doneiko Slaughter starting for Arkansas
“That’s the era of college football that we’re in, where you have an opportunity to, at times during the season, play guys that were inside of your own program. And those two guys are really good kids. They do things the right way off the field. They compete extremely hard on the field and both of those guys are playing extremely well for Arkansas right now.”
On how different this Arkansas team is from last season, what Tennessee has seen while preparing for the Razorbacks
“I just think they’re playing extremely well in all three phases of the game. They play smart football, don’t give up a ton of big plays defensively. They’ve been really good against the run. They’re big, strong physical. I think on the offensive side of the football, the quarterback is a difference maker for them. And just as a complete team, they’re playing extremely well together. And like I said, there are a couple plays away from being undefeated. I have a ton of respect for coach.
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I think he does a great job. He’s one of the good good guys in the business. You can tell that his team believes in him and that they play extremely hard for him.”
On Arkansas’ ability to convert on third down this season and what he’s seen out of Bobby Petrino as the offensive coordinator
“Yeah, coach has done a really good job for a really long time on the offensive side of the football. And that’s him being able to subtly tweak what he’s seeing from the structure on the other side of the football, the defenses that he is facing. He’s put his guys in a position to be successful. They’re playing smart football, assignment sound on the offensive side of the football, o-line is playing extremely well. And then they put their quarterback in a position where he’s got a chance to impact the football game.”
On if he seems any vulnerability in Arkansas’ protection as it prepares to face Tennessee’s pass rush and blitz packages
“Yeah, their offensive line is playing well, in my opinion. We’ve done a good job of affecting the quarterback. That’s with our front four and also being able to do that within our pressure packages on normal downs and third down. Our pressures, I think we’ve gotten better. Fundamentally, we’ve done a better job of keeping contain within our pressure packages. Our linebackers and safeties have done a nice job when they’ve been pressuring. In this football game, the quarterback’s ability to escape is something that all 11 got to do a great job of understanding. And if he does break contain, we got to find a way to make him uncomfortable. You got to chase him down. He’s got great speed. We got to do a great job of matching out the wide receivers on scramble drill.”
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On Arkansas running back Ja’Quinden Jackson
“Man, he is a really good player. I think he does a great job of pressing the line of scrimmage, using the double teams, escaping to space when it’s time to. Does a good job of getting behind his pads as well at the end of the run.”
FAYETTEVILLE — The signing of two kickers out of the NCAA transfer portal by the University of Arkansas on Sunday came into clearer focus late that night when highly touted freshman Scott Starzyk announced via social media he was entering the portal.
Starzyk was joined on Monday by defensive tackle Kevin Oatis as the considerable exodus continued for first-year Coach Ryan Silverfield.
The Razorbacks have as many as 30 scholarship players in the portal, and a small handful have already announced their destinations.
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The portal period opened on Friday and it will stay open through Jan. 16. The most recent announcements came from receivers Kam Shanks and Krosse Johnson and defensive back Quentavius Scandrett on Saturday, then long snapper Ashton Ngo, defensive back Ahkhari Johnson and Starzyk on Sunday.
“I’m officially in the NCAA transfer portal,” Starzyk posted to X late Sunday. “Thank you to all the fans at Arkansas for a great year. And thank you to the staff who have supported me during my time at the university.”
Arkansas landed Tennessee transfer Max Gilbert out of the portal on Sunday as well as Braeden McAlister, a kickoff specialist, from Georgia State.
Gilbert, a rising junior from Memphis, made 14 of 19 field goals (73.7%) this season, with a long of 53 yards. He has made 34 of 45 (75.6%) through two years as a starter.
Starzyk, the No. 1 kicker of the 2025 class by Kohl’s Kicking, had a strong freshman season while leading Arkansas with 89 points. The 5-10, 172-pounder from The Woodlands, Texas, made 14 of 18 field goals (77.8%) and converted all 47 of his extra-point tries. He was 2 of 3 from 50-plus yards, including a make from 53 yards on his first career field goal in the opener against Alabama A&M.
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With senior punter Devin Bale out of eligibility, the Razorbacks will lose a large chunk of their key special teams performers. Bale and Blake Ford, who is also in the portal, shared kickoff duties. Starzyk did all the place kicking and Ngo all the snapping, while Shanks was the Hogs’ top punt returner and running back Rodney Hill the lead kickoff returner.
Razorback transfers with known commitments are offensive line starter E’Marion Harris, a former standout at Joe T. Robinson who is expected to sign with Oklahoma, defensive end Justus Boone (Wisconsin), defensive tackle Ian Geffrard (Texas) and linebacker Tavion Wallace (Kentucky).
Brett Barrouquere is a staff writer with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A reporter and editor for more than 30 years, he’s worked a little bit of everywhere, mainly in the South. His most recent stop before Arkansas was in Baltimore, Maryland, as a night and breaking news editor. He’s a New Orleans native and has two daughters.
