What Josh Heupel said about Tennessee’s ‘elite leaders’ heading into Texas

By admin — In News — September 20, 2026

   ​Tennessee moved up No. 13 after a decisive victory against Kennesaw State and hopes to use that momentum as No. 1 Texas comes to town. Coach Josh Heupel talked after the late-night game about the highlights and lowlights and what must improve before the next big game at Neyland Stadium. “College GameDay” is coming to Knoxville and the spotlight is on. Heupel had compliments for the running backs, kicker and quarterback, and touched on team efforts that must improve. Here’s what he said in his postgame news conference. Josh Heupel postgame press conference versus Kennesaw StateJosh Heupel: Ultimately, a good win. Offensively, we’ve just got to be better in the red zone. But there were some real positives, too. Defensively, we ultimately kept them out of the end zone. Gave them some things here in the early part of the game, on that first drive. But all in all, a good night. Anyway, I’ll open it up. Questions? Question: Coach, kind of a two-parter. What was working so well for you guys on the ground without Javin Gordon tonight? And also, what did you want to see from your team coming into this game before Texas that needed to be tuned up a little bit?Heupel: Just play smarter. The penalties last week were egregious. We did play smarter tonight.There’s some things in our communication, defensively early, that we can be better in. Offensively, a few things, too. We’re going to have to get better from this tape, too, and understand who we’re playing next week. That was one of the main things.Running backs, you guys always get caught up in who the starter is. Maybe I shouldn’t say “you guys,” but people do. At the end of the day, you’re going to need everybody inside of that room.Duane ran extremely well tonight. Hunter Barnes went in there and ran well. Deshaun ran really well. We just didn’t think it was smart to put him back in at that point in the game as we get into conference play.Fast starts continue for Tennessee offenseQuestion: Coach, those opening drives, it seems like you guys are always clicking these past few games. How important is it to see those guys get through that first hurdle and score?Heupel: It doesn’t always happen. It happens because you execute. Guys adjust to something that may be a little bit different on tape. But it was positive to go get a touchdown on that drive and set the tone for the early part of the game.Tennessee running back depth: Duane Morris, DeShaun Bishop and Hunter BarnesQuestion: Talking about that running back room, I know DeShaun’s got some seniority, but are you confident in Duane? Can he do everything?Heupel: Fully confident in him. Fully confident in Baker. Hunter Barnes goes in there and plays extremely well tonight.Those guys are smart. They care. They’re selfless. Coach Sims does a great job leading those guys. Question: What did you think of Duane when he got his moment today?Heupel: Well, he had more than just one moment. He had 14 carries. He just played extremely well. You guys have seen tha  

Content Source: Yahoo News

Image Credit: Getty Images

All rights to the news content and images belong to their respective copyright owners.