Tennessee thinks they're back again.
... back to pelting coaches with MUSTARD BOTTLES and GOLF BALLS.
*****
It's still raining quite aggressively in Atlanta ... and you can hear it inside the CFHOF.
He says it's been a "fast and furious" summer.
(Heupel has a vibe that doesn't scream football coach to me. Reminds me of Kevin from The Office.)
"I'm really proud of what we did during that first 12 months."
"Last year, we broke 8 school records on the offensive side of the football."
"There's a ton of excitement. Our fan base, you can feel and sense that energy."
He says they're really focused, as a program, on finishing. Notes that they fell short during the fourth quarter a few times last season.
Dude asks how his experience as a player (Oklahoma QB) helps him coaching at Tennessee. He notes that OU hadn't been to a bowl for five years before he got there. "One of the things I talk about ... it's never going about the numbers. The numbers I put up in Year Two as a player weren't as good as the numbers I put up in Year One. However, we found ways to win football games."
Dude asks about WR Cedric Tillman being the lone defensive target now that UT's receiving corp is weaker. "A lot of great players (have left), but there's a great opportunity." Says they've have great competition at that position in fall camp.
Dude asks about the importance of home weekends from a recruiting perspective. "When we get recruits up to Knoxville, Tennessee ... they see the river, they see Vol Walk, they see over 100,000 people being there. Those are great weekends for us."
Dude asks about Tillman again, how he's growing. "He's a great example for everybody inside our program ... if you go about your business every day and you compete, you're going to grow."
(Heupel is coughing a lot. I hope he's not sick.)
My friend Edgar from the Orlando newspaper wants to know about losing to Florida yet playing well after that. "As a young program, you have an opportunity to learn from it ... or it can be devastating. They gained confidence in who they were and what they were doing." Mentioned self-inflicted wounds wrecked their chances that game.
The effervescent Bob Holt from Arkansas asks about Dillon Gabriel being at Oklahoma this season. Heupel coached him at UCF. "Great leader, great work habits. Great player, no doubt about it."
Dude asks about NIL. "It's dramatically changed how young people come into your program and how thoughtful they are about every situation that they're involved in, how they're portrayed on social media. I would have liked to be afforded a part of NIL (as a player)."
Dude asks about the mustard bottles and golf balls. "I didn't sign any mustard bottles or golf balls. I might have wished I'd have had a golf ball that night. I'm just kidding." (He says the environment that night was electric.)
Dude asks about his communication style. "Just being extremely real with them, being completely transparent. One of the things that I've learned sitting in this role is to do less talking and a lot more listening."
Dude asks about the difference in recruiting year one to year two. "The landscape of recruiting at (Tennessee) ... the steady ground we're on, the competitive edge ... now you're not talking about what you're going to do. Recruits have seen it. That's the greatest tool that we have."
Dude asks about lessons learned from NIL. "It's extremely important that you have a great culture inside of your locker room, that you have strong leadership." He says coaches have to "be real" with players about things.
Dude asks about UT's defense and, specifically, how they'll get better on third down. (Pass.)
Dude asks about UT having a hunger to be better every year. "The expectations are never gonna be higher outside the building than they are inside the building. The outside noise will have nothing to do with how we are this season."
Dude on UT's offense and how do they hold the ball with the lead. "Tempo is one of the tools we use to apply pressure to a defense. At the end of the day, it all starts with the ability to run the football and control the line of scrimmage."
... back to pelting coaches with MUSTARD BOTTLES and GOLF BALLS.
*****
It's still raining quite aggressively in Atlanta ... and you can hear it inside the CFHOF.
He says it's been a "fast and furious" summer.
(Heupel has a vibe that doesn't scream football coach to me. Reminds me of Kevin from The Office.)
"I'm really proud of what we did during that first 12 months."
"Last year, we broke 8 school records on the offensive side of the football."
"There's a ton of excitement. Our fan base, you can feel and sense that energy."
He says they're really focused, as a program, on finishing. Notes that they fell short during the fourth quarter a few times last season.
Dude asks how his experience as a player (Oklahoma QB) helps him coaching at Tennessee. He notes that OU hadn't been to a bowl for five years before he got there. "One of the things I talk about ... it's never going about the numbers. The numbers I put up in Year Two as a player weren't as good as the numbers I put up in Year One. However, we found ways to win football games."
Dude asks about WR Cedric Tillman being the lone defensive target now that UT's receiving corp is weaker. "A lot of great players (have left), but there's a great opportunity." Says they've have great competition at that position in fall camp.
Dude asks about the importance of home weekends from a recruiting perspective. "When we get recruits up to Knoxville, Tennessee ... they see the river, they see Vol Walk, they see over 100,000 people being there. Those are great weekends for us."
Dude asks about Tillman again, how he's growing. "He's a great example for everybody inside our program ... if you go about your business every day and you compete, you're going to grow."
(Heupel is coughing a lot. I hope he's not sick.)
My friend Edgar from the Orlando newspaper wants to know about losing to Florida yet playing well after that. "As a young program, you have an opportunity to learn from it ... or it can be devastating. They gained confidence in who they were and what they were doing." Mentioned self-inflicted wounds wrecked their chances that game.
The effervescent Bob Holt from Arkansas asks about Dillon Gabriel being at Oklahoma this season. Heupel coached him at UCF. "Great leader, great work habits. Great player, no doubt about it."
Dude asks about NIL. "It's dramatically changed how young people come into your program and how thoughtful they are about every situation that they're involved in, how they're portrayed on social media. I would have liked to be afforded a part of NIL (as a player)."
Dude asks about the mustard bottles and golf balls. "I didn't sign any mustard bottles or golf balls. I might have wished I'd have had a golf ball that night. I'm just kidding." (He says the environment that night was electric.)
Dude asks about his communication style. "Just being extremely real with them, being completely transparent. One of the things that I've learned sitting in this role is to do less talking and a lot more listening."
Dude asks about the difference in recruiting year one to year two. "The landscape of recruiting at (Tennessee) ... the steady ground we're on, the competitive edge ... now you're not talking about what you're going to do. Recruits have seen it. That's the greatest tool that we have."
Dude asks about lessons learned from NIL. "It's extremely important that you have a great culture inside of your locker room, that you have strong leadership." He says coaches have to "be real" with players about things.
Dude asks about UT's defense and, specifically, how they'll get better on third down. (Pass.)
Dude asks about UT having a hunger to be better every year. "The expectations are never gonna be higher outside the building than they are inside the building. The outside noise will have nothing to do with how we are this season."
Dude on UT's offense and how do they hold the ball with the lead. "Tempo is one of the tools we use to apply pressure to a defense. At the end of the day, it all starts with the ability to run the football and control the line of scrimmage."
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