What Josh Heupel said after Tennessee’s 36-23 win at Vanderbilt

NASHVILLE – Everything head coach Josh Heupel said after No. 7 Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 36-23 at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday afternoon, rallying from an early 14-0 deficit to clinch a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff :

Opening speech

“Just proud of our football team. All week we’ve been talking about ending the regular season the right way. And you have to be a man to do that. And we prepared properly, practiced properly. We certainly didn’t start off right. The competitive composure and belief in the guys around you just kept fighting and turned the game on its head in the second quarter and early in the third quarter. I thought we did a great job defensively with having (Deigo Pavia) all over the place all day and in the running game and really limiting our passing game until the late drive in the fourth. Offensively, we got into the ball game after the early rally and largely took advantage of our chances. Just a good football game. Special teams, some things we can do better. But again, just look at the work these guys put in and be proud of them for finishing and playing the way they did here. And it’s a good team that we’ve only just played through. Look at their results against some of the best teams in America and realize that. Great way to end the season. Really proud of our boys.”

If Tennessee is an experienced team, it will help the Vols overcome the slow start

“I think this team as a whole, one of its greatest strengths is its competitive composition and its resiliency and ability to just make a play on the next snap. It’s something we talk about. We try to replicate all year round, not just during the season. But it’s a mature group of competitors and our veterans are certainly older leaders who operate in this way. But our young people also have this competitive mentality. That is one of the strengths of this football team. It’s really special.”

If what was at stake for Tennessee in this game would make the postgame locker room celebration extra special

“It ends the way we needed and wanted. It’s always sweet. And these guys have earned the right for this to be a big game. They went out, they took it. You have to look at it as a competitor when you’re in the arena. There’s definitely a lot of fun to be had in this locker room. I can’t wait to get back and see the rest of our guys.”

How the grueling SEC schedule prepared Tennessee for such adversity at Vanderbilt

“Best league in America. Every street game is a real street game. It’s hard to win at home or away. The depth of this league, everyone has great things to offer in the first two levels. They are long, big, explosive, hits are real. I have already said that away games are real in this league. It’s hard to win. And the season as a whole is different. And this is a special group that is able to handle the ups and downs and continue to compete to move forward. And to finish the season the way we did. Really proud of these guys.

If this game tested Tennessee’s strength more than any other

“I think this one probably tested it as much as any we’ve had.”

Dylan Sampson breaks Tennessee’s single-season rushing yards record

“I don’t even know if I have the right words to describe D-Samp and what he means to our team, both as a player and as a leader. But I don’t know if anyone has played the position better than him this year. He is dynamic. Plays great without having the ball in his hands. And talk about how he makes things happen when he has the ball in his hands. Dynamic moves, squishy threes and fours. He’s special, man. He’s played that position as well as anyone I’ve ever had this year.”

Tennessee’s 10-play, 86-yard touchdown drive gave it the lead just before halftime

“I thought, given everything that was going on at the start of the game, being pushed back, executing and making it tight, and then being able to turn it around at the end was huge.” And Nico, I just thought, that he played really well throughout the football game. He had the one litter that he would like to have back. He just flattened the throw, but man, he played really well today. Decision making, our tags, throws on the field, checking everything was in sync. I just thought he saw everything really well today. And then he had the ability to scramble and make plays, which is part of his game. Had some big deductions from edge defenders in the run game. I just played really good football today.”

What he saw from Tennessee receiver Chris Brazzell

“I just saw the guy had some ups and downs, ups and downs over the course of (the season). But man, I just feel like he’s on the verge of achieving what he’s capable of. And I give him credit for the investment he made in today’s opportunity. I thought he just did a really good job of winning the tackles, understanding coverage and settling into zones. He and Nico agreed. Chris played extremely well, but all the other guys did really well. And he did a really good job all day. It goes in that direction.”

Tennessee freshman wide receiver Mike Matthews is stepping up

“Mike is a young man who has done a great job in spring ball. And gets injured and misses too much time in training camp. And we had to fight through that a bit at the start of the season. I was super consistent and a really good practice player, and I knew that the last two or three games you could just see coming. And it’s a credit to him for just continuing to invest when it’s not necessarily exactly what you thought it would be, and understanding that there’s still a lot there for him and he played really good football today. Everyone will see the eggs he had in his hand. There are a few things where the coverage didn’t immediately get Nico on this page, but I think he did a great job. And then he also played extremely well without the ball. He also had some big boundary blocks which I thought he executed very well. He is a tough boy and extremely competitive. He has a great future ahead of him.”

Tennessee players help Nico Iamaleava and respond to adversity

“Man, quarterback is never going to be perfect. The best I’ve ever seen. Guys who won Heisman trophies and guys who should have been in New York City but weren’t. Man, they never play perfectly. I think I was the only one who ever played it perfectly. But I judge quarterbacks based on how they respond to the most critical situations. And when things aren’t going well and this guy is a warrior and a fierce competitor, you’ve heard me say that all year. He’ll just get better and better. The experienced guys, their competitiveness, their ability to just make the next play, it’s a tribute to who they are. Yes. They’ve influenced the young guys in that way too, but this team room is really tough. There is a competitive elite composer who just goes to play. And part of it is because of their composition, part of it is the belief in the guys on the other side of the line, I’m talking about the other unit that we have. We know we have good players and we know we will play – at some point we will settle in and play well in all three phases. So it’s a special part of the makeup of this team and proud of these guys.”

Jermod McCoy’s interception in the end zone

“Great players are great players. And (Jer)Mod, he’s just a playmaker. His best football is still ahead of him. I know what I’m saying. But he’s a great athlete who continues to develop in the fundamentals of the position, but his wide receiver skills as a high school guy are part of his kit as a DB in my opinion. When the ball is in the air, he doesn’t panic. He knows how to attack the football. He understands posture. Just an elite player.”

Take control of the game by scoring points late in the second quarter and early in the third quarter

“We had a few possessions where we were supported for different reasons. The punter had hit the ball and today some of them just ended up on the ground. We weren’t able to catch it. They got friendly rolls. I was thinking about the end of the first half, finishing it, getting the seven and then starting quickly in the third quarter. This happened to us at the beginning of the football game. It turned around quickly because you were on the wrong side, and then we were able to turn it around again. And the journey was a long journey that took up some of the time. It just changed the way the game was played over time.”

Tennessee has more depth and is fielding more players this year

“That was an intention of ours. In the first halftime meeting after the bowl game last year, we just talked about needing to play more guys, and some of that – I never really talked about it, never made an excuse for it. But when we got here, I think it was our first spring, 55 scholarship players, 28 scholarship cuts that we had to deal with. For example, there’s been a growth in what we’ve had to do as a program and intent to develop these young guys, give them early opportunities and make sure we have the depth that we have. This is our coaching staff, our young coaches. Everyone in the building invests in these people, and then these people understand that it’s a process. It’s a journey to where you need to be to play championship level football. And it’s a credit to these people that they continue to invest. And of course we are a much stronger football team and there are not enough words to describe how much that means to us in this conference schedule.”

What it means for Tennessee to make the College Football Playoff

“The next step for us as a program. And when I say that, let’s look at what we’ve been able to do since I’ve been here, especially in the last three years, including this one. There is an expectation of our staff and our players. It was a goal, but there was an expectation to be there and that comes from the work that everyone has done and that we have in the building. I’m proud of these guys for pulling it off and putting us in a position to be there. Now the next season begins, what do we do with it?”