UK cornerback Maxwell Hairston is a playmaker that worries Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel almost makes it sound like he’s playing Alabama again this week when he talks about the challenges of playing at Kentucky.
“We’re playing a really good Kentucky team that’s had two weeks of preparation coming off of a bye. Extremely physical football team on both sides of the line of scrimmage,” Heupel said Monday.
“Offensively, you look at their ability to rush the football. Their efficiency in their play action pass will be a huge challenge for us defensively,” Heupel said. “Defensively, they’re extremely good against the run and extremely physical up front. It’ll be a huge test, and special teams will be a big part of it too.”
Kentucky has the SEC’s most productive running back, Ray Davis. He ran for 280 yards and three scores in a win over Florida, a team that beat Tennessee, and leads the SEC in rushing and scoring. He’s also been a consistent receiving threat for quarterback Devin Leary.
“You’ve got to stop him early at the line of scrimmage. Their offensive line, their tight ends, they’re extremely physical. They do a really good job of getting a hat on a hat. We’ve got to be violent. We’ve got to be disruptive. We’ve got to have gap integrity between all of their different personnel groupings,” the Tennessee coach said.
“They’re shifts, their motions, we’ve got to do a great job communicating and being gapped-out. At the end of the day when you meet the ball-carrier, you’ve got to do a great job of tackling too. He’s extremely physical.”
Senior defensive lineman Elijah Simmons said the Alabama loss last week or Ray Davis’ productivity does not change the way the Vols prepare for Kentucky.
“I think Kentucky has a great running back and offensive line core. We go out and prepare the same way that we do every other week,” he said.
Heupel said UK sophomore cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who has five interceptions, has been a consistent playmaker for the UK defense.
“When it has been up in the air, he’s gone and got it, and does a really nice job as a young player,” Heupel said. “Their front (is) big, strong and physical. They do a really good job of getting off of blocks, but their second level and third-level fits are on point. Even if you block it clean inside, the extra hat is showing up quickly on you.
“They have done a really good job of tackling that guy in space. We have to be extremely good up front; that’s the five (offensive linemen), that’s the tight ends, and we are going to have to run with a physical edge in this one.”
Heupel did not mention that the really good UK defense gave up 89 points in the last two games in losses to Georgia and Missouri.
4 Responses
Pre game coach talk. UK is capable of playing that way, I feel, if one of their coaches could light a fire under them. Stoops has not been real good against these Vols, hope this game he can fix that. Hey "Cats"….. don’t y’all get tired of getting your A$$’s kicked by this team year in and year out? Go out there and do something about it Saturday night at your house, y’all can do this! Four quarters of sound football, and on a mission!
Pass action is only a threat when passes are completed. 54% is not enough of a threat for most any SEC team to worry about. Stop the UK run game and so far this year, UK has been a duck out of water.
Three things can happen with the forward pass, and two of them are bad, and one of those is real bad. It starts with a real SEC QB who has a completion rate around 70% and some receivers who can get separation, or make some great plays under tight man coverage, Where are you Wan Dale? UK will not win this game unless they can establish the run game early on, and have some good success throwing and catching the football. I have not seen the latter in the first seven games. I hope Saturday night that some things change with Coen’s offense and the "light bulbs" come on. It’s time boys.
Alabama stopped TN by playing a tight man to man in the secondary and pluggng the gaps up front. Not going to happen with the Cats. Ky has not played a tight man to man all season long. I think Ky’s only hope is to out score TN. If KY wins, it will be a 49 to 48 score. If TN wins, it could be 100 to 0.