KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After eight straight games with no break to open the season, No. 16/17 Tennessee is getting a well-timed open week that has already featured a heavy emphasis on healing up and locking in mentally for a vital November stretch to finish the regular season.
“Bye week, got on the field today with the guys, good work,” Heupel said on Wednesday. “They were in the building yesterday, which was a typical Monday for us. Opportunity to get healthy physically, as much as you can at this point in the year. And an opportunity to get better.
“Everything in this game is about how you finish. And you can look back at last week and us not finishing the game that we need to. You can push forward to needing to go finish the season the way we need to.”
Despite a disappointing loss at South Carolina last weekend, the Vols (6-2, 3-2 SEC) are among a group of eight teams with two conference losses and still have all of their goals in front of them with four regular-season games remaining.
Heupel noted the importance of the team being at its best during the month of November from a physical and mental standpoint. The open week falling where it has should provide an opportunity for the players to get their bodies and minds in a good place for challenging finish to the year that will begin on Nov. 7 with a rivalry showdown at home against a top-10 Kentucky team that currently sits atop the SEC standings.
“There’s a little bit more time to catch your breath mentally, physically, emotionally, recharge the battery, and that’s important for everybody in the building,” Heupel said about the open week. “It’s eight straight weeks of football, but your lead-in is training camp and everything that goes into getting prepared for it. It’s been a long stretch. You get a Saturday afternoon as coaches to kind of recharge too, but your players get a little bit more time.
“When they’re in the building, that’s practice, it’s your meetings, you got to maximize it and prepare the right way and take advantage of it. So, it’s not a full week off, but there’s moments and times to recharge, and I think the totality of all of that’s important for everybody.”
A transcript of Heupel’s Wednesday press conference can be seen below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel Transcript (Oct. 28, 2026)
Opening statement…
“Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Bye week, got on the field today with the guys, good work. They were in the building yesterday, which was a typical Monday for us. Opportunity to get healthy physically, as much as you can at this point in the year. And an opportunity to get better. Everything in this game is about how you finish. And you can look back at last week and us not finishing the game that we need to. You can push forward to needing to go finish the season the way we need to. A lot of growth needs to happen this week for us and get ready to go play a really good Kentucky team here in a week and a half.”
On the mindset of the team this week…
“We did an autopsy of the game and showed each series – offense, defense, special teams. How it all plays together and opportunities that we’re in control of, to change the way the game’s played. In this league, you’re going to play good teams every week and you got to control your controllables. And if you don’t, turn the ball over, you’re penalized a bunch, it’s tough to win in this league. So, a lot of things that we’re in control of that we got to do better. And got an opportunity to finish the way that we need to.”
On how he’s able to get the team to play smarter…
“Well, for some of it, experience is going to help you in those moments, for sure. But some of it is your preparation. There’s some unique things that happen during the ball game. Braylon (Staley) is out, Mike (Matthews) moves to slot, then we’re subbing (at wide receiver). You’ve got to get the full signal, go communicate and go execute. So, it’s nothing extraordinary. It’s doing ordinary things at a really high level consistently for 60 minutes.”
On how DeSean Bishop has learned from his past experiences and became the man he is now…
“I think it’s the great thing about college football. You come in, first 18 years of your life are what you’re born into, and you have an opportunity to grow, to learn and to become the man that you may not even know that you want to be, but have the opportunity to be. And DeSean (Bishop) is a great example of that. For him, it all starts with his faith. But he’s a guy that’s accountable, disciplined, works extremely hard and has taken full advantage of the opportunity, the resources, the exposure to different things since he got here on campus and has absolutely flourished. He represents everything that’s good in college athletics.”
On his concerns about the field storming and level of protection his players had…
“At the end of the day, we’ve been on both sides of the coin in those situations. Do you worry about your players? Yeah, absolutely. But it’s a circumstance that we allowed to happen, too.”
On how he goes about handling situations that occurred the fielding storming…
“It’s straight chaos getting off the field. Those situations are circumstances in which we handle it inside the building.”
If there are instances in practice during the week that he sees Tennessee players not playing smart…
“The guys that consistently show that they’re not going to play smart aren’t playing on game day. So that’s the best way I can answer it. We are evaluating, we have officials out at every practice.”
On what he appreciates about the way Tyree Weathersby has taken his opportunity…
“Yeah, I was talking about DeSean (Bishop) earlier, Tyree (Weathersby) is another guy that has grown tremendously outside of the game. And that’s parlayed into him becoming a really dynamic football player too. A guy that has battled some injuries when he first got here. And does a great job of taking care of his body. But he’s smart, he’s tough, competitive, takes ownership inside of that defensive line room and has played really good football.”
On the biggest difference between George MacIntyre now vs. the Auburn game…
“Well, every exposure you have, you learn from, you gain confidence from. There’s some things he did at a really high level last Saturday. There’s some things that he’s got to be a lot better in and would like to have back too.”
On whether the touchdown passes that were called back are positives for George MacIntyre when the coaching staff is grading him…
“Yeah, if you’re simply looking at results of plays, that can be extremely misleading. Stats that show up on a sheet that are hazardous reads, throws, whatever it might be, too. And so, you’re looking at the full body of work.”
On whether George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon are competing to start and play in the Kentucky game…
“They’re both practicing and practiced well today.”
On how beneficial a bye week is for the team to reset…
“There’s a little bit more time to catch your breath mentally, physically, emotionally, recharge the battery, and that’s important for everybody in the building. Quarterbacks, offense, defense, special teams, even your coaches too. It’s eight straight weeks of football, but your lead-in is training camp and everything that goes into getting prepared for it. It’s been a long stretch. You get a Saturday afternoon as coaches to kind of recharge too, but your players get a little bit more time. When they’re in the building, that’s practice, it’s your meetings, you got to maximize it and prepare the right way and take advantage of it. So, it’s not a full week off, but there’s moments and times to recharge. And I think the totality of all of that’s important for everybody. But young players too.”
On the growth he has seen from DaSaahn Brame each week…
“I think he’s continuing to get better, more comfortable, more confident. Young player that is playing more snaps. Got some play last year but certainly has made a bunch of plays for us. One gets called back last week but made a bunch of plays. I thought, in general, in particular in the pass game, it was his best performance in what we’ve done.”
On what the split is like between focusing on some of the fundamentals versus getting ready for the opponent coming up next week…
“A little bit more fundamental time, but still getting started on Kentucky as well at the same time. Opportunity for everybody in the building to kind of reset on some of the fundamental things that go into playing this game at a really high level. The margins are small, it’s a six-inch step up front, it’s your pad level. It’s quarterback reversing out at the right angle, whatever it might be that goes into the execution of the play.”
On how much of the load is DeSean Bishop going to have to carry if Tennessee makes the playoffs…
“That’s certainly the end objective in this game. If you’re focused on that, you’ll have no chance to accomplish it. We got to be in the present. DeSean is a massive part of our football team and has played at a really high level. He’s got a chance to heal up this week, too, and we’re going to need him at his best as we go down the stretch.”
