Josh Heupel enters his third game as Tennessee’s head coach.
The Vols defeated Bowling Green in Week 1 and lost to Pittsburgh in Week 2. Tennessee is slated to host Tennessee Tech Saturday at Neyland Stadium (noon EDT, SEC Network+).
Ahead of Saturday’s in-state contest, Heupel met with media on Thursday and discussed how he uses player feedback during the game and in the program.
“I do think it is important during the process of developing your program that players have ownership,” Heupel said. “We talk about great teams — it comes within the locker room. The accountability, the ownership, the standard of meeting the standard. I think you have to put kids in leadership roles. You have to give them opportunities to communicate, fail to communicate, learn how to communicate and be a part of the process, too. There are non-negotiables inside our program. This is what it’s going to be. I think it’s important to let kids have some feedback and some things that can go one way or another. They take ownership in that and gives them a sense of being a part of the process.
“On game day, the more veteran your club is, when I say veteran or mature, I’m not talking about if they’re a junior, a senior, a fifth-year guy, or sixth-year guy. I’m talking about their maturity as a player, their competitive composure, trust in what they see, and their ability to communicate. Absolutely you take things that they see on the field, that you may see from the sidelines, and be able to communicate when you come over to the benches. Then be able to make subtle tweaks or incorporate something into the ball game.”
[vertical-gallery id=35760]