Josh Heupel previews Tennessee-Pittsburgh

Josh Heupel previews Tennessee-Pittsburgh.

On recruits visiting for a Thursday night game

“Thursday night’s tough for recruiting especially. You’ve got (high school) games that are coming up on Friday. A lot of them have things that they’re doing on Thursday nights, just as they’re preparing for a game. And then some are playing on Thursday night, too. So the combination of both, we weren’t able to have anybody in. Looking forward to us and our program being able to have guys in here this Saturday. It’ll be our first opportunity to really host guys here for a gameday environment.

On the importance of the Johnny Majors Classic

“It’s unique that Coach Majors had such a huge impact on both programs. As a player and a coach, his legacy lives on here at Tennessee. He’s a part of the foundation of who we are. He’s a cornerstone of it. I think it’s a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to him from both programs. It’s unique that you have a coach that is that instrumental in two different programs, and very few opportunities that you get a chance to recognize that with both teams playing.”

On what changed over the course of the Bowling Green game for Joe Milton III

“A lot of it is simple execution. It’s him having eyes in the right spot, his feet being in the right position to be accurate with the football. There were a couple of times where we hit a receiver down the field and they’ve got to come up with the catch. Some things where wide receivers aren’t reading (the defense) the same way that he is. A couple things in protection where he’s scrambling. When it’s going good and it looks easy at times, it’s because all 11 are doing their job at a really high level. It takes one guy on the offensive side of the ball to put yourself in a position where you’re not executing at that level. There are things that we can control, that we can do to make sure that we perform at a higher level consistently.”

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