No. 11 Tennessee football travels to Columbia, South Carolina, for a Southeastern Conference tilt with South Carolina on Saturday. The Gamecocks are coming off a bye week after defeating Florida 38-19 in Gainesville on Oct. 10. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers completed 23 of 35 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns in the win.
Tennessee will try to avoid a letdown after defeating Alabama 26-10 last week. The Volunteers’ defense and run game have guided them to a 6-1 record. Tennessee leads the nation with 30 sacks and ranks first in the SEC and third nationally with 58 tackles for loss.
Two hundred seems to be the magic number for Tennessee rushing yards in the Josh Heupel era. The Vols are 37-2 when rushing for that many yards, including 31 consecutive wins. The Vols currently average 217.1 yards a game on the ground. The Gamecocks, however, allow just 103.7 rushing yards per game, so something has to give Saturday.
Heupel joined the Mike Keith Show on Thursday to preview the matchup. Everything he said is below.
What sticks out about South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers?
“He’s got the ability to make plays in the passing game. He’s got a ton of experience. He’s seen a lot of different looks. He’s got dynamic playmakers on the outside. But then again, his feet are a major concern. You don’t want to let him sit back there in the pocket. But when you apply pressure to him, you better have integrity in your rush lanes. And then when you get to him, you’ve got to get him down. He is big. He is strong. And when he gets out as a runner, he’s dynamic.”
Does Sellers combine the traits of the last three quarterbacks Tennessee has faced?
“Yeah, that’s why he’s thought of so highly at the next level as well. It’s a football team that’s playing its best football here the last week. And a big part of this test is they’ve got two weeks of preparation. Physically, they’re going to be at their best with a bye week and an extra week of preparation. The challenge for our guys has been surpassing that preparation that they’ve had to go play our best football.”
What are the characteristics of a Clayton White defense, and what challenges does it pose?
“They play a lot of match coverage on the second and third levels. They’ve done a really good job against the run game this year. A part of that is their safeties being near and close to the box, fitting it up and tackling extremely well. When you get into passing situations, they have personnel, not just scheme because they have scheme too, but they have personnel that is dynamic and can change the way the game’s played.”
Do you have to know where edge rusher Dylan Stewart is every play?
“Yes, you do, in particular on third down. He’s as good of an edge rusher as there is in this league.”
Where does Tennessee need to improve to win at South Carolina?
“Holistically, but in particular, special teams and offensively, we have to play smarter. Some of that’s before the ball is even snapped. Some of it’s in our communication offensively. And that’s where it really starts. But fundamentals, technique, growth within your scheme, all those things should be continuing to improve. I thought last week we tackled as well as we have as a football team and that paid major dividends in the football game. Need to see continued growth in that as well.”
What makes Braylon Staley special as a receiver and a leader?
“I go back to even before last year, his growth and maturation during his true freshman year and his mindset, how he approached every day going into his second year when we came back that winter. That’s why he took a massive jump from year one to year two. But this year he’s done a great job of not just doing that for himself, showing, demonstrating, leading the guys in that room. He’s a true competitor. He practices extremely well every single day. It matters to him. And he’s extremely selfless. He’s willing to play without the ball in his hands. When the ball comes his way, he’s going to go make a play for you. And this is a special one for him too, going back to his home state.”
What have transfers Donovan Haslam and Dejuan Lane meant this season?
“Donovan, dramatic change in his body during the course of our offseason. Had as much growth in the winter and the summer, just adding muscle mass, decreasing body fat. It’s parlayed himself into continuing to grow as a player. He’s done a really good job, in particular the last couple of weeks. He’s gotten more comfortable just in what we’re doing scheme and communication up front.
“Dejuan, dynamic playmaker. Everybody has seen the plays that he’s made, but another guy that took great advantage of our offseason with D.O. [Derek Owings]. He’s big, strong, fast, and he’s turned himself into a dynamic playmaker. He got some play before he came here at Penn State, but really on the back half of last year in the bowl game, started to play his best football and just continued growth as a person, and that’s parlayed into the player.”
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