UT-Martin head coach Jason Simpson was in Knoxville during his bye a week before the Skyhawks matchup with the Vols.

No, it wasn’t to scout the Vols, but it was to support his son, Ty Simpson, a former 5-star quarterback who is now a freshman at Alabama.

He did, however, get a good look at what Tennessee has to offer as its offense dismantled one of the best teams in the country.

“When you look back at the tape — it’s just the efficiency in which they operate and being the top offense in the country,” Simpson said. “Their quarterback play, their receiver play, the tempo that they play with and then the execution. I was very impressed watching their offensive line on tape in the last week we’ve been preparing.

“Defensively, great team speed, very multiple and they’ll give you a lot of different looks. They really pressure the quarterback well, they come up in coverage—they’re multiple in their coverage. You know, just really doing some nice things on both sides of the ball.”

After he saw it in person, and now has reviewed the video in preparation, Simpson clearly knows what’s at stake for his team this week.