Josh Heupel praises Tennessee OL after statement game vs. Texas A&M
By Rolando Rosa
Published:
Josh Heupel and Tennessee edged Texas A&M 20-13 last weekend. A large part of the statement victory had to do with the outstanding play from the Vols’ offensive line.
Anchored by the offensive line, Tennessee rushed for 232 yards against a tremendous Texas A&M defensive line. Jaylen Wright rushed for 136 yards on 19 carries.
During a recent press conference, Heupel was effusive in his praise for the offensive line’s performance.
“They played extremely physical. I thought they did a really good job with everything going on with respect to what we’re seeing defensively from them,” Heupel said. “The communication was elite, Cooper [Mays] did a good job of getting everybody on the same page. Our running backs were really solid with the football, bouncing when they needed to.”
Heupel said it was a collective effort offensively to grind out the necessary plays for victory.
“They made some plays, but running tough too. Moving the pile after contact, finding a way to get 3, 4, 5, 3rd down, short-yardage situation and/or getting a first down,” Heupel said. “All in all really good performance from those guys. Offensive line, tight end and running backs.”
Next up for No. 17 Tennessee is a road contest at No. 11 Alabama on Saturday. Tennessee will aim for a 2nd consecutive victory vs. Alabama as they strive to move up the standings in the SEC East.
