Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the media on Monday to preview this weekend's game with Georgia. Here's what Heupel said about the Bulldogs in his Monday press conference.
"Obviously getting ready to go play a great opponent. You look at them really in every phase of the football game, extremely talented, coached extremely well. They play hard. They play fundamentally sound. They make you earn it in every way.... In this one, you've got to go earn everything against them. Offensively, extremely talented playmakers out on the outside, good offensive line, talented running backs, quarterback is a dynamic player. Defensively, it's a typical Georgia defense."
On the health of quarterback Nico Iamaleava: "Yeah, he was with us today, had a really good day. I feel like he'll be in great shape for Saturday, but you guys can monitor whatever the report is that comes out on Wednesday and track it through the week. But I certainly feel like he'll be in a good spot."
On Georgia quarterback Carson Beck: "He's an extremely talented quarterback that's played extremely well throughout the course of the season. He's the key that turns the ignition for them on the offensive side of the football. Playing quarterback and sometimes what people see isn't just the quarterback play. It takes all 11 playing together. He's a really good football player."
On Georgia's defense: "Well, it starts with their personnel, because they have really good personnel, first level, second level, third level. They create pressure with their front four. They do it out of their pressure packages. They're able to mix up their looks on the back end. So you've got to recognize what's going on out on the perimeter. Quarterbacks and wide receivers, your tight ends, they've all got to be on the same page. You've got to do a great job in protection. But it starts with having the ability to run the football, too. If you're one-dimensional, they're going to make it real tough on you all night long."
On how much more prepared he feels his team is to play in games like this in his fourth year at Tennessee: "Yeah, more prepared. We've been in all of our systems longer. This football game is different than the last one, still facing a great opponent. You've got to handle everything that comes with being in a game like this. You earn the right to play in big football games by what you do during the course of the season. Some of the things that didn't go well last time were a direct reflection of who we were playing. Some of it was some things that we can control, too. In these games, you've got to do ordinary things at a really high level consistently. For us, that means you've got to prepare at an elite level. You've got to practice really well and put yourself in a position to go play good football."
