Josh Heupel kicked off Week 6 for No. 14 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) on Monday. The Vols will travel to Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) on Saturday for their first SEC road contest of the season.
"First SEC road game here coming up this week," Heupel said. "A place that, historically, haven't had a ton of success recently as a program. An opportunity for us to continue to grow, get ready to go play smart, physical football here on Saturday afternoon. Ton of respect for Arkansas, year one, continued growth from them, and you know it will take us being at our best."
Tennessee's sixth-year head coach also discussed the Vols' quarterback situation entering Week 6.
Freshman Faizon Brandon started in Tennessee's win over Auburn in Week 5. He completed 3-of-8 passing
attempts for zero yards and one interception. Sophomore George MacIntyre replaced Brandon in the second quarter and completed 8-of-10 passing attempts for 86 yards.
The Vols won, 24-14.
Heupel said "we'll find out as the week goes here" in who will start at quarterback against Arkansas. Everything he said regarding Brandon and MacIntyre is listed below.
Everything Josh Heupel said regarding Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre ahead of Arkansas game
On who will start at quarterback this week
"George came in did some really good things. Faizon, obviously, wasn't at his best dealing with, you know, getting injured in the Texas game, was affecting his game, and we'll go through the week here and you'll find out Saturday."
On how quarterbacks handled the switch during the Auburn game
"I think Faizon, he handled it well. He was a good teammate during the course of the football game. Disappointed in that moment, but also I think he realized that he wasn't playing at his best, in major part because of what he was dealing with physically from the week before, so those guys have been great together in the room. I'm not saying they're the best of friends hanging out outside of the building, but they have been really good inside of the room, on the practice field, on game day together, so anticipate that continuing here as we go."
On Faizon Brandon being limited in practice last week
"Yeah, being limited in the early part of the week certainly, those reps, those opportunities, allow you to progress during the course of the week. I thought he did a really good job of staying engaged, getting mental reps. We were making him take drops in the early part of the week and right behind the pocket. Ultimately, just everybody together, we're playing our best football early and he's a competitor. He's extremely tough, he's resilient. He's a winner and he'll continue to bounce back from what he was dealing with."
On what Faizon Brandon must do differently
"It's all 11, first and foremost. Secondly, he's gotta get back healthy. Those two things."
On keeping quarterbacks focused solely on this week's game
"This week is the only thing that matters. Look at scoreboards, each week is its own season. Said that to the team this week, said it a couple weeks ago, too. For everybody in our building, not just the quarterbacks. It's everybody in our building."
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Everything Josh Heupel said regarding Faizon Brandon, George MacIntyre
