Josh Heupel discusses how Vols’ loss at Florida changed trajectory of program

The Southeastern Conference media days took place July 18-21 at the College Football Hall of Fame and The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Second-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel took part in media days July 21.

Heupel discussed Tennessee’s 38-14 loss at Florida last season on Sept. 25. The Vols won five of its final eight regular season contests following the Florida game.

“I just think in late third quarter there’s some things we did, self-inflicted wounds, that changed the way that game was played in the fourth quarter,” Heupel said of the Florida game last season. “As a program, a young program, you have an opportunity to learn from it, grow, and push forward and really climb, or it’s something that can be devastating.

“It’s one of the moments inside our staff and program that changed the trajectory of the program. Sat in the team meeting room, were able to dissect and show them not the entire game, but the key moments of things that we controlled that had nothing to do with anybody that was wearing a different colored jersey that impacted the game and the way it was played. Through that, I think they gained confidence in who they were, what we were doing. We were able to compete and grow throughout the course of the season.”