Volunteer Country

Heupel Excited to Blend Two Favorite Things, 'Family and Football,' in Final Week of Regular Season

Josh Heupel noted that Thanksgiving week sees the blend of two of his favorite things: "family and football."

Jack Foster

With Tennessee playing against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Thanksgiving week will involve plenty of preparation and practice as the Vols attempt to close out the regular season on a high note. 

Josh Heupel was asked about his plans for Thanksgiving during Monday's press conference, and the Vols' head coach is looking forward to blending his two favorite things: "family and football."

Heupel's willingness to have his players over to his house for Thanksgiving affirms the narrative players and coaches have given on the type of culture Heupel is building at Tennessee. (Garner and Banks, notably)

Heupel was also sure to wish all of Vol Nation a Happy Thanksgiving first thing during Monday's press conference. 

"Since I won't be seeing you at the end of the week, wishing all of you a happy Thanksgiving. Everybody in Vol Nation, all our players, families, everybody, wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Looking forward to this last home game here with our players, in particular our seniors. Opportunity to go compete and finish the regular season the right way. Look forward to having a great home field advantage. Last week, I thought our fan base was just phenomenal. Vol Walk was packed, and then the energy inside the stadium was great early in the football game. Our student body was a huge part of that too. I know this week is tough with it being Thanksgiving, but we look forward to seeing all those men and women back in the stadium on Saturday afternoon. Huge game for us. It's the finish of the regular season, it's an in-state opponent, and one that our players and staff will be ready to go for."

If Tennessee wins against Vanderbilt, Clemson beats South Carolina and Alabama beats Auburn, all likely to happen, Heupel will finish with the best record of any first-year head coach in FBS. 

Also, with a win this weekend, Heupel's Vols will finish with a 7-5 record, the best record a Tennessee first-year head coach will have had since Phillip Fulmer took the reins in 1992. 

Tennessee and Vanderbilt kickoff this Saturday, November 27, at 3:45 p.m. ET in Neyland Stadium. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network. 

Heupel's entire press conference from Monday is in the video above. 

Everything Heupel said on Monday can be read here.

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Jack Foster
JACK FOSTER

Jack is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in Journalism/Electronic Media. Jack grew up in Paris, Tennessee, but now spends the majority of his time in Knoxville doubling as a student and sports journalist for Volunteer Country. Jack has been a sports junkie since he was a young kid and always watched NFL football with his dad on Sundays. Jack still follows the NFL religiously, as he is an avid fantasy football player. Jack started with Volunteer Country in May of 2021 and has since helped provide full coverage of football, baseball and men's and women's basketball. Jack also works as a recurring member of WUTK's Rock Solid Sports show on Wednesdays and Fridays, and he also serves as head sports producer of The Volunteer Channel's Vol News, a student-run show at the University. When Jack is not watching or covering sports, find him on the golf course or back home spending time with his parents, younger sister and friends. Follow Jack on Twitter and Instagram by clicking "Twitter" and "Instagram" to see all of his work with Volunteer Country as well as student media.

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