University of Tennessee Athletics
#21/20 Vols Turn The Page To Homecoming, New Mexico State
November 10, 2025 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Following its second open weekend of the season, No. 21/20 Tennessee has turned the page to Homecoming week as it welcomes New Mexico State for a 4:15 p.m. ET kickoff Saturday in Neyland Stadium.
The non-conference contest will be the annual "Salute To Service," which honors our nation's service members, veterans and their families. The Volunteers (6-3, 3-3 SEC) will don their special "Volunteer Spirit" Smokey Grey uniforms as a tribute to the United States Armed Forces.
"This is our next opportunity to play," head coach Josh Heupel said. "What happens after, that's after, you can't control any of that. Same thing that we talk about consistently in our program, all phases of the year. Control and win right now."
Tennessee's passing game has been on point with a conference-leading 329.3 yards per game, a mark that ranks second nationally. Much of that success has been generated from the Vols' outstanding trio of wide receivers, including redshirt freshman Braylon Staley. Staley, a Biletnikoff Award candidate and semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year, leads all Power Four freshmen in receiving yards (703) and touchdowns (5). The slot receiver is second among Power Four freshmen in catches with 52.
"We expected him to play at a really high level," Heupel said. "That was part of our decision-making in the offseason as a staff. I expected that he would take another jump. When we got back in January, his focus, his preparation, we expected him, because of that growth and how consistent he was every day, to play at a really high level. Mike's (Matthews) in that same boat, too."
Tennessee will practice through the week in preparation for Saturday's final non-conference regular season game that will be televised by SEC Network.
Quotes from Heupel's Monday press conference are below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Nov. 10, 2025
Opening Statement
"I hope everybody enjoyed their bye weekend. Excited to get an opportunity to come back and play a game inside our stadium with our fans. It's also the Salute to Service game for us, I want to take an opportunity from everybody inside of Tennessee Football to thank all the men and women that have served our country. The sacrifices that they have made, their families have made, it allows us to live the life that we do and play the game that we do. Appreciate them very much. We'll be wearing the Smokey Grey uniforms this weekend as well and looking forward to going and playing and competing."
On what he wants to see most out of your team coming out of the bye week…
"I want to see growth, that's a lot of different things in a lot of different areas but this is our next opportunity. Play hard, play smart for 60 minutes. Play with discipline, that's a lineman assignment. Eyes, keys, technique, and go execute. Defensively, you know, win the line of scrimmage and get off the field. Do a great job on the backend matching things out. Offensively on the line of scrimmage, play with execution out on the perimeter and special teams, go win."
On what goes into keeping the team engaged after the bye week and with going to Florida next week…
"This is our next opportunity to play. There's a lot of areas that we got to get better in. Got good work in the middle part of last week. This is our next opportunity. What happens after, that's after, you can't control any of that. Same thing that we talk about consistently in our program, all phases of the year. Control and win right now."
On how Joey Aguilar's passing has translated to the SEC level…
"Well, I think all of his experiences, defense structures that he's seen, certainly helped him adjust quickly to what we're doing. To perform well at the quarterback position, he'll tell you it takes the guys around him. Starts with O-line, pass protection, your running backs and tight ends being a part of that. It takes guys going to win it in the perimeter. You know, certainly excited about a lot of what Joey's done and what we've done offensively on that side of it. There's still room and growth left out there for us, and that's what we got to go get."
On whether Braylon Staley's performance this season was a surprise…
"We expected him to play at a really high level. You know, that was part of our decision-making in the offseason as a staff. I say that as a young guy, how he grew throughout the course of the last season, during the regular season, his playoff prep, I expected that he would take another jump. When we got back in January, his focus, his preparation, we expected him, because of that growth and how consistent he was every day, to play at a really high level. Mike's in that same boat, too. How both of those guys came back."
On how David Sanders Jr. has been able to handle his responsibilities on the field…
"I think a big part for him is just how he's handled adversity. Before week one, all of a sudden he encounters injury and is able to battle through that. That's hard for everybody, certainly for a young guy. All of the work that he's put in has allowed him to prepare and get ready to go play at a really high level. This game's not perfect, but his ability to respond and come back, and compete and continue to grow speaks volumes about who he is and also where he's going to continue to grow inside of this game."
On the difference this year as a play caller and game planner with a struggling defense…
"Yeah, I say it every year, I say it week by week. Till you play the same game ten times on the same day, there are so many variables in this game it's going to unfold differently. That's why you got to appreciate the win, whenever it comes, however it comes, but certainly your team forms an identity, and it changes a little bit how you function and operate on some of the situational calls."
On the different levels of emphasis on tackling vs Oklahoma…
"I think tackling happens in a positive way because of body position, and some of that stems from your alignment and eyes allowing you to get into a good position. You know there are things that we do during the course of every week. There are things we added during that week, some things we did this past week as well, again, placing an emphasis on those things and hopefully you want it to correlate to game day. It did against Oklahoma but we're going to need that as we go down the stretch."
On the two young quarterbacks and how they can grow across the course of the season with limited practice…
"The way we practice, we try to get our twos at every position a lot of work, it's hard to get all of your quarterbacks the amount of work in a perfect world that you would want, but those guys got a ton of work last week. When they get an opportunity, expect them to go play at a really high level."
On balancing contact in practice in season...
"Well, it is different. You're limited in the number of bodies that you have, even from a year ago with roster limitations. There's always going to be a balance of what you need to do to be prepared for gameday, but also getting them to gamedays. That fluctuates year to year based on health and where you're at with your given roster and what you're doing and how you're performing."
On helping Joey Aguilar find the balance between giving his receivers a chance versus taking a sack or throwing it away...
"Yeah, I think some of the plays that we would all want back, some of that is fundamentals, some of that is seeing rotation, some of it is stepping into the throw. It's a combination of all things. There's a trickle-down effect too. It takes all 11. It starts with your pass protection, not just your O-line, but your backs. Everything plays a part in him playing on a competitive edge, because you have to go make plays. You have to let your playmakers go make plays. But you got to take care of the football, as well. It's a combination of all of those things."
The non-conference contest will be the annual "Salute To Service," which honors our nation's service members, veterans and their families. The Volunteers (6-3, 3-3 SEC) will don their special "Volunteer Spirit" Smokey Grey uniforms as a tribute to the United States Armed Forces.
"This is our next opportunity to play," head coach Josh Heupel said. "What happens after, that's after, you can't control any of that. Same thing that we talk about consistently in our program, all phases of the year. Control and win right now."
Tennessee's passing game has been on point with a conference-leading 329.3 yards per game, a mark that ranks second nationally. Much of that success has been generated from the Vols' outstanding trio of wide receivers, including redshirt freshman Braylon Staley. Staley, a Biletnikoff Award candidate and semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year, leads all Power Four freshmen in receiving yards (703) and touchdowns (5). The slot receiver is second among Power Four freshmen in catches with 52.
"We expected him to play at a really high level," Heupel said. "That was part of our decision-making in the offseason as a staff. I expected that he would take another jump. When we got back in January, his focus, his preparation, we expected him, because of that growth and how consistent he was every day, to play at a really high level. Mike's (Matthews) in that same boat, too."
Tennessee will practice through the week in preparation for Saturday's final non-conference regular season game that will be televised by SEC Network.
Quotes from Heupel's Monday press conference are below.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Nov. 10, 2025
Opening Statement
"I hope everybody enjoyed their bye weekend. Excited to get an opportunity to come back and play a game inside our stadium with our fans. It's also the Salute to Service game for us, I want to take an opportunity from everybody inside of Tennessee Football to thank all the men and women that have served our country. The sacrifices that they have made, their families have made, it allows us to live the life that we do and play the game that we do. Appreciate them very much. We'll be wearing the Smokey Grey uniforms this weekend as well and looking forward to going and playing and competing."
On what he wants to see most out of your team coming out of the bye week…
"I want to see growth, that's a lot of different things in a lot of different areas but this is our next opportunity. Play hard, play smart for 60 minutes. Play with discipline, that's a lineman assignment. Eyes, keys, technique, and go execute. Defensively, you know, win the line of scrimmage and get off the field. Do a great job on the backend matching things out. Offensively on the line of scrimmage, play with execution out on the perimeter and special teams, go win."
On what goes into keeping the team engaged after the bye week and with going to Florida next week…
"This is our next opportunity to play. There's a lot of areas that we got to get better in. Got good work in the middle part of last week. This is our next opportunity. What happens after, that's after, you can't control any of that. Same thing that we talk about consistently in our program, all phases of the year. Control and win right now."
On how Joey Aguilar's passing has translated to the SEC level…
"Well, I think all of his experiences, defense structures that he's seen, certainly helped him adjust quickly to what we're doing. To perform well at the quarterback position, he'll tell you it takes the guys around him. Starts with O-line, pass protection, your running backs and tight ends being a part of that. It takes guys going to win it in the perimeter. You know, certainly excited about a lot of what Joey's done and what we've done offensively on that side of it. There's still room and growth left out there for us, and that's what we got to go get."
On whether Braylon Staley's performance this season was a surprise…
"We expected him to play at a really high level. You know, that was part of our decision-making in the offseason as a staff. I say that as a young guy, how he grew throughout the course of the last season, during the regular season, his playoff prep, I expected that he would take another jump. When we got back in January, his focus, his preparation, we expected him, because of that growth and how consistent he was every day, to play at a really high level. Mike's in that same boat, too. How both of those guys came back."
On how David Sanders Jr. has been able to handle his responsibilities on the field…
"I think a big part for him is just how he's handled adversity. Before week one, all of a sudden he encounters injury and is able to battle through that. That's hard for everybody, certainly for a young guy. All of the work that he's put in has allowed him to prepare and get ready to go play at a really high level. This game's not perfect, but his ability to respond and come back, and compete and continue to grow speaks volumes about who he is and also where he's going to continue to grow inside of this game."
On the difference this year as a play caller and game planner with a struggling defense…
"Yeah, I say it every year, I say it week by week. Till you play the same game ten times on the same day, there are so many variables in this game it's going to unfold differently. That's why you got to appreciate the win, whenever it comes, however it comes, but certainly your team forms an identity, and it changes a little bit how you function and operate on some of the situational calls."
On the different levels of emphasis on tackling vs Oklahoma…
"I think tackling happens in a positive way because of body position, and some of that stems from your alignment and eyes allowing you to get into a good position. You know there are things that we do during the course of every week. There are things we added during that week, some things we did this past week as well, again, placing an emphasis on those things and hopefully you want it to correlate to game day. It did against Oklahoma but we're going to need that as we go down the stretch."
On the two young quarterbacks and how they can grow across the course of the season with limited practice…
"The way we practice, we try to get our twos at every position a lot of work, it's hard to get all of your quarterbacks the amount of work in a perfect world that you would want, but those guys got a ton of work last week. When they get an opportunity, expect them to go play at a really high level."
On balancing contact in practice in season...
"Well, it is different. You're limited in the number of bodies that you have, even from a year ago with roster limitations. There's always going to be a balance of what you need to do to be prepared for gameday, but also getting them to gamedays. That fluctuates year to year based on health and where you're at with your given roster and what you're doing and how you're performing."
On helping Joey Aguilar find the balance between giving his receivers a chance versus taking a sack or throwing it away...
"Yeah, I think some of the plays that we would all want back, some of that is fundamentals, some of that is seeing rotation, some of it is stepping into the throw. It's a combination of all things. There's a trickle-down effect too. It takes all 11. It starts with your pass protection, not just your O-line, but your backs. Everything plays a part in him playing on a competitive edge, because you have to go make plays. You have to let your playmakers go make plays. But you got to take care of the football, as well. It's a combination of all of those things."
Players Mentioned
FB | Wendell Moe Jr. Media Availability (11.11.25)
Tuesday, November 11
FB | Miles Kitselman Media Availability (11.11.25)
Tuesday, November 11
FB | Tim Banks Press Conference (11.11.25)
Tuesday, November 11
FB | De'Rail Sims Press Conference (11.11.25)
Tuesday, November 11
