University of Tennessee Athletics
Critical November Stretch Begins with Showdown Against #18/18 Sooners
October 28, 2025 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A critical November stretch for No. 14/14 Tennessee begins this Saturday with a top-20 showdown against No. 18/18 Oklahoma inside of what will be an electric sold-out Neyland night crowd.
The Volunteers will look to keep things rolling offensively after an impressive 56-point outburst in last weekend's victory at Kentucky that featured touchdowns from seven different players and 504 yards of total offense.
Redshirt sophomore Ethan Davis, who returned from injury after missing the previous four games, was one of those seven players to find the end zone, giving UT's offense, and specifically the tight end room, a major boost.
I thought he handled the entire duration of it (his injury) with really good maturity and continued to work and wait for his moment, tight ends coach Alec Abeln said when speaking with the media on Tuesday afternoon. It was awesome to see him make that play right before the half.
I do think it forced some young guys to step up and really grow a lot too. I feel really good about where the room is at as a whole right now and (we) got to continue to get better, but certainly awesome having him back.
Tennessee's tight ends will likely play a big part in Saturday's contest against the Sooners, who feature the SEC's No. 1 ranked defense in terms of points per game, total yards and passing yards allowed.
Man, they're good, Abeln said. Super multiple, bunch of different pictures, too many pictures to really dive into, honestly. They play hard, they're violent, they're twitchy. It will be a real challenge, and we're excited about the challenge. As a competitor, you want to play against defenses like this and go see how you really stack up. We're excited for the opportunity this weekend.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Vols know they must improve their tackling and execution on all three levels in order to slow down Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and the Sooners' balanced attack.
A lot of it is about what you're doing, how you're self-inflicting things, and so we have to be more attentive to the details and understand that you have to take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves, defensive line coach Rodney Garner said. So, fix it when it's small, and then it won't ever become a big problem. That's the thing that's encouraging about it, that you know that these are things that can be corrected, that must be corrected, because that's what you expect of yourself. That's what this program expects of us, and that's what it should be.
Coverage for Saturday's game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.
Video and the full transcripts from Tuesday's assistant coach press conferences can be seen below.
Tight Ends Coach Alec Abeln
On how big it was to get Ethan Davis (Atlanta, Ga./Collins Hill) back…
Yeah, it's awesome. I think, man, it's really tough when you're dealing with an injury that isn't necessarily something that you can control, it's not something that you can play through, like I think that's emotionally really hard for guys. I thought he handled the entire duration of it with really good maturity and continued to work and wait for his moment. It was awesome to see him make that play right before the half. I do think it forced some young guys to step up and really grow a lot too. I feel really good about where the room is at as a whole right now and got to continue to get better, but certainly awesome having him back.
On what are some things you'd like to get back and be better at…
Yeah, you know we've said it how many weeks in a row now that we still haven't really played our best, which is a good thing and a bad thing. It's time to go play our best, the details and everything, whether it's the route, whether it's depth, whether it's how I want to release something, to man, what's my footwork in the core. When pictures aren't necessarily clear, we got to be the guys that make things right and I think we can take another step in that. Certainly, from last weekend but having another opportunity this weekend.
On how the room now is with depth at the tight end position…
Yeah, I mean I think every week can play out differently. On certain weeks you know going into it you may be a little heavy in this, maybe not as heavy in this. I think that's kind of the nature of the beast then you show up on Saturday and it's something different and you're ready to get to it. I think how it gets played out is really fluid based on what we're seeing, but they all understand, they're ready for their opportunity. Credit to DaSaahn Brame against Alabama, the two-minute (drill) goes and makes a bunch of plays. The moment was not too big. When you prepare the way that he has over the last couple of weeks, you're ready for those moments. I do think that group loves each other at a really high level where it's easy to be excited for your brother. Of course, everybody wants to play, everybody is gonna get theirs, but that's earned, and I think it's really cool to watch them in a room where you've got competition making guys push each other to get better but still be able to support each other and cheer each other on.
On what it says about Ethan Davis being able to come right back after being out for a while…
Yeah, I mean we talk about two things in our room a whole lot, it's love and trust. Love being unconditional, your love for this game, your love for your teammates. The trust part is earned. Something that over the course of his time here he's done a really good job continuing to earn trust, and I think you know when you've got trust with your quarterback, and you've got trust with your teammates good things happen. He's certainly earned more trust, he's got to continue to do more of that.
On the strength of Oklahoma's defense…
Man, they're good. Super multiple, bunch of different pictures, too many pictures to really dive into, honestly. They play hard, they're violent, they're twitchy. It will be a real challenge, and we're excited about the challenge. As a competitor, you want to play against defenses like this and go see how you really stack up. We're excited for the opportunity this weekend.
On evaluating the physicality of the tight end group …
There's no doubt. I think we've been okay in protection. I think there are things we can do better at. It's, again, fundamentals, details, what my eyes are focused on. I think we will need to be good on that side of it this weekend for sure. As far as physicality in the box, I like where our group is at. I think there's still meat on the bone. There's another level of strain and finish. There's another level of putting things on tape that you're not – I don't know how to say this – like there's things you put on tape around college football that you watch and you're like, 'man, that's not how you want it to look.' I feel like we've done a good job where there's nothing on tape that's like, 'man, that's soft,' or 'man, that's embarrassing.' But there is another level of, 'man, those guys are different. Those guys are really trying to bury you every snap.' I think we've had flashes of it. There's certainly more room for improvement there.
On Jack Van Dorselaer's (Southlake, Texas/Southlake Carroll) progress…
It's like anything, the more you do it the better you get at it, for the most part. Credit to Jack, just his maturity since he's gotten here has allowed him to go out and compete in those moments. There's still tons of stuff to clean up. I wouldn't say they're necessarily freshman mistakes. I think that's the biggest compliment I can give to Jack. Jack's mistakes are things that you're coaching in guys that have been in the program a little bit. They're not silly mistakes. They're not absolutely controllable mistakes. They're just things that he can get better at. Absolutely, any time you can get out there when it's real in play, it is different than practice. You want to make practice as much like the game as you can, but it's different on Saturday night. For him to get real reps of that and go play the way he has, pretty good for him.
On Joey Halzle's comment about Tennessee's offense facing different looks every week…
It is. A lot of things come full circle in this game, where things you haven't seen in a long time show up again. The good news about this defense is that there are new things that show up every week on tape. Every week is kind of a new week for them, where they really make you work, and they really are studying you. I feel like it's kind of the way we attack people offensively, where we may not look exactly the same every single week. These guys are no different in that they want to take away what you do best. They want to do things that cause you problems. There will be some carryover, I'm sure, on Saturday with things that have been on tape, but Lord knows there will be things that haven't been shown yet. We have to be ready to handle it.
Defensive Line Coach Rodney Garner
On his assessment of the defensive front so far this season...
I don't think anybody's pleased with where we are at this moment. Obviously, the last couple of games, we haven't played up to the standard that we expect, that the kids expect. Obviously, we have to do better, everybody. Players, coaches, everybody. We have to coach it better, and we have to execute it better. We have to fit (the run) on all levels. It's never going to be about one level. Run fits, it starts at the first, second and third level. Everybody has to have ownership in it and understand when one guy doesn't do his job, the stress that it puts on everybody else. We also have to be better teachers and make sure that we're stressing that.
On freshman Ethan Utley's development...
I think he's progressing. All those young guys, obviously you want them to come in instant, ready-made. It's just hard to play at an elite level in this league as a young guy. I do think that Ethan is going to be a really good player. Obviously, as he continues to mature, get stronger and understand the speed of the game, the slow down and the physicality portion that is much different than what he experienced in high school, I think that he will continue to get better just like the other young guys that are progressing that way. We're excited about the future. We like to accelerate everyone's development, but it is a process.
On Daevin Hobbs' return and outlook for the rest of the season...
Obviously, getting (Daevin) Hobbs back has definitely been a boost from an athleticism standpoint. Same thing I've been stressing to him, when we're watching the film from Saturday and the last two games. He's only been back two games, so obviously we have to get his fundamentals better. He has to play behind his pads a lot better. You can see his athleticism, the way he can run around, fly and make things happen. He has to play with better pad level and better physicality. That's what we need from him on the run. But like I said, we all have to get better, that's across the board.
On making defensive adjustments…
All the things are fixable, and that's the thing. When you're sitting there and you're watching the film on Sunday, you're watching it with the guys and you're going through it, and you see the plays you're giving up. I know that's what's frustrating. A lot of it is about what you're doing, how you're self-inflicting things, and so we have to be more attentive to the details and understand that you have to take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves. So, fix it when it's small, and then it won't ever become a big problem. That's the thing that's encouraging about it, that you know that these are things that can be corrected, that must be corrected, because that's what you expect of yourself. That's what this program expects of us, and that's what it should be. We are an elite program. We expect to play at an elite level, and we're not meeting that standard. We're not coaching at that level, we're not doing anything at that level. So, the room for improvement is there, and I think everybody is prideful. Everybody wants to be really good, so it's a challenge that we have to meet head on. That's what being a man is, and that's part of growing up. You have to face challenges, and you can't run away from it.
On his assessment of the red zone defense…
We have to play better, at all levels. Not just in the red zone, it's before you get to the red zone. It's all areas, all field zones. We're not executing at the standard that we expect and what it takes to play at a championship level. We have to accelerate that, and we just have to fix the minor details. We've got to fit everything properly, from a wrestling standpoint to a run gap fit, just doing the minor details of everything. Everybody doing your job, staying locked in on your job. Don't start over pressing because things may not be going right and now you're trying to do somebody else's job, then you give up something even bigger. Just playing complementary football on defense. Like I tell my guys, on all three levels, the front has to think about the second level, second level has to think about the third level. Everybody has to play complementary, understand what their jobs are and make sure they're doing their jobs at an elite level. If we can get all those things tied together, then we'll play back at the standards that we're all accustomed to.
On the standard of the Tennessee defense...
I think since we've come here, I think we sort of changed our identity. I think we've been able to play some good defense. You know in our time here, we were never satisfied. I think we played better, and obviously you always want to be better and get better. Nobody wants to regress and nobody's looking for excuses. We have a job. We have to do our job at a high level. I mean, it's the coaches. We have to coach it better, and we have to do it better.
On if opponents are game planning against Joshua Josephs as the season progresses...
I think there are a couple times. Josh was very close last week. It's not just Josh. The other three guys on the front that are rushing, they have to be doing their job at a high level to allow him to finish on top of his rush. We have to have the push up the middle. We need the other edge guy coming off, making it happen too. So, it's like I said, it's complementary and it's not just on one guy when you sit there and see it. This is a great league. There are a lot of great coaches. Everybody's going to scheme every week to try to take guys out, but that's been the way it's been since day one, so that hasn't changed, but we can see that you're close, but close doesn't count. What do we have to do to finish, right? That's what we're focusing on this week. We're playing a very good football team this week. Very good players, great quarterback that's dynamic and can make a lot of things happen, big athletic offensive line, so it's going to be a challenge. We have to be very conscientious of our wrestling integrity. We have to be able to tackle, and we have to be able to finish. We have to finish the play, and that's the bottom line. And we have to be able to get off the field on third down.
On if everyone shares the urgency he's speaking with to get the standard back...
Oh yeah. These are the same coaches, the same young men, so you know we see it. We just have to get it done. Nobody's interested in, (saying) 'we're young here.' That doesn't matter. That's just the league that we're in. It's a bottom-line business. It's the bottom line. We have to get it done. I think everybody sees that. We as a staff see it, and I know we're all looking in the mirror. That's where it all starts, that guy looking back at you. That's where it all starts. I know I can be a better coach. I think everyone on this staff thinks they can be better coaches. I think everybody in those locker rooms thinks they can be better players, because they're all very prideful men. They want to be elite, and they want to be the best at their jobs.
