He was hired for his up-tempo offense, and into his second year, he has certainly delivered on that. However, Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel has never forgotten about the need to be physical.

As the Vols get set to take on the Florida Gators Saturday, Heupel stressed physicality, from tackling to blocking their elite defensive linemen to breaking press coverage. Handling Florida’s run game is a key focus.

“They’re big, strong, physical up front,” Heupel said of the Gators’ offense in his Thursday press conference. “You have to be able to handle their unbalanced sets. Communicate. Be gapped out.”

Although they have major issues passing the ball, Florida has indeed been a dominant rushing team. They are averaging 212 yards on the ground and 6.4 yards per carry, the latter being fifth in the nation.

Louisiana transfer offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence has been a huge part of that at guard. He is one of PFF’s highest-graded interior linemen in the nation. Then there are the skill players.

“Because of the athletes that have the ball in their hands, you have to do a great job of tackling,” Heupel said. “That’s the running backs, but it’s the quarterbacks too.”

Obviously Anthony Richardson helps at quarterback, but another Louisiana transfer, Montrell Johnson has been a star at running back. Johnson has 25 carries for 240 yards, averaging 9.6 yards per carry, and two touchdowns.

Despite Richardson’s issues the past two weeks, using his legs significantly less, he can still be dangerous. Heupel said his combination of athleticism and size is rare for a quarterback.

“He’s got the ability to create huge plays in the run game,” he said. We’ve got to bottle him up in the pocket, not let him get out. We’ve got to do a great job of tackling him in space.”

Tackling in open space will indeed be a huge deal for the Vols’ defense. That’s another part of being physical, but it’s also about positioning.

Last year, linebackers had a difficult time staying in position against mobile quarterback. A focus on that and, as Tyler Baron discussed earlier this week, gap integrity, help with improved tackling.

“Tackling is about your eyes being right and your body position, so you can emphasize those things in every drill, in every team setting, how you finish every play that you have,” Heupel said. “If you’re in those positions, I’m not going to say the tackling takes care of itself, but it kind of does.”

On offense, the Vols will have to deal with 6’5″ 415-pound defensive lineman Desmond Watson. For the year, Watson has three solo tackles and a tackle for a loss.

Since Josh Heupel’s offense is built off of a successful vertical rushing attack, Watson is a guy Tennessee football will have to account for. Heupel said Cooper Mays has gone against a player of that size before.

“The battle in trenches this week will be a big part of how the football game unfolds,” he said. “We’ve got to do a good job on the offensive line of controlling their entire front, not just him.”

Even in the passing game, though, the receivers still have to be physical. With Cedric Tillman possibly out, that puts pressure on Bru McCoy and Jalin Hyatt.

Specifically the wideouts getting past press coverage from Florida’s defensive backs is huge. Florida does have four interceptions this year, so the aggression can pay off.

“It’s another game within the game, a matchup within the game, that will have a huge bearing on the game, right?” Heupel said. “We’ve got to be able to go win against those guys.”