Latest / The Mike Keith Show / The Mike Keith Show | JOSH HEUPEL, BRAEDAN LUE, BILL MAYO (10.1.26)

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The Mike Keith Show | JOSH HEUPEL, BRAEDAN LUE, BILL MAYO (10.1.26) · The Mike Keith Show

0:00
SPEAKER_03: From the peaks of the smokies to the banks of the Mississippi.
0:06
SPEAKER_03: This is your home for the University of Tennessee.
0:20
SPEAKER_03: This is the Vall Network.
0:26
SPEAKER_03: Inside Access, behind the stage.
0:29
SPEAKER_03: From Rocky Top, direct from the coaches.
0:32
SPEAKER_03: Inside from the players, inside track.
0:36
SPEAKER_03: Mike Keith starts now.
0:41
SPEAKER_07: Welcome to the show.
0:42
SPEAKER_07: Coming up, the Ball Network's All-American Bill Mayo drops by to talk to the offensive line.
0:48
SPEAKER_07: We'll give you a chance to meet Braden Lou, one of the many new Tennessee basketball players.
0:53
SPEAKER_07: Brent Hubbs has his Built Ford Tough Report to discuss this weekend's game with Albert.
0:59
SPEAKER_07: We'll give you a sneak preview of the big interview with author Tim Johnson, who wrote the book Robert Nealand, the West Point Engineer Who Built Tennessee football.
1:09
SPEAKER_07: All that more to come on this edition of the Mike Keith Show.
1:13
SPEAKER_07: But leading off, the head coach of your volunteers, Josh Heipel, presented by Calhoun.
1:21
SPEAKER_07: Freshman quarterback Faison Brandon has been chomping at the bit to get to this coming Saturday and play against Auburn.
1:28
SPEAKER_07: Great attitude after his first SEC game.
1:31
SPEAKER_07: What has he been working on this week and what have you been working on with him to get him ready for SEC game number two?
1:39
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, a guy that's gonna continue to grow and learn from every experience that he has.
1:44
SPEAKER_14: Uh some things he did well a week ago, some things that he's gonna learn from.
1:48
SPEAKER_14: It starts with small details, fundamentals, uh understanding some protection things and and uh progressions and reads.
1:55
SPEAKER_14: And uh you just continue to progress uh every single week.
1:58
SPEAKER_14: Uh he's a true competitor um and uh ready to go in this one.
2:03
SPEAKER_07: He certainly showed his teammates his competitive medal, didn't he?
2:06
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, absolutely.
2:07
SPEAKER_14: Uh tough, uh resilient, willing to go play the next play.
2:10
SPEAKER_14: It wasn't perfect.
2:11
SPEAKER_14: There's a lot of things we got to do better.
2:13
SPEAKER_14: Uh it's important that the 10 other guys around him uh do their jobs at a high level uh to help that uh that young quarterback.
2:20
SPEAKER_07: What do you need to see from the 10 other guys on offense against Albert?
2:24
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, uh starts up front.
2:25
SPEAKER_14: We got to run the ball better.
2:27
SPEAKER_14: Uh that's the five guys, it's the tight ends, it's it's it's the backs, it's it's everybody.
2:31
SPEAKER_14: Um there's details in what we're doing in the past game.
2:35
SPEAKER_14: Uh could be depth of routes, understanding man's own principles, uh being in the right spot and quarterback going through his progression, trusting the protection at times too, and working through his progression in a better way.
2:46
SPEAKER_14: Uh, it's truly all 11 guys doing their job at a high level.
2:49
SPEAKER_07: What will be the challenge of playing against the Auburn defense?
2:52
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, uh really good up front.
2:54
SPEAKER_14: Um, you know, we've gone against the coordinator uh multiple times.
2:57
SPEAKER_14: Uh he's multiple in his fronts, his pressures, and uh what he's playing on the back end.
3:02
SPEAKER_14: So uh getting into the the flow of the game early, um, you know, winning up front, um, and then doing a good job on third down.
3:10
SPEAKER_14: That would be critical in this one.
3:11
SPEAKER_07: On the other side, your defense faces a very different challenge because of this quarterback, Byron Brown.
3:18
SPEAKER_07: What does he bring into Neal and Stadium that uh your unit on defense will have to really show up and do well against?
3:25
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, a guy that's played in this system for a long time, uh, year one at Auburn, but has been playing in it.
3:31
SPEAKER_14: Uh he's got really good understanding of what they're doing.
3:34
SPEAKER_14: The plus one in the run game, uh, his physicality is a huge part of their identity.
3:40
SPEAKER_14: Uh, we got to do a great job uh winning, having gap integrity, destructing blocks and tackling him.
3:46
SPEAKER_07: What positions are most important when you play a quarterback his size that runs the ball his way?
3:53
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, well, uh it's not just one position, uh, but but certainly uh your front, uh your second-level backers, and then in particular your safeties, uh, and that can change depending on the formations uh where other guys are gonna be in the fit, but all of those guys got to do a great job of destructing the line of scrimmage, uh tearing off of blocks, and uh tackling.
4:15
SPEAKER_07: One of the things that stuck out in watching Auburn tape is they really compete.
4:20
SPEAKER_07: I mean, they they expect to win.
4:22
SPEAKER_07: I don't know, you know, where they are overall in terms of the progression of how they're gonna build that program, but the bottom line is they are a competitive team.
4:31
SPEAKER_07: As you see that, I would guess it's uh obvious to your team as well.
4:35
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, absolutely.
4:36
SPEAKER_14: Um, you know, they defensively, same coordinator that they had had uh the previous year, so there's a lot of holdover there uh in their personnel and in the uh schemes that they're playing.
4:48
SPEAKER_14: Uh they play physical, they play fast.
4:50
SPEAKER_14: Uh offensively, quarterback uh has a ton of experience.
4:54
SPEAKER_14: Uh they have an identity uh in what they're doing offensively.
4:57
SPEAKER_14: Uh they're continuing to grow offensively.
4:59
SPEAKER_14: Special teams uh very aggressive.
5:01
SPEAKER_14: Uh we got to do a great job, you know, understanding our calls, what we're seeing on the other side, the structure, and uh playing with discipline, but playing hard.
5:10
SPEAKER_07: All right, the most important thing happy hour is continuing.
5:13
SPEAKER_07: Opening, you said it on Monday right here.
5:16
SPEAKER_07: You put it out in the ether.
5:17
SPEAKER_07: You said, I think we should continue with the half-price concessions, open the gates early.
5:23
SPEAKER_07: That's gonna happen.
5:24
SPEAKER_07: How did you get that done?
5:25
SPEAKER_14: Always thinking about our families and making the experience as good as it can be, and uh uh hopefully they get there early and uh have a great uh Saturday afternoon.
5:34
SPEAKER_07: But it changed the dynamic.
5:36
SPEAKER_07: It was so special because there were so many more people there for warmups, and it was just a completely different feel, which provided a little newness to the environment.
5:44
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, 60 minutes before kickoff, it's usually half full.
5:48
SPEAKER_14: It was 75% full, and and uh it was uh it was a great atmosphere.
5:53
SPEAKER_14: All right.
5:53
SPEAKER_07: Last question Nealan legacy uniforms.
5:56
SPEAKER_07: Uh I've had a chance to see the helmets on the guys in practice.
5:58
SPEAKER_07: They look great.
5:59
SPEAKER_07: I can't wait to see the whole uniform.
6:01
SPEAKER_07: But in talking to the players, they not only think it's just a really cool look, but they understand the history of of what it is.
6:11
SPEAKER_07: How do you get that across to them?
6:13
SPEAKER_07: How do you teach them that?
6:14
SPEAKER_14: Yeah, uh preseason, uh during training camp, uh, we do a history of of General Nealand, our Maxims, uh great players, um, understanding the history of of Tennessee football.
6:25
SPEAKER_14: And uh, you know, beginning of this week, we talked about um, you know, the history of this program again and and why we're wearing the uniforms.
6:33
SPEAKER_14: And uh let's go represent the Tennessee vol history the right way.
6:36
SPEAKER_14: Let's go represent this team and this program uh the right way this Saturday afternoon.
6:40
SPEAKER_07: Well, great job by you getting that across to those young guys because it's it's very uh fulfilling in a lot of ways as a vol fan to hear them talk about the history and understand what they're a part of.
6:52
SPEAKER_07: That's special.
6:52
SPEAKER_14: Well, it's a deep and rich history and uh something that we gotta continue to grow and and uh live up to.
6:59
SPEAKER_14: No doubt.
6:59
SPEAKER_07: Josh Heipel brought to you by Calhoun's.
7:02
SPEAKER_07: When we come back, a rim protector elite, Braden Liu of the Tennessee basketball team.
7:08
SPEAKER_07: That's next on the Mike Keith show delivered by Uber Eats.
7:13
SPEAKER_01: It's time for this week in Big Orange Country, presented by Visit Knoxville.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: Tennessee welcomes Auburn this Saturday to Nealand Stadium for a 3:30 kickoff for its second SEC showdown on Rocky Top.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: But the weekend gets started on Friday night over at Sherry Parker Lee Stadium, where Tennessee softball continues its fall slate against Carson Newman at 6 Eastern.
7:35
SPEAKER_01: Admission is free for the Lady Valls Fall Home Games.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: And on Sunday, Tennessee Women's Golf welcomes teams to Knoxville for the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate at Cherokee Country Club.
7:46
SPEAKER_01: The three-day tournament gets underway Sunday and wraps up on Tuesday.
7:50
SPEAKER_01: That was a look at this week in Big Orange Country presented by Visit Knoxville.
7:55
SPEAKER_01: Plan your trip at VisitKnoxville.com.
7:58
SPEAKER_03: This is the Mike Keith Show.
8:00
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8:04
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8:08
SPEAKER_00: See you volunteer by First Horizon, Big Bank Metal, Small Bank Metal, by Food City, the official supermarket of the tennis volunteers, the duty metaphor, the physical healthcare provider of the vault, the traveling roof, fixed your travel that physical groups are of the basement.
8:31
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9:05
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9:08
SPEAKER_10: We're actually not a two-man team.
9:10
SPEAKER_10: Everyone is a critical part of the journey.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: TV and two teams are not built by one person.
9:15
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9:17
SPEAKER_10: Like the Vols, coaches and players need to learn to handle the pressure, including the pressure of success.
9:24
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9:26
SPEAKER_10: We invest in our community.
9:28
SPEAKER_21: And most importantly, we invest in our employees.
9:31
SPEAKER_01: Want to change the world?
9:32
SPEAKER_01: Change it.
9:33
SPEAKER_01: One roof at a time.
9:42
SPEAKER_20: Sun is shut up, it's a beautiful day.
9:47
SPEAKER_18: Wake up, sleepy head, get up and play.
9:53
SPEAKER_18: Everything's yellow, it's a beautiful day.
9:58
SPEAKER_18: Come on now, let's get away.
10:00
SPEAKER_18: Make every day brighter with the sunny southern goodness of Mayfield Dairy.
10:05
SPEAKER_14: In Big Orange Country, we live for big moments, but we know there are surprises along the way.
10:11
SPEAKER_14: When you need help with auto, some peace of mind for your home.
10:25
SPEAKER_13: That's why I trust Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee, the official insurance of the balls.
10:30
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10:33
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10:35
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10:37
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10:41
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10:44
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10:50
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10:55
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11:00
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11:05
SPEAKER_14: Brought to you by Foods City, it's the Ask Coach Hipel Show.
11:09
SPEAKER_14: Hello, and welcome to Ask Coach Hypel.
11:11
SPEAKER_14: I'm your host, Josh Heipel.
11:13
SPEAKER_14: Glenn asks, Coach, how does one join the Vol Navy?
11:17
SPEAKER_14: It's a great question.
11:21
SPEAKER_14: Well, Glenn, you don't necessarily need a boat.
11:24
SPEAKER_14: You need a friend with the boat.
11:26
SPEAKER_14: Always arrive with beef, fresh cut by a Food City butcher, and you'll be welcomed aboard.
11:31
SPEAKER_14: This has been Ask Coach Hypel.
11:33
SPEAKER_14: With me, Coach Hyper.
11:35
SPEAKER_07: Saturdays are all about the big art.
11:38
SPEAKER_07: From the roar of Nealand Stadium to the energy of the tailgate, one thing belongs on every game day menu.
11:45
SPEAKER_07: Calhoun.
11:46
SPEAKER_07: Whether you're dining in one of Calhoun's nine-area restaurant locations, taking the feast to your tailgate, or grabbing a bike from one of Calhoun's locations inside Nealand Stadium, Calhoun makes it easy so you can focus on gearing the balls to victory.
12:01
SPEAKER_07: Calhoun, a taste of Tennessee.
12:08
SPEAKER_07: Brayton Lou is a 6'9 post player who is a transfer from Kennesaw State.
12:13
SPEAKER_07: Lou can score and he can rebound, but he is an elite rim protector.
12:19
SPEAKER_07: Lou finished second in conference USA in blocked shots last season.
12:24
SPEAKER_07: Now, playing defense is a non-negotiable when it comes to Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes.
12:29
SPEAKER_07: For that reason, Braden Lou fits right in here.
12:34
SPEAKER_07: How are you, sir?
12:36
SPEAKER_07: Love those folks at first horizon.
12:40
SPEAKER_07: Alright, so talk to me about the backstory that I can't figure out.
12:46
SPEAKER_07: You're from Douglasville, Georgia.
12:49
SPEAKER_07: Right, Alexander High School.
12:53
SPEAKER_07: 6A State Champions.
12:56
SPEAKER_07: All state.
12:58
SPEAKER_07: You win all these awards.
12:59
SPEAKER_07: You score all these points.
13:02
SPEAKER_07: How were you not more recruited?
13:05
SPEAKER_12: That's the question for us both.
13:07
SPEAKER_12: Coming out of high school, I always wanted to like play high school on this level, but towards like the end of my high school career, I started like re realizing like the reality of things.
13:18
SPEAKER_12: And I was just figuring out like where the best spot for me would be.
13:22
SPEAKER_12: And at that time I wanted to say coming coming to this level or somewhere around this like would be the right path for me.
13:31
SPEAKER_12: I feel like the path I went on to get here was good.
13:34
SPEAKER_07: Alright, so you end up at Kansas State.
13:37
SPEAKER_07: Now you're 6'9, right?
13:39
SPEAKER_12: Correct.
13:39
SPEAKER_07: Okay.
13:40
SPEAKER_07: Were you 6'9 coming out of high school?
13:42
SPEAKER_12: I say yeah.
13:44
SPEAKER_12: Basically.
13:45
SPEAKER_07: So it's not like you grew a whole lot and yet you have two really good years for the Owls.
13:51
SPEAKER_07: A a lot of good things happened for you there.
13:54
SPEAKER_07: Where did you develop your game to the point that you now felt like you could make the jump to an SEC school like Tennessee?
14:01
SPEAKER_12: I feel like I did that at Kennesaw home.
14:08
SPEAKER_12: I feel like I had a good freshman year and then kept coming into my sophomore year.
14:12
SPEAKER_12: I just picked on picked up from that.
14:14
SPEAKER_12: And without running a uh conference tournament and making it to March Madness, I just feel like that helped me out.
14:21
SPEAKER_12: That helped me out real well too.
14:22
SPEAKER_07: What's the biggest adjustment for you to Tennessee basketball?
14:27
SPEAKER_12: Uh the biggest adjustment I say, um everything's more intense for sure.
14:35
SPEAKER_12: Uh and we go way harder just to make sure that we're ready for whatever comes our way.
14:40
SPEAKER_07: What's the best thing that Braden Lude does on the basketball court where you feel like you can help Tennessee basketball this season?
14:48
SPEAKER_12: The best thing I feel like I do on the basketball court is just give you my all every time.
14:53
SPEAKER_12: Um every time I step out there, I just make sure that I'm doing my job and whatever my team and coaches need me to do without me doing too much, uh just going out there being comfortable, playing hard and taking care of my role.
15:06
SPEAKER_07: What do you enjoy doing the most on the basketball court?
15:10
SPEAKER_12: I like blocking shots, um, I like making shots, uh, making threes, playing defense, just w whatever, whatever they call me to do.
15:20
SPEAKER_07: You don't mind stepping out and shooting the three?
15:22
SPEAKER_12: Oh, I don't mind that at all.
15:24
SPEAKER_07: Okay, so have you always been a good three-point shooter, or is this something you've added since high school?
15:29
SPEAKER_12: Alright, so in high school, I was a good three-point shooter.
15:32
SPEAKER_12: Um and at Kennesaw, I say I was a good three-point shooter as well, but my numbers, like my three-point numbers, other people probably want to say I was a good shooter, but deep down I tr I know what I could do.
15:43
SPEAKER_12: And my time here over the summer, we've just been working so much.
15:47
SPEAKER_12: I shot I forgot what I shot over the summer, but it was a good percentage, and I'm just looking to keep picking up on that and bringing it to the season.
15:55
SPEAKER_07: Trying to maybe bring that trail three into the Tennessee offense for this team?
15:59
SPEAKER_12: Yes, sir.
16:00
SPEAKER_07: All right.
16:01
SPEAKER_07: So uh as you as you move toward the season, what are you most excited about to see as you start to to play these exhibitions and get into real games?
16:10
SPEAKER_12: Uh I'm excited about the competition.
16:13
SPEAKER_12: Um, I can't wait till like tournament time comes.
16:16
SPEAKER_12: Uh just can't wait to go out there and give everything I got for my for this team.
16:21
SPEAKER_07: Braden Lou, great to have you here.
16:23
SPEAKER_07: Thanks for being with us.
16:24
SPEAKER_07: I appreciate you for having me.
16:25
SPEAKER_07: The Tennessee Post Brayden Lou brought to you by First Horizon Bank, the official bank of the Vols.
16:32
SPEAKER_07: When the Mike Keith show returns, Brent Hobbs joins with his Built Ford Tough Report on the Valls next opponent, Albert.
16:41
SPEAKER_07: Stay tuned.
16:42
SPEAKER_07: This is your home for coaches and players.
16:46
SPEAKER_03: One-on-one from Rocky Top.
16:48
SPEAKER_03: This is your Ball Network.
16:54
SPEAKER_07: Time for the Built Ford Tough Report.
16:56
SPEAKER_07: Brent Hubbs is here from BallQuest.com and the Ball Radio Network, Tennessee getting ready for Auburn.
17:02
SPEAKER_07: Their head coach is Alex Golish.
17:05
SPEAKER_07: Brent Hubbs, you know Alex Golish from his time at Tennessee.
17:08
SPEAKER_07: How would you characterize him as a person and as a football coach?
17:13
SPEAKER_17: Uh the one of the most ultimate competitors you'll ever see.
17:16
SPEAKER_17: I mean, everything's a competition, and when he's locked into a competition, he's not interested in being anybody's buddy.
17:23
SPEAKER_17: As you heard going into the Florida game, you know, we talked about John Summerall, said, you know, we're not friends this week.
17:29
SPEAKER_17: I mean, he's very much of that mindset, us against the world all the time.
17:33
SPEAKER_17: Um, he's a guy who's learned a lot.
17:35
SPEAKER_17: His background's really interesting from a coaching standpoint.
17:38
SPEAKER_17: You know, he's at Iowa State.
17:39
SPEAKER_17: They don't, they're not wide open, a lot of tight end stuff.
17:43
SPEAKER_17: And then he comes to Central Florida with Josh Heipel, learns the tempo stuff, tries to incorporate some tight end stuff into Josh Heupel's offense.
17:50
SPEAKER_17: They kind of marry together and go from there.
17:53
SPEAKER_17: And then very much wanted to be a head coach and really sought to be a head coach and ended up with the South Florida job that he's obviously parlayed into the Auburn job.
18:02
SPEAKER_07: His leading receiver is Chaz Nimrod, and Tennessee fans will know that name.
18:07
SPEAKER_07: Remind us who Chaz Nimrod is and why you think he's doing well for Auburn so far with 22 catches.
18:13
SPEAKER_17: Well, he knows the system.
18:14
SPEAKER_17: He he knows what Alex Golish is looking for.
18:17
SPEAKER_17: He he knows what they want to do offensively.
18:19
SPEAKER_17: Alex Golish knows his strength, knows what he can do from his time at Tennessee at this level and understanding what his strengths and weaknesses are as a as a wide receiver, you know, at the power four major SEC level.
18:33
SPEAKER_17: Uh you know, he's a guy that got some opportunities here, probably wasn't ready when he was forced onto the field due to some wide receiver injuries, flashed a couple of moments, wasn't as consistent as he wanted to be, and looked around at the room at the end of the year and felt like he needed to go to the transfer portal and get a new start.
18:50
SPEAKER_17: But he was a guy who had the frame and athleticism that you like coming out of high school that you thought you would be a good receiver in this league.
18:59
SPEAKER_17: And and obviously he's getting great opportunities at Auburn right now.
19:02
SPEAKER_07: How do you expect Alex Goelish to play this game from an offensive standpoint?
19:07
SPEAKER_17: I think that I think the weather part of it, if that's where we get to, who knows?
19:11
SPEAKER_17: But if it's a little bit wet, that may hamper things.
19:14
SPEAKER_17: If I were Tennessee and I was preparing for Alex Golish, I would prepare for anything and everything.
19:19
SPEAKER_17: I would it would not surprise me if there's a surprise onside.
19:23
SPEAKER_17: It would not surprise me if there's a fake punt, if there's a trick play.
19:26
SPEAKER_17: I think he will throw out the kitchen sink if if he has to and thinks he can win that way.
19:33
SPEAKER_17: He'll come in trying to do what he does and try to go fast at times.
19:37
SPEAKER_17: He'll go with the wide split stuff, and he'll run his quarterback a lot.
19:41
SPEAKER_17: He has run his quarterback extensively through four games, and he'll test to see if Tennessee can handle a mobile quarterback.
19:48
SPEAKER_17: They handled Arch Manning well.
19:50
SPEAKER_17: Um he scrambled for some yards, but I don't think he ever moved the chains with a first down.
19:54
SPEAKER_17: Ricky Collins against Kennesaw State early in that game kind of spit it out and gets got some things going for them.
20:00
SPEAKER_17: Tennessee's got to tackle the quarterback early.
20:03
SPEAKER_07: From a defensive standpoint, it's A.J.
20:05
SPEAKER_07: Durkin, who was the uh defensive coordinator before, became the interim coach.
20:12
SPEAKER_07: Goalish convinced him to stay.
20:14
SPEAKER_07: Durkin is really well regarded.
20:17
SPEAKER_07: What do you think he tries to do to Tennessee's offense in this game?
20:21
SPEAKER_17: Well, what's interesting is I think what he's playing is a little bit of a bend and don't break type deal based on where he's at with his squad right now.
20:31
SPEAKER_17: He's got some players up front that can get after the quarterback, they can rush the quarterback.
20:35
SPEAKER_17: He can be exotic, but when you look at them, they're last in the league and first downs allowed.
20:41
SPEAKER_17: They're 13th, 14th, 14th, and 15th in the league, and rushing yards allowed and passing yards allowed, but they're sixth in the league in scoring.
20:49
SPEAKER_17: So what they're doing to me is they're they're it's the NFL model a little bit.
20:53
SPEAKER_17: We'll let you drive it, okay, and not give up a big play.
20:57
SPEAKER_17: And then when you cross midfield, now we're gonna ramp it up.
21:00
SPEAKER_17: Now we're gonna get exotic.
21:01
SPEAKER_17: Now we're gonna do some different things.
21:03
SPEAKER_17: They've been pretty solid in the red zone.
21:05
SPEAKER_17: I think they've kept opponents out of the end zone uh five of twelve trips, you know, or something like that.
21:11
SPEAKER_17: So they're giving up a little over 50% red zone touchdowns uh for against teams.
21:16
SPEAKER_17: So I think for him, it's a little bit of I've got to play the hand I have right now.
21:21
SPEAKER_17: They lost some things in the transfer portal.
21:23
SPEAKER_17: K and Lee's a great example of that.
21:25
SPEAKER_17: That's an effective corner that they didn't have.
21:27
SPEAKER_17: So I think it's a little bit bend, don't break, but when you cross midfield, you're gonna see a different version.
21:32
SPEAKER_17: I think they're gonna get more aggressive.
21:33
SPEAKER_07: Let's talk about Kay and Lee, the transfer from Auburn at corner.
21:37
SPEAKER_07: His performance so far, he's shown up a lot.
21:40
SPEAKER_07: His interception last Saturday was absolutely fabulous.
21:43
SPEAKER_17: Yeah, I mean, I think this is a guy who understands big games and understands big moments.
21:48
SPEAKER_17: We all wondered about how that secondary would be tested.
21:52
SPEAKER_17: Uh, I thought they were a little bit as a group, a little bit maybe flat footed to start the game.
21:57
SPEAKER_17: They got caught a little bit early, but then I thought they said.
22:00
SPEAKER_17: Settled in and played well.
22:01
SPEAKER_17: They're getting great help up front with what Tennessee's doing to sack the quarterback, tied for the league in the SEC, lead in the SEC in quarterback sacks to this point.
22:10
SPEAKER_17: But he's a guy who can play man.
22:12
SPEAKER_17: I think he understands zone principles well.
22:14
SPEAKER_17: That group right now is playing with a lot of cohesion and playing well back there.
22:18
SPEAKER_17: But I think Kayon Lee's a guy you feel like I can put him on an island and he can go make a play for me.
22:24
SPEAKER_17: And they certainly rose to the challenge of what was in front of them last week.
22:28
SPEAKER_17: And they've got to be ready to go today because there's more RPOs, or excuse me, on Saturday, there's more RPO stuff that you'll have to do with.
22:35
SPEAKER_17: They may have to be more committed to helping in the box in the run game at times.
22:39
SPEAKER_17: They may get into some more man coverage this week than they did last week.
22:42
SPEAKER_07: Tennessee has not had a problem with tackling from the secondary, and that seems to have been a big addition to their overall run defense.
22:50
SPEAKER_17: Yeah, and I think it's the fundamentals that they play with in the open field from a tackling standpoint.
22:56
SPEAKER_17: They're not throwing shoulders at guys.
22:58
SPEAKER_17: Um, they're squaring guys up and they're finishing.
23:02
SPEAKER_17: And one of the big off-season training points with Derek Owens was you know, a lot of your speed work finished in a breakdown position to tackle.
23:11
SPEAKER_17: You didn't just run through the cone.
23:13
SPEAKER_17: You you actually finished on a stop to be in a position that your body's under control to be a better tackling team.
23:20
SPEAKER_17: It was an off-season conditioning drill that had a football emphasis on it, and I think it has translated well into the open field when you look at how well Tennessee has tackled to this point in the season.
23:32
SPEAKER_07: From Tennessee's standpoint, how do you see the Vols taking on this Auburn team and what they would have to do well to win this football game?
23:39
SPEAKER_17: Well, you've got to stop their run.
23:41
SPEAKER_17: You gotta you can't let their quarterback get going and get him comfortable.
23:44
SPEAKER_17: And I think he the more his legs are productive, the more comfortable he gets.
23:49
SPEAKER_17: So you don't want to allow that to happen.
23:51
SPEAKER_17: Win the sticks, get him into throwing situations, then you can really pin your ears back and come.
23:57
SPEAKER_17: I think the other thing defensively to watch too is Jim Knowles against Texas had a lot of substitution groupings, a lot of subbing in and out, got into four-man front, got into three-man front.
24:08
SPEAKER_17: How do you handle that if you go against a real tempo team?
24:11
SPEAKER_17: Does Auburn really try to play tempo to keep some of those sub packages off the field?
24:16
SPEAKER_17: Conversely, on the offensive side of the ball for Tennessee, you got to run the football.
24:20
SPEAKER_17: You got to take some pressure off the quarterback.
24:22
SPEAKER_17: Okay, he's got to Faison Brandon's got to play better.
24:25
SPEAKER_17: We all know that.
24:26
SPEAKER_17: There's a lot of things he can do better.
24:27
SPEAKER_17: He needs to see the field better, but they've got to take some pressure off of him.
24:31
SPEAKER_17: It can't be 27, 29 dropback passes.
24:34
SPEAKER_17: Play action has to be a factor.
24:36
SPEAKER_17: Well, it's not a factor if you can't run effectively.
24:38
SPEAKER_17: So you've got to figure out a way to run the football effectively.
24:41
SPEAKER_17: You got to make some easy throws for him early.
24:43
SPEAKER_17: But I think it starts with that run game.
24:45
SPEAKER_17: There's a reason the 150-yard marker for me is a big deal when you look at Josh Heipel's success in SEC play.
24:51
SPEAKER_07: Well, and the other thing we talked about prior to the Texas game is if Tennessee was in third and long a bunch, they were in trouble.
24:58
SPEAKER_07: And unfortunately for the balls, they were.
25:00
SPEAKER_17: Yeah, and I would say the same thing applies this week as well because of what DJ Durkin does as a defensive coordinator.
25:07
SPEAKER_17: If he gets you into those obvious situations, he's going to do a lot of the same things Will Musham wants to do.
25:12
SPEAKER_17: Disguise look, confuse try to confuse you from what pre-snap look is to post-snap look.
25:17
SPEAKER_17: And to avoid that, you've got to avoid third and long.
25:20
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25:23
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25:27
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25:38
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25:41
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25:49
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25:56
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26:39
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26:53
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28:24
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30:16
SPEAKER_07: The offensive line for Tennessee did not have its best day against Texas.
30:21
SPEAKER_07: In your experience, when you don't have your best day, as you go back to start preparation for the next game and review that game in that offensive line room, what are you looking to do?
30:35
SPEAKER_04: I think you look first you look at a lot of the factors.
30:38
SPEAKER_04: What caused some of the issues that we had, and you go back and look, anytime you see 10 sacks, right?
30:43
SPEAKER_04: That's that's a that's a big indictment.
30:45
SPEAKER_04: But when you kind of start breaking those down, you see, well, there were three or four of them where maybe the quarterback was held on the ball a little too long, and you had some different situations.
30:54
SPEAKER_04: But then you've also got to separate, there were there were a couple of two or three where we missed assignments.
30:59
SPEAKER_04: We missed a twist, which is a stunt by the defensive front.
31:03
SPEAKER_04: And so Coach Ellerby's got to do some, go back to do some fundamental coaching on that of hey, when when this guy goes, you got to get ready and pick up the twist.
31:12
SPEAKER_04: We call them offensive line calls them twists, and you got to pick up those things and be ready for that.
31:17
SPEAKER_04: The other part of it, there were some physical breakdowns, right?
31:19
SPEAKER_04: And that was there were some really good players on that defensive front.
31:23
SPEAKER_04: You know, Simmons had five sacks and very physical and and was able to get after our guys.
31:28
SPEAKER_04: So certainly work on the technique of pass protection, and then you also work on the scheme side of things, and then watch the film like crazy.
31:38
SPEAKER_04: They will go through um and watch when you watch film with offensive line, it takes longer than any other position crew.
31:44
SPEAKER_07: Why is that?
31:45
SPEAKER_04: Because every offensive line coach I know is watching the left tackle and you watch his reps like five or ten times, and if he does something bad, it's maybe 15 times, and you go to the left guard, then you go to the center, then you go to the right guard, and it just takes and you're watching steps, first steps, hand placement.
32:00
SPEAKER_04: There's so many little intricate pieces that go on that go into being successful, and a lot of it you can see on films.
32:07
SPEAKER_04: It's a really great tool.
32:08
SPEAKER_04: And and for people that don't know, Tennessee films from both ends and the middle.
32:13
SPEAKER_04: So when I say both ends, they film from both end zones, and that's the copy that offensive line coaches and offensive line people like the most because they zoom in tight on the five butts basically on the line of scrimmage, and you see everything.
32:27
SPEAKER_04: You can see their steps, it starts with their splits, which is the distance between each lineman.
32:32
SPEAKER_04: Then you look at that and you look at their first step.
32:34
SPEAKER_04: You can see all kinds of intricate details that really help those guys get better.
32:40
SPEAKER_07: So it's it's a complicated process to figure out what's what and really identify it.
32:47
SPEAKER_07: But the offensive line, I mean, there's not gonna be any of them complained.
32:51
SPEAKER_07: They're they're they know what happened, they know if they weren't responsible for a sack because Faison Brandon might have held the ball too long, but they know their job is just he's not supposed to get hit no matter what.
33:05
SPEAKER_07: That sense of responsibility in that room is is unreal.
33:10
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
33:10
SPEAKER_04: Uh more pride in what they do, and I don't want to say than any other position group.
33:15
SPEAKER_04: Well, I mean, I think less recognition and more pride.
33:18
SPEAKER_04: And they take a real um take it very personally when the quarterback gets hit.
33:24
SPEAKER_04: But I think getting some of the the the technique things corrected and then also some of the scheme things corrected, being able to deal with those because now one of the things with football, when you show a weakness, Auburn will probably run 15 twists against us, or at least until we start picking it up.
33:42
SPEAKER_04: Because they are gonna try to exploit any weakness that they see on film.
33:46
SPEAKER_04: Coaches, football coaches are like that, and they go after what they what they feel is a weak point, and they're gonna try to exploit it.
33:53
SPEAKER_07: From the Tennessee's perspective, to get better.
33:56
SPEAKER_07: How much does it change the equation equation when you lose Wendell Moy as quickly as they did at left guard early in the game?
34:04
SPEAKER_04: Well, he's starter for he's a starter for a reason.
34:06
SPEAKER_04: He's he's won the job, and so you logically you think the guy behind him is not gonna be as good, but you also um you want them, and we've talked about this a couple times on on the Big Orange Countdown show, you want some depth and you want to be able to rotate people in and out because it is a very physical position.
34:24
SPEAKER_04: I mean that that game Saturday was one of the most physical games I've seen in a long time.
34:27
SPEAKER_04: I mean, both sides, I guarantee they woke up Sunday and they were sore.
34:31
SPEAKER_04: Um and so they were so you need you need some guys that can roll in and play.
34:35
SPEAKER_04: Now you've got five starters for a reason, um, but you also can rank them one through five, and five might not be, you know, five, six, and seven, maybe, maybe similar type skill set, and five's a little better, but but it so you you know, you've got these interchangeable pieces you and you want to have that depth, but but they are a starter for a reason, so you want them out there.
34:56
SPEAKER_07: Part of it too is finding the best five and fitting the pieces together, knowing so-and-so is one of our best five, but he definitely can't play on the left side for some reason, or he definitely can't play guard for some reason.
35:13
SPEAKER_07: And sometimes that makes it hard to fit the square peg in the round hole.
35:18
SPEAKER_04: It does.
35:19
SPEAKER_04: You've got certain body types that that may not be conducive to playing guard or playing tackle.
35:24
SPEAKER_04: Height is a big thing in tackle.
35:25
SPEAKER_04: So if you've got a shorter guard, you don't really really want to put him out there on an island blocking one-on-one pass protection against somebody.
35:32
SPEAKER_04: But the guys you like are the guys that can play two or three positions.
35:36
SPEAKER_04: Somebody that can play center and guard, somebody that can play guard and tackle, somebody that can flip both tackles right or left, they're really valuable to have on your team.
35:43
SPEAKER_04: We've got a couple of guys like that.
35:45
SPEAKER_04: So when you do have an issue, you can kind of mix and match and maybe shift some people around and and continue to be productive as an offense.
35:52
SPEAKER_04: And you're still optimistic about the offensive line building through the year.
35:56
SPEAKER_04: Very much so.
35:56
SPEAKER_04: I I think so.
35:57
SPEAKER_04: I I think w again, we played a really, really good defense.
36:00
SPEAKER_04: And when you go back and kind of look at what happened and watched, and I've gone back and watched some of the replays and to see take a look at what we were doing, and and there were some bad things, but there were there were some also good things that happened, and and they're something going to want to build on that.
36:14
SPEAKER_04: And and I think as long as we see improvement week to week to week, and that's you know, that group playing together, those five, six, seven guys, whatever are playing on on Saturday, them working, the more they work together, the more they practice, the more reps they get, the more comfortable they are with each other, the better off, the better our offense will be.
36:30
SPEAKER_07: Auburn's more crafty up front.
36:33
SPEAKER_07: They have a couple of linebackers that make a ton of plays, aren't the biggest guys in the world.
36:38
SPEAKER_07: Their defensive line, not as big as Texas's.
36:41
SPEAKER_07: What's the difference in challenge in terms of what Tennessee's tried to improve on from Texas, knowing that Auburn plays it differently up front?
36:51
SPEAKER_04: It's a whole different um approach when you're when you're blocking a 350-pound guy when you're versus uh a 285-pound guy that can run twice as fast as a 350 and can move sideways.
37:06
SPEAKER_04: That lateral, those lateral shifts in movement and slants and stunts and things that they do, they've got to really be more under control.
37:13
SPEAKER_04: When you're coming off and you're firing off and attacking a a big 350-pound nose tackle and trying to double team him, you can really just line up and run off the football and attack him.
37:23
SPEAKER_04: If you do that same thing after to a smaller, faster defensive lineman, he you might whiff and he may just sidestep you and be in the backfield.
37:31
SPEAKER_04: So you've got they've got to be cognizant of how they go at how they come off the football and and try to run block uh a different style of defensive front.
37:40
SPEAKER_04: One of the things to also look for on Saturday is if you see a defensive lineman backed off the ball a little bit, then he's he might be on, he's on some sort of a movement.
37:50
SPEAKER_04: Um he doesn't want to get up there crowded to get caught.
37:53
SPEAKER_04: So he's gonna back up a a half a stay.
37:55
SPEAKER_04: That's one of things you looked at when as an offensive lineman, you come up to the line and you see where how is he lined up?
38:00
SPEAKER_04: Is he kind of sitting back on his home?
38:01
SPEAKER_04: Because they look at us the same way.
38:03
SPEAKER_04: They look at our hands, they look at how we're lined up.
38:05
SPEAKER_04: Is is our butt are our butts sinking, you know, called tipping the tipping what you're doing.
38:09
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
38:10
SPEAKER_04: Well, they do the same thing.
38:11
SPEAKER_04: I think as these guys get more game experience, you'll start seeing they'll be able to take advantage of those kind of things as well.
38:18
SPEAKER_07: Take yourself out of the offensive line and just think Bill Mayo, football player, football coach, football guy.
38:24
SPEAKER_07: It seemed like you said, I don't want to put words in your mouth, but you you were very pleased with Tennessee's overall physicality in this game.
38:32
SPEAKER_04: I really was.
38:33
SPEAKER_04: I mean, we I felt like we stood in there and went toe to toe with them physically.
38:36
SPEAKER_04: Now, there were times when we got pushed around, but there's times when we were pushing those guys around.
38:40
SPEAKER_04: We had six sacks.
38:41
SPEAKER_04: They had ten.
38:42
SPEAKER_04: That's that's all that's a that's a lot, right?
38:44
SPEAKER_04: On both sides of the football.
38:46
SPEAKER_04: But just the the way our receivers were blocking and matching up with their defensive backs and and all all the all the piece different pieces of the game.
38:54
SPEAKER_04: I thought um the the difference in us physically from last year to this year, the toughness.
38:59
SPEAKER_04: Uh I think you might have commented on me that during the game.
39:02
SPEAKER_04: The the toughness of our team seemed to show up a lot.
39:06
SPEAKER_04: We didn't fold our tent and go home like we which we unfortunately we saw a couple times in the past, right?
39:11
SPEAKER_04: They they did not, they kept fighting.
39:13
SPEAKER_04: Think about that last play.
39:15
SPEAKER_04: It broke down how heads heads up is Faison Brandon to get the ball into the end zone.
39:20
SPEAKER_04: He didn't run out of bounds like we've seen in the past.
39:22
SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah.
39:22
SPEAKER_04: He didn't throw it away, he reared back and launched it in the end zone and gave us a shot to to win the game.
39:29
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that's to me, yeah, it wasn't successful.
39:33
SPEAKER_04: It wasn't a great design play, but his awareness and his ability to get himself out of the mess he was in and to get the ball in the end zone, that that was big.
39:42
SPEAKER_04: That that that play right there, I guarantee you, they they taught the coaching staff talked with him about that.
39:47
SPEAKER_04: Great job, what a you know, super thing you did right there, and and that will pay dividends for us later down the line.
39:54
SPEAKER_07: Last one Bill May.
39:55
SPEAKER_07: Yes, Jeremiah T.
39:57
SPEAKER_07: Lander, fellow Georgian, sat right there in that chair yesterday.
40:01
SPEAKER_07: And when I asked him about the ball game and maybe sort of what the team took from it, he said, our quarterback is a warrior.
40:09
SPEAKER_07: And he's a linebacker, but he's talking about phase unbranded.
40:14
SPEAKER_07: Translate for us who did not play at the level you did, why that's such a big deal that Jeremiah T.
40:22
SPEAKER_07: Lander, that was one of the main things, the main thoughts he came away from the Texas game with.
40:28
SPEAKER_04: Like it or not, that position is the leader of the entire team.
40:31
SPEAKER_04: Certainly the leader of the offense, but the leader of the tire the entire team.
40:35
SPEAKER_04: When they saw him get carted off the field, go into that tent, and every everybody's thinking, oh my gosh, you know, is he done?
40:42
SPEAKER_04: Is he gone?
40:42
SPEAKER_04: Right?
40:43
SPEAKER_04: And and one series out of the game, and then he's back in.
40:46
SPEAKER_04: Those guys are like, oh man, this you know, this guy's something, right?
40:50
SPEAKER_04: He's he's he's putting it all on the line for us.
40:52
SPEAKER_04: And so that and that translates all the way across to the special teams, to the defense, to the coaches, to to the stands, you know.
40:58
SPEAKER_04: Uh it was electric, right?
40:59
SPEAKER_04: When he was, you know, and so so that kind of and I don't want I don't want to over uh dramaticize it, but remember when uh who was it that came running out of the tunnel?
41:07
SPEAKER_04: Andrew Holloway did.
41:08
SPEAKER_04: He came back from UT hospital and ran all the way around the field.
41:12
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I mean that kind of that kind of stuff means something.
41:15
SPEAKER_04: And and it and it has an impact on the team.
41:17
SPEAKER_04: And and again, that's that's something those guys will remember.
41:19
SPEAKER_04: And and that's just another step for Faison to become the dominant leader of this team.
41:26
SPEAKER_04: It's like what Alan Cockerell did for you guys.
41:28
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely, 100%.
41:30
SPEAKER_07: Because you guys you guys would play for Alan Cockrell, there's no doubt.
41:33
SPEAKER_04: No question, right?
41:33
SPEAKER_04: He was our guy, and and and but uh the uh he wasn't just the offensive line guy, he was the the receiver's guy, he was the running backs guy, the defense loved him.
41:42
SPEAKER_04: It that that position, if you have that that charisma and that leadership, it it can really uh gel a team together.
41:49
SPEAKER_07: And the excitement is hopefully he's gonna be here multiple years afterwards.
41:53
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely, absolutely.
41:54
SPEAKER_04: Look forward to seeing you Saturday.
41:56
SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
41:56
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
41:56
SPEAKER_04: We played a couple of good games against Auburn.
41:58
SPEAKER_04: We did, we had some good battles with him, we sure did.
42:00
SPEAKER_04: We lost a couple and won a couple, but that that was when uh Pat Dye came in and so started that uh run of man, they had some defensive linemen in those days.
42:09
SPEAKER_04: It was it was quite the battle.
42:10
SPEAKER_07: Yeah, Ken Hobby to quarterback in 1981 when you beat him 10-7.
42:15
SPEAKER_07: Yes, sir.
42:15
SPEAKER_07: Never forget it.
42:16
SPEAKER_07: Bill Mayo, the Vall Network's All-American, will be there Saturday at one o'clock with Brent Hobbs and Jason Swain to start off inside Tennessee football.
42:25
SPEAKER_07: Larry Stone will have that.
42:26
SPEAKER_07: You'll have that on any of your Vall Network stations.
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SPEAKER_07: When we come back, we give you a preview for the big interview.
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SPEAKER_07: Author Tim Johnson, who's just put together a great book on General Nealin.
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SPEAKER_07: Hear a little of that and get ready for the big interview when the Mike Keith show delivered by Uber Eats continues.
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SPEAKER_08: It's time now for the block of the week, presented by Cracker Barrel.
43:00
SPEAKER_08: Slow down and savor breakfast at Cracker Barrel, their new sweet cream caramel apple pancakes combine crispy golden edges, fluffy spinners, and sweet fall flavors in every bite.
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SPEAKER_08: Welcome home.
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SPEAKER_03: The Mike Gate Joe, delivered by great fit in your Mobile Network.
43:33
SPEAKER_07: He stopped by to tell us how he came about the subject and found all of the great information.
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SPEAKER_07: The Mike Keith Joe big interview is about that book this week.
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SPEAKER_07: Here's a clip of our talk with Tim Johnson.
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SPEAKER_19: Everyone knows his football accolades and what he accomplished uh with the UT Volunteers.
43:56
SPEAKER_19: But most people don't really know much about his military career.
44:00
SPEAKER_19: That's what fascinated me.
44:01
SPEAKER_19: That's a story that I really wanted to emphasize.
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SPEAKER_07: What did you know about his military career before you started this process?
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SPEAKER_19: Well, I I knew that he had gone to West Point, and I knew that he uh had been in the Second World War, that he had played some some role, and that he was active duty military for a number of years.
44:23
SPEAKER_19: You know, his first 10 years as the uh volunteer coach, he was still active duty in the Army.
44:29
SPEAKER_19: That's really about all that I knew.
44:31
SPEAKER_19: I didn't really know anything about his World War I experience.
44:35
SPEAKER_19: I didn't know that he was John J.
44:37
SPEAKER_19: Pershing on the Rio Grande prior to World War I in what's called the punitive expedition against Pancho Villa.
44:46
SPEAKER_19: So there's so much about his military life that I just didn't know.
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SPEAKER_07: Bob Nealand was an enigma to a lot of people, and he's been gone so long to Tennessee fans, he's still a mystery.
45:00
SPEAKER_07: In doing all this research, just a simple question for you who was Bob Nealand?
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SPEAKER_19: Bob Nealand was in many ways a very private man, uh, even though you know he was in the public eye all the time.
45:16
SPEAKER_19: But he didn't like the public eye, and he he shied away from interviews, he didn't like the spotlight.
45:23
SPEAKER_19: And and so that that accounts for the mystery surrounding Bob Nealand.
45:30
SPEAKER_19: Um, but um he he was so much more than a football coach.
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SPEAKER_19: Um, he was very much devoted to his military life.
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SPEAKER_19: Um he at at one time apparently told his wife Peggy that um that he he regretted retiring from the army when he did in 1936.
45:52
SPEAKER_19: So that was service to country was really at at the heart of what he felt that he was all about.
45:58
SPEAKER_19: But um Nealan was a uh was a private man, but a uh a devoted husband and father.
46:05
SPEAKER_19: Uh but the the military gave him the kind of discipline that sort of permeated everything he did in life.
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SPEAKER_19: And and you know, he was a very learned man too.
46:15
SPEAKER_19: He read a lot.
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SPEAKER_19: Uh he was well versed in history, especially military history.
46:21
SPEAKER_19: You can see that in his gridiron strategies.
46:24
SPEAKER_19: You know that this man knew military history.
46:28
SPEAKER_19: Um, he liked poetry, uh, he loved to read uh Western novels.
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SPEAKER_19: And so he was really versatile.
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SPEAKER_19: A lot of people don't know.
46:36
SPEAKER_19: He was a great dancer.
46:37
SPEAKER_19: He even won a dance contest at the Cherokee Country Club when he was in his 50s.
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SPEAKER_19: Uh and he and he learned how to dance early in life.
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SPEAKER_19: And and so uh there's so much about Nealan that people just don't know.
46:51
SPEAKER_07: Okay, so you said let's talk about all the things he was good at.
46:55
SPEAKER_07: I've got them right here.
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SPEAKER_07: He was a really good football player.
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SPEAKER_07: He was an all-time great at West Point as a pitcher, 35 and 5.
47:04
SPEAKER_07: He took up boxing at the UT at the U.S.
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SPEAKER_07: Military Academy and became the heavyweight champion.
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SPEAKER_07: Sterling engineer who was trained at Texas AM, West Point, and MIT, one of the greatest military men of the 20th century, I think it's safe to say.
47:21
SPEAKER_07: Unquestionably one of the great football coaches in the history of the sport.
47:26
SPEAKER_07: Is there anything he wasn't good at?
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SPEAKER_19: He was good at everything he he attempted.
47:30
SPEAKER_19: I mean, he he put his whole heart into it.
47:32
SPEAKER_19: And and I'm glad you mentioned his baseball career.
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SPEAKER_19: He was he may have been the best college pitcher in the country in 1915 and 1916.
47:43
SPEAKER_19: Uh he graduated West Point in 1916, but he pitched the first no-hitter in West Point history.
47:49
SPEAKER_19: Uh he had a 20-game winning streak at one time.
47:53
SPEAKER_19: And um he he was um uh he was the captain of the team.
47:58
SPEAKER_19: Uh he started all four years against Navy, beat Navy all four times.
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SPEAKER_19: That was something he was very proud of for the rest of his life.
48:08
SPEAKER_19: But you mentioned boxing.
48:11
SPEAKER_19: He kind of took that up kind of on a fluke, um, going to the gymnasium uh for a reason that um, you know, he kind of got in trouble for a hazing incident at at uh West Point, and so he was restricted from extracurricular activities, except he could go to the gymnasium, and he did, and he took up boxing and became the West Point champ three years in a row.
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SPEAKER_19: So, yeah, everything he did, he was really, really good at it.
48:40
SPEAKER_19: And um uh you you you mentioned his role in in the war, too.
48:46
SPEAKER_19: He was an outstanding uh engineer and logistics officer.
48:51
SPEAKER_19: But I think one reason why most people don't know much about his military career is because he was not a combat commander.
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SPEAKER_19: You know, people love and he was mad about that.
49:02
SPEAKER_19: Yeah.
49:03
SPEAKER_19: He was mad that he didn't see service in those instances.
49:06
SPEAKER_19: He wanted to be in the action, he wanted to be on the front lines, and he usually had these sort of um logistical roles sort of behind the front lines.
49:16
SPEAKER_19: Um but uh, you know, there is a saying uh in the military um amateurs taught tactics, but professionals taught logistics.
49:29
SPEAKER_19: Nealand was a logistics man.
49:31
SPEAKER_19: And World War II in the Southwest Pacific, where he served, China and India, required unusual talent and skill in organization and logistics.
49:43
SPEAKER_19: And that's that's what Nealan was good at.
49:46
SPEAKER_07: And he was one of the people that was often talked about as credited for being a factor in winning the war, his supply chain, his logistics, his construction project.
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SPEAKER_07: Nealan as an engineer was as good as Nealan as a football coach in terms of talent.
50:07
SPEAKER_19: Oh, he was.
50:08
SPEAKER_19: He was outstanding, and that's the reason why I think they they um promoted him to general in the fall of 1944 and sent him to Calcutta, India.
50:18
SPEAKER_19: Calcutta was this huge harbor city supply base, supplies going to the Chinese army uh in China and to the British Army in Burma.
50:31
SPEAKER_19: Most of them came through Calcutta.
50:33
SPEAKER_19: But Calcutta was an underperforming port city uh when Neeland took command in November 1944.
50:41
SPEAKER_19: And within four months, the port of Calcutta was the most prolific, the most productive military supply port in the world.
50:52
SPEAKER_19: Uh he just he turned that port facility around.
50:56
SPEAKER_19: And this is the place Calcutta is sort of the origin point for flying the hump.
51:02
SPEAKER_19: If, you know, if you have uh viewers who are uh familiar with World War II, you know that, you know, flying the hump over the Himalayas was a very dangerous operation, but that's how supplies made it to the Chinese army.
51:16
SPEAKER_19: Uh China was fighting against the Japanese, and China was in effect tying down a million Japanese soldiers on mainland China, and and so U.S.
51:28
SPEAKER_19: interests were that we want to keep China in the war.
51:32
SPEAKER_19: And so Calcutta is important in that supply stream, and flying the hump over the Himalayas is how a lot of those supplies got into China.
51:42
SPEAKER_07: So, how did General Nealin get to the University of Tennessee when he was just Captain Nealin?
51:49
SPEAKER_07: Tim Johnson is back to tell us more about his book and revelations about the general, when the big interview continues on the Mike Keith Show.
52:00
SPEAKER_07: Watch the big interview with Tim Johnson, who wrote Robert Nealin, the West Point engineer who built Tennessee football on the next Mike Keith show.
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SPEAKER_07: For our five staff, thanks for joining us, and we'll see you next time.