Tennessee defensive lineman Joshua Josephs (19) celebrates after a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Pittsburgh Panthers in Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Tennessee defeated Pitt 34-27 in overtime. Tennpitt0910 03699 Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Everything Joshua Josephs Said Following Tennessee's Win Over Syracuse

Originally posted on Tennessee Volunteers on SI
By Dale Dowden | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 8:52 AM ET

Joshua Josephs like many others found themselves in a familiar place on Saturday.

Tennessee recruits the state of Georgia a lot, primarily Atlanta and the surrounding areas. Josephs played his high school ball at North Cobb High School, a roughly 30-minutes away from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Josephs finished the night with 7-tackles, 1-sack, and 1-tackle for loss. That is not to mention the plays of just getting into the backfield and blowing up the play design.

The veteran defender joined the media following the contest.

What Kind of Tone Was Set?

"I feel like that is hard to say," Josephs responded.

"Speaking as a defense, I don't believe we set the right tone as we should have. Like, we left a lot of things out there and that's a good team and they were able to capitalize off the mistakes we were making. So, I feel like this team, our team, Tennessee, we will continue to get better. Not even feel, I know that we will. So, I honestly don't know how to answer what type of tone this game set for the defense."

Could This Year's Pass Rush Surpass Last Year's?

The Vols finished with 5- sacks yesterday, beating last season's game-high of 4-sacks.

"As the season goes on, we'll be able to like really answer that. Truly, I believe we were gifted last year, but I know that we're gifted this year, too. Shout out Coach (Tim) Banks because he was able to draw a lot of blitzes, but that actually got back there and came through clean. So, not only was the D-line wreaking havoc, but so was the DBs and the linebackers."

Hear all of this and more here.