By james art 
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is looking for his placekicker to reset this week after struggling to knock down a field goal in the Vols’ last two contests.
Vols kicker Max Gilbert has totaled 71 points this season with a dozen made field goals and 35 PATs in Tennessee’s eight games so far.
Gilbert began the year by knocking down 11 of his first 12 field goal attempts in the first six games of the season during the Florida game. Gilbert’s makes included 2-of-2 from 20-29 yards, 5-of-5 from 30-39 yards, 2-of-2 from 40-49 yards and 0-of-1 from 50+ yards.
The Memphis native knocked down a critical 41-yard field goal in the third quarter against Alabama, but missed his previous two attempts on the day. However, both came from distance, 53 yards and 50 yards, respectively.
While Tennessee made several long field goal attempts for him last Saturday against Kentucky, Gilbert struggled to a season-low 0-of-3 field goal against the Wildcats. Gilbert missed 43 yards on Tennessee’s opening possession, 40 yards a few minutes into the second quarter and 34 yards early in the second half.
“It’s important for him, like any other player, to have a great week of preparation,” Josh Heupel said of Gilbert on Monday as he hopes to recover this week. “And I just think from the first kick to the second kick [against Kentucky]he kind of overdid it and did the same thing to the third one. So go find your groove, hit your favorite spot and go play ball.
Gilbert wasn’t completely out of the zone, though, as he went 4-for-4 on extra points Saturday night to help Tennessee cruise to a 28-18 victory over border rival Kentucky.
“Yeah, if you’ve seen me kick, you know I’m probably not the guy to help him with his swing,” Heupel joked Monday. “No, it’s just, you know, Max has been hitting the ball really well most of the year. And he hits it that way and in practice. So for him, reset from kick to kick but also week to week. It’s important for him, like any other player, to have a great preparation week.”
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Heupel’s reaction to Gilbert’s struggles is the opposite of recent remarks from Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham.
After kicker Ian Hershey’s 7-of-12 start to the season and 0-2 against Cincinnati on Oct. 19, Dillingham embarrassed his own player by inviting Arizona State students to open tryouts for the punter position next Monday.
Instead, Dillingham was forced to turn to X to apologize to his player on the night of the match following his post-match comments. The Arizona State head coach also addressed the situation at his next news conference on Monday.
“I’ve never done anything in my career that has had a negative effect on a kid, and I’ve had really bad seasons, really bad play,” Dillingham said, via The Athletic . “I absolutely blew it.”
Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert is 12-of-18 on field goal attempts on the season, going 2-of-2 from 20-29, 6-of-7 from 30-39, 4-of-6 from 40-49 and 0-of-3 from 50 +. Gilbert has made 35 of 35 extra point attempts this season.
No. 7 Tennessee will host Mississippi State in the return game this Saturday night at 7:00 PM ET at Neyland Stadium. Follow Rocky Top Insider for live on-site coverage of the game in Knoxville.