By james art 
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel still has faith in Max Gilbert amid the recent struggles for the Vols quarterback.
The redshirt freshman missed all three field goal attempts in UT’s 28-18 win against Kentucky on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
“He’s good enough and confident enough to go through the stands,” Heupel said. “I have to keep pushing.”
Gilbert is 12-for-18 in the game this season after going 0-for-3 before the No. 7 Vols (7-1, 4-1 SEC) host the Bulldogs (2-7, 0-5) on 7 pm ET Nov. 9 on ESPN.
Max Gilbert is 1-for-6 on field goals in the last two games
Gilbert has been reliable in the first six games this season, making 11 of his first 12 attempts. He is 1-for-6 over the last two games.
He missed 43 yards wide left in the first quarter. He made a 40-yard punt right in the second quarter. He pulled his third attempt wide left from 34 yards in the third quarter.
“He kicked it extremely well until the last few weeks,” Heupel said. “Against (Alabama), I also hit a big field goal at the end. I kicked it well in training.”
Gilbert was 1-for-3 in Tennessee’s 24-17 win against the Crimson Tide. He made a 41-yard field goal with 1:30 left to extend UT’s lead to seven. He missed 53 and 50 yards in the first half.
Heupel said he wants Gilbert to “start faster” in the game and that UT needs to find a way in his routine to get him ready to start early. He also noted that Gilbert doesn’t miss chip shots from play, but long attempts early on.
Tennessee football moved to 7-1 with a win against Kentucky
Running back Dylan Sampson had two rushing touchdowns to set the UT single-season record with 19 rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Niko Yamaleava had his best passing game in SEC play. The redshirt freshman was 28-for-38 for 292 yards. He threw a 6-yard touchdown to tight end Myles Kitzelman in the third quarter.
Freshman running back Peyton Lewis scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @By Mike Wilson. If you like Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will give you access to everything.