Highlights: Tennessee has final practice before second fall camp scrimmage
Tennessee’s third week of fall camp kicked off on Tuesday morning as the Vols prepare for their next scrimmage on Wednesday. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel hopes to have more veterans available for the spirited work tomorrow.
“Yeah, I think that is important, but I think it is even more important during the course of your practices,” Heupel said. “All of our guys are back on that side of things. We chose to hold a few guys out of the last scrimmage, so those guys will get some work. We are smart with our veterans on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. You have to sharpen their sword a little bit and make sure they are ready to play, but at the same time, you have got to get their condition set.”
Tennessee is a deeper team which means more quality players for Heupel and the staff to keep the competitive advantage.
“I think it is important that we are deeper than we have been,” Heupel said. “On the offensive side of the ball, we were really fortunate to avoid injury. Defensively, we got nicked up in our secondary; that hurt us late in the year. The depth, we are in different spot than we were when we first got here that fall. We have continued to grow with the depth on our roster. We have length and athleticism on the back end and at the offensive skill spots. We are bigger and thicker and stronger and more athletic on the offensive and defensive line. At the end of the day, that depth is important at the start, and it is really important as you get into the meat of the season. Defensively, in particular, we want to be able to play more guys than we have the first couple of years. That is true on the back level, but it is also true of the front seven. It is important guys prove they are going to play at a high level. If they do that, then it is our job to find a role. The other phase of the game that really shows up in is special teams and being able to own that part of the game during the course of the season. Love what we are doing on that side of it. Coach Ek has done a great job. We are in the middle of training camp here, and we have to continue to grow in the back half.”
Tennessee kicks off the season the first weekend in September in Nashville against Virginia.
