Everything Tennessee's Josh Heupel said about the Boo Carter situation on Tuesday

Everything Tennessee Football coach Josh Heupel said about sophomore Boo Carter and his status during his press conference Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the Vols starting fall camp on Wednesday:

Opening Statement

“I know at some point I’m going to get a question about Boo, so I’m going to address that right now. Boo is a part of our team here. There’s some things that he’s got to accomplish to get back on the field with us. Don’t have a set timeline on that. Our leadership council has been a part of those things, those discussions with me and with Boo. I’m proud of what they’ve done. They care and love Boo and want him to be his best too. 

“And through this, I think Boo sees that as well. And at the end of the day, us collectively continuing to grow here through the course of training camp, I will be the one that will handle taking questions on Boo. And that’s the day and here throughout the beginning part of training camp as well. But proud of how our team has handled those things and ultimately we’ll handle those things internally. I’m not going to get into details on everything.” 

The dialogue he’s had with Boo Carter and how he handles Tennessee players missing offseason workouts

“Yeah, at the end of the day, it’s a requirement to be here, be a part of what we’re doing. And there’s a lot of information out of there, out in the world. Some of it is correct, some of it is not. I’m not going to address everything over the last week. Disappointed with how some things were handled. At the end of the day, we have conversations, what does it look like moving forward? And that’s all parts, our leadership council, Boo and our staff. So it’s not about what yesterday was, it’s about today. And we’ll see as we continue to progress where that leads us.”

If he had talked to Boo Carter before Tuesday, if they had talked over the last week

“Yes, I have (before Tuesday). Parts of (the last week), yes. I’m not saying every day, (but) yes.”

If he always consults with Tennessee’s leadership council when he’s making a decision on the status of a player

“I think always is probably a stronger word than I would say. Always, my wife would tell you, would get me into trouble. I think each situation is unique. And I think in leadership, it’s important that you step back and try to look at it from different angles as well. And ultimately, in this case, we have conversations with multiple parties.” 

What gives him confidence that Boo Carter being back won’t hurt Tennessee’s chemistry as a team

“Well, the guys on the leadership council, I know it’s true in the locker room, too, they care about the person, care and love for him and want him to be his best. I think that starts in life, through the conversations we’ve had with him, and then that parlays itself on the football side of things. So I’m not worried about the chemistry. At the end of the day, we have standards that we all have to meet, and that’s everybody in the building. When somebody fails in that, whether they get another chance or not, each situation is different. But ultimately, Boo has got to meet those standards here.” 

If Boo Carter having work to do means he will or won’t be in meeting, if he will or won’t be in practice

“I’m not going to get into all the details of everything. He’s here, he’s with us. And each day we’ll figure out what comes next.” 

If there’s a chance that Boo Carter will still be part of Tennessee’s offense, or if the offseason situation has changed that

“Yeah, we’re going to take it slow here in the beginning and we’ll figure out where we’re at as we get deeper into camp.”