What Josh Heupel said after Tennessee's first scrimmage of fall camp
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel met with reporters Thursday morning at Neyland Stadium, breaking down the Vols’ first scrimmage of fall camp as prep work continues for the September 2 season-opener against Virginia:
Opening Statement
“Really good day out there. Great energy. We got some special teams work, some live work for those guys, which I think is really important at this point in training camp. Really like what our specialists have done up until this point, but really good for the guys that are covering, are blocking, to get some live work. Offensively and defensively, really good day. I think we got out relatively clean today too, which is important. I thought defensively great energy, great effort, in particular, really early in the scrimmage. Did a great job against the run early too, and got off the field on some third downs. And offensively, created some plays on the back half of the scrimmage (in the) run game and a couple plays in the pass game too. So all in all, really good day. We got a lot, lot ahead of us. We gotta grow, and that starts this afternoon when they come back to us too. But all in all, really excited about what happened today.
The status of Cooper Mays and how Tennessee worked the center position during the scrimmage
“Coop had a minor procedure late yesterday and he’ll be back, he’ll be healthy, as we get close to kickoff. Anticipate that being a couple-week deal. Today we rotated through a bunch of guys, Ollie Lane, Parker Ball, young guys, Vysen (Lang), Addison Nichols. Those guys are all competing for those spots. All of those guys have taken some reps, even when Cooper’s here too, s we continue to look for that backup center spot.”
How Ollie Lane performed at center
“Ollie, really smart. Played a lot of football, has played multiple positions, was repped at the three interior spots since the time that we’ve gotten here. He’s been really good in communication, the mechanics, us being able to play with tempo the way that we want to when it presents itself. It’s been really easy for him to transition inside.
How Tennessee QB Joe Milton III played in the scrimmage
“Joe, I thought operational was really good. The situational stuff that we can be better at, coming out situation. We did some four-minute things at the end as well, so it’s a great opportunity.
Coaches are completely off the sidelines, coaches are up in the box, guys gotta learn how to operate in between the white lines, so there’s growth in that way for Joe. All in all, I’m really pleased with his decision making, what he did with football all day long as command.
The status of Wesley Walker and Tamarion McDonald in the Tennessee secondary
Yeah, those guys are in a good spot. We’ve held ’em here the last couple of days. Nothing long term, just based on loads and what they’ve been doing. Wanting to protect them today. Those guys will be with us as we move forward. Those guys have played really well in the secondary and I anticipate them playing at a really high level of pushing forward.”
If any Tennessee receivers stood out and if he’s closer to narrowing down a rotation
“Yeah, I think the rotation piece is gonna be a little bit fluid with all of those guys. Some of our young guys continue to grow and make some real strides to — Chas Nimrod, Kaleb Webb. The four older guys continue to push and compete. I like what they’ve been doing. They’ve operated really efficiently in what we’re doing offensively and within the scheme of what we’re doing. I think they’re playing with great fundamentals and techniques, so all in all, like what they’re doing. The back half the training camp — we’re essentially at the halfway point as far as pure training camp before we get into school — back half of it will be really important too.”
If Dont’e Thornton is more of a slot or outside receiver for Tennessee
“Dont’e’s got the ability to play both and I think for us this year we probably have a little bit more mobility. Guys can do multiple things within the offense than probably how we’ve played them, the first couple of years that I’ve been here.”
How deep the Tennessee defensive front is and how encouraged he is with the progress from that group
“The run game part of it, the defensive line, interior and guys on the edge, but I thought our backers did a great job fitting gaps and our safeties were involved in it too. And for a first scrimmage, I thought there was a positive sign of just our tackling in space. So I thought that was a real positive. Defensively as a whole, you guys have heard me say it before, when we got here, a lot of the kids that had left the program, not all of ’em, but a lot of ’em were on the defensive side of the football and, you know, we’ve been, within the first couple of years, we added some depth last year that helped us take a step, in particular in the run defense. I feel like we are continuing to add some real depth and competition. And that leads itself to real competition in practice. Who’s gonna be the first one running out? How many snaps each guy’s gonna play. But the competition on the practice field in the meeting room is a coach’s best friend. And we have that. That’s in the interior, it’s out on the edges too. The athleticism, the ability to rush the passer and not just defend the run, it’s also showing up here in training camp too. I like some of the strides that we’ve taken.”
What he wants from Joe Milton III in the situations he discussed earlier
“Processing the offense. He’s, he’s operating and handling at a really high level right now, decision making, understanding protections and how to get himself protected or throw hot. His eyes as far as what he’s seen from the second level pre-snap and, and on the snap, he’s been really good at that part of it. Situational football for the quarterback, continuing to grow just in understanding, you know, four-minute situation, which we did from a backed up situation today. Clock management. All those things are just a continued part of all of those guys. Growth from Joe all the way to Gaston Moore and everybody.”
How much the offensive line will benefit from what’s happening so far in training camp
“I think having to move some pieces around a little bit, guys working at guard at center it’s tough because you’re in multiple situations. It’s not like you’re just going into a day depending on the period. We kind of cycle through. So, they get a little bit of that throughout every single practice. You want practice to be more difficult than it is on game day. And so, as we try to put the pieces together and how guys are going to play in the long run. It’s going to make us a lot stronger unit. There’s times you’re really fortunate at every position or on the O line and D line where you stay healthy for most of the season. But a lot of times it, it isn’t that way. You can go back to year one and I don’t know two or three players in the game. We lose the tackle and you know, the next guy has got to be ready to play. We’ve gotten a lot of work where I feel like they’ll be cohesive when you have your five starters. But at the same time, we’ve gotten some rotational stuff that I think will pay dividends as the year unfolds.”
The progress of Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright in the Tennessee backfield
“I talked about the defensive line, I thought as the scrimmage went on, the running back group did a really nice job. Jaylen Wright had some really nice runs reading what’s happening up with up front with our blocking schemes, doing a great job of pressing. Nice big run. I thought Jabari played really well. It was important for him to get some live work too, (after) missing the spring. Dylan Sampson did a great job on run game, pass game too. The young guys inside of our program, all three young guys, have been really promising and (I’m) excited about that group. Coach Mac has done a great job with it.”
What they’re doing with the Star position in the Tennessee secondary
“There’s multiple guys that have been rotating, from Warren Burrell, Jordan Thomas. There’s been multiple guys that have played that position and we’re trying to find the right fit as you find the right five to be out on the field. You want your best five out there and how you put the pieces together, how you rotate those guys as well.”
Warren Burrell’s history as a cornerback and if that helps him at the Star position
“I think he’s extremely bright, right? And being able to handle playing on the edge at corner, which he has a lot of experience at. But his total understanding of the principles and schemes and responsibilities and where your eyes need to be, allow him to transition and take some snaps at that. His ability to understand your gap fits off of that too are really important. He’s an intelligent player that’s been here for a while and that’s a part of why we’ve been able to play at this time.”
What he saw from Ethan Davis and McCallan Castles and what they’ve brought to the Tennessee tight end room
“Both those guys will play a ton of football. At this point really believe that both of ’em will play at a really high level when they’re out there on the field. McCallan, really both of ‘em, are really so much further ahead than they were when they finish spring ball. Both of ’em are seasoned in what we’re doing offensively. McCallan’s been really good out on the perimeter; Ethan Davis, too. It’s really natural for those guys to be playmakers out in space. That’s true today. It’s been true through the first seven practices before we got out here too. (They) have the ability to be dynamic in, in the past game, both of ’em have gotten really comfortable and continue to grow inside the core too. And, Callie, I thought yesterday was his best day inside the core. Really pleased with what those guys are doing.”
The value of Gerald Mincey and Dayne Davis and their versatility on the Tennessee offensive line
“We’ve rotated our tackles a bunch, guys that have played on left side, right side. Their experience, their understanding of what we’re doing, but their experience just in general and the ability to flip everything, from fundamentals of technique to scheme give us flexibility that you don’t always have. And from JJ to John and the rest of the group, been excited about where we’re at, but how we’re trending too at those positions. They compete really hard every single day. They compete with each other, but they do it in a really positive way. That O-line group is extremely tight. And I think you guys have seen that here, the three years of Coach Elarbee has been here.”
What he saw from Javontez Spraggins in the scrimmage and so far in camp
“First of all, he’s got great energy every single day. He’s the same competitor. That’s a part of why he’s climbed personally, but he’s got great influence on the offensive line unit. But our offense in general, and really our football team, he’s a huge part of the energy that we have at practice every single day. He’s been hyperfocused on how he can grow to be the best player that he can be. You guys know he’s gonna play with great effort and be extremely physical all season. Continues to change his body, fundamentally think he’s continuing to grow in particular. I think that pays dividends in past growth situations.”
Being patient with Nico Iamaleava as Tennessee backup quarterback but still pushing to develop him
“You gotta grow. You gotta grow. You gotta be pushed. We install it. He’s running everything, man. You know, you’ve heard me say that when they finish spring ball, when they come back beginning training camp, they should be a different player. He’s a different player. We’ve got great command in understanding what we’re doing, understands protections, understands how he’s gotta get us out of could be run-run checks, pass-run checks, whatever it might be. And he’s been perfect, but he’s grown. One of the things that we talked about is not making the same mistake twice. He doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He learns from it. There’s a rep yesterday, as he’s going through his reading progression, tight window on the inside, throws the ball while he’s standing in the pocket. You can see him visually like, hey man, I should have got out to the next one outside. He’s intentional and has great work habits.”
