WATCH: Tennessee puts on shells for the first time this spring
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel had his hat on backwards as he moved outside to the grass from the inside turf. The change of venue is no different than the change from last year’s team to this year’s group of Vols.
“That’s a different team than it was at the bowl game. There’s a lot of guys that are here with us. Obviously December is a different month, whatever it might be. You have some midyear enrollees that are there, but it’s their first experience. A bunch more are with us now. We’re in Orlando with us. Every year, it’s always been true, but certainly rosters turn over more frequently at this point and this time in college football. So it’s a process. It’s a journey. You can’t short change it, you can’t cut it. And for us, strength and conditioning, the accountability factor, being intentional and trying to develop leadership, communication from within the locker room. I thought our guys handled that extremely well. Grew throughout it. Some great days, some, some tough days that we had to learn from, too. But that’s all part of the process and the journey. What I do like about this group is that they do compete extremely hard. They care about one another and they’re willing to get coached. And today is just the beginning of the on-field stuff for everybody in the building. Man, fundamentally getting better, growing technique, mastering that, then the scheme, your eyes, your hands. It’s a long ways to go until we kick off. We always challenge the guys. Don’t make the same mistake twice. If you do that spot, by the time we get to kick off the identity of this football team, our makeup, we’re still a long ways away from being what I hope us to be, but also what we should be. That’s all part of it.”
One of the players getting the accelerated path is LSU transfer Lance Heard. Through the first few days of practice, he has continued to push himself while the staff pushes him.
“Really a young player that played snap down there and played well when he had the opportunity. He’s a young player that’s going to have to continue to grow. He’s got to develop and grow into being a pro and how he handles himself every single day. He’s been awesome inside of our building. Developing relationships, how he has competed every day. Guys that we took the transfer portal, that recruitment happens really quickly. Man, it’s been a great group that has come into the building and try to blend in and mesh in with our team culture extremely quickly. They’ve handled themselves with a lot of maturity. He’s handling himself with maturity. On the field he’s a young player that’s seven months, eight months into his college football career and he’s just beginning the journey. So fundamentals, technique, understanding what we’re doing offensively, the communication that’s got to happen up front. When we play with temp, being able to function and operate within that. He’s in the beginning stages. Uber talented, being great in the building. And I expect him to grow a bunch over the next 14 practices.”
