Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and the Volunteers are hard at work this week in preparation for Monday’s Citrus Bowl matchup against the No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes.
In that preparation, though, Heupel returned to his old stomping grounds in Orlando, Florida at the UCF practice fields. Heupel spent three years as the UCF head coach before taking over the Tennessee football program.
The big news of the day surrounding Tennessee Athletics is the news that quarterback Joe Milton III will be opting out of the Citrus Bowl, thus passing the torch to freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava for the game against the Hawkeyes.
“Joe’s been with us throughout bowl preparation, just as he was going through his process of how he was going to handle things at the end,” Heupel said on Wednesday. “Guys are excited to get an opportunity to play with Nico. They appreciate Joe, obviously for everything that he’s done. He has been a great teammate to everybody inside of that locker room. He’s been a great teammate to Nico as well. He’s been a part of the preparation. He’ll be with us all week long and continue to help us in that way.”
More from RTI: Joe Milton III Declares For NFL Draft, Opts Out Of Citrus Bowl
In addition to talking more extensively about Iamaleava, his teammates, and his new role as the starting quarterback for the Vols, Heupel also spoke about freshman running back Cam Seldon, the health of the Vols’ offensive line, seeing his old UCF players and staff, and much more.
Check out Josh Heupel’s full Citrus Bowl arrival press conference from Wednesday in Orlando below. Additionally, you can read through a full transcript of Heupel’s press conference here.
Tennessee HC Josh Heupel
