Tennessee football went under the lights at Neyland Stadium on Thursday night for its second scrimmage of spring practice just over a week away from the Orange-and-White game in Knoxville.
Following the scrimmage, Josh Heupel met with the media and discussed the performances of Tennessee’s defensive line, receivers and much more. Here’s everything Heupel said on Thursday.
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Opening Statement
“It was a lot of fun tonight. Just the way the schedule unfolded, we decided to do a night scrimmage. Great to be under the lights inside of Neyland. The guys had a ton of energy and a lot of really good work. Defensively, I thought they started extremely fast and violent and destructive, got off the field on third downs and did a great job offensively and settled in on the second half of the scrimmage. A lot of good work here for just being over the midpoint of spring ball and obviously have a huge week next week before we get a chance to see Vol Nation out here at the spring game.”
On if what he likes defensively is mostly coming from the veterans on the front
“I mean some of it, absolutely. Our defensive line has brought great energy and consistency every single day that we’ve been on the practice field. Veteran group especially on the interior that has kind of led the way. Our edge group continues to get better and the young guys, the new guys have really grown inside of it really quickly. They’re playing with great pad level. They’re using their hands better than they ever have, and I’m not just talking in pass rush, in the run game, too. Really like what that group’s done.””It was a lot of fun tonight. Just the way the schedule unfolded, we decided to do a night scrimmage. Great to be under the lights inside of Neyland. The guys had a ton of energy and a lot of really good work. Defensively, I thought they started extremely fast and violent and destructive, got off the field on third downs and did a great job offensively and settled in on the second half of the scrimmage. A lot of good work here for just being over the midpoint of spring ball and obviously have a huge week next week before we get a chance to see Vol Nation out here at the spring game.”
On if it was strategic to build up the defensive line
“Yeah, if you want to be really good as a football team it starts with your defensive line. Just how we got here, the circumstances that were here when we first got here, it’s taken a little time to go work the group up. Certainly, just the athleticism across the entire group. I really like what Coach (Tim) Banks and Coach (Rodney) Garner and Coach (Mike) Ekeler have done with that group. We still have a lot of room to grow before we’re where we need to be when we open up.”
On how he has observed the young group grow
“They’re a lot better today than they were when we started spring ball, and it won’t just be on the back end of it. It’s a group that I like their athleticism. They have to continue to mature physically. Those guys, a lot of them are doubling up their reps right now with a lot of our vets just from the end of the season, being banged up and not repping here in spring ball. With everything that we see on the other side of the line of scrimmage, communication, understanding what we’re doing, fundamentally getting better. They’re playing so much harder than they were at the beginning of spring ball, too. I think we just have to continue to grow, but I really do like the group as a whole.”
On how the younger players at the center position are developing
“Vysen (Lang) is continuing to grow. He’s a strong kid. He’s continuing to grow in the communication side of it with his hand on the ball. (William) Satterwhite and Max Anderson have taken some snaps. All of those guys are getting thrust into it. They’ve handled it really well. I’d say that they handle it from a bad play or series and reset it into the next one. A lot of growth for that group, but they’ve pushed extremely hard. They did that before we got to spring ball, but they’ve certainly done it in the middle of it too.”
On the receivers tonight
“Some guys made some plays, especially the newer guys. (Chris) Brazzell II made some really nice plays today. Mike Matthews made some plays down the football field. Dont’e Thornton made some plays. They continue to grow.”
On how much more confident Dont’e Thornton Jr. is playing outside receiver
“Last year, with where we were at with the guys that we’ve had, we started him in the slot. He got some work on the outside, and he was so limited in spring ball and training camp. He got banged up, and he missed a lot of practices and opportunities to grow in what we’re doing. We moved him outside in the middle part of last year, and he’s playing his best football and got dinged up. It’s a guy who has great trust in the coaching staff. He understands how to operate and function within our offense. He understands coverages. He’s continuing to grow out there, and I really like what he’s done.”
On Nico Iamaleava and the passing game
“I thought he operated and functioned extremely well tonight. He made some plays. He did that with his arm, and he made some with his feet too. We did not start out super fast on the offensive side of the football. We had some opportunities to get points out of it. I thought his competitive composure was really big and kind of his demeanor in general. He’s continuing to grow in a leadership role too, so I’m really pleased with what he’s done. That’s tonight and through the first part of spring ball.”
On managing veterans’ workload during spring practice
“It’s on a case-by-case basis. The amount of football they’ve played, their health, coming back from injury, watching their loads, potentially continuing to grow that through spring ball. Smart with them on the back end of it here and as we get to the back half of next week, too. Just a little bit case-by-case.”
On the running backs’ performance in the scrimmage
“The running backs tonight, I thought DeSean Bishop – you mentioned him earlier – I thought he ran extremely well tonight. Without watching the film, I’d say probably his best football that he’s played this spring. He’s a guy coming back off of an injury that is getting more comfortable as he’s gone through this spring. I really like what he did tonight. Khalifa (Keith) had a good night, too.”
On the improvement of transfers from scrimmage to scrimmage compared to veterans
“You hope to see a great amount of growth from scrimmage to scrimmage. That’s from your new guys inside of your system, that can be transfers and your high school kids that came in the mid-year, too. I thought with everything that was going on tonight for them on the field, they handled it pretty well. When I get a chance, I’ll go back and watch the film and actually see everything that happened.”
On the colder weather providing a simulation for a late-November contest
“Atypical spring night for here in Knoxville, but it’s an opportunity to get out and play in an environment that at some point next year we’re going to be in. The guys had a lot of energy tonight. They enjoyed being under the lights in a different type of day for a scrimmage. For us, it’s an opportunity that will parlay itself into a football game that we’re going to play next fall.”
On the development of the running backs and linebackers with new coaching hires
“For the new staff members that come in here, the first thing is just gaining trust and building a relationship with your players. That dictates how they receive all the information when you get out on the field, and some in your installs too. At the end of the day, if you’ve got that relationship, they receive the information a different way than if they don’t. We’ve got two guys that care about young people, that are great teachers. The transition has been really seamless with those guys (De’Rail Sims and William Inge). It starts with our coordinators doing a great job getting them on the same page with what we’re doing, philosophically and within our scheme. And then, those guys have been really good. That’s on the grass. It’s in the classroom. They’re high-level coaches that there’s a reason we brought them here to Tennessee.”
On who has stepped up from the secondary group
“Will Brooks had a really good night tonight. (Andre Turrentine) has been really consistent throughout the course of spring ball. Jermod McCoy continues to play at a really high level. Those are a few of the guys that have been consistent, but also showed up tonight for us.”
On Dylan Sampson showing up as a leader
“Dylan has done a great job from the time that he’s gotten here. He transitioned seamlessly into what we do offensively. Everybody has seen the plays that he’s made. He had leadership traits. He’s always brought great energy out to the practice field with him, or the meeting room, but he’s really thrust himself into a leadership role. We have a great, collective group of leaders that are really strong right now. They’ve grown since we started our offseason in January, have seen a lot of growth from that group. They’re intentional on impacting the people around them. When you’re out at practice seeing guys coach each other up and bring energy to each other, it happens on a consistent basis.”
On his comfort level with the quarterback room
“Nico (Iamaleava) has to grow here as we go through spring. A bunch of guys that haven’t been under the lights of gameday very much. Gaston (Moore) has performed really consistently throughout the course of spring ball. He’s been a really good decision maker, has really good control in what we’re doing offensively. Jake Merklinger, more comfortable today than he was scrimmage one, not even close. That’s his command on the sideline and in the huddle, and then controlling what’s going on out there. There’s a lot of fundamental growth left for (Merklinger). That’s typical of all the young quarterbacks that come in here. I really like that group. They encourage each other, challenge each other. The strength of any position room can’t be just one guy.”
On the turnover in the secondary room
“We knew that we had to continue to add athleticism and length, playmaking ability on the secondary. Guys that have come in here – that’s high school guys and transfer portal guys – you can see that as soon as you walk on the practice field with those guys. A lot of growth left for them within our scheme, little details, nuances and communication, but really like where that group is headed. They’ve made plays and continue to compete at a really high level.”
