Tennessee held its second spring camp scrimmage on Thursday night in Neyland Stadium in the midst of rainy, cold, and windy weather conditions.
While it didn’t necessarily feel like a nice spring night in Knoxville, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel enjoyed the fact that the team had to battle adversity in what resembled more of an October night in Knoxville or Lexington.
“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,” Heupel said. “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.”
With the conclusion of the scrimmage on Thursday night, Tennessee has now completed eight practices and two scrimmages in the spring camp slate. The Vols will continue their work through the 2024 Orange & White game on Saturday, April 13, in Neyland Stadium.
After the scrimmage, Heupel met with the media for a late-night press conference to discuss his thoughts on the night. Heupel spoke about position groups and players that impressed him, the impact of the new coaching hires, managing workload on a case-by-case basis for specific veterans, and the continued progression for some of Tennessee’s newcomers.
Oh, and the quarterbacks.
“Nico (Iamaleava) has to grow here as we go through spring,” Heupel said. “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.”
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Check out Josh Heupel’s full press conference on Thursday night in Neyland Stadium below:
Tennessee HC Josh Heupel
