Tennessee’s weekly opening press conference was fairly quick and easy on Monday afternoon as only head coach Josh Heupel and wide receiver Bru McCoy spoke to the media following the Vols’ season-opening win against Virginia on Saturday.
Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle and defensive coordinator Tim Banks, along with a handful more players, are expected to meet with the media on Tuesday to continue the conversation from Heupel and McCoy on Monday.
Heupel addressed several topics from Saturday’s game including potential injuries from Saturday’s game, the selfless nature of the running back’s room, his thoughts on offensive line play from Ollie Lane and Dayne Davis, and the Vols’ new Smokey Grey uniforms and their significance to Tennessee and SEC legend Condredge Holloway. Heupel also spent some time previewing the Vols’ upcoming game against Austin Peay.
“Defensively, [we] have to handle tempo,” Heupel said about the upcoming Austin Peay game. “They will spread the football field. RPO game, we have to do a really good job on perimeter screens, defeat blocks and make tackles in space. Line of scrimmage will be everything for us. Offensively, [we are] going to have to have balance, be able to run the football and throw the football vertically down the field off of all that. Nothing different than who we are.”
McCoy, meanwhile, spoke about how his body is feeling after the first game, the offense’s slow start against Virginia, what Condredge Holloway means to the program, and more.
“I think it means a lot, especially as a Black student-athlete, you get to look back to see the first Black quarterback at Tennessee,” McCoy said. “It’s nice to be here in 2023 still commending something that happened a long time ago. It means a lot, and it’s a special thing that we get to celebrate that at the first home game in Neyland. I’m excited.”
More from RTI: Tennessee Boasts Two Weekly Player Awards Following Virginia Blowout
Check out both interviews from Monday afternoon in Knoxville below.
HC Josh Heupel
WR Bru McCoy
