{"id":660318,"date":"2026-03-16T19:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T19:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/660318\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T19:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T19:18:13","slug":"what-josh-heupel-said-after-tennessees-first-spring-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/660318\/","title":{"rendered":"What Josh Heupel said after Tennessee’s first spring practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

What Tennessee<\/a> coach Josh Heupel<\/a><\/strong> said during his press conference<\/a> after the Vols held their first practice of spring camp on Monday morning in Knoxville:<\/p>\n

Opening Statement<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBeen a while. Good to see everybody. Miss not seeing Wes (Rucker) here. Obviously somebody that\u2019s been covering and been around this program for a long time. Miss seeing him in here. And just want to continue to lift him and his family up in prayers. And I know everybody is too.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood to be back out on the field. We\u2019ve had a really good winter. Some changes in the building, staff and players as well. I think 46 new players here on our roster, uh, heading into to this season. It\u2019s been a really good winter. Today was the start of what we\u2019re doing on the field during the course of spring ball. Got the guys back, nine days off of spring ball. Got them going today and it was good effort, good energy. And we\u2019ll continue to progress with another practice tomorrow as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcited about the effort and the attitude that these guys had. The strength gains, the speed gains, the size that they\u2019ve added during the course of our winter offseason. And now you get a chance to get into the fundamentals, technique and the scheme and the growth that we\u2019re going need there as well. Looking forward to it with these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Any changes they\u2019ve made to Tennessee\u2019s practice routine entering the spring, having no music during stretching periods<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWell today\u2019s Day 1 of practice, just getting those guys used to and accustomed to the flow of it, what drills are coming next, just ability to communicate. As we get going, there\u2019ll be more music for you guys to make sure that you\u2019re entertained, during the course of our warmup. I miss seeing Hubbs dance on the sideline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut not a ton of drastic changes within the scope of what we\u2019re doing scheme-wise. Some subtle things. And I talked about it a minute ago, but the long break, just the structure of our calendar when we started class, got these guys in the weight room, having a long break here before we get started into our spring ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A little bit of a flush-type practice today. And tomorrow we\u2019ll get going with longer duration and a little bit more intensity in some of our group work drills too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennessee\u2019s winter offseason<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that we\u2019ve had bad winters. I think you look at this winter, the changes in the weight room, you look at the frames, the mass that we added, the strength numbers that we got out of it weekly. And then the speed numbers as well. I think it\u2019s been a great winter as far as the development of our bodies in there. And that encompasses what (strength coach) Derek (Owings is) doing in the weight room, but handling all the performance side of it. What our nutrition staff has done, them working together with our medical team as well. I just really like what we\u2019ve done here in the seven weeks of our offseason before we got into spring ball. The expectation is that we\u2019re still making some of those gains as we\u2019re going through spring ball here as well. Just the design of our days and being able to maximize still getting great work in the weight room as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other ways that he believes strength coach Derek Owings can impact the Tennessee football program\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I think it comes down to the accountability in everything that you\u2019re doing every single day. The mental side of how you approach everything, the accountability piece. Every rep every single day parlays itself into how you need to play. When you get to the Saturdays in the fall, it\u2019s got to be in the structure of what you\u2019re doing every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

What he wants Tennessee QBs George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon to get out of the first week of spring practice\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve had a good winter with the introduction of some of the things that we\u2019re doing offensively. George obviously has more time on task with the general basis of what we\u2019re doing. But as those guys have come into the program, gaining an understanding of what we\u2019re doing, the communication, how they\u2019re calling protections, adjusting protections, our run-game rules, being able to control everything that we\u2019re doing. And then starting to master what\u2019s going on on the back end, from the defensive structures as well. And ultimately become a guy that is playing extremely efficiently. Starts with their eyes, being able to see things, work through the progression, then the fundamentals and the technique to deliver the ball consistently and accurately. That guy has got to play on edge. He\u2019s got to go make plays, um, but he\u2019s also got to take care of the football.\u201d<\/p>\n

How open Tennessee\u2019s three quarterbacks should see that position entering the spring\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it is open. We had that conversation with all of them as we started the winter, when they all arrived here. Had that conversation again as we were wrapping up our winter before we got into spring ball. We\u2019ve had a couple of those battles. You guys know that we always communicate with those guys openly, transparently, communicate with those guys together. Don\u2019t expect a guy to be named here during the course of spring ball. I think it\u2019s important that all the guys in that room learn and grow throughout the course of spring, also have a chance to go back in your summer months, digest it, reinstall and come back a much better player and compete and earn it in front of their teammates as you get into training camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Tennessee\u2019s offensive staff can be patient with the quarterback competition<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re patient in understanding that just like every player inside your program there\u2019s going to be growth. There\u2019s gonna be mistakes. What you want to see is them not making the same mistake twice. Constant growth in what they\u2019re doing and how they\u2019re controlling things at the quarterback position. The patience part, I think that\u2019s how that correlates. You have to push them in what they\u2019re doing on the offensive side of the football. Does that mean that everything\u2019s in during the course of these 15 opportunities that we have in spring ball? Well, not necessarily. But you have to force feed those guys and expose them to what you\u2019re going to need during the course of the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

How Tennessee players have developed since adding Derek Owings<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think, you know, me and the staff did a great job onboarding, sitting down with our players one-on-one in the first 72 hours that they were here on campus. Hit the ground running as far as workouts after his first day getting here. But getting to know the player, understand their goals and what they wanna accomplish, where they\u2019re at, and how he and his staff can help them get to where they wanna go. And that\u2019s in the physical gains that they\u2019re gonna make. It\u2019s in their speed, it\u2019s in their quickness, agility, but it\u2019s also in their mindset and how you have to approach every single day.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I think the accountability piece in everything that you\u2019re doing every single day, how that impacts your growth, taking a step forward every single day instead of one step forward, one step back has been a big part of what I\u2019ve liked about what we\u2019ve done this spring and that\u2019s a credit to Derek and his staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The traits he likes from George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, both of those guys are quick-minded. They grasp what we\u2019re doing as we give them the playbook extremely well. Both have the ability to be accurate with the football. Strong enough arm to extend the field vertically. Both guys that I think anticipate windows extremely well over the middle of the football field. And fundamentally for both of them, there\u2019s still a bunch of growth out there, for Ryan (Staub), as well. But that\u2019s what these opportunities are about, is continually grow every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles being picked up by Heupel at the airport<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur paths had crossed. Opportunity just to get to know the individual before you just dive right into the football. Understanding, opportunity to talk about past successes, things that didn\u2019t go well, what\u2019s important, to expedite the process of becoming your best as fast as you can. And finding out if your vision is the same. And we had an opportunity to break bread, for lack of a better word, and hit the ground running.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennessee having 46 new players<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. You know, from when I first got here and the evolution of the transfer portal, you guys have heard me say it, there\u2019s more turnover than ever, right? Typically a quarter or 35% of your roster is graduating, moving on. Whether that\u2019s running out of eligibility or going on to the NFL. That number this year for us, even higher than usual, because of the changes inside of college football. Certainly this year, day one, like you are building a team, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be clear in what are the expectations, what does it look like to be a Volunteer and gotta help them grow extremely quickly in what it needs to look like inside of this program. So I don\u2019t know that it\u2019s a lot different than previous years. There\u2019s just more bodies that you\u2019re going through that with. And as we go through the spring, I think you\u2019re gonna find out a better idea of the true leadership in each position. We have some guys that are returning that have great traits in that. But some of the guys that have transferred in\u00a0 have those traits as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, and so as you go through spring ball, I think you\u2019re gonna find more about your leadership as you go through, you know, these 15 practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not having to worry about his roster changing in the spring window anymore<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDifferent in that there isn\u2019t a second portal. You gotta be conscious of keeping your team healthy here as well \u2019cause there\u2019s no way to go get another guy here post spring ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talking football with new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think his ability to be at different places and find a way to be elite at each of those spots and the growth from year to year in what he\u2019s done defensively. The ability through his different spots to be a little bit different personnel-wise and being able to fit it to the guys that are on campus or that you\u2019re able to recruit to depending on where you\u2019re at. And so I think the flexibility of what he\u2019s able to do schematically, put guys in position, his ability to understand strengths and weaknesses based on matchups and be able to subtly tweak how he\u2019s playing things, could be with his front, could be with his coverage, it\u2019s all in his wheelhouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things just in our conversations, and I know this having been a coordinator and had to go somewhere else too, I think a big part of your players picking it up as quickly as they can is having guys in your staff room that understand your scheme and what you\u2019re trying to implement, the why behind it. And that\u2019s a big reason why a lot of the staff that we\u2019ve hired has experience with him. And I think that\u2019s been an added plus to him onboarding here, being able to get our guys caught up as quickly as possible and as hard as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

How he can keep this Tennessee team healthy<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou need fundamental technique, growth, work. You have to get that work. I think some of your veterans, you gotta be smart with in some of the live contact situations. I think that\u2019s important, but you still have to grow those guys. So it\u2019s a balance as you go through spring ball based on where your roster\u2019s at, where you\u2019re at and the understanding of what you\u2019re doing and some of the fundamental technique work that you gotta have. Example would be tackling. Just balancing how many high-risk situations you\u2019re putting some of your guys in.\u201d<\/p>\n

How healthy this Tennessee team is right now<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re in a pretty healthy spot right now. There\u2019s a couple guys that are still working through postseason injuries. Arion Carter right now. But all those guys have done a really good job in the rehab area.\u201d<\/p>\n

What stood out on Day 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFast practice today. I don\u2019t know if there\u2019s just one thing. Today, a lot of fundamentals and technique. It was just a little bit of scheme, so we\u2019ll go back and watch some of the scheme stuff today. But, I thought our young guys in general did a good job just taking coaching and growing from one rep to the next.\u201d<\/p>\n

When things could slow down for Faizon Brandon<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think for all young guys, quarterbacks included, first five days of spring ball, you\u2019ve got some of the installs. First five days, man, really hard. Game\u2019s moving really fast. It\u2019s the first time you\u2019ve played against the like talent on the other side of the football. Size, strength, speed, the intensity and how hard you have to play every single rep. Second five days, get a little bit better. It starts slowing down. When you get to the third five days, you look back at the guy at the beginning, and he\u2019s typically a much different football player than where he started.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s not trending that way then that\u2019s an area of concern of how quickly he can he continue to progress by the time we get to training camp and through training camp. But all those guys, I kinda break spring ball into thirds and you gotta stay diligent, you gotta stay in the fight mentally, physically and emotionally to gain everything that you can out of every rep, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tennessee\u2019s defense responding to Jim Knowles<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe little work that we got in the winter, I thought they did a really good job. I think Coach Knowles, with some of the staff that has background with him, subtly how they\u2019ve been able to tweak some of the things as far as how they install it. Our guys have picked up on it really quickly. Again, as we continue to go through spring ball we\u2019ll continue to learn and react.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said during his press conference after the Vols held their first practice of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":660319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1318,1317,1315,1316,1718,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-660318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-regwall","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116240469538258981","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}