KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The formal portion of preseason camp is complete for Tennessee football. After three weeks of practices, the Volunteers will now shift their attention to game planning with the start of classes next week.

Tennessee practiced in pads on Friday morning with kickoff less than two weeks away.

“Obviously, we’re on the backend on training camp here with another day to go, but I thought we got some really good work today,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “Special teams is starting to come together. We’ve gotten into more unit work. You can see a lot of young guys are going to have an opportunity to play a bunch of football.”

Depth Growing
There is no shortage of capable players on the defensive side this fall compared to last. With an influx of freshmen, particularly on the defensive line, and multiple transfer defensive backs, Tennessee will be strong in numbers. Freshmen defensive linemen include Joshua Josephs, James Pearce Jr. and Tyre West.

“Just in pure numbers, athletically, movement and skillsets, we’re much deeper—in particular on the defensive side of the football,” Heupel said. “It’s evident in some of the skill spots offensively, too. Those young guys that are a part of what I’m talking about still have to push and get themselves ready to go play on gameday. There are some things that we have to clean up—gameday management, those guys operating and some of those guys on special teams. I feel like we are a much deeper football team than we were a year ago.”

Dynamic Duo
Quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receiver Cedric Tillman form one of the top duo’s in college football in 2022. The two connected for 10 touchdowns through the air a season ago and have made that a habit in practice. Both were ranked among the top 60 in ESPN’s 100 best players in college football this season. Tillman has displayed exceptional athleticism in camp with highlight-reel plays.

“Through the course of training camp, we’ve gotten here on the back half, we’ve been able to push the ball down the field and win more of those one-on-one situations,” Heupel said. “The consistency of throw and catch between those two has continued to get better. I feel like they both are playing at a really high level right now.”

On Deck
Tennessee will walk through on Monday before holding padded practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Classes begin Wednesday on the UT campus. Both offensive coordinator Alex Golesh and defensive coordinator Tim Banks will meet with the media next week to give an update on the progress of camp. The Vols open the season on Thursday, Sept. 1, against Ball State in Neyland Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

Head Coach Josh Heupel Media Availability
Aug. 19, 2022

Opening Statement
“I hope everybody’s having a great morning. It was a good day of work out there. Obviously, we’re on the backend on training camp here with another day to go, but I thought we got some really good work today. Special teams is starting to come together. We’ve gotten into more unit work. You can see a lot of young guys are going to have an opportunity to play a bunch of football. A couple of guys who have been nicked up are starting to get back healthy. It’s good having them back on the grass. I’m pleased with a lot of things that we’re doing and looking forward to getting rolling here next week, too.”

On Tennessee’s depth this season compared to last year…
“Just in pure numbers, athletically, movement and skillsets, we’re much deeper—in particular on the defensive side of the football. It’s evident in some of the skill spots offensively, too. Those young guys that are a part of what I’m talking about still have to push and get themselves ready to go play on gameday. There are some things that we have to clean up—gameday management, those guys operating and some of those guys on special teams. I feel like we are a much deeper football team than we were a year ago. That’s going to play out as you inevitably have some injuries during the season. I think, in particular on the defensive side of the football, you’ll see more rotation and a lot of guys playing.”

On which unit has impressed him the most during fall camp…
“I don’t think that there’s one unit that’s impressed me the most. There are things in every unit, every position group that we have to clean up before we get to gameday. I think with our special teams, there are some really positive things with some young guys on those units. We have essentially two weeks before we get to kickoff. We’ll get into some game prep mode late next week probably. There are a ton of positives from every position. There are some things we have to work on, too.”

On what indicators tell him the younger members of the team are ready to play…
“Body language matters and being able to reset from the previous play, go compete and execute on the next one. This is a game where every play makes a difference for all 11 that are on the field. You’re not going to win every battle, but you have to be able to reset to the next play. The ability to handle that, handle the coaching, not making the same mistake and continuing to progress. Being 15 practices in right now, you’ve seen some of that from those guys. From scrimmage one to scrimmage two, a big tell is just the jump that those guys are able to make. Take some of the things that they saw in a real, live situation in the first scrimmage and apply it in scrimmage two. We’ve seen that from a bunch of those guys. There will be some young guys that in week one are going to play a bunch of minutes. There are going to be some young guys that will continue to earn that playing time as they go through the season, too. So, it’s a constant race against yourself to become the best that you can.”

On where the receivers are in terms of beating press coverage…
“It’s something that we’ve been intentional at dating all the way back to spring ball, being able to work releases against press coverage. We spend a bunch of time doing that in ‘good-on-good’, through our one-on-one’s too. Our guys have grown a bunch in understanding how to attack different techniques that they’re going to see on the other side of the line of scrimmage. I feel like the tools that those guys have incorporated into their game – and some of them are a little bit different than others in who they are and they’re body types – I feel like those guys will be able to manage and to find a way to win and get off the line of scrimmage quickly. “

On if he thinks Tennessee will be a better pass rushing team this year…
“I do just from their functional movement individually, their ability to bend, explosiveness out of their stance, the fundamentals that coach Garner and coach Ekeler have helped develop all offseason. And there are some young guys that have come into our program too that we believe as the season unfolds, we’ll be able to have that help us in some of those situations. The depth and the growth of them individually, some young guys coming in, I do believe that we’ll be better being able to apply pressure to the quarterback without using pressures to do that.”

On if he ever hit a wall as a player during fall camp…
“Training camp back then was a little bit different. It was like 12 straight days of ‘two-a-days’.”

On if he hits a wall as a coach during fall camp…
“I think just the way we structure it – and the player loads that we try to manage with them when we time up our off days and when the scrimmage days happen. We try to keep them fresh physically, but also on the mental side of it and make sure they’re intentional. There’s a grind and stress to training camp. I think part of that’s necessary just to get yourself prepared for the season. The offseason is one thing in June and July in strength and conditioning, but you need some of the physicality and the stress during the course of training camp to prepare yourself for what the season’s going to be like and what those fourth quarters are going to be like. Our practice habits are a lot better than they were a year ago. In some ways we’ve been able to play and practice cleaner. We’ve got to do that here the next couple of weeks to make sure we’ve got everybody healthy when we kick off on Thursday night.”

On progress defending mobile quarterbacks on third down…
“I think that’s one of the hardest things to replicate during the course of training camp with the quarterbacks not being live. You also want them to stay away from the fray. Those quarterback’s hands are coming through, so trying to keep those guys in the red jerseys healthy. Rush integrity and understanding the design of the scheme and what your job is in it. That’s the front four guys and some of our twist game, it’s also our pressures. There are times where we’re bringing the linebacker or our safety off the edge, so being able to manage those situations is going to be critical. We’re going to do a couple things that are different this year. There were some opportunities where some of the younger guys – we put them in a live situation with the quarterback. I think those little things will add up to us handling the quarterback in a better way when we kick off.”

On if Hendon Hooker and Cedric Tillman were surprising in fall camp…
“I don’t think surprised would be the right word just because of how they’ve worked all offseason and their growth and what we’re doing. It’s a little different than where we were a year ago at this point. Just a better understanding of what gameday is going to look like, how to function inside the system and obviously they both grew. Through the course of training camp, we’ve gotten here on the back half, we’ve been able to push the ball down the field and win more of those one-on-one situations. The consistency of throw and catch between those two has continued to get better. I feel like they both are playing at a really high level right now.”

On what it’s like for himself to be in year two…
“The continuity that we’ve had inside of our building, really our entire staff, young and old coaches coming back. Obviously, Kelsey (Pope) stepping into the full time role at the wide receivers spot. For our players, from the first day they got back in January, it’s not about a question of feel or look inside of the meeting room. The communication pieces. Just being about going and competition and becoming your absolute best. For us as a staff, more in sync, clear lines of communication, understanding the expectations. The layout of training camp, how that unfolds. Being able to grow from year one to year two and just some of the situational football. How we practice to help our players, for it to be more game like. Be prepared when kickoff happens. Some of those small things that we’ve changed and grown in pay huge dividends in the leadup to kickoff and the preparation for our players.”

On if there is a point in fall camp where you can’t do much until real game situations…
“You play more guys because they’ve earned it. I do feel like we have more guys who have been earning it. Just from our scrimmages and then the way that they’ve practiced. You’re going to find out a lot more about your young guys, guys that haven’t done it, when the lights come on, for sure. Is the stage too big, is it not? Are they able to cut it loose and go implement and incorporate all the fundamentals and technique, understanding of scheme and go make plays? We try and put them in those stressful situations. At the end of the day, gameday is its own thing. We’ll find out a little bit more about those young guys for sure. Our veteran guys have been playing. We have a pretty good understanding how they are going to react to those situations.”

On Bru McCoy’s pending eligibility…
“Obviously, getting him prepared, being able to rep him, you’d like that before you start your regular game plan week. Essentially seven days before kickoff. That’s best-case situation where you are able to work him, incorporate him and play him for what it’s going to look like when we run out of the tunnel. Our administration has done everything that they possibility can. They’ve been great throughout the entire process from the very beginning. They’re still working as hard as they can to give him the opportunity to play. I don’t have an answer on that (when eligibility decision would be). There are some things that are out of my control, Bru’s control and our administration’s control in this process. Everybody on our side is working as hard as they possibility can to make sure that we come to a resolution as quickly as possible and give the kid an opportunity to go play.”

On Hendon Hooker’s ability to throw on the run…
“Accurate. He’s doing a much better job than early last year keeping his eyes down the football field. You guys have probably seen it out at practice. We’ve put a huge emphasis on when he breaks the pocket, it being a pass play, not a run play. Our guys understanding out on the perimeter where they need to get open, understanding space and how to function once the original play call breaks down and you go into the second design of the play. That can and needs to be a big part of our game. There are going to be times where he pulls it down too and he’s got to do a great job with his feet, take care of the football and make sure that we’re continuing to get to the next set of downs but also take care of himself, too.”