Tennessee Football wrapped up their spring camp slate on Saturday afternoon with the 2023 Orange & White game in Neyland Stadium.
Playing in front of nearly 60,000 fans clad in orange and white, Tennessee’s Orange team defeated the White team by a score of 17-14.
Joe Milton III orchestrated the first-team offense from the quarterback position while Nico Iamaleava worked with the second team and Gaston Moore operated the third team.
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Here’s a look at everything HC Josh Heupel, QB Joe Milton, QB Nico Iamaleava, DB Wesley Walker, LB Elijah Herring, and RB Cam Seldon said after the spring game.
More from RTI: WATCH: Josh Heupel, Joe Milton, and Nico Iamaleava Break Down Orange & White Game
Tennessee HC Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“What a beautiful day inside Neyland Stadium for the future of our program. Obviously, what we were doing on the field with a lot of things going on this weekend, beautiful day, over 58,000 people showing up here on Rocky Top. Unbelievable turnout from our fanbase; absolute best in the country. I thank them for the energy they created outside the stadium with everything we had going on this week. That was hugely important. (Thank you) to our VFLs that showed up. I think we had over 300 former players that were here this week. A great weekend to celebrate what they have done, what they have meant to our program and do mean to our program, and celebrate what’s going on here currently and what we’re going to continue to build together with them. Just a great weekend. A lot of fun seeing a lot of our guys compete today. We obviously held some guys out that would’ve had an opportunity to go if it was during the course of the season. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of our young guys show up in front of a crowd like this for the first time and get a chance to see what it’s like inside of Neyland Stadium and the landscape of college football. There are a ton of things we’re going to learn from, but I’m really proud of the effort and energy they showed today and throughout the course of spring ball. These guys have been very intentional the way that they’ve worked since January. They have great comradery, energy and connection. They care about one another. They compete extremely hard with each other, and that’s showing during 14 days of spring ball that we’ve had up to this point.”
On over 58,000 people showing up to today’s spring game…
“It’s a combination of everything. The spring game is the first time our fanbase has had the opportunity congregate together. In some way, it was a time to celebrate the success of last season. They haven’t had the chance to experience that inside of Neyland Stadium together. It’s an opportunity to get their first look of what our Vols are going to look like next season, and you get an opportunity to see some of the young guys that haven’t had the opportunity to play a ton of meaningful snaps. You throw all that together and the environment that’s outside the stadium, it’s a great day on Rocky Top and can’t thank them enough for showing up the way that they do. This fanbase is truly special.”
On the who called the offense today…
“Today, I let Joey (Halzle) handle it up top. Obviously, (Glen Elarbee) is always instrumental in what we’re doing, and it’s an opportunity for those guys to grow and do that every time during the course of the spring game.”
On what he saw from the secondary today…
“There’s been improvement in that area during the course of the entirety of spring ball and in the offseason too. Their accountability in what they’re doing and maturity on and off the field shows up on the field too: fundamentals, technique, understanding the scheme, playing with discipline and playing with correct eyes and leverage. We’re 14 days in, we have a long way to go, but I like that we have competition. A year ago, that group was banged up. A lot of guys didn’t get an opportunity to grow during spring ball. We had some of that during training camp and during the course of the season. It was kind of mix-and-match during the course of the season. We need that group to be healthy. We need great competition, and we’re going to need some guys to continue to step up. From the old guys that have played on our roster that you guys have seen to the young guys we have to continue to develop, I anticipate great competition when we get into training camp.”
On Joe Milton and Nico Iamaleava…
“It’s not real football at the end of the day. The defense is going to say the same thing, too. You know, those guys do a great job of trying to pull off and make sure that we’re not putting the quarterback in a susceptible position where they get a hand that goes into the helmet, so it works and cuts both ways. For the quarterbacks today, I thought there was a lot of game management that was really good. You know, all in all, their eyes and decision making were pretty sound. There are some things accuracy wise that we have to continue to get better at. There are some things in situational football that you can’t do that they’ll learn from. That group has been really good with the way they compete and help each other in the meeting room, out on the grass. There’s a lot of development that’s left inside of that room. I love what they’ve done this spring, but we’ve got to continue to grow. That’s the reality of where you’re at when you end spring ball. You have a long way to go before you’re ready to play a football game. We have time, we’re got to be urgent in the way that we prepare. That starts when we get rolling next week.”
On Cameron Seldon’s play…
“Really unique player just with his skill set and the background that he has from playing running back, to playing in the slot, to the outside, to playing on the defensive side of the football. He’s played a lot of positions. He’s never had a true home, and we felt like it was important to give him a home here early and grow and expand from that. He’s been really good in what he’s done inside the running back room. He cares and competes really hard for a guy that’s got high-end, top-gear, electric speed. He’s willing to stick his foot in the ground, get vertical, get underneath his pads, find a way to get plus two. If he’s going to continue to grow who he is today, I expect him to be dramatically better when we get to the kickoff of next September. I say that just because he’s going to continue to grow with the way he works. He’s got a really high-end ceiling. His ability to be a pass catcher out of the backfield is really unique and obviously a skillset we want.”
On Ethan Davis’ injury…
“It’s not related to the high school injury. We’ll know more here on the back end of today.”
On Ethan Davis’ performance before the injury…
“Similar to what we’ve seen from him. You guys haven’t had an opportunity to see him other than in some of our individual work at the beginning of practice. He’s been really good, played well. He understands space, he understands how to get himself open, he plays long and physical to the catch. He’s done a really nice job throughout spring ball.”
On spring games involving actual opponents…
“I don’t know what the right thing is. I think, for myself, making sure we’re taking care of our quarterback coming out of spring ball is something I would want to make sure happens.”
On how Joe Milton has grown…
“I think some of it starts with off the field and being really sure in who he is and what he’s about, defining and growing in his work habits. That’s allowed him to be more consistent and grow inside of what we’re doing. If you talk about just the football player, I think it starts with understanding of what we’re doing, understanding defenses, being consistent with his reads. Then pair that with growth fundamentally, getting his feet in the ground, being in a consistent positive position to be able to deliver a football from the ground up. You pair those things together, and he’s able to grow. You saw some of that in the way that he played at the end of last year, and he’s had a really good spring.”
On holding out wide receivers…
“Four out of the top receivers weren’t playing today. Three of them would certainly be able to play if it was a normal game week. That group as a whole has been really good in what they’ve done during the course of spring ball. We’ve been banged up a little bit throughout the course of it. Anticipate that being an electric group when we get to fall. They’re long. They’re competitive. They have speed. They have a pretty good understanding of what we’re doing right now offensively. We’re going to need them to play at a really high level as we get into fall. Guys who have been playing here have absolutely competed extremely hard throughout the course of spring ball because some of those other guys have been held out. At times, there’s been extra pressure applied to those guys because of the reps. We want to make sure that we’re getting that for our entire football team. I can’t say enough about what that group’s done under Coach Pope’s direction.”
On Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop…
“Sampson’s had a lot of great work throughout the course of spring ball. Dynamic, continue to grow in his ability to understand what we’re doing. As a smaller back, he’s dynamic out in space. He’s got a really unique sense and feel for delivering double teams, really pressing the line of scrimmage, and based on the second level fits and third level fits—at times hitting the back door. He’s been really good, I love the growth. All of those backs have done a really nice job at pass protection. That’s been something we’ve spent a lot of time on here during the course of spring ball, too. I like their growth as a complete group. Coach Mack’s done a great job with them. DeSean Bishop, for a freshman that’s coming on campus, should be going to his prom here next week or the following week. He’s been really good man. He has great vision, great pace, and he’s handled spring ball as a newcomer extremely well.”
On Nico Iamaleava’s instincts when trying to escape pressure…
“His ability to do those things is certainly a skill set that was important to us in the recruiting process. He does have a really good feel for a young guy inside of the pocket: when to step up, when to escape out of the back. He’s dynamic and explosive as just an athlete, so he’s got the ability to get away from defenders. You saw him make a play down the side, and he did a great job on the scramble drill, wheeling it on the sideline. Really beautiful, accurate throw by Nico. He’s got the ability to get himself in great body position when he’s out in space when he’s got people chasing him and, when he doesn’t have the ability because of where the bodies are out in space, get himself in perfect position. He’s still able to be accurate with the football. He’s got a really unique skillset as he’s breaking containment.”
On how Gaston Moore played today…
“For a guy that’s been in our system now for three years, this is the most work he’s been able to get just because of where the depth chart has been when he got here on campus. We saw him grow during spring ball. There are some things that I really liked that he did today. There are a couple things that I want to make sure that I see on tape before I just trust explicitly what he told me on the sidelines. But, I love and appreciate what he brings every single day to this program.”
On the difference between now and when he first arrived at Tennessee…
“It’s different. Our roster is different. The understanding of what we’re doing inside of our program is completely different. The X’s and O’s, the fundamentals, the technique and who and what we want to be on a daily basis. For us, our guys will get back in the weight room next week. There are some gains they’ve got to make. This is a unique time of the year where they’ve got the chance to be very intentional and add size and mass to their frames. They’ve got a couple weeks off, and then they’ll be back here to get ready for summer. Late April, May, June and July–you’ve got to win those months if you’re going to have a chance when you get to September. This group has been very mature in how they’ve handled themselves. It’s one of the things I love about them. Love seeing them when they come into the building. They’re super competitive and have done things the right way. I anticipate us continuing down that stretch as we get into May.”
On the offensive line competition over the coming months…
“Today’s not the end of the competition at any position. Guys have the chance to be dramatically different in the way that they work and are made when they come back in June and July. When they come back to training camp, you’ve got to give them a chance to be a different player and judge them for who they are during the course of training camp. The offensive line has great competition at the tackle spots and interiorly, too. I think you guys are probably seeing multiple guys work different positions left and right. I expect there to be great competition as we go throughout training camp as well. I do like that we are a deeper unit than we have been during our first two years. You never know when and if you’re going to need that for sure.”
Tennessee Redshirt Senior Quarterback Joe Milton III
On how much things have changed compared to when he came to Tennessee…
“Nothing has pretty much changed. I kind of go every day as I was last year, just preparing and getting ready because you never know when your time is called. Just like last year, I didn’t know my time was called, just kept repping it, kept getting better and pushing Hendon (Hooker). Now, I get more reps and I get to talk to Nico (Iamaleava), and the rest of the quarterback room, Gaston (Moore) and Navy (Shuler). I get more reps in the mental aspect of it, just because I have to explain it to someone else. It also prepped you to be more prepared and when those situations come.”
On how it went with Coach Halzle calling plays…
“I felt great. Everybody had opportunities to succeed, everybody had the opportunity to define themselves as a Tennessee Vol. I feel like it was great, everybody messes up, but with that guy, it seems to be kind of hard when he messes up. I’m not jinxing it, so knock on wood. It’s kind of hard to see him mess up just because he prepares the right way. He’s always in the building even though he’s the coach. He’s just always trying to get ready.”
On what he’s going to work on over the next couple of months…
“Just my game overall. Anything can be cleaned up. It can go from mental to physicality stuff, just everything. Just improve so Tennessee can be Tennessee.”
Tennessee Freshman Quarterback Nico Iamaleava
On his relationship with Joe Milton III…
“I’ve always looked up to Joe (Milton III) on my recruiting visits. When I met him, I always knew he was going to be there for me when I got in here. It’s been tremendous, he’s been a real big brother helping me out with the offense and everything, the playbook and stuff. Off the field too, we’re like brothers. It’s been a cool ride with us.”
On if he was nervous going into his first game appearance for Tennessee…
“I was not nervous. I think for me, at the end of the day, it’s just football. You go out there, play and have fun. It was because I messed up that first play in spring practice this week that I was like, ‘I’m not messing this play up again.’”
On how he thinks his performance was…
“I played okay. I thought we could have scored more when we got to the redzone and finished drives off. We are working. We will get to that point where it is green when we get down in the redzone. I thought overall as an offense we did okay.”
Tennessee Redshirt Senior Defensive Back Wesley Walker
On if the team talks about the depth and competitiveness of the defensive back room…
“Everybody comes to work every day. Everybody trains to be the starter, so we don’t really talk about it because it’s self-explanatory. Everybody wants to play. We come here every day, everybody works hard and everybody pushes each other to that level of being a starter. We all know that everybody is capable and there is a lot of talent in there, but we just have to put it all together and it will all come together soon.”
On how much more comfortable he feels playing different positions with his football experience…
“Last year, I was still learning on the fly. This year going through the spring, I feel way more comfortable. I communicate a lot more because I know what I am doing and know what other people are doing. It is going smoothly.”
On what steps the defensive back room has taken to make the position group a strength of the team…
“I feel like it’s just our bond. In order to be a successful secondary, you have to have a bond with your brothers and be on the same line of communication. We are just hanging out, watching film together, talking to each other about schemes, learning about each other and learning about how other people play and their strengths and weaknesses so we know who we are playing with, and we know what someone might be struggling with. Communication is the biggest part. We have to be able to communicate, get the call and execute it at the highest level.”
Tennessee Sophomore Linebacker Elijah Herring
On what it felt like today on the field while missing key players…
“It felt like normal. We know that we have guys that can come in and make plays that we can rely on. It was really a good feeling to know that we have people that can step up and make plays for us even in big scenarios like this one. It was a good day overall.”
On why he thinks the program is at the level that 60,000 people come to a scrimmage…
“People can feel that UT is back. They feel that everybody wants it. Everybody is expecting us to win. Everybody is expecting us to do big things. We expect the same thing out of ourselves. It really started with Coach Heupel and everybody else comes in and follows in his direction.”
On which players have impressed him either in today’s game or spring practice…
“I can’t really point out names. All of them, they were a beast. They make plays in the back; they all stay in the back field. I guess I could say Elijah Simmons. He really takes up two gaps of his own. He takes up two people, so he’s been creating havoc the whole spring, but all of the guys really impressed everybody.”
Tennessee Freshman Running Back Cameron Seldon
On learning to play running back and playing that position at this level…
“It’s been hard, but I’ve been just taking it slow, putting the pieces together. Coach told me I was doing okay, so we’re just slowly putting everything together so it can all make sense because it’s different than when I played receiver.”
On the hardest part of being a running back…
“The hardest part is probably learning the details because I’ve always trained receiver. I never really trained running back, I just played it, so now I’m learning the details of it. It makes more sense, but I feel natural at running back, but I like receiver. I don’t know, it’s hard to say.”
On the running back room and learning from the team…
“It’s been energetic and it’s different. They all care, and everyone wants to help each other so we all learn and grow.”
