With Tennessee football’s fall camp starting on Wednesday, Vols head coach Josh Heupel met with the media to preview the string of practices leading up to the season.
He hit on the topics of Boo Carter, the quarterback situation and more after an offseason full of drama and speculation.
Here’s everything he said.
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Opening statement
“Great to be back. Excited to get to training camp with these guys. The next phase of preparing ourselves for football and can’t wait to get out on the field with these guys tomorrow. Excited and proud of the work that they put in to start this journey, as they come back in January, through winter, spring, summer, proud of what we’ve done and what our players have done. Leadership that we have inside of our locker room. And now it’s about taking the next step in and taking the steps every single day. Competing to be our best individually and collectively as a group. Got great leadership on this team.
“I know at some point, I’m gonna get a question about Boo, so I’m gonna address that right now. Boo is a part of our team here. There’s some things that he’s got to accomplish to get back on the field with us. And don’t have a set timeline on that. Our leadership council has been a part of those things, those discussions with me and with Boo. I’m proud of what they’ve done. They care and love Boo and want him to be his best too.
“And through this, I think Boo sees that as well. And at the end of the day, us collectively continuing to grow here through the course of training camp, I will be the one that will handle taking questions on Boo. And that’s the day and here throughout the beginning part of training camp as well. But proud of how our team has handled those things and ultimately we’ll handle those things internally. I’m not going to get into details on everything.”
“So excited to roll. You guys are going to get a chance to hear from some of our staff and players today. Everybody in the building is ready to go.”
On his policies on missing summer workouts
“At the end of the day, it’s a requirement to be here, be a part of what we’re doing.
“And there’s a lot of information out of there, out in the world. Some of it is correct, some of it is not. I’m not going to address everything over the last week. Disappointed with how some things were handled. At the end of the day, we have conversations, what does it look like moving forward? And that’s all parts, our leadership council, Boo and our staff. So it’s not about what yesterday was, it’s about today. And we’ll see as we continue to progress where that leads us.”
On if he’s talked to Boo Carter this past week
“Yes, I have (before Tuesday). Parts of (the last week), yes. I’m not saying every day, (but) yes.”
On if he always consults with the leadership council when disciplining a player
“I think always is probably a stronger word than I would say. Always, my wife would tell you, would get me into trouble. I think each situation is unique. And I think in leadership, it’s important that you step back and try to look at it from different angles as well. And ultimately, in this case, we have conversations with multiple parties.”
On the leadership council welcoming back Boo Carter
“Well, the guys on the leadership council, I know it’s true in the locker room, too, they care about the person, care and love for him and want him to be his best. I think that starts in life, through the conversations we’ve had with him, and then that parlays itself on the football side of things. So I’m not worried about the chemistry. At the end of the day, we have standards that we all have to meet, and that’s everybody in the building. When somebody fails in that, whether they get another chance or not, each situation is different. But ultimately, Boo has got to meet those standards here.”
On what he wants to see in fall camp
“I’m not sure how many days it is until kickoff, but it’s going to approach fast. Be where your feet are at I think it’s really important here through training camp. And through that, if you are where your feet are at, you’re going to drain everything out of it. That’s all of it. The practice field, it’s in the meeting room, it’s recovery. All the things that ultimately go into them being their best. And collectively, if you do that, you’re going to take big steps forward. And every team in the country, at this point, has got to take big steps. And I’m excited to start that, the on-field part of that, tomorrow with our guys.”
On if there is a preferred way he’d like the quarterback battle to go, if he wants to name a starter sooner than later
“Yeah, sure. Absolutely. That gives you more time to build kind of continuity, whatever it might be. But at the end of the day, I think it’s really important, you guys heard me say it at (SEC) media days, that somebody’s got to go earn it. And it’s not in one throw, it’s not all one day. The consistency of who you are, the growth of who you are and how you continue to grow from practice to practice. And I think it’s important the staff sees that. But most importantly, I think let your players see that as well.”
On if Boo Carter will be in meetings and practices
“I’m not going to get into all the details of everything. He’s here, he’s with us. And each day we’ll figure out what comes next.”
On being a quarterback as a player impacting how he approaches the quarterback battle
“Well, I think the communication side of it, it impacts it a great deal. Whether that’s me as a player going through different quarterback battles. And, you know, at different stages of my career having quarterback battles. But the playing experience, the transparency of it, communicating together with all those guys when they got back in the summer, they understood this isn’t something that’s going to be decided in June, it’s not going to be decided in July. You got to go earn it and take it during the course of training camp, everything that you do is a part of who you are as a player, but also how you’re impacted and also ultimately making the 10 guys around you better too. And as we go through training camp, those conversations will be had with, collectively, the group as well, so that they can see that it’s transparent, it’s real, and there’s no misinformation.”
On relationships between quarterbacks
“I think it’s important that they’re competitive with themselves first and foremost.
“Are you competing with the guys in the room? Absolutely. You know how that drives you on a day to day basis I think is the most important thing. That’s true June and July, will be true during course of training camp. I think it’s really important that, collectively, you do it in the right manner, where you’re helping, encouraging and supporting each other too in a positive way. I think that’s important for your team to see. But ultimately the strength of one position can never be one guy. We’ve sat in rooms with three guys that ultimately went on to the NFL, all at one time, that were at one point competing for a job. So I think it’s important that they handle it the right way.
“With George (MacIntyre), Joey (Aguilar) and Merk (Jake Merklinger), all three of those guys have done an elite job of competing and pushing each other throughout the course of the summer. They’ve grown, they’re at different stages in their careers as far as eligibility, years on task inside of our program, what we’re doing offensively. They’ve helped each other through the journey of the summer and I think that’s going to be important as we get to training camp, too.”
On Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre’s approach to the battle
“George, just getting here in December for (College Football) Playoff prep leading into spring ball, I thought those guys, collectively as a group, as a pair, supported each other through the learning curve. And that can be mistakes that you made when you first got to campus. It can be on the detail of a play. You can see those guys helping each other inside of the meeting room, asking a lot of questions. So I think that’s been really positive and just want to continue to see that as we go through training camp.”
On Jermod McCoy’s return from injury
“No timetable on him. “There are benchmark things that he’s got to accomplish within our training room to move on to the next phase of it. He’s handled it really well from the very beginning. Just his mindset and how he’s approached every single day. He’s done a really good job throughout the course of the summer. Periodically you see his drills, movement, explosive-type drills that he’s doing, change based on his rehab protocol. He’s handled it extremely well. As we go through training camp, there’ll be a progression. How his body responds to some of those things will kind of dictate the time period of when he’s available for us.”
On how important experience is for the center position
“I don’t think I ever solely look at the experience of the player. Otherwise, you know, your young guys are never going to get an opportunity to get any experience. The ability to communicate at a really high level, get all five guys on the same page, pass protection, run game, the ability to snap it accurately and efficiently, the ability to play with fundamentals and technique. End of the day, offensive line, your center, but you got to get the best five guys on the field that are going to go operate as one. And that’s what you got an opportunity to do. We got competition and I’m looking forward to see that unfold as we get started.”
On where Lance Heard is now compared to last year
“Yeah, a lot different physically. Just what his body looks like. His ability to move. A year ago he got nicked up multiple times early in the season. Training camp, in the early part of the season. I think that limited his ability to grow as a really young player who had only had one fall before he had gotten here. He wasn’t a mid-year enrollee either. I think all of that has led to him really growing throughout the course of spring. He’s done a great job during the course of the summer and now we’ve got to go take it to the field here in the fall.”
On Rickey Gibson III’s offseason
“Yeah, Rickey did a lot of really good things last year at a really high level. Physically he’s done a good job continuing add weight to his frame. The detail, the fundamentals, technique and then understanding of our scheme has continued to jump. Expect him to play at a really high level. And obviously we got some competition on the back end as well. Excited to see that unfold.”
On if Boo Carter will still play offense
“We’re going to take it slow here in the beginning and figure out where we’re at as we get deeper into camp.”
On the offensive line growing closer
“Yeah, influx of some high school guys into the offensive line room, a couple of transfers in there, seeing those guys connect and challenge each other inside of the meeting room. And that certainly takes place as you get out on the practice field or in the weight room, too. So I think the group has continued to grow close. The connection, the continuity that they have in that room and that allows you to challenge and demand things of guys around you, too, in a positive way. So I think all of those, you’ve seen a lot of growth from even where we were when we started spring ball, finished spring ball, better leadership inside of that room. So I’m excited to see those guys get on the field and compete here.”
On his guidance to the leadership council
“What it takes to be successful on a Saturday afternoon or evening hasn’t changed, right? You get between the white lines, the game has not changed. Outside of it, there’s been dramatic changes over the last four or five years. The standards of who we got to be and how we compete and grow together as a team, that can’t change. And earlier on I mentioned I love the leadership and the accountability piece of what we have inside of our building. The challenge is to continue to grow that through the course of the season. You get in day to day inside of football, sometimes that can take a step back if you’re not intentional on it. And I think it’s really important as young guys coming into your program, the older guys are essentially being a big brother to those guys and helping them grow and understand what it takes to be successful at this level, what it takes to be a Tennessee volunteer. And I think we’ve built a group of guys inside of that team room that care about each other.”
On the value of adding Colton Hood in the spring window
“He’s smart. He’s accountable. He’s really mature. He’s got some leadership traits that I think, as he’s here, will continue to show up more and more each day, each block of our season and ultimately our offseason, too. He’s got position flexibility, he’s got great understanding of the game, he retains information really well and he’s played and he’s got experience. So he came in here learning what it takes to be a Vol, what a great teammate look like here. And I’m excited to see him continue to grow on the field and off the field. Inside of this program.”
On what the identity of this team is
“Yeah, leadership, accountability and then we get to plan the effort and attitude that we approach every day with. The consistency of ultimately what our fans are going to see on Saturdays. But to do that, you got to be consistent every single day. So that’s what I expect from our guys and what I think I’m going to get.”
On his confidence in young wide receivers
“Yeah, young guys don’t have time to be young. It’s been one of the things that we’ve talked about as a program since we got back in January. Our coaches are responsible for that. Our players are too, the guys that are vets inside those position rooms. I really like the guys that we have inside the wide receiver room. That’s athletic traits, playmaking ability, their attention to detail. Excited to see that room continue to grow throughout the course of training camp, and really through the season as young guys continue to get better.”
