Josh Heupel assesses what he learned about his team during camp

With fall camp nearly complete on Rocky Top, Josh Heupel has shared what he has figured out about Tennessee.

Heupel gave those thoughts during his weekly press conference on Monday. He began by noting the small steps of improvement and development that the Volunteers have been making over the course of their practices this month.

“I think, you know, during the course of training camp? Individual growth, fundamentals, technique, alignment, assignment – you’ve seen steady growth,” said Heupel. “None of that is going to be monumental in one day. It’s continuing to take the right steps every single day.”

The Vols have also given the effort that Heupel respects and likes to see from them coming in.

“This group plays extremely hard. They compete extremely hard. They’re really consistent in that. Been really physical,” said Heupel. “I like that part of our football team right now.”

Over these next dozen days until kick against Chattanooga, Tennessee now just has to finish off their depth chart and maintain what they’ve built during camp. That’ll be the focus for the coaches and roster as the year begins in Knoxville

“You know, as you get into the season, I think everybody is, you know, grasping their role, working and competing for the role that they want at the same time. Growing as a player is really important, keeping your team chemistry that you’ve built is really important as well,” Heupel said. “Those are things that, as you embark on the season here at this point and get ready to go play, your coaches and players have got to do a great job of.”

Heupel outlines what he has learned about Nico Iamaleava in camp

Josh Heupel has turned his offense over to QB Nico Iamaleava. Now, in his first fall camp as their starter, Iamaleava is showing what he’s made of.

Heupel explained that things are different thanks to the use of in-helmet communications. Still, it’s important to figure out how a quarterback is going to be able to handle in-game situations.

“For all of your quarterbacks, the green dot communication is different,” Josh Heupel said. “Situational football being able to reset play-to-play. We try to simulate a lot of those situations during the course of practice but there’s nothing like a scrimmage to get you as close as you can be to what gameday is gonna be like.”

“So, in general, I thought the quarterbacks handled themselves really well here,” Heupel said. “And, again, just situational football, being backed up, coming off the goal line, your thought processes – all those things.”