Josh Heupel praises Tennessee's energy in spring scrimmage

For the first time in a long time, Tennessee is entering the season with huge expectations. It’s been a remarkable turnaround under Josh Heupel, but he knows that the Volunteers can’t sit on their laurels. Instead, they need to use the spring to take steps forward.

After a scrimmage, Heupel praised Tennessee for the energy that the team is putting forward this spring.

“Man, what a beautiful day in Knoxville, right?” Josh Heupel smiled. “Gorgeous day.”

There was a good reason why Heupel was so happy with the day. He got to see his Volunteers scrimmage, where they brought the right energy all day long.

“Loved the energy, really from the entire squad. I thought, defensively, we were relentless, played with energy, did a really nice job, in particular, the one defense. I thought they had a really good day.”

Josh Heupel continued to praise the defense, a group that many people want to see improve from last season. Still, with a change to the quarterback position, that is going to get a lot of attention in Heupel’s high-flying offense. In particular, the freshman Nico Iamaleava is continuing to get attention for his play.

“Nico did a lot of really good things. Having his eyes in the right place, being able to make decisive reads, move in the pocket, push the ball down the field, and be accurate in the middle of the field. I thought for his first time being inside the stadium, did a really nice job of controlling everything that happens when you’re playing within the tempo of how we play,” Heupel said of Iamaleava’s play in the scrimmage.

“I didn’t think he played outside of himself. He never was in a hurry. So a lot of really positive things.”

Despite the attention that Iamaleava has earned, it’s worth pointing out that Josh Heupel has also praised Joe Milton, saying that Tennessee is “really excited” about him.

Josh Heupel defined Tennessee’s internal culture

During an appearance on The Hard Count with JD PicKell, Josh Heupel explained that he wants an internal culture built on trust at Tennessee.

“One of great accountability and love and respect for each other. We build trust every single day. It’s a group and a staff and a program that are fierce competitors that love to compete in everything that they’re doing, and love to have a lot of fun while we’re doing it together,” Heupel said.

“And I think you can do those things at a really high level. You can enjoy the competition and you can enjoy and love the people that you’re doing it with. That’s what this group’s lived out every single day.”