Four downs with Josh Heupel: First Tennessee scrimmage

With fall camp underway for a little over a week now, Tennessee cranked things up tonight with the first full squad scrimmage of the preseason under the lights in Neyland Stadium.

As always at this time of year there are any number of things to get sorted out. For Tennessee, one of those details is figuring out what to do at the ‘star’ position after Jourdan Thomas suffered a season ending injury over the weekend.

That development put heralded newcomer Boo Carter firmly in the crosshairs. He was simultaneously under a lot of pressure, while also being presented with a fantastic opportunity for a first year player.

“Boo played really well,” Josh Heupel said of Carter’s performance in the scrimmage. “I thought the last couple days, even leading into the scrimmage, have been his best days just within the scope of what we do defensively playing within the framework of that and making plays at the same time.

“He’s a young guy that needs to, and will continue to get better every day, but he’s a dynamic playmaker.”

Heupel added that Christian Harrison also got some work at nickel and did a ‘nice job.’

Carter has been in the spotlight this week after Thomas’ injury, but really the entire secondary is a bit of an unknown at this stage with virtually all of last year’s starting unit having departed.

There are some thoughts out there about what the pecking order in might be in the two deep in the defensive backfield, but for now the coaching staff is treating it like open competition.

“For the seven days before we got to the scrimmage tonight they have competed extremely hard and taken coaching,” Heupel said of the secondary.

“They’ve made plays, they learn from mistakes. Their athleticism tonight plays some really tight coverage down the field just within the game. The, the subtle details that allow you to play it at a really high level in particular corners tonight. I thought they did a really, really good job.”

TAILBACK TALK

Dylan Sampson has proven himself to be a capable SEC tailback.

Unfortunately for Tennessee, he’s the only guy on the roster who can make that claim.

With Cam Seldon (also largely unproven) still working his way back from injury this early portion of camp has been an enormous opportunity for second year back Desean Bishop and freshman Peyton Lewis.

That opportunity loomed even larger tonight when the staff held Sampson out of the scrimmage for precautionary purposes.

Bishop flashed early in camp last fall before having his season ended by injury. According to Heupel he’s making the most of his current chance.

“Desean Bishop had a, had a really nice night, efficient, effective, ran hard thought. He did a really nice job,” Heupel said of Bishop.

“I really liked how he has been flashing in practice, and early in the scrimmage. He’s very consistent, really proud of how he’s rebounded from the injury.”

Lewis enrolled early but missed spring practice with an injury. As a result, this fall camp is tremendously important for him if he’s going to earn first year reps.

A four-star prospect and a speedster, Lewis looks the part, but he he has to prove himself after missing spring. Just taking contact for the first time in college this week has been a learning experience for Lewis, but Heupel liked what he saw tonight.

“It’s his first time taking contact since coming back off of the injury as young player. He’s gotten better, more comfortable absolutely every single day,” Heupel said.

“Tonight he did a lot of really good things. He’s playing with great pad level. There’s some runs that, that he’ll have an opportunity to grow from as well.”

HOW ABOUT THE QBs?

Tennessee doesn’t have a quarterback competition, but that doesn’t mean that fans aren’t hyper-interested in what Nico Iamaleava is getting done in fall camp.

Pretty much everything bubbling out of the Tennessee program about Iamaleava has been positive to this point whether that’s coming from the coaches or his teammates.

Heupel gave a typically positive review for Iamaleava’s performance under the lights tonight in scrimmage work.

“I thought he looked good throughout the course of the night. Just his decision making, his body position, you know, there are gonna be some throws that he is gonna want back, but he played really well,” Heupel said of Iamaleava.

It seems verboten to even talk about Tennessee’s quarterback depth. People have waited so long to see Imaleava that the anticipation is at unprecedented levels.

But the back-up is always one snap away from being the most important player on the field, and as most know, the Vols’ back-up quarterback situation is a work in progress.

Gaston Moore, who came with Heupel & Co. from UCF is a veteran with extensive knowledge of the system, but he’s also a former walk-on.

Jake Merklinger is a very nice looking prospect, but he’s a freshman who has never taken a college snap.

Tennessee obviously hopes it doesn’t come up, but in the event either has to play, Heupel expressed some confidence in them.

“Both of them did a great job operating the offense, but they really have all training camp Merk’s a young guy, continues to get better every single day. He’s great, he has great confidence. He works extremely hard at it.

“Gaston just has done a really efficient job tonight. Made some really nice throws out on the run. He’s done that all training camp. He’s taken pretty good care of the football throughout the course of training camp too, so I’m pleased with the development of those guys.”

I’M IN YOUR HELMET!

This will be the first year that college programs can use the headset technology, which has been around the NFL for years, allowing coaches to communicate with players on the field.

Tennessee has been working out the kinks of what is an entirely new system all fall camp, and which also includes the use of iPads on the sidelines.

There’s been plenty of debate about how a high-tempo offense like Tennessee might benefit (or not) from the rule changes, but it’s a new world and everyone is having to adjust.

“We’ve been using that at practice as well as tonight. That was really pretty seamless,” Heupel said of the in-helmet communication. “We used the iPads on the sideline as well.

“We tried to structure in some time outs where we got a chance to figure out how we’re gonna use it, operate it, all the logistics that go with it, which there’s a lot more than than we would think.”