What Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Wednesday at SEC Spring Meetings

What Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said Wednesday while meeting with reporters at SEC Spring Meetings, discussing the momentum his Vols have, the SEC schedule model in the future and the importance of the Alabama game to the Tennessee program:

The energy he senses around the Tennessee program coming off the 11-win season

“From our fanbase, great passion, great energy, great excitement, a ton of expectation. That’s the way you want it. The expectations will never be higher than they are in the building. It’s a great time to be a Vol. It’s been fun building this. When we first arrived, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the program, so many things we were trying to navigate. The foundation we’ve laid, how we’ve competed, the players, what they’ve done and continue to do, there’s a lot of excitement.”

The mood inside the Tennessee complex

“One of being extremely competitive, being very urgent in preparation. Being really consistent. We got back in January and this group has been very purposeful in the way that it has worked. How they’re doing everything outside of football has continued to heighten and they’re doing it at a better level. What they’re doing inside of the game is really good. Spring ball, I thought, was as physical and as competitive as we’ve had. More so. We’ve got a long way to go until we get to the season. This summer, we already kicked off. We were on the grass Tuesday morning with our strength staff. So we’ve got to have a great summer and get ready.”

The gambling issues recently in college athletics

“We constantly educate the players. It’s part of our team rules. You try to bring that up every week when you’re with them in team meetings. You try to educate them. Understand that the people you come into contact with may be trying to draw information from you. But obviously gambling has spread in a completely different way — sports gambling — where you’re able to do it on your phones. So educating these guys on what they can and can’t do, how they need to conduct themselves, for us, bringing in people that can inform them on the right things to do. And at the end of the day, trying to find a way to protect the players and our program.”

If Tennessee players understand the gravity of the situation 

“Certainly with everything that has gone on over the last month, it certainly opens eyes. Again, I think everybody in college sports, college football has to continue to find a way to put their arms around the situation and make sure we navigate it in a really, really good way.”

The most spirited conversation among the coaches in Destin 

“Gambling was one of the one that probably had as much dialogue and probably as many questions from the coaches to the people that were presenting to the conference itself. On things we can do to protect our players, protect our programs.”

Gambling being engrained into the culture of football these days

“I think it’s engrained into society, right? There are so many things that you can bet on. A lot of states have casinos. Looking at the map they presented to us, a majority of them are, or are going to have, the ability to do it through your mobile device. So we’ve got to continue to find ways to navigate it the right way.”

If there could be rules for players allowing them to bet on certain things

“I don’t think that’s the direction we want to head.”

The talk about changing the rules when it comes to fans storming fields after big wins

“I think the dialogue around how do we keep fans and players and staff safe is a real one. We need to navigate that space. I think there is a two-edge sword on that side of it. You try to stop everybody from storming the field. There is a safety issue there too. So how do we keep everybody safe? Before the game, during the game and after the game, certainly. I think the pageantry, the passion that is college football is also what makes it college football. It’s a unique endeavor. And it’s the greatest sport, in my opinion. So navigating that space the right way is very important.”

If there’s a way to fix tampering in the transfer portal era of college athletics

“I don’t have a silver bullet on how you change that. There are so many people that have contact with recruits, with players. And I say recruits because you probably had contact with them during the recruiting process, right? From coaches, families to people that were influential in their life, coaches. I don’t know that there is one thing (to fix it). At the end of the day, the integrity of the people that are hired and the integrity of the staff is how you solve that problem.”

Where the Tennessee program is now versus a year ago

“I think our guys have a clear understanding of who we are, what we’re about, how we go about attacking every single day. What does it look like to win? Every rep, every set, every day in everything that you’re doing. We’ve continued to add to our roster. When we first started we had 65 scholarship players, I think, in the fall. Ten of those guys were transfers that had just come in in June. We’re closer to a full roster at this point. Guys that have been in our systems for multiple years (have a) better understanding. Put that all together, it gives you an opportunity to grow and compete at a higher level.”

The growing pains that Texas and Oklahoma will go through when they join the SEC

“This is the most competitive league in America. And that’s the talent that is on the field every Saturday; you look at the NFL Draft. The talent of the coaches and the resources that all of these programs have. You’re competing at the highest level, top to bottom … you better show up every Saturday.”

Being an offensive-minded coach and dealing with new clock rules

“Everybody is still playing by the same amount of time on the clock. It’s not changing for one side. How much time that is actually going to bleed from the game, I don’t know. But a possession, maybe two. Number of plays will be down for everybody across America. At the end of the day you’ve still got to score more points than the other team does with the number of plays and possessions that you’ve got.”

Where he stands on playing eight conference games versus playing nine

“There are so many things that everybody is trying to balance. From schedules that are already preset to how we navigate that space. At the end of the day, in this conference, you come to this conference because you want to compete and play against the best every Saturday. You love those big games. Certainly when you’re playing a conference opponent, you’re playing that type of game.”

How important the Alabama game is to Tennessee fans

“The Alabama game, that’s a huge game. Historic rival for our program. I think one of the things that I think is unique from probably my playing career is the number of opponents that different generations of fans will point to as the game. We don’t have a true trophy game. In state, Vandy. Kentucky, border war. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, those are all big games for our fanbase. But the Alabama game has probably been the one that’s been longstanding as any of them. It’s a huge part of our schedule and the tradition of Tennessee football.”

If it was up to him, would he want Tennessee to play Alabama every season?

“I want to play the best games that we possibly can every single year. The biggest and best brands.”

What he’s seen from Joe Milton III

“He’s had a great off-season. Everybody in our program and in the locker room believed he would play in a great way when he got his next opportunity. He has continued to have great urgency in his preparation and has continued to grow as a leader. He was a leader last year too. I’m really excited about what he’s done. He had a great spring. He has continued to refine himself as a quarterback with his fundamentals. Really impressed with what he did as far as pocket movement in the spring. He was really accurate with the football. He has to have a great summer. I expect him to do that and go help us win some football games.” 

How Joe Milton now compares to the Joe Milton that arrived at Tennessee two years ago

“I’m not going to talk about the player, because he’s just continued to grow in who he is. Really comfortable in who he is, what he’s about, how he wants to approach everything that he’s doing everyday. His consistency, emotionally being so consistent, no matter what is going on outside of the football venture. I think that’s affected his consistency in a positive way inside of our building. That can be in leadership, that can be in how he works out every day. Certainly shows up in how he competes in the quarterback room every day and what he does on the field.”

What he credits the rapid success at Tennessee to

“At the end of the day, the players have come and competed and grown in a really positive way. Players know that we care about them as a person, outside of the game, more than we do inside of the game. And we care about their success on the field too. But I think if you set clear standards, you show them that you care about them, they’re going to receive the information you want them to in a really positive way. Because of that, we’ve grown as a staff and players together. We compete really hard every day and have a heck of a lot of fun doing it.”