What Josh Heupel said about Nico Iamaleava after Tennessee's Orange & White Game

What head coach Josh Heupel said about Nico Iamaleava during his postgame press conference after Tennessee’s Orange & White Game Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium:

Opening Statement

“First, man, just want to thank our fans. Great, great crowd today with the limit of the capacity with all the construction that’s going on. But from Vol Walk, all the families, a bunch of little kids out there to everybody inside the stadium, appreciate them showing up in the style that they did. It’s an awesome day for our young players in particular to get out in front of a crowd. And most of them, it’s the biggest crowd that they’ve played in front of, but it simulates as much as we can, as close as we can, to what game day is going to feel like. Great energy for them, appreciate them.

“Spring game weekend, so many former players, VFLs that are back. That’s a bunch of guys that just finished with us in December, this past fall, to guys that played generations before. And it’s always great to have them back home and they’re so well connected to our program. So important to our program. Appreciate them showing up with the way that they did.

“Today, obviously, different format from the usual spring game, just where we were at in the course of our spring ball. We wanted to get a lot of work. We did some special teams today. Got some great, great work on that side of it. And wanted our players to be out in front of the crowd. So that’s why you saw some of the group work, offensive, defense, seven-on-seven, one-on-ones, the big guys going through one-on-ones as well. And ultimately wanted to get to the play count that we got to with each of our groups and simulate game day as well. And so hopefully the fans enjoyed it and I do appreciate them because there was a lot of great work.”

Statement on Nico Iamaleava

“I’m sure I’m going to get asked about this here in a second, so I’ll address it on the front end. Today’s landscape of college football, it’s different than what it has been. And it’s unfortunate, just the situation and where we’re at with Nico. I want to thank him for everything that he’s done since he’s gotten here. That’s as a recruit to who he was as a player and how he competed inside of the building. So a great appreciation for that side of it. 

“Obviously we’re moving forward as a program without him. I said it to the guys today, there’s no one that’s bigger than the Power T and that includes me. And they hear me say that a lot inside of that team room. This program has been around for a long time with a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players that came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee Football. It’s going to be around a long time after I’m done and after they’re gone. And that’s what’s special about being here is that there is a legacy and a tradition that is so rich and a logo that’s recognized not just across the nation but across the world too. 

“And today you got a chance to see110 guys that ran out and competed their butts off, that give their all for Tennessee and do it the right way. And really proud of the spring that they’ve had, but also how they culminated it as well. So excited about where we’re at at this point. And man, there’s a lot of work for this team to go continue to grow, to have the ability to chase the things that we want to in the fall. But you know, we’re where we need to be as well. And our coaches and staff, guys have been here over the last four years have rebuilt this program and it’s built to win. 

“And I say that as we’re moving forward from today, too, this program is ready to go win next fall. And as a program since we’ve been here, we’ve won with a lot of different QB’s done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs. Some of those guys have been older, some of them have been younger, but we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go win and help us compete for a championship.” 

If it was more frustrating that Nico Iamaleava left the program by no-showing at practice and not communicating with the Tennessee coaching staff

“If it’s going to happen, rip the band-aid too. At the end of the day we got a lot of great work for the two guys that are here and we got a chance to move forward as a program. So it’s unfortunate, just in the landscape of college football, that this happens at this point. But I told our coaches yesterday afternoon when we had the staff meeting, I said if it’s going to happen, and sometimes it happens through injury, game five, game six. I’ve had it in my career where I lost start starting quarterback before we started training camp, the day of the start of training camp. And at the end of the day, this is the greatest team game there is. That group that where we lost (the quarterback) on day one, they rallied together — adversity when it strikes, you got two choices you can bring you together or divide you. That group came together and ultimately went on and won a conference championship that year. And this group inside of that locker room, they’re tough, they’re competitive, they care about each other and we got to grow together.” 

What his dealings with Nico and his representatives have been like the last few days

“Yeah, Wednesday was a practice day. Thursday, our players were off and Friday was the first time that we were back in the building as a team. And that was just kind of the structure of the week in the lead up to the spring game, giving those guys a day off. I’m not going to get into the details of everything and the timing of that. That’s just in fairness to both parties, but at the end of the day, he’s moving on. We’re moving on too and we’ll be ready to roll when we get to next fall.”

When it was apparent to him that Nico wouldn’t be on the team moving forward

“Friday morning when he’s a no show. You come off the practice field and there’s no communication.”

How the team has rallied around Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre

“Our team needs to handle it with maturity too. And these guys have an appreciation for Nico and what he’s done since he’d been here too. Just like I said at the beginning of the press conference and at the end of the day everybody in college football’s dealing with this as the portal opens up here this week. And at the end of the day, it’s my responsibility, our staff’s responsibility, find 105 guys that are going to go give their all for Tennessee day in, day out and certainly on game day too and we’ll do that.”

The fanbase response being very positive towards Heupel and Tennessee

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Vol nation, you know, rallies around this group of players and this program. I have been here long enough and seen enough things happen that— that’s why I consider it the greatest fan base in college sports. Not just college football. Haven’t paid attention to social media at this point and will try to stay off of it here for a little while too.”

If there’s anything he’d want to change about college athletics, it getting to this point

“Man, I feel like you guys have dinner plans and we don’t have long enough to get through everything, all the changes that I, and probably most of the coaches, would want in college football. But this is, you know, it’s like game day, right? You gotta be ready to move on to the next play and man, that’s my responsibility in leading this program. It’s our player’s responsibility too.”

If Tennessee will look for a quarterback in the portal, what the Vols would be looking for

“Well, we’re having open tryouts right after this. (Brent) Hubbs already hit me (up) about his ability to throw the ball. So, nah, anytime your roster has the opportunity to change, that’s in December, that’s in the spring, right? As we go through the process, you’re always evaluating what you have on your roster where you’re, I’m gonna say vulnerable, where numbers might not be right, injuries, whatever. And you’re trying to get your roster where it needs to be to give yourself the best chance when you get to kick off in the fall. And certainly with only two scholarship players at the quarterback position, we’re going to have to find another guy.”

What he liked about his Tennessee team’s response to the news

“At the end of the day I just, I like this group. They’re really accountable, they show up, they do, right? That’s in the building. Strength and conditioning, rehab, nutrition, football meetings, practice, all of that. But they do it right on the outside too in class and who they are in the community. So it’s a really accountable group. We’ve recruited to that. It’s a group that, you know, like today was the next opportunity for them to go compete and you can tell that they care about each other and will continue to grow together.”

If he’s had any communication with Nico Iamaleava since his departure

“I have not. I have not.”

Tennessee’s policy when a player isn’t communicating and can’t be reached

“It was probably a fair reason to expect that that’s the symptom of it, right? At the end of the day, just in a leadership position, you have standards of who you’ve got to be inside the building and outside of it. At the same time, every individual’s a little bit different, so in leadership, just have learned to try to keep a cool head and also understand the dynamics of all situations, family, everything.”

What makes him want to continue coaching in this new college football landscape

“You’re talking about coaching? … What happens outside of the game in some ways has changed, right? But the game hasn’t changed. You’ve got to be tough, smart and physical. You’ve got to play extremely hard. You’ve got to have fundamentals and technique. I choose to coach college football because I love dealing with 18- to 22-year olds  most of the time. But I love the pageantry of college football. The NFL’s different, right? Not in a bad way, it’s just different.

“I love the growth of young people, taking somebody that shows up from different backgrounds and helping them grow and their maturity as a man and how that parlays itself into helping them grow as a football player, too. It’s a chance to be in the middle of their journey as a man and as a player versus being on the back end of the journey, being at the destination point. I love so much about this game and this timeframe.

“When you have a team that’s – the best part of my day is when they show up every single day. When you’ve got a staff that’s like-minded, that is selfless, that cares about the people around them – man, I don’t consider it work. I get to go compete and be your own best every single day. It’s awesome walking in there.”

How frustrating and difficult it is to deal with the business side of college athletics

“Well that’s the part that’s changed, for sure. It’s a part of this game at this point in every job that anyone has. Man, not 100% of it is exactly what you want, but at the same time I can understand a player’s perspective, too, having played the game, too, and there’ss some benefits to it as well.”

Tennessee quarterbacks Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre and how they played in the spring game

“I’m going to cash in on my lottery ticket on that side. I took that number. Your question was about Merk and (MacInytre)? Yeah, I thought they did a really good job today for the most part. Obviously Merk had the one pick on the double move where the safety’s a player in the middle of the field, but for the most part they handled the operation pretty well. There was a couple checks that we can clean up, just some of the operations side of it and the ultimate check.

“But they moved the football. They made plays. I thought they used their feet. Obviously they weren’t live. They’re going to have to learn how to protect themselves out in space, but it was a great day for both of them as young players being out in front of that crowd, having to be the guy and go operate.”

His conversation with Jake Merklinger and George MacIntyre going out there today after the crazy past 24 hours

“Go have fun and compete today. It’s not going to be perfect. It never will be. Same thing that I said with the team. There’s a way that you’ve got to operate from snap to the whistle, and then you’ve got to learn how to operate from the whistle to the next snap, too. I thought those guys did a good job.”

Leaders on the offensive side being gone from last season

“Some of those guys have been gone for four months now., I think leadership is something that we’re continuing to grow on that side of the football. Miles Kitselman – really mature, great command, great presence, ability to demand things from the guys around him –  is somebody that’s really strong. Up front, Lance Heard is developing some of that, but that’s my job with the leadership council, our young shadow warriors to continue to grow those guys throughout the rest of the season.

“In general, we’re probably stronger, more mature on the defensive side of the ball, but we’ve got to continue to grow that on the offensive side of the ball here, and we’ll continue to do that (in) the next four weeks before we get out and when we get back in the summer.”