Everything Josh Heupel said after Tennessee's Orange & White Game

Everything Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said during his press conference after the White team beat the Orange team 17-14 in Saturday’s Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium, the spring practice finale played in front of 58,473:

Opening Statement

“Beautiful day. Over 58,000 people showing up here on Rocky Top. Unbelievable turnout from our fanbase, the absolute best in the country. I thank them for the energy that they’ve created outside of the stadium with everything that we had going on this weekend. That was hugely important and they showed up in droves. To our VFLs that showed up, I think we had over 300 former players that were here, this weekend. A great weekend to celebrate what they have done, what they meant to our program and do mean to our program. And also celebrate what is going on here currently and what we’re going to continue to build together with them. Just a great weekend. 

“A lot of fun seeing a lot of our guys compete today. We obviously held some guys out that would have had the opportunity to go if it was the course of the season. But a great opportunity for a lot of our young guys to show up in front of a crowd like this for the first time, get a chance to see what it looks like and feels like inside of Neyland Stadium, really in the landscape of college football. Ton of things we’re going to learn from, but really proud of the effort and energy they showed today. And really what they’ve shown throughout the course of spring ball. These guys have been very intentional in their work since January. They’ve got great camaraderie and energy and connection. They care about each other, one another, but they compete extremely hard with each other too. And that has shown up here over the 14 days of spring ball we’ve had up to this point.”

Why he thinks more that 58,000 Tennessee fans showed up for a spring game

“I think it’s a combination of everything. Spring game is the first time our fans have had a chance to congregate together and in some ways celebrate the end of last season. They haven’t had a chance to experience that inside of Neyland Stadium together (since last season). It’s an opportunity to get their first look at what our Vols are going to look like next season. And included in that, you get the opportunity to see some young guys that haven’t had an opportunity to play a ton of meaningful snaps. You throw all that together, and you throw the environment that is outside of the stadium, it’s a great day here on Rocky Top. Can’t thank (the fans) enough for showing up the way that they do. The fanbase is truly special.”

How he handled play-calling during the Orange & White Game

“Nah, today I let Joey (Halzle) handle it up top. Obviously Glen (Elarbee) is always instrumental in what we’re doing. It’s an opportunity for those guys to continue to grow. Typically do that every time during the course of a spring game.”

What he saw from the secondary Saturday and during the spring

“There’s been improvement in that area during the course of the entirety of spring ball. And truly in the offseason too. Their accountability and what they’re doing, their maturity off the field. But it showed up in that they’re doing on the field, too. Fundamentals, technique, scheme, playing with discipline and playing with correct eyes and leverage. We’re 14 days in. We’ve got a long ways to go, but I like the competition. A year ago, that group was banged up. A lot of guys didn’t get an opportunity to grow during spring ball. We had some of that during training camp. And throughout the course of the season it was kind of mix and match. We need that group to be healthy. We need great competition. And we’re going to need some guys to continue to step up. From the old guys that have played on our roster, that you guys have seen, to the young guys. We’ve got to continued to develop that. And I anticipate great competition as we get into training camp.”

How much he hates touch sacks in spring games and what he saw from Joe Milton III and Nico Iamaleava

“Well, it’s not real football at the end of the day. The defense would say the same thing, too, right? Those guys do a great job of trying to pull off and make sure we’re not putting the quarterback in a susceptible position where they get a hand that goes into the helmet. So it works and cuts both ways. For the quarterbacks today, I thought there was a lot of game management that was really good. All in all, their eyes, decision-making was pretty sound. There are some things accuracy wise where we have to continue to get better. There are some things in situational football that you can’t do, that they’ll learn from. The group has been really good with the way they compete and help each other in the meeting room, out on the grass. There’s a lot of development that is left inside of that room. So I love what they’ve done this spring, but we’ve got to continue to grow. But that’s the reality of where you’re at when you end spring ball. You’ve got a long ways to go before you’re ready to play a football game. We have time. We have to be urgent in the way that we prepare. That starts when we get rolling next week.”

Cam Seldon’s play on Saturday and if that’s what they saw from him this spring

“Really unique player just with his skillset and the background that he has from playing running back to playing in the slot, to playing outside to playing on the defensive side of the football. He’s played a lot of positions. He’s never really had a true home. We felt like it was important to give him a home here early and grow and expand from that. He’s been really good from what he’s done inside the running back room. He cares, he competes really hard. For a guy that has a high-end top gear, electric speed, he’s willing to stick his foot in the ground, get vertical, get behind his pads and find a way to get plus-two. He’s going to continue to grow. Who he is today, man, I expect him to be dramatically better when we get to kickoff next September. And I just say that because he’s going to continue to grow with the way that he works. He’s got a really high ceiling. His ability to be a pass-catcher out of the backfield, really unique and obviously a skillset we want here.”

An update to the injury of freshman tight end Ethan Davis, what he saw from him before the injury

“It’s not related to the high school injury. We’ll know more on the back end of today. (His performance was) similar from what we’ve seen from him. You guys haven’t had an opportunity to see him other than in some of our individual work at the beginning of practice. He’s been really good. He understands space, he understands how to get himself open. He plays long and physical to the catch. He’s done a really nice job throughout spring ball.”

If he thinks spring games should be played against other teams

“I don’t know what the right thing is. For myself, making sure we’re taking care of our quarterbacks as we come out of spring ball would be something I would want to make sure happens.”

Where Joe Milton III has grown the most

“I think some of that starts with off the field and being really sure in who he is and what he is about. Defining and growing in his work habits. That has allowed him to be more consistent and grow inside of what we are doing. If you are talking about just the football player, it starts with an understanding of what we are doing, understanding defenses and being consistent with his reads. Pair that with growth fundamentally, getting his feet in the ground and being in a consistent, positive position to be able to deliver the football from the ground up. You pair those things together and he is able to grow. You saw some of that in the way that he played at the end of last year. He has had a really good spring.”

The Tennessee wide receivers that played in Saturday’s game

“Four out of the top receivers weren’t playing together. Three of them would certainly have been able to play if it was a normal game. That group as a whole has been really good in what they have done throughout the course of spring ball. We have been banged up throughout the course of it. We anticipate it being an electric group when we get to the fall. We are long, competitive, have speed, and a pretty good understanding of what we are doing right now offensively. We are going to need them to play to a really high level when we get into the fall. Guys that have been playing here have absolutely competed really hard throughout the course of spring ball. Because some of those other guys that have been held out, at times, there has been extra pressure applied to those guys in terms of the reps we want to make sure we are getting for our entire football team. Can’t say enough about what that group has done under coach (Kelsey) Pope’s direction.”

Running backs Dylan Sampson and Desean Bishop

“Sampson has had a lot off great work throughout the course of spring ball, dynamic and continues to grow in his ability to understand what we are doing. He is a smaller back that is really dynamic out in space. He has got a really unique sense and feel for delivering double teams, really pressing the line of scrimmage based on the second-level fits and third-level fits, at times. Hitting the backdoor. He has been really good. I love the growth. All of those backs have done a really nice job in pass protection. That has been something we have spent a lot of time on during the course of spring ball, too. I like their growth as a complete group. Coach (Jerry) Mack has done a great job with them. DeSean Bishop, for a freshman that is coming on campus, should be going to his prom here in the next week or the following week. Maybe he is, too. I don’t know that. He is local enough. He has been really good, man. He has got great vision and got great pace. He has handled spring ball as a newcomer extremely well.”

Nico Iamaleava’s growth during spring and instincts

“His ability to do those things is certainly a skillset that was important to us in the recruiting process. He does have a really good feel for a young guy inside of the pocket, when to step up, when to escape out the back side. He is dynamic and explosive as just an athlete. He has got the ability to get away from defenders. You saw him make a play down the sideline. Ethan did a great job on a scramble drill, wheeling it down the sideline. A really beautiful, accurate throw by Nico. He has got the ability to get himself in great body position when he is out in space and he has got people chasing him. When he doesn’t have the ability because of where the bodies are out in space to get himself in perfect position, he is able to still be accurate with the football. He has got a really unique skillset as a he is breaking contain.”

Tennessee quarterback Gaston Moore

“For a guy that has been in our system now maybe three years, this is the most work that he has been able to get. Just because of where the depth chart has been as he got here on campus and quarterback competitions. We saw him grow during the course of spring ball. There are some things that I really like that he did today. There were a couple things that I want to make sure I see on tape. I trust explicitly what he told me on the sidelines, but I love and appreciate what he brings every single day to this program.”

What’s next for the Tennessee football program over the next couple months

“It is different. Our roster is different. The understanding of what we are doing inside of our program is completely different. Not just the X’s and O’s, the fundamentals and technique of who and what we want to be on a daily basis. For us, our guys will get back in the weight room here next week. There are some gains that they have to make. It is a unique time of year where they have a chance to be very intentional in adding some size and mass to their frames. They will get a couple weeks off and be back here as we get ready for summer. Late April, May, June and July, you have to win those months if you are going to have a chance when you get to September. This group has been very mature in how they have handled themselves. It is one of the things I love about them. I love seeing them when they come into the building. They are super competitive and have done things the right way. Anticipate us continuing down that stretch here as we get into May.”

Tennessee’s offensive line and the moving pieces in that position group

“Today’s not the end of the competition at any position. Guys have a chance to be dramatically different by the way they work in May, June, and July, coming back to training camp. You have to give a chance for them to be a different player and judge them for who they are in the course of training camp. The offensive line, great competition at the tackle spots, interiorly, too. I think you guys have probably seen guys work multiple positions, left and right. Expect there to be great competition as we go throughout training camp as well. I do like that we are a deeper unit than we have been our first two years. You never know when and if you are going to need that for sure.”