What Josh Heupel said about Tennessee's ranking in the College Football Playoff Top 25

What Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Wednesday during his weekly appearance on the SEC Coaches Teleconference, reacting to the Vols being ranked No. 11 in the College Football Playoff but being the first team out of the 12-team playoff bracket:

Opening Statement 

“Good afternoon, everyone. Saturday for us is Salute to Service. Thanking all the men and women that have and are currently serving our country. And a unique day for us as a program too. We get an opportunity to showcase and acknowledge the seniors inside of our program, what they’ve meant to Tennessee football. And for me, again, it’s a special group. These guys chose to stay when I when I first got here. They’ve been such a huge part of us continuing to build our our program. And the success that they’ve had on the field and off the field, really proud of the group. And it’s an opportunity to take next step in our journey here in this season and focus like always. But certainly this week is controlling what we control and continuing to grow in our scheme, our fundamentals and playing smart football. And excited to go play with these guys on Saturday afternoon.” 

His reaction to where Tennessee was ranked in the College Football Playoff Top 25, being the first team left out of the 12-team bracket

“Yeah. End of the day, we have no control over the rankings. There’s still a lot of football to be played and we can’t control those things. We can control our preparation, how we practice, how we get better and getting ready to go play good football. I’ve been on both sides of it, where you look like you got a chance to be in. You look like you’re out. The reality is there’s two more weeks of regular-season play and conference championship games after that. So for us, man, focus on what we can control. Said that to the players today before we tipped off and thought we had a really good day on the grass. A lot of focus and energy and guys continuing to get better.” 

The challenge of playing a SEC schedule

“This is college football as good as it gets. The bodies, the skill sets that you’re playing, top to bottom (is the) best in college football. You go play road games in this league. They’re real venues, real road games. For us, they’ve been at night. You’re gonna get electric atmospheres and it makes it as difficult as it can be on the road, let alone the opponent that you’re playing. And I think that’s played out pretty much every single year. And I think in this era of college football, it’s the deepest top to bottom that the league has been and I think you just look at the schedules, the outcomes, it’s played out that way. It’s difficult inside of this league. It’s different.”

If the house settlement goes through and you can only have 105 players on your roster, would that change how Tennessee practices

“I think coaches probably across the board aren’t real excited or didn’t want the limits on the roster or certainly the number that they’re at. College football to me is the greatest game that there is. And it’s a unique time where you’re getting a chance to see young people grow and that’s scholarship, that’s walk ons. It’s everybody. And there’s great stories of walk ons that impacted their their teams, their programs, that everybody sees and guys that have gone on and had careers in the NFL that started that way. So I don’t think any of the coaches are necessarily excited about it. As we get through this season,  certainly that’s gonna be a part of what we have to manage when you’re in a leadership role. And you get to the season, it absolutely has a chance to change some of what you’re doing on the practice field.”

If the potential roster limit of 105 has impacted the way they have put together the current recruiting class

“Yeah, I think it’s a part of everything that you’re doing within the scope of your personnel department and how you’re trying to manage and make your team as strong as it can be, but also understanding the limitations that you’re gonna have.”

How he would assess the play of Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava through 10 games this season

“Nico is tough, smart, competitive. He gets better with every opportunity that he has as a young quarterback. They always do. You get better through practice for sure, but being in those live situations and what you’re seeing from scheme and everything that’s going on in the course of it, they’re gonna get better. Nico’s done a good job. He’s been smart with the football. He hasn’t put it in harm’s way. He’s created some huge explosive plays. Our down the field passing game at times hasn’t been what we’re accustomed to. That’s never just one person. That’s, protection’s a piece of it, route structure, wide receivers being on the same page as the quarterback, and the quarterback. We continue to get better. We continue to grow. Love Nico’s makeup and what he’s done here as a young player.”