VIDEO: Tennessee football's Thursday practice highlights
One of the more quiet players on the practice field on Thursday morning was Tennessee wide receiver Squirrel White. The diminutive athlete plays loud tho and has been working on coming out of his shell.
“I think for you guys, it’s a glimpse into his true and real personality,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said on Wednesday. “Initially getting here, being in a different environment with new people and being at this level of college football, he was very intentional about how he worked and competed, but I think at times you didn’t see his true personality. We’ve seen it inside the building for a lot longer than you all have because we interact with him every single day.
“I just feel like in the back third of last season, we got a chance to see a little bit more of it and certainly since we’ve been back this entire offseason. You’ve gotten to see a true sense of who he is and what he’s about outside of just lining up and playing football at a really high level. He cares. He’s really engaging. He likes to have fun. He comes out with a great energy every single day, competes really hard. Today was really good, but that’s who he is, and that’s how he competes every day.”
White continues to make strides in the Tennessee offense under Kelsey Pope, who is making his own strides as a coach. Heupel looked back at the interview process in hiring the Alabama native.
Top 10
- 1Breaking
John Mateer
Top portal QB commits to Oklahoma
- 2Hot
Diego Pavia
Vandy QB granted eligibility
- 3New
Vols troll OSU
Apple Maps changes The Shoe
- 4
Alabama AD: 'Fight back'
SEC NIL wars take next step
- 5
Johni Broome injury
Positive news on Auburn star
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
“You interview him, and he’s striking in his ability to communicate at a really high level,” Heupel said. “His understanding of fundamentals and technique at the wide receiver position, overall scheme, his understanding. Then he had a year of incorporating truly into what we’re doing. From the moment that he’s been here, he’s had great relationships and cares about his players. That’s true of all the guys who are in our building. That’s where it starts. You have to build trust with your players, and that only happens with great communication and them understanding that you care about the person more than you do the player.
“We care deeply about the player too, but we want these guys to be successful and grow. You guys have seen the change in the players inside of this program. Kelsey’s done a phenomenal job of that. In year one, him being instrumental in the growth of some of the guys who played at a high level like Cedric Tillman, or the development of Jalin Hyatt. Our guys have great trust in him, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him here.”
Watch the highlights of the open media portion of practice at the top of the page.
