Tennessee Football head coach Josh Heupel previews game week vs UTC I Tennessee Volunteers I GBO

good afternoon everybody um excited talking season's over and uh we get to go play ball so looking forward to uh to seeing all of our fans uh inside the stadium uh it's been a long time uh unique kickoff time for us look forward to seeing everybody at ball walk at at 10:30 um you guys know this week um you know we'll wear the uh the Smoky Grays and and uh um you know wear those for uh this design for the first time so uh facing uh chattan nooga team that's uh a really good uh opponent preseason ranked in in uh top 10 in in their division um return a lot of really good players uh at the end of the day um this is the first step in our journey I look forward to going competing with this uh this group so I'll open it up Josh it obviously takes a few years to get to the point where you've gotten past some of the other NCAA stuff and now you get a full roster do you look at it now and say I feel right now like we are top to bottom where I want us to be uh we continue to to build our roster um certainly um we're not quite at a at a full roster yet but uh uh really um like the group that we have um as we've continued to recruit here uh during the different Cycles length athleticism uh physicalness uh traits that we're looking for uh on the field uh competitive makeup all those those things um you know I really like this team and and we got to continue to grow throughout the course of it but what they've done during the course of training camp uh they've handled it really well they got a handle gameweek preparation extremely well this week too I know a lot of be on the quarterback on Nico but almost everybody has played more than him what can veteran players do to make Nico's job easier well um for every quarterback back not just young ones but for everyone uh the guys around them playing at a really high level uh execution uh really important that can be your offensive line uh in pass protection it's being efficient in the Run game staying on of uh third and long situations uh your skill guys being where they need to be in a pass concept or protection um all those things tie in into it together uh at the same time you know quarterbacks got to got to make everybody right too he he started in the bowl game but it feels feels different in taking over first game of the season just what is like maybe an internal checklist that will look that will if he had a successful day that you know you'll check some boxes besides just the raw stats yeah play smart football uh take care of the the football um manage the game uh extremely well communication um play within yourself uh and at times when they present themselves make plays and um you know he's you know had the opportunity to start the balll game I think that was a great experience uh helps Propel create urgency in the in the off season uh he's handled himself uh extremely well here um you know during the course of training camp too um Young quarterback um he's going to get better as we go through the season I say that just meaning that every rep you get at that position on Game Day helps you as well what are some of the challenges that UTC presents both offensively and defensively that your team's going to have to look out for yeah a veteran uh quarterback it's played at a really high level um you know smart with the football um they got Playmakers out on the outside um for us uh offensively looking at them um you know they got explosive Playmakers up front and um we got to do a really good job handling the line of scrimmage Josh we've talked to about the inh helmet communication but there are other changes to the rules in college football any of those uh of note for you and how they might impact the game specifically and maybe that uh two-minute warning at the end of each half or anything else yeah two-minute uh warning obviously has a chance to change um you know the sequencing of things uh at the end of of both halves so um you know we spend a bunch of time on that and um hopefully we're uh we're prepared the right way talked about that start in the bowl game for NCO but as he gets ready for his first start at home in neand what do you remember from maybe your first start as a a Collegiate quarterback at home and have you talked to him about that kind of taking in the moment I haven't talked to him about that I talked to our team really every week uh enjoy the journey of leading up to to kickoff that's Vol walk it's you know your experience at the hotel hanging out with uh your teammates seeing your family there there in town um and certainly running through the teas so soak all those things in I think that helps you enjoy the journey makes you better for for the next week um and uh you know for him uh at the end of the day it's 11 on 11 when you get between the white lines go play ball you said for months that you really like this team and the way they go to work with as you go into gameweek now what do you like about this team now or what do you feel is different about this team now than maybe a month ago or three months ago that you like well I I challenge our our veterans in each position room uh today just the preparation the urgency that you have to have to have not just when the coach is in there but but outside of those times um making sure that our young guys understand what that process looks like you know each day of the week a Monday is different than a Tuesday a Wednesday as we get uh closer to kickoff um our our vets got to do a great job of leading uh our young guys um you know I think this group uh you've heard me say it um post Spring ball I I thought they were you know extremely competitive extremely uh intentional they that way during training camp um the camaraderie that we have um the chemistry as roles get defined and roles change each week keeping that uh a part of our our team locker room is going to be really important heading into fall Camp coach you talked about one of the fixed Red Zone issues and pre- snap penalties that surfaced last year where do you feel like you are in those areas heading into this week done a good job uh throughout the course of training camp um you know I thought we got better on the second half of training camp in particular uh on those things which is um you know typical uh as you go through training camp a lot of young guys learn how to play um you know Red Zone uh we spent a bunch of time on it um we got to go out and execute in both areas um offensively and defensively I know some guys on the offensive line were missing earlier in Camp how good do you feel about the chemistry camaraderie as you were mentioning there a second ago about your first five on the offensive line and then developing any depth behind that yeah um you know couple guys um you know kind of got built throughout the course of of training camp that allows you to play more guys together um you don't have just five guys playing together um but I feel like uh throughout the course of the leadup to this point uh in the uh in the year um I really like where that group's at um they push each other um you know we'll play more guys and need to uh but I I really like where uh that group's at right now Josh is the fact that the college football playoff how much does it change any planning or thought processes for you and your staff at the end of the day at this point in the season it's about one week um winning every day and and putting yourself in position to go play your best football in Saturdays so um it's a a one and0 mindset at this point Thank you awesome thank you