Vols kick off second fall camp under Josh Heupel
In all, players seem bigger, faster and stronger than head coach Josh Heupel’s inherited squad a season ago.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Tennessee football kicked off fall practices Monday, just one month ahead of its season opener against Ball State.
In all, players seem bigger, faster and stronger than head coach Josh Heupel’s inherited squad a season ago.
“I think we’re deeper, with some of those transfers and the young guys inside of our program. With the people that we’ve brought into the program, I think we’ve added athleticism, speed and the ability to move and be in functional football positions,” Heupel said after practice.
Heupel, a Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2000, has record-breaking quarterback Hendon Hooker back for one final season. The Davey O’Brien and Maxwell Award preseason watch list member threw for more than 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. His coach isn’t necessarily worried about Hooker’s stats aside from turnover rate.
“It’s about wins, so managing all of those expectations and just focusing on doing your job at the highest level is the most important thing for him. We have to take care of the football. (Turnovers) happen for a lot of reasons,” said Heupel.
“We want him to be decisive. We want him to take care of the football. When it’s not there and the opportunity presents itself, we want him to use his feet to continue to move the ball for us.”
26 new scholarship players have joined the roster since last year’s Music City Bowl. A dozen of those include June enrollees, which is a mix of true freshmen and transfers from other collegiate programs.
Tennessee continues fall camp at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
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