Some details from the head coach.
Spring football is starting to wind down in Knoxville, which means it’s time for a few scrimmages to wrap things up. Tennessee played their second scrimmage on Thursday night at Neyland Stadium, getting a feel for things ahead of next week’s Orange and White Game.
Tennessee has some key players either resting or rehabbing at this point, which has opened the door for some new faces to get valuable reps. Injury situations on the offensive line and at running back will shake things up next weekend, with guys like Vysen Lang and Desean Bishop playing key roles in the offense.
“It was a lot of fun tonight,” Josh Heupel said of the scrimmage. “Just the way the schedule unfolded, decided to do a night scrimmage. Great to be under the lights inside of Neyland. Guys had a ton of energy and a lot of really good work. And defensively I thought they started extremely fast, violent, disruptive. Got off the field on third downs. Did a great job offensively, settled in in the second half of the scrimmage. So a lot of good work here for just being over the midpoint of spring ball.”
On the defensive front
“Our defensive line has brought great energy and consistency every single day that we’ve been on the practice field. Veteran group, especially on the interior, that has kind of led the way. Our edge group continues to get better and the young guys and new guys have really grown inside of it really quickly and they’re playing with great pad level. They’re using their hands better than they ever have and I’m not just talking in pass rushing, in the run game too. So really like what that group’s done.”
On the young offensive linemen
“(Vysen) Lang is continuing to grow. Strong kid continuing to grow in the communication side of it with his hand on the ball. (William) Satterwhite, Max Anderson’s taking some snaps. All those guys, they’re getting thrown into to, they’re thrusted into it and they’ve handled it really well. And when I say that, they handle coming back from a bad play, a bad series and reset into the next one too. So a lot of growth left for that group. But they pushed extremely hard and they did that before we got the spring ball.”
On Dont’e Thornton
“Yeah, I think his last year with where we were at with the guys that we had, started him in the slot and he got work on the outside. He was so limited in spring ball and training camp, just got banged up. He missed a lot of practices and missed opportunities to grow within what we’re doing. We moved him outside in the middle part of last year and [he] was playing his best football – got dinged up. It’s a guy that has great trust in the coaching staff, understands just how to operate and function within our offense and understands coverages in better ways. [He] is just continuing to grow out there. I really like what he’s done.”
On the progress of Nico Iamaleava
“In general, I thought he operated and functioned extremely well tonight and made some plays. He did that with his arm, made it with his feet too. We didn’t start super-fast on the offense side of the football. Had some opportunities, but just didn’t get points out of it. I just thought his competitive composure was really big and it was kind of his demeanor in general. He is continuing to grow in the leadership role, too. So, really pleased with what he is done. That’s tonight and just through the first part of spring ball.”
Who stood out in the secondary during the scrimmage
“Will Brooks had a really good night tonight. Andre [Turrentine] has been really consistent throughout the course of, of spring ball. Jermod McCoy continues to play at a really high level. Those are a few of the guys that have been consistent but also showed up tonight for us.
“We knew that we had to continue to add athleticism length, playmaking ability on the secondary. The guys that have come in here, that’s high school guys and transfer portal guys, you can see that as soon as you walk on the practice field with those guys. A lot of growth left for them within our scheme. Little details, nuances of the communication, but really like where that group’s heading. They’ve made plays and continue to compete at a really high level.”
On the backup quarterbacks
“Gaston’s performed really consistently throughout the course of spring ball. Been really good decision maker and has good control in what we’re doing offensively Jake Merklinger was more comfortable today than he was scrimmage one – not even close. That’s just command on the sideline in the huddle and then controlling what’s going on out there. There’s a lot of fundamental growth left from Merk that’s typical of all the young quarterbacks that come in here, but really like that group. They encourage each other and they challenge each other and obviously, the strength of any position room can’t just be one guy.”
Tennessee’s Orange and White Game is set for Saturday, April 13th. SEC Network+ (streaming) will carry the game live at 1 p.m. ET.