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Notebook: Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel recaps opening scrimmage of spring practice
Coach Josh Heupel speaks to media after 35-0 victory at the Citrus Bowl. Monday, Jan. 1, 2024.
Tennessee football entered Neyland Stadium for its first scrimmage of spring practice on Wednesday.
The Vols are on practice No. 6 of the 15 slotted for spring camp. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the media on Wednesday to recap the scrimmage as the Vols head into an off-weekend due to the holiday weekend.
Here are three takeaways from what Heupel had to say.
Heupel mentioned a great play from Mike Matthews during his presser on a ball down the sideline, and he said the freshman wide receiver competed hard throughout the day. He also brought up the young defensive backs during his recap of the scrimmage as well.
“As we go through spring ball, those fundamentals are extremely important,” Heupel said. “And, you know, some of those guys are consistently showing up day to day as they go through this experience and grow.”
Heupel mentioned Boo Carter as one of the defensive backs who impressed during the scrimmage. He also said that John Slaughter did a “great job” defending in the secondary, particularly on defending a deep ball down the sideline. Slaughter, now a sophomore, is in line to take on a bigger role in the secondary.
Heupel said that Edrees Farooq is a young defensive back who has consistently shown up and had success in practice as well. Farooq is a freshman out of Baltimore, Maryland, who could provide a depth piece for Tennessee.
“You’ve got to start with playing hard,” Heupel said. “At this point in spring ball, you want your vets to act like vets and play sound football, play penalty-free but go out and execute. Got a lot of young guys inside your program that are getting their first taste of what it means to go play live football. So by any stretch the imagination, it’s not going to be perfect.”
Running back room update
Tennessee sophomore running back Cameron Seldon will be sidelined for the remainder of spring practice after undergoing surgery on his shoulder, Heupel confirmed during Monday’s press conference.
That now makes two running backs who are unable to go through spring practice between Seldon and incoming freshman Peyton Lewis.
The injuries open up a lot of opportunities for the other young running backs in the room. Sophomores Khalifa Keith and DeSean Bishop are two of the backs that Heupel mentioned could make the most of the opportunities.
“The young guys continue to take steps forward,” Heupel said. “Khalifa has done a really nice job, has been extremely physical, was today as well, finished going forward all the time. DeSean Bishop — got a guy that got nicked up last year, just his growth inside of our program. For him to get back out on the field, showcased his skillset.”
Nico Iamaleava’s operation at quarterback
Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava operated well during the scrimmage according to Heupel. It was the former five-star recruit’s first scrimmage as the presumptive starting quarterback.
“He’s been really good just in practices leading up to it,” Heupel said. “Being intentional in conversations, making sure to get on the same page with certain guys.
“But also the offensive line growing and bringing energy to that group before a drive and during the course of it. I thought today, just the way he functioned and operated — controlled the huddle control. We went into a four-minute situation at the end understanding the play clock, game clock all of that — just functioning and operated extremely maturely.”
Iamaleava continues to grow in leadership skills and being vocal for Tennessee this sprint. According to Heupel, the first scrimmage was a step in the right direction for the quarterback
