Tennessee opens conference play against Josh Heupel’s former team, Oklahoma Sooners.
Dallas, TX – The unofficial kickoff to college football began in Dallas this year as two new programs officially entered the conference, Oklahoma and Texas.
Tennessee finally took the podium at SEC Media Days on Tuesday, with Josh Heupel and three key veterans Cooper Mays, Omari Thomas, and Keenan Pili making the trip west.
Mays made an immediate impression with his western-inspired getup featuring a branded Power T cowboy hat and matching boots.
Josh Heupel’s opening statement of his press conference was dedicated to highlighting the Volunteer brand, specifically, Tony Vitello’s team following their Men’s College World Series Championship.
He didn’t just speak about athletics.
Heupel expressed pride in the culture at Tennessee, his student-athletes community involvement, and their work in the classroom. Last year the football team smashed academic records, with 63 players recognized for their academics in the fall semester.
Momentum Heupel is eager to recreate this season.
Momentum Heupel is likely eager to see during his return to Norman, Oklahoma. Heupel said he hasn’t been there in nearly a decade after he was fired as the offensive coordinator following the 2014 season.
The Vols starting quarterback will expectedly be going into his 6th career start at the time of that meeting. Although it seems Nico Iamaleava is already on pace to be a fantastic quarterback, an SEC environment will test any quarterback, especially one with limited CFB experience.
The Tennessee staff said Iamaleava has grown exceptionally even since dismantling the highly touted Iowa defense in the Citrus Bowl. Offensive Coordinator Joey Halzle said the focus remains on his IQ, decision-making, and read progression.
The Vols play NC State the week before, a likely top-25 matchup. No matter who the Vols play early in the season, they can’t underestimate anyone, even the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Another important piece in the 2024 Volunteer season is returning talent, which features 52 percent of their production from last year, 12th in the SEC.
Heupel said most of that returning talent is in their wide receiver room, adding it’s the deepest it’s been during his time at UT. They have playmakers everywhere, from Squirrel White to Bru McCoy returning from injury, all the way to landing Mike Matthews. This is quite the supporting cast for Iamaleava, at least on the receiving side.
On defense, signal caller Keenan Pili is returning after a season-ending injury in the opener last year. Pending Pili stays upright and healthy, FDP’s Jimmy Hyams believes, “He could be almost as valuable to the defense as Cooper Mays is to the offense.”
Pili certainly has a unit to command. The defensive line was a key last year and this year it could be even better, with the quality depth they’ve added it could be the second deepest part of the team, only behind the wide receivers.
Another key takeaway was when Thomas said he wants the defense to create more turnovers.
Tennessee ranked 74th in the FBS in takeaways with 1.3 per game. Pili also mentioned at Media Days that forcing turnovers has been central in practices this spring and summer. He said they keep track of how many times they try to punch the ball out, how many times they take a risk and play the ball in the air, and how they keep track of how many times they fail.
With Tennessee looking to take more chances to make plays this year, it’ll be interesting to monitor how many chunk plays they let up off those risks.
If the defense can add that dimension every week, the Vols could boast one of the top defensive units in the nation. Last season they ranked top 4 in both sacks and tackles for loss. Excluding the Missouri game last year, UT had a top-run defense all year.
Tennessee appears to be trending in the right direction ahead of the 2024 season.
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