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Fall training camp: Assessment of Tennessee’s secondary
Tennessee practiced for the thirteenth time during fall training camp on Thursday at Haslam Field.
The Vols will kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 2 against Bowling Green at Neyland Stadium under first-year head coach Josh Heupel.
Following Thursday’s practice, Vols’ secondary coach Willie Martinez met with media and discussed Tennessee’s unit.
Below are comments and assessments from Martinez on Tennessee’s secondary unit through 13 practices during fall training camp.
Vols’ projected 2021 offensive depth chart 14.0.
Tennessee will kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 2 against Bowling Green at Neyland Stadium under first-year head coach Josh Heupel.
Following Heupel being hired as Tennessee’s head coach on Jan. 27, Vols Wire has detailed his offensive scheme.
Michael Colubiale details playing tight end in Josh Heupel’s offense at UCF
John Flynn details coaching alongside Josh Heupel at Oklahoma
Josh Heupel’s quarterbacks by the numbers
Josh Heupel’s running backs by the numbers
Josh Heupel’s wide receivers by the numbers
Josh Heupel’s tight ends by the numbers
Josh Heupel’s linemen, defensive players on offense by the numbers
Vols Wire takes a look at Tennessee’s 2021 offensive depth chart projection. Version 14.0 comes after Tennessee’s second scrimmage during fall training camp.
NEXT: Vols’ projected offensive depth chart (Quarterbacks)
Josh Heupel discusses Tennessee’s quarterbacks following second fall camp scrimmage.
Tennessee practiced for the twelfth time, its second scrimmage, during fall training camp on Tuesday.
Following Tennessee’s second scrimmage, first-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media and discussed the Vols’ quarterbacks and if there is any separation within the unit for a starter.
“When we see separation, we are ready to say something, I’ll come back here and do that,” Heupel said of Tennessee’s quarterbacks. “That group has continued to compete and handle things the right way, and I like the growth of that group from day-to-day.
“You just look from the first scrimmage to the second scrimmage, who they are, and over the course of the practices leading up to today, that group is continuing to trend in the right direction.”
Tennessee will kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 2 against Bowling Green at Neyland Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. EDT.
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Fall training camp: Vols have ‘awesome day’ during second scrimmage
Tennessee practiced for the twelfth time, its second scrimmage, during fall training camp on Tuesday.
Following Tennessee’s second scrimmage, first-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media and discussed his team’s performance.
Heupel mentioned it was an “awesome day.”
“It was great for our program, our players,” Heupel said. “We got a chance to get out there in the rain and some adverse weather there. I thought special teams, offensively, handled it pretty well for the most part of the day.
“I think it’s awesome and needed for your entire program, all the little things that go on during the course of a game like, so it was good work — back and forth – all phases of the game – offense and defense throughout the course of the day. A lot of really good things that we saw out there.”
Tennessee will kick off the 2021 season on Sept. 2 against Bowling Green at Neyland Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. EDT.
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Morven Joseph can provide offensive and defensive production for Josh Heupel.
Morven Joseph enters his second season at Tennessee.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker appeared in all of Tennessee’s 10 games in 2020, totaling two tackles.
Joseph came to Tennessee from Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland, Florida.
Following the Vols’ sixth practice during fall training camp, its first in full pads, linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary met with media and discussed Joseph within Tennessee’s defense.
“Morven has been with us at the inside linebacker spot, and we have some specific packages where we’re going to try to use him as a pass rusher because we feel like he does that really well,” Jean-Mary said of Joseph during fall training camp. “His big thing is that he’s another guy that was an edge guy in high school. He’s learned to play stack linebacker because it’s a difference and you’re more read and react. When you’re an edge guy, you’re more react and read. Right now, he’s still trying to learn what to do as far as the stack linebacker. He’s been really good through our first six practices. ‘MoJo’ is an interesting player to evaluate because he’s such a good athlete that sometimes he might look like it’s taking a little while to process, but when you look at it, he’s getting there faster than other people because he’s such a good athlete.
“With guys like that, you want to make sure you put them in positions to have success. You don’t want to keep pounding away and take away from his skill set. I think he’s progressing at the rate that we want him to, obviously, we want him to be a little faster and be able to play stack, as well as become an edge rusher. Through the first six practices, he’s been good.”
During his time at Lake Gibson, Joseph had an offensive background.
Lake Gibson defensive line coach Levi Hargrove discussed Joseph moving to defense after starting out as a wide receiver.
“As a freshman when he came in, he was playing wide receiver,” Hargrove told Vols Wire of Joseph. “He spurted three inches from his eighth grade to ninth grade year. He was still growing into his body and he came over to defense. I talked him into playing defensive end — a hybrid, edge rusher.
“I told him to just go hit the quarterback. He naturally chop-ripped the tackle’s hands, got rid of him, and got to the quarterback. He came back and loved it.”
Joseph was placed in offensive packages during his senior season.
“His senior year, we put him into our goal line package as a power back,” Hargrove said. “It was a power-I formation, offset fullback and he ended up getting a couple of carries and scored a touchdown.
“We did give him a couple of passes. He would bubble out and had one or two passes thrown to him.”
Heupel is known to place defensive players on offense and utilize their abilities.
Below are stats when Heupel placed defensive players on offense since his time as offensive coordinator at Utah State in 2015.
Josh Heupel’s linemen, defensive players on offense by the numbers
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Fall training camp: Assessment of Tennessee’s defensive line unit
Tennessee practiced for the ninth time during fall training camp on Saturday at Haslam Field.
Following practice, assistant Rodney Garner met with media and discussed the Vols’ defensive line unit.
“I think for the most part, guys are trying to buy in,” Garner said of the defensive line unit compared to spring practices. “Obviously, we’re a work-in-progress. There’s room for improvement all across the board, including coaching. We’ve all got to hold ourselves to a higher standard and understand what that standard is, just understand that there are no shortcuts to success.
“It’s going to happen through adversity and how you handle adversity when you put yourself in adverse situations. Are you going to find a way to fight and win, or are you going to find a way to lose? That’s what we’ve got to change, that mentality. Where we’re going to find a way to win when the game’s on the line. It’s a process. They’ve got to embrace it, and we’ve got to do a better job of holding everybody to those standards.”
Below are additional assessments from Garner regarding Tennessee’s defensive line unit.
PHOTOS: Tennessee fall training camp practice No. 9
Tennessee practiced for the ninth time during fall training camp.
The Vols will kick off the 2021 season under first-year head coach Josh Heupel on Sept. 2 against Bowling Green at Neyland Stadium.
Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m. EDT. SEC Network will televise the matchup.
Below are photos from the Vols’ ninth practice during fall training camp at Haslam Field.
Josh Heupel recaps Vols’ first scrimmage during fall training camp.
Tennessee practiced for the eighth time, its first scrimmage, on Thursday during fall training camp.
Following Tennessee’s scrimmage, first-year Vols’ head coach Josh Heupel met with media to recap his team’s performance.
Below is a transcript of Heupel’s media availability provided by the University of Tennessee.
Opening Statement
“Great day inside Neyland Stadium. It’s awesome any time you get an opportunity to go in there. There’s only one way that we should compete when we walk in that stadium. I’m proud of a lot of the things we did on both sides of the ball. Defensively, I think we played with great effort, energy and strain. We competed extremely hard, tackled well in space. A lot of really positive things from them. Offensively, we showed glimpses of those things, but didn’t really string it together the way that we want to or need to. There are a lot of things that we’ve learned here that we’ll be able to use moving forward. You look at it and we’re halfway through training camp, so you have to keep pushing. We need this to be a great afternoon too, just showing growth as we go back and look at the tape.”
NEXT: Josh Heupel recaps Vols’ scrimmage continued
K’Rojhn Calbert will not be with Tennessee for an extended period of time.
Tennessee has practiced eight times during fall training camp.
The Vols scrimmaged for the first time during camp on Thursday.
Following Thursday’s scrimmage, first-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media and provided an update on redshirt senior offensive lineman K’Rojhn Calbert.
“K’Rojhn did have surgery and will not be with us for an extended period of time right now,” Heupel said. “I’ve said it before, the strength of one position can’t just be one guy, certainly offensive line.
“Next guy has to step up and take advantage of his opportunity and, at the end of the day, compete and prove that he can play at a championship level.”
Tennessee will return to the practice field on Saturday.
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Josh Heupel provides update on the status of Brian Maurer.
Tennessee has practiced eight times during fall training camp.
The Vols scrimmaged for the first time during camp on Thursday.
Following Thursday’s scrimmage, first-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media and provided an update on quarterback Brian Maurer.
Maurer did not practice on Wednesday, the Vols’ seventh practice during fall training camp.
“I had an initial conversation with him a few days ago as far as the reps and how those things were going to be divided up,” Heupel said of Maurer on Thursday. “There’s no further update on him. We’ll have a conversation with him during the off day.”
The Vols will not practice Friday and are set to return to Haslam Field on Saturday.
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