2023 Orange & White Game: Vols’ quarterbacks by the numbers

2023 Orange & White Game: Tennessee’s quarterbacks by the numbers

Tennessee concluded spring practices with its annual Orange & White Game Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

The White defeated the Orange, 17-14, before a crowd of 58,473.

PHOTOS: Tennessee’s 2023 Orange & White Game

Tennessee looks to replace starting quarterback Hendon Hooker in 2023.

Redshirt senior Joe Milton III, early enrollee freshman Nico Iamaleava Jr. and redshirt junior Gaston Moore appeared in the Orange & White Game as quarterbacks for the Vols.

Third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel discussed the Vols’ quarterback play after the game.

“For the quarterbacks today, I thought there was a lot of game management that was really good,” Heupel said. “You know, all in all, their eyes and decision making were pretty sound. There are some things accuracy wise that we have to continue to get better at. There are some things in situational football that you can’t do that they’ll learn from.

“That group has been really good with the way they compete and help each other in the meeting room, out on the grass. There’s a lot of development that’s left inside of that room. I love what they’ve done this spring, but we’ve got to continue to grow. That’s the reality of where you’re at when you end spring ball. You have a long way to go before you’re ready to play a football game. We have time; we’re going to be urgent in the way that we prepare. That starts when we get rolling next week.”

Below are Tennessee’s quarterbacks by the numbers in the 2023 Orange & White Game.

Everything Josh Heupel said after Vols’ 2023 Orange & White Game

Everything Josh Heupel said after Tennessee’s 2023 Orange & White Game.

Tennessee ended spring practices with its annual Orange & White Game Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

The White defeated the Orange, 17-14. J.T. Carver kicked a 40-yard game-winning field goal with three minutes and six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to delight the 58,473 in attendance.

PHOTOS: Tennessee’s 2023 Orange & White Game

“A lot of fun seeing a lot of our guys compete today,” third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the game. “We obviously held some guys out that would’ve had an opportunity to go if it was during the course of the season. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of our young guys show up in front of a crowd like this for the first time and get a chance to see what it’s like inside of Neyland Stadium and the landscape of college football.

“There are a ton of things we’re going to learn from, but I’m really proud of the effort and energy they showed today and throughout the course of spring ball. These guys have been very intentional the way that they’ve worked since January. They have great comaraderie energy and connection. They care about one another. They compete extremely hard with each other, and that’s showing during 14 days of spring ball that we’ve had up to this point.”

Everything Heupel said after the Orange & White Game is listed below from a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

DeSean Bishop handling transition to college extremely well

Josh Heupel discusses Tennessee freshman running back DeSean Bishop handling the transition to college extremely well.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the second time during spring practices Thursday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

Following the Vols’ second scrimmage, third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel discussed freshman early enrollee running back DeSean Bishop.

“I say that, he’s handled the transition into college football extremely well,” Heupel said. “We thought he was extremely athletic, he had a great vision, pace as a running back coming out of high school. He’s done a really good job of handling the communication system and not being too big for him since day one. Really proud of him.”

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Bishop is from Karns High School in Knoxville, Tennessee.

PHOTOS: Tennessee running backs through the years

Josh Heupel recaps Vols’ second spring scrimmage

Josh Heupel recaps the Vols’ second scrimmage during spring practices.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the second time during spring practices Thursday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices will conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

“I thought the running backs as an entire group were extremely positive today,” third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said after the scrimmage. “Dylan Sampson made some people miss and did a great job pressing double-teams. Cameron Seldon did a really nice job running the football. Great job taking good care of it, DeSean Bishop. There were a lot of really good things from those running backs.”

Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee of Heupel’s media availability following the Vols’ second scrimmage during spring practices.

Tennessee scrimmages for second time during spring practices

Tennessee football scrimmages for the second time during spring practices.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the second time during spring practices Thursday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices will conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

The 2023 season will be Tennessee’s third under head coach Josh Heupel.

Heupel has compiled an 18-8 (10-6 SEC) record, including one bowl win, in two seasons as the Vols’ head coach.

The Vols will kick off its 2023 season Sept. 2 versus Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tennessee’s home schedule has contests against Austin Peay, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M, UConn, Georgia and Vanderbilt.

The Vols’ road schedule has games at Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri.

Tennessee football: 2023 way-too-early game-by-game predictions

Following the Vols’ scrimmage Thursday at Neyland Stadium, Heupel met with media. Heupel’s media availability can be watched below.

Vols’ offensive tempo ‘relatively efficient’ in first spring scrimmage

Tennessee’s offensive tempo relatively efficient in the Vols’ first spring scrimmage.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the first time during spring practices Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices will conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

Third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media following the Vols’ first spring scrimmage.

Heupel was asked how efficient Tennessee’s offensive tempo was during the first scrimmage.

“I thought it was relatively efficient with the one’s and the two’s, guys that have experience in it,” Heupel said. “Our three’s at times could have been a little bit better, just in our mechanics after the whistle. For their first time being in it, I actually thought they did a really nice job.”

Josh Heupel recaps Vols’ first scrimmage during spring practices

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Josh Heupel discusses Tennessee’s center position after first scrimmage

Josh Heupel discusses Tennessee’s center position after the Vols’ first spring scrimmage.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the first time during spring practices Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices will conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

Following the Vols’ scrimmage, third-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media.

Heupel discussed Tennessee’s center position headlined by 6-foot-3, 305-pound senior Cooper Mays.

“We don’t ever want to miss Cooper,” Heupel said. “That’s a guy in the middle that’s playing a lot of football, and he’s a great leader for us inside of our program.

“Addison (Nichols) and Vysen (Lang) have to continue to grow and step up. There have been some really positive things from them in the first seven days and I’m excited to go back and watch the tape. We’re going to need those two guys to grow on the back half of spring ball.”

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Josh Heupel discusses Vols’ quarterbacks in spring scrimmage

Head coach Josh Heupel discusses Tennessee’s quarterbacks in the Vols’ first spring scrimmage.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the first time during spring practices Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices will conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

Following Tennessee’s scrimmage, third-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media. Heupel discussed quarterbacks Joe Milton III and Nico Iamaleava’s performances.

“I thought Joe did a really good job taking care of the football,” Heupel said. “I thought he slid in the pocket a couple of times and continued to get out of it. Now, it’s a little bit different when the quarterback is not live in some of these situations. I thought he had really good command of what’s going on. We got to some situational football at the end—four-minute situation. There’s some things we can learn as far as clock management.

“Nico had a great first drive to go put it in the endzone. I thought he responded to everything well. He’ll learn some things about command and control on the field but it was a really good day for those guys.”

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Josh Heupel recaps Vols’ first scrimmage during spring practices

Josh Heupel recaps Tennessee’s first football scrimmage during spring practices.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the first time during spring practices Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices will conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

“I loved the energy, really from the entire squad,” third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said following the scrimmage. “I thought defensively, we were relentless and played with energy. They did a really nice job, in particular the defense. I thought they had a really good day.”

Watch: Josh Heupel recaps Vols’ scrimmage at Neyland Stadium

Heupel met with media following Tennessee’s scrimmage Saturday. A transcript provided by the University of Tennessee of Heupel’s post-scrimmage media availability is listed below.

Tennessee scrimmages for first time during spring practices

Tennessee football scrimmages for the first time during spring practices.

Tennessee scrimmaged for the first time during spring practices Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Spring practices will conclude April 15 with the Vols’ annual Orange & White Game at Neyland Stadium.

The 2023 season will be Tennessee’s third under head coach Josh Heupel.

Heupel has compiled an 18-8 (10-6 SEC) record, including one bowl win, in two seasons as the Vols’ head coach.

The Vols will kick off its 2023 season Sept. 2 versus Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tennessee’s home schedule has contests against Austin Peay, UTSA, South Carolina, Texas A&M, UConn, Georgia and Vanderbilt.

The Vols’ road schedule has games at Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri.

Tennessee football: 2023 way-too-early game-by-game predictions

Following the Vols’ scrimmage Saturday at Neyland Stadium, Heupel met with media. Heupel’s media availability can be watched below.