Tennessee is set to host Bowling Green Thursday (8 p.m. EDT, SEC Network) to kick off its 2021 season.
Ahead of Tennessee’s season-opening matchup, first-year head coach Josh Heupel met with media and discussed his team.
Below is a transcript of Heupel’s media availability provided by the University of Tennessee.
Opening statement
“It’s great to see everybody. It’s finally game week. I’m excited, and I know our staff and players are super excited and ready to play in a couple of days. We have been at work over the course of the weekend. We had three really good practices. Guys are mentally and physically in a really good spot. We need to clean some things up the next couple of days, but we are excited for the opportunity to go play inside Neyland Stadium. For our coaches, this will be their first opportunity to play inside Neyland, run through the T and experience the Vol Walk. I am unbelievably excited about those opportunities and the chance to live out those traditions. We are back to a normal capacity and atmosphere inside Neyland Stadium. We are excited to go out and show the work we have put in during the last seven to eight months to go play some football.
“I mentioned at the beginning of training camp that we thought we would have a starting quarterback by game week. Joe Milton III will be our starting quarterback. We talked to those guys earlier about that. We won’t name a backup. I believe in what those guys are ready to do if given the opportunity. All three of them have continued to grow and compete. Joe’s had the opportunity to take a bunch of reps with the [first string] as of late. I believe in Harrison Bailey and Hendon Hooker as well. They’ve handled the meeting room and practices the right way. I’m excited about that room as a collective group.”
On going into his first game as the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers
“It’s the first time that we get to compete together as a program. We have experienced a lot of things on the practice field and outside of football with team building. We have tried to create some adverse situations, but this will be our first time to go do it in a live situation. We will find out who we are. It’s that point in training camp when it’s time to go hit somebody wearing another color. We will make some mistakes but will also make a bunch of plays. We will have fun competing together. We will learn how to handle adversity and how to communicate with each other. We are in a really good spot. I love the group that we are working with. They bought in to doing it the right way. Every year is a different journey. This is week one of our new journey, and I’m excited to kick it off. Anticipation is the word I’d use [to describe my feelings], and I’m excited about the opportunity.”
NEXT: Josh Heupel kicks off game week continued