Everything Josh Heupel said from the podium at SEC Media Days

Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel was the final SEC coach to speak at Day 1 of SEC Media Days from Tampa, Florida. While at the podium, Heupel fielded questions concerning the Vols’ ongoing QB battle, the Tennessee fanbase and the addition of DC Jim Knowles.

Here’s a full transcript from Heupel’s time at the podium, via ASAP Sports:

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JOSH HEUPEL: Good afternoon. Hope everybody enjoyed their short summer vacation. I know everybody is looking forward to getting back to football in a couple weeks.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the UT family lost somebody that would be here covering this event, was extremely close to UT football in Wes Rucker. We lost him tragically this spring in a motor vehicle accident.

Just want his family know that he continues to be in our thoughts. We miss him. Hope his family has continued to move forward. Obviously we’re all here to support them in any way that we can.

Looking back at the last five years over this stretch in Tennessee football, it’s been the winningest five-year stretch in over two decades on Rocky Top. There’s been a lot of great things that we’re extremely proud of. Last year we were one of the youngest football teams in college football and in this league.

We’re disappointed in some of the results at the end of last year. Not up to the standard of Rocky Top. Made some changes that I’m excited about and that our players are excited about here as we’ve started in late January.

On the defensive side of the football, extremely excited about bringing Jim Knowles and some of his staff to Rocky Top. Through our conversations, we’re able to have seamless communication, clear communication on expectations.

One of the things that he was looking for in a landing spot and some things that were inevitably going to be important in year one, you look at his track record of developing elite defenses everywhere that he’s been, his ability to adapt to different personnel at the different stops, and structurally be a little bit different but put his personnel in a position to be elite. That’s one of the things that was important to me.

Extremely excited about Jim and some of the staff. It was important to me having been a coordinator before going to a new university understanding you want to become as good as you can as fast as you can, some of the tools you need with that.

We hired a staff member that’s been with him in the unit room, position rooms, on the grass with him on game day at every level of the defense. I think that’s part of why they were able to look at their teaching patterns, continue to sync those things up, get it to our players as seamlessly and quickly as possible.

I can’t be prouder of how our guys have grabbed onto it. Extremely excited about getting on the grass with those guys here as we start getting ready for kickoff in September.

Jim has a great track record of developing elite defenses. His mind on game day, being able to make subtle adjustments, really excited we have him leading that side of the football.

We also made a change on the sports performance side. Derek Owings, a few hours after winning the national title, came to Rocky Top the following day here in our off-season program. It’s been a seamless transition. Our guys have grabbed onto it, bought into it. That’s why they’ve seen the changes they’ve had in their speed, power, acceleration. Our guys have great trust in him.

Offensively we’re coming off another year where we’re top 10 in scoring, passing yards, offense. Did that with a quarterback that got to us in early June.

Schematically last year some of you guys may have recognized we were a little bit different, pro spacing, pro style in some of our concepts. Really excited about the growth. It’s our job as coaches to put our guys in the best position to be successful. Really proud of what our staff has done and what we’ll do this year.

But our identity always has been and always will be our run game. Five straight years we’ve rushed for over 2,000 yards offensively. First time that’s been done since the late ’80s, early ’90s.

The three past seasons we have had three different thousand-yard rushers, the only team in the SEC to do that. You guys are going to have an opportunity to meet DeSean Bishop, who is a tremendous leader and player here today.

I know much is going to be made about our quarterback situation as we come in, starting our fifth different quarterback in five years. We’ve done that historically. At some point I’m going to have the opportunity to come back here with a returning starter at quarterback.

Seven out of the last nine years we’ve had a different starting quarterback, and seven out of the last nine years top 10 in the country in scoring. We’re going to have a guy that’s going to be ready to compete at an elite championship level.

Whenever you start a young quarterback, it’s important the other guys around him play at an extremely high level. We have a lot of guys that will put those guys in a good position to go do their jobs. It’s important you tie everything, special teams and defensively, as well.

Great thing is those two guys are going to have an opportunity to go earn it in front of their peers. We’re going to let the quarterback competition play out here during the course of training camp. I think that guy, like everybody else, has to earn it in front of their peers.

It’s an exciting time to be a Tennessee Vol. This month we launched a 10-year initiative with adidas to make us the flagship partner for them. They have been cutting edge in everything from creative branding and NIL and apparel. Our players have enjoyed that partnership since the beginning of July.

It’s a great time to be a fan. We have the best fans inside of college sports. I think the fact that we have over 30,000 names on the season ticket waiting list is a great example of that. I can’t wait to get to Neyland with the home schedule we have here, get an opportunity to go compete with them.

This fall is special, too. It marks the hundredth anniversary since General Neyland became the head coach of our program in 1926. A hundred years later, his maxims are still a cornerstone of our football program. We’re excited about seeing our fans extremely soon.

With that I’ll open it up for questions.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, coach. If you have a question…

Q. What has been the most impressive thing about your freshman wide receiver TK Keys?

JOSH HEUPEL: I think he came in and went to work immediately. High-level recruit with high-level athletic traits. I think the way he’s gone about his work has garnered trust and respect from his teammates. A guy that’s continually growing. Physically, his size, his speed, change of direction, acceleration, the fundamental and technical traits we’re asking of that position and his overall football understanding, specifically inside of the scope of what we’re doing offensively.

Tremendous athlete that competes at a really high level. Really excited that we get an opportunity to compete and get better during the course of training camp.

Q. Given that whoever will be your starter this year will be facing some experience concerns, how confident are you that they’ll be able to adapt to your high-power complex offense?

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, we’ve played freshmen quarterback in my history, four or five of those guys started as freshmen or redshirt freshmen.

At the end of the day the players got to go earn it and they got to compete for it every single day. I do think it’s really important that the guys around him function and play at a really high level to limit the negative opportunities, the adverse situations a quarterback can be put in. They got to learn how to take care of the football first and foremost.

You have to play with a competitive edge, allow your play-makers to go make plays as well. The beauty of the game with your quarterback is each one of ’em’s a little bit different. They’re the artist. You have to hand them the paintbrush and let them go paint it.

Q. With your history at Oklahoma playing and coaching, is there any extra eagerness to welcome Texas into Neyland and face them?

JOSH HEUPEL: First game of the conference season, important. You want to get off on the right foot. Ton of respect for University of Texas.

It’s a unique game. Peyton having played here, Arch currently playing there. So there’s a lot of things. I think our fan base is really excited about it. Opponent we haven’t played in a long time. That’s part of the expansion of the SEC footprint, having an opportunity to play these types of games.

Q. Any advice that you gave to your former OC, Alex Golesh, about coaching in the SEC? How fun is it going to be to see him across the sideline in October?

JOSH HEUPEL: Unique and exciting when you get an opportunity to face somebody. A lot of their staff were young coaches with us and/or guys that played for us at previous stops. A lot of familiarity.

Alex has been in the SEC. He understands the recruiting landscape inside of it. Extremely proud of Alex, their staff, that transitioned from USF, but for the other guys we’ve had that have had the opportunity to become head coaches, whether that’s in this league or in other leagues.

Q. You mentioned previous success with quarterbacks being new to the system. Is there a secret sauce that you developed, the pace with which you bring them along?

JOSH HEUPEL: I think it starts with their skill sets and their work, but having a plan of how we’re going to grow them inside of what we’re doing. Then I think our staff’s ability to adapt to whoever the quarterback is and put him in a position to do things he’s doing at a really high level, that he’s comfortable with, to put him in a position of comfort, confidence to go out there and play the way that you need to at that position.

Q. You brought in Jim Knowles this off-season. It takes about a year or two for players to catch onto his coaching and style. How has that gone so far?

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, you look back, he’s made some jumps in year one. Maybe not to where he ended, where he’s number one, number two, number three in the defense, third down defense, whatever it might be. He’s taken some positive jumps.

Having been a coordinator, my conversations with him, some of the things that he faced where he was able to take one off-the-field guy, but that was it, where you’re coaching all of your coaches up in the scheme. Also to get them to buy into the scheme and some of the differences from what they maybe had done previously. Those are major hurdles that you encounter when you’re a new coordinator at a new university.

Jim’s ability to adapt to really good personnel, we have good personnel and brought in good personnel in. I think that we brought in coaches at every level of the defense that have a true understanding of what he’s doing defensively, get it to the players clear and concisely right as we jumped off. I think that’s why we started spring ball in a good way and why we finished it in a really positive manner and continued growth here throughout the course of the summer.

I think all of those things lend itself to us transitioning extremely quickly. If you talk to our players, they feel like the teaching patterns of what they’re doing, they’ve been able to grasp onto extremely quickly.

Q. You coached in the same state with Ryan Silverfield for a number of years. What is your relationship with him? The fact you’re playing Arkansas for a third consecutive year, third consecutive guy coaching them.

JOSH HEUPEL: Ryan has done a really good job. When he was at Memphis, I was at UCF, had familiarity with him. Then his track record since I’ve left there. He’s got familiarity in the footprint. Smart, organized. Has gotten his guys to play at a really high level.

Q. Braylon Staley played at a high level for you last year. What have you seen in his development? One of your trademarks is getting the wide receiver unit going again.

JOSH HEUPEL: A year ago there were a lot of questions about our wide receiver core, inexperience coming back. You look at what Braylon did, Mike did, Chris went on to the NFL. I think we had three out of the top five receivers in yards inside of the league.

Braylon has continued to take his game to another level. Hyper-focused on how he wants to compete every day, how he takes care of his body, growing an understanding of offensive football, but defensive coverages. He’s a guy that has the ability to play in the slot, on the outside.

I think that versatility in our wide receiver room, both him and Mike, some of the young guys that we have, afford us the luxury of doing some unique things within the scope of what we do offensively.

Q. Can you explain what you’re looking for in this quarterback competition, what one guy needs to do to separate over the other?

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, I don’t think there is just one thing at the quarterback position. That guy’s got his hands on the football every single play. You have to learn how to take care and manage the game. Catastrophic plays are the difference in this league. When you play so many one-possession games, it comes down to taking care of the football at times.

But they have to play on a competitive edge, distribute the football, get it to your play-makers on time and accurately where they have a chance to make a play afterwards.

You have to have complete control and command of what we’re doing offensively. You got to understand protections, you got to be able to check and adjust. Run game, loaded box checks. Those guys are making the decision on every play.

At the end of the day the guy that will be the guy is the guy that’s going to have complete control of what we’re doing and puts us in the best position to win football games and score points.

Q. Your thoughts on the schedule. This is the first time since 1988 you haven’t played Florida. I believe you don’t play Georgia either. Are you concerned about losing rivalries on an annual basis?

JOSH HEUPEL: I think rivalry games absolutely matter. I think one of the unique things at Tennessee is different eras of our fan base kind of points to a different game. Could be the Florida game, Alabama game, some other teams as well.

I think the passion, the tradition of some of the games are what make college football unique. But I do also like that as a program and for your fan base, you’re going to have the opportunity every four years to be able to go to every stadium inside of the SEC footprint.

Q. I had lunch with a Tennessee fan Sunday. He’s raving about you. We hear a lot of things about fan bases and whatnot. Five years at Knoxville, how do you feel you’ve been accepted, how you fit in? How is the Josh Heupel era going for you?

JOSH HEUPEL: Absolutely love Rocky Top. Our administration, the university, athletic department. We got great leadership on campus. But the city of Knoxville, the state of Tennessee, Vol Nation, the fan base, it’s as passionate as anywhere inside of college sports.

You look at where we started as a program to where we’ve gotten to. I mentioned last year disappointed in some of the results, lost to some good football teams that were in the Playoff or were in the Playoff hunt. That’s the fun thing about playing in this league, you’re going to play great opponents every single week.

But the city of Knoxville, the fan base, being at UT, it’s extremely special. I’ve gained a great appreciation for where we sit in the country, how close it is. You get in your car, within five hours the different places you can be. The beauty, the outdoor life. It’s still a great college city. It’s a really special place that my wife and our family have loved to call home.

Q. What’s the pressure been like after losing to Vanderbilt?

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, you don’t ever want to lose to Vandy. It’s one of our rivals. You look at that football game, play right before half where we get hit with a penalty, gives them an extra play, they score seven, tie it up. A couple possessions later a few key plays, you’re chasing from behind.

Really good football team last year. Disappointed in that result. Disappointed in really how we played in that second half. But looking forward to traveling to Nashville later in the season and getting an opportunity to play them again.

Q. This is the second time going around with adidas. Talk about the connection, the relationship that you are building, if we might see some different uniforms in the future.

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, the partnership’s been fantastic. The way that they’ve communicated, worked with our administration, but the football side of it. Our players have truly enjoyed the transition. That’s the equipment, what they’ve done NIL-wise with our current players, being a resource, letting our players test things out. It’s been a great partnership up to this point.

I think everybody on Rocky Top is really excited about the transition. They got the color right. I know our fan base was paying attention to that.

It’s been a seamless transition.

Q. Back to Vanderbilt, them being competitive in the SEC, how does that change the dynamic in the league?

JOSH HEUPEL: I think there’s ebbs and flows inside of this league. It’s highly competitive. They had a really good football team, really mature football team, really good quarterback. You put all those things together, that’s why they were able to win a lot of ball games last year.

Q. I’m hearing a lot more coaches cite numbers when it comes to explosive plays. How do you define that and what’s the balance between putting together drives and hunting for explosive plays?

JOSH HEUPEL: I think you got to create explosive plays. We do quantify that after every football game offensively and defensively. But that doesn’t mean that you’re throwing the football all the way down the football field. It comes from your simple execution up front and out on the perimeter, changing the way the game’s played.

I think the game has changed in recent years. You look analytically, the amount of attempts, how aggressive people are on fourth down, fourth and short, midfield on the minus side of the territory and plus side of the territory. I think why it is important defensively you create zero negative yard plays and be good on third down and get off the field.

Q. On the question about playing Arkansas. The two games are separated by two or three points. What do you recall about the nature of playing them and the game two years ago?

JOSH HEUPEL: Yeah, disappointing result two years ago. Some things that we didn’t handle with structural changes from them defensively at the beginning of that football game. Ultimately we’re on the wrong side of it. Some key plays down the stretch that we didn’t maximize, take advantage of.

That was a night game inside of this league. Great environment. Tough place to play.

Q. With the way they’ve now changed the rule for the five-year window, how does that affect the way you recruit the high school and junior college athlete? Will it change the way you build your roster?

JOSH HEUPEL: I think every year with some of the changes that happen inside of college football, you got to be willing to adapt. With the rollout of the five-for-five, this year kind of becomes a transition year on your roster when you’re looking at some of those guys that played as true freshmen, are in year four. What is their long-term projection? Is it the right time for them to leave or not, potentially getting some of those guys back.

It’s a difficult year. There’s a lot to manage inside the scope of your roster this year because there’s a lot of unknowns with rules that were just recently introduced.

THE MODERATOR: Coach Heupel, thank you for your time this afternoon.

JOSH HEUPEL: Thank you.