KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football completed its second scrimmage Friday in Neyland Stadium as preseason camp winds down for the 18th-ranked Volunteers.
The action saw first team offense going against first team defense in thud sessions with multiple quarterbacks getting reps with the ones. The second team offense and second team defense were in live situations.
“I think we’ve gotten better throughout the course of training camp, as far as penalties, in all three phases,” said head coach Josh Heupel. “At the end of the day, I think playing smart football is really important, not having self-inflicted wounds. Tackling, I think our guys have done a good job. We’ve done a lot of one-on-one tackling where you limit exposure of some of what’s going on, as well. Fundamentally, they’ve gotten themselves in really good positions. That’s been a point of emphasis.”
The Vols are off Saturday and will go through one more practice Sunday before classes begin Monday on the Knoxville campus. The team will then transition into a mock game week with preparations gearing toward its season opener against Syracuse in the Aflac Kickoff Game on Aug. 30 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tickets are on sale at AllVols.com.
Tennessee Football Press Conference | Aug. 15, 2025
Head Coach Josh Heupel
Opening statement…
“I’ll start by saying, Coach (Joe) Kirt and our Lady Vols soccer team, a great way to start off the fall. Great win last night. I’m excited for them and this season for them too. Great day inside of Neyland, second scrimmage. I saw us take some strides in just how we operated on both sides of the football and special teams got good work there too. You know, still a couple weeks before kickoff, we got some growth that we got to go get before we go kick off, but excited about what I saw. Some back and forth through the course of it and that’s what you want at this time of the year.”
On the play of the quarterbacks this week and during the scrimmage…
“I thought both of them (Joey Aguilar & Jake Merklinger) handled themselves extremely well. George (MacIntyre) did as well. I thought they’ve taken strides during the last three practices before we got inside of the stadium for today’s scrimmage. We operated with crowd noise and some of those mechanics, as well, so there was more on their plate. They’ve handled it well, been good decision makers and have continued to grow, both in understanding of what we’re doing, defensive structure, and then fundamentally and consistently being accurate with the football. Today, they handled that pretty well throughout the course of it.”
On DaSaahn Brame’s impressive performances through fall camp…
“You know, it’s tough for every player when you’re out. Challenging yourself and mentally being engaged just like you’re taking every live rep and I thought he got better throughout the course of the spring in that. Not getting work, but handling yourself like a pro and his growth during the summer, the game has slowed down for him just in the course of training camp, how we’ve operated, his ability to see signals, get lined up, handle tempo and handle everything that we’re doing. And he’s made some plays, been really good out in space and should be a pig part of what we do this fall.”
On Joey Aguilar’s offensive command…
“I thought he handled himself extremely well. That’s today. I think he’s gotten better from day one up until today’s scrimmage, really every single day. You know, the comfort, the control, he’s handled himself extremely well during our night walk throughs, which is, mental focus, mental sweat and because of that he’s extremely comfortable in what we’re doing right now.”
On managing Joey Aguilar’s aggressive mentality…
“You’re going to have to make tight throws. To me, interceptions happen when you don’t understand defensive structure, your eyes aren’t in the right spot, fundamentally, (if) your body’s not in the right position you’re not accurate with the football. So, it’s all of those pieces of the puzzle that come together for a quarterback to operate efficiently and take care of the football while still playing on the right side of the fence of being aggressive and allowing yourself to make plays down the football field.”
On if this point in camp is when the transition into game prep starts…
“No, that’ll transition later for us. We still have camp days.”
On what he wants to see out of the potential starting QB in the next two weeks to be comfortable heading into week one…
“Again, at the end of the day, that guy’s got to be able to manage the football. That’s your sideline communication, it’s play clock situations, game clock situations. We do a lot of work on that. Controlling your offense – it’s the run game, it’s the pass game, it’s RPO, it’s protections – we want to see those guys master it. You know, take you out of negative plays and also put yourself in a position to create big plays.”
On what has changed the most for this team since the beginning of fall camp…
“I think just growth in understanding of scheme. There’s been growth in fundamentals, as well, but understanding the scheme.”
On the team’s tackling and penalties through the first two scrimmages…
“I think we’ve gotten better throughout the course of training camp, as far as penalties, in all three phases. At the end of the day, I think playing smart football is really important, not having self-inflicted wounds. Tackling, I think our guys have done a good job. Today’s scrimmage was thud for the first defense. We’ve had live periods, live scrimmage. We’ve done a lot of one-on-one tackling where you limit exposure of some of what’s going on, as well. Fundamentally, they’ve gotten themselves in really good positions. That’s been a point of emphasis. Even when you’re not in a live tackle, body position is key to going and finishing the play the way that you need to.”
On how much scrimmages help to filter out starters and backups…
“Well, this scrimmage gives you an indicator of where they are at today. We are still two weeks away from kickoff. There can and needs to be a lot of growth from our entire team, not just young guys, here over the next two weeks. At the end of the day, players have to earn it, and you do that in how you operate in everything that we are doing walk-throughs, communication, all of it. Today is a great barometer of where we are at, but also showcases where we have to get to. You have a lot of young guys that continue to grow. That’s really your entire football team too.”
On the passing game today and which receivers stood out…
“Yeah, I thought we had a good day today. Helped Chris [Brazzell II], he’s been practicing here the last couple of days, but he’s done a good job of coming back. Mike [Matthews] made some big plays down the football field. Tight ends were a part of it as well. You know, I thought early in the scrimmage in particular operated well offensively and moved the football.”
On his reaction to the switch to adidas…
“We are fortunate. We had a partner that wanted to make us their flagship school, and that’s going to happen in a lot of different ways. It’s going to be a benefit to our football program, but to this athletic department as a whole too. They had an opportunity to come talk to some of our guys, and I think everybody is really excited that, again, we are going to be the flagship school for them. It’s going to provide a lot of unique opportunities for our players on and off the field.”
On Boo Carter’s status…
“Boo was out there with us today and got work. End of the day, it’s day-to-day, and he’s done some things in a good way here.”
On his outlook of the offensive line and Lance Heard compared to last year…
“Lance, I said it earlier in training camp, is in a much better spot. What he’s done with his body during the offseason, but then the opportunity to practice, prepare and get better every single day too. I think that’s going to afford him the opportunity to play his best football. Collectively as a group, I like the way that they’ve competed throughout the course of training camp. I think they done a really nice job with communication and fundamentals on the pass pro side of it and have been really good in the run game too, but it’s a young group ultimately. Two weeks from now, we got kickoff and she’s for real. We believe in these guys as a group. Collectively, they are going to go play at a really high level.”
On if there is separation happening in the quarterback competition…
“I like what all of those guys have done. First, they’ve competed in a positive way with each other in the meeting room and that’s certainly been the case out on the practice field. I think this football team believes in that group of guys too. You know, who they are, how they lead and how they compete every single day.”
On Jermod McCoy’s status…
“He was not a part of the scrimmage. He’s continuing his rehab, and I think you guys saw him out of the practice field with us a few days ago. He’s continuing on that journey.”
On his thoughts about the running back room…
“Probably as deep as we have been. Guys that have been here, been a part of it and have played extremely well. I think Star [Thomas] is a completely different player then he was in spring. What he has done with his body, his movement and fundamentals, as well. The two young guys continue to get better every single day. They did some really nice things in the scrimmage today. Some of our group work, working fundamentals and playing without the football. Those guys have been continuing to grow too, which is a big part of playing that position.”
On if the gear sponsor for a college has been a determining factor to a recruit…
“Not in recent memory. I think those recruits look at who we have partnered with and the opportunities. It’s going to provide our players on and off the field. I think it’s going to be a strong showing in something that will be really inviting to them.”
