Tennessee’s first fall scrimmage didn’t produce much public clarity on the quarterback battle, but Josh Heupel did leave a few breadcrumbs about where his team stands coming out of Saturday morning at Neyland Stadium.
The biggest question hanging over camp remains the same one: Faizon Brandon or George MacIntyre? Heupel wasn’t ready to lean one way after the scrimmage, and he made that clear when asked whether he’d gained any clarity from the day.
“No,” Heupel said on if he’s gained clarity. “I want to go watch the tape, you know what I mean? And there’s a lot to learn from for everybody and certainly in the quarterback room, too.”
That answer fits Heupel’s style, but he did offer a little more texture. Tennessee’s sixth-year head coach said the quarterbacks had some communication issues early in the scrimmage, though he didn’t specify whether that applied to one or both of them. He also said the pair settled in as the day went on.
“Just handling some things early in the scrimmage that I think we can improve on,” Heupel said. “I thought as the scrimmage went on, both played at a really high level.
Made some plays down the field. Worked through their progressions.
We worked four-minute (drill) today, some things we can learn in that. All in all a positive day.
Both of those guys have had good training camps.”
Heupel also pushed back on the idea that Tennessee’s third receiver job is the kind of battle that needs to be treated like a one-man race. Kelsey Pope said Friday that the spot was “wide open,” with sophomores Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr. competing with true freshman TK Keys for a role alongside Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley.
Heupel’s message on Saturday was simpler: the Vols are going to need all of them.
“We’re going to need them all through the course of this season,” Heupel said. “Just continue to grow and their approach, mindset every day.
Consistency in what we’re doing out there. Fundamentals and technique.
Understand zone man principles. Being on the right spot at the right time and continuing to be a consistent play maker.
There’s some growth that we need from the entire wide receiver position.”
If there was one area Tennessee clearly wanted to hammer home in camp, it was tackling. The Vols were poor in that department last season, and Heupel said the defense spent more than half of Saturday’s scrimmage tackling.
“Some good work,” Heupel said. “We’ve done a bunch of tackling during the course of our practices, too.
We gotta continue to refine those skills, our eyes, our pad level. I think we’ve taken real steps as a program from where we started in spring to where we are now.
Got three more weeks where we gotta continue to improve before we get ready for week one.”
That balance - getting enough live tackling work without piling up injuries - is always delicate in camp. Tennessee still needs the reps, though, and Saturday was another step toward getting sharper before Furman.
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Heupels First Scrimmage Put Tennessees Biggest Camp Questions In Focus
Josh Heupels first fall camp scrimmage offered Tennessee a useful early checkpoint as the Vols continue sorting through two of the biggest questions on the roster. The head coach met with the media afterward and touched on the quarterback competition, while also giving an update on a defense that is in the middle of major change under new coordinator Jim Knowles.
The defensive makeover includes a new coaching staff and transfer additions, which makes every practice rep feel a little more meaningful in August. On offense, the quarterback race remains unsettled, and the next stretch of camp figures to matter as Tennessee keeps evaluating where things stand. Rocky Top Insider will continue following the Vols throughout the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessees QB Battle Just Took A Turn Fans Needed To See
Tennessee still has a little time before the season opener against Furman, but the quarterback picture is beginning to come into focus. Five-star freshmen Faizon Brandon and George MacIntyre are competing for the job, and Josh Heupel came away from a recent scrimmage talking up the growth both young passers have shown as the Vols work through the final stretch of camp.
The part fans are watching most closely is the direction of the battle after that scrimmage, because one insider in attendance came away with a clear sense that Brandon has the edge right now. Even so, Tennessee has not made anything official yet, which leaves the door open for the competition to keep unfolding as the opener gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Fall Camp Just Put Its Biggest Unanswered Questions On Display
Tennessees seventh fall camp practice brought the first real chance to hear how the roster is sorting itself out, with media day giving a look at both sides of the ball. Wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope and players including Radarious Jackson, Joakim Dodson, DaSaahn Brame and Trent Thomas all met with reporters, while the buzz around camp stayed centered on a quarterback battle and the early stages of a new defensive setup.
George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon and Ryan Staub are still in the mix as the offense tries to settle its most important job, and the defense is working through life under coordinator Jim Knowles. There is still plenty to learn before Tennessee gets all the answers it wants, but fall camp is already laying out the biggest questions on the board, and Rocky Top Insider will keep tracking the practices, interviews and analysis as the month moves on. [Read more 🡒]