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Published Jul 16, 2024
Josh Heupel looking to elevate Tennessee
Jed May  â€¢  UGASports
Staff

DALLAS - Josh Heupel knows that success is relative.

Tennessee's fourth-year head coach remembers the state of the program when he took over in 2021. The Volunteers were dealing with an NCAA investigation and coming off an unsuccessful run under Jeremy Pruitt.

Heupel knows that progress has been made. But he still has his sights set on bigger goals.

"I'm really proud of a lot of what we did last year, you know, us finishing New Year's Day bowl, a win, the 20 wins over the last two years, most that Tennessee has had in the last two decades," Heupel said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. "At the same time that's obviously not the standard for where we want to get to. But proud of the steps that we took."

Heupel said his roster for 2024 is "unique." There is loads of expereince on the line of scrimmage, but youth at the surrounding spots.

The headliner of that bunch is Nico Iamaleava, the redshirt freshman quarterback who will take the reins of the Volunteer offense this fall.

"The thing that I've loved about Nico is when he came into the building, he wanted to earn the respect of his teammates, and you do that through your actions, not your words," Heupel said. "Everybody understands how hard he works to become the best that he can at his craft. He takes great ownership in his skill set and developing it, understanding of our offense, and just, you know, as a young player, gets his first start in the bowl game. One of the best compliments you can give to a quarterback is when they go from the practice field to the game field, it slows down for them. During the course of the bowl game, it slowed down for him."

Heupel said he wants Iamaleava to "hit the ground running" when the season starts. The Volunteers' schedule necessitates that - they play North Carolina State in Charlotte and Oklahoma in Norman in the first month of the season.

Defensively, the focus for Tennessee is clear in the mind of defensive lineman Omari Thomas.

"I feel like as a defense, in order for us to grow, we have to continue to create turnovers," Thomas said. "We need to create way more turnovers than we have been, and I feel like that's really the main step forward is that we need to create turnovers."

It's been a long and at times troublesome journey for Heupel at Tennessee. But heading into 2024, he's continuing to push and get the Volunteers to the next level.

"Everybody can go back and kind of research, you know, what we were embarked on as far as challenges and how we had to navigate those, and we're at the point now where we're almost free and clear of navigating all those things," Heupel said. "Our roster is the deepest that it's been by far, and inside of this league that's important as you go through the season. I couldn't be more excited about going and lining up with this group this fall."

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