Josh Heupel, Cooper Mays, Omari Thomas and Keenan Pili represented Tennessee Football at SEC Media Days on Tuesday. The Vols made plenty of headlines, but there were also some alarming points brought up as well. Here are five takeaways from Rocky Top’s appearance in Dallas on the second day of the league’s event.
Nico Iamaleava’s absence stood out
The Oklahoma Sooners, Georgia Bulldogs and Missouri Tigers all took the podium as well Tuesday, and they all brought their quarterbacks: Jackson Arnold, Carson Beck and Brady Cook. As a result, it looked weird when Tennessee Football didn’t bring Nico Iamaleava. After all, Heupel is a quarterback guru, and Iamaleava is his star recruit.
Leadership a plus for Vols
Regarding Iamaleava’s absence, Heupel said it was more about Thomas, Mays and Pili, and honestly, there’s reason to believe him. Josh Pate even said Iamaleava himself has the intangibles, so it wasn’t about that. Thomas went last year, Pili has stood out all year, and Mays is a known leader. As a result, this could be about how great the veterans are on this team at carrying everybody else along.
DBs should improve for Tennessee Football
When asked specifically about the secondary, Heupel gave a general answer at the podium that this team is deeper than any since he took over the Vols. That was a clear-as-day direct comment about the defensive backs. UT added three via the transfer portal and picked up an elite recruit, and Heupel, despite always being cagey, can’t hide how high he is on the new unit.
Questions about Tennessee Football RBs
There were two comments by Heupel about UT running backs that seem suspect. The first was mentioning Cameron Seldon even though the eye test says he can’t be a feature back. Heupel also touted Dylan Sampson as a leader of the unit, but Sampson is an all-purpose back who can’t block. As a result, we leave the event with even more questions about this group.
Josh Heupel-Oklahoma connection
Based on conversations with Chris Plank and Paul Finebaum, it seems as if Heupel and OU have mended fences, but there is no reason to believe Heupel would ever leave Tennessee Football for them. There are no signs he’s mended fences with Bob Stoops, OU has no signs of moving on from Brent Venables, and Heupel has more stability with his athletic director on Rocky Top. Those are great signs for UT.
