To a certain degree, you expect this. Tennessee football was locked in a tight battle with the Pittsburgh Panthers, a Power Five team, so they were going to stick with their best players.

A week earlier, the Vols went deep into their depth chart in their 59-10 win over the Ball State Cardinals. That was to be expected, but it gave fans lots of confidence in the future of certain players.

Still, some standout talent in the offseason didn’t play at Pitt, particularly the younger players. Heupel, though, isn;t counting those players out. He said a lot of times who plays is based on how the game goes.

“Every game is going to unfold differently,” he said in his Thursday presser ahead of the Akron Zips. “You play the same opponent on the same day 10 different times, it’s going to unfold differently every single time. Even though we may have plans going in, how you’re attacking or how you rotate, some of those things change within the flow of the football game.”

Most notably, defensive backs Brandon Turnage and Christian Charles didn’t see action. In early fall camp, all signs pointed to Turnage being the most sure starter for the Vols.

Charles is probably the most athletic cornerback Tennessee football has. Both could play this week, to be fair. Heupel said they’ve had good practices and that he trusts both.

“I expect those guys, when given the opportunity to play, to play at a really high level,” he said. “Expect those guys to be really good in the way that they finish their preparation here this afternoon and through the course of Friday, in the lead up to kickoff.”

Two more defensive players, Dee Williams and Juwan Mitchell, have raised questions about their lack of playing time this year. Mitchell still hasn’t gotten back on the field at linebacker. Heupel hinted, though, that’s about to change.

“Hopeful that we’ll have both of those guys on Saturday,” he said. “We’ll see tomorrow and Saturday where those guys are at, and their availability for the football game.”

That doesn’t just mean on defense either. Look, Hendon Hooker is the clear starter on offense, but since winning the job last year, Heupel and the coaches haven’t written off Joe Milton III.

Remember, Milton could still be the starter next year after Hooker leaves. In the opener against Ball State, Milton threw a beautiful strike to Jimmy Holiday. Heupel said the coaches trust him.

“When he got an opportunity to play Week 1, I thought he did some really good things in the run game,” he said. “There are decisions quarterbacks are making on every play. Continuing down that path of making the right decision, having your eyes on the right key and taking care of the football, it’s something that was a point of emphasis for him all of the offseason.”

Offensive talent in particular could have an unexpected change week to week with players if what happened last week happens again. That’s in reference to how practice went.

Heupel criticized the way the team practiced leading up to Pitt earlier in the week. On Thursday, he was more specific, and he singled out the offense.

“I didn’t think our Friday was as clean as most of our Fridays are,” he said. “There were some things early in the football game that showed up that way.”

To be fair, Heupel said Tennessee football has had a good week so far ahead of Akron, but if practice issues consider, that’s really when you could start to see more young talent. Guys who didn’t play may start to emerge then.