Vols Wrap Up Second Scrimmage

(utsports.com)  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.”

Coach Heupel was also asked about what he wants to see out of the potential starting quarterback in the next two weeks to be comfortable heading into week one.

Said Heupel “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.”

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.