Monday was the first of 15 practices for Tennessee, which culminates with the free-admission Orange & White Game on April 11 in Neyland Stadium. The Vols returned from spring break and will practice four times this week, while welcoming high school and middle school coaches to campus for the annual Coaches Clinic this weekend.
Tennessee’s 2026 squad has a drastically different look to it since the Vols last took the field in the Music City Bowl in December. Heupel brought on Indiana national champion director of football sports performance Derek Owings to oversee the UT’s strength and conditioning, speed and nutrition efforts. National champion defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, formerly of Ohio State and Penn State, was hired along with three additional assistants who coached beside him — co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Anthony Poindexter (Penn State), LEOs/outside linebackers coach Andrew Jackson (Penn State) and cornerbacks coach Derek Jones (Duke).
In addition, a total of 46 new players have joined the roster, including 22 portal transfers and 24 high school early enrollees. The group shined in the Vols’ winter offseason program under Owings, making considerable gains in strength and speed.
“I think it comes down to the accountability in everything that you’re doing every single day,” Heupel said of the offseason program. “The mental side of how you approach everything, the accountability piece. Every rep, every single day parlays itself into how you need to play when get to Saturdays in the fall. It has to be in the structure of what you’re doing every single day.”
Knowles observed bowl practices in December, but Monday was his first official practice as acting defensive coordinator. The 38-year college football veteran has coordinated defenses at Penn State (2025), Ohio State (2022-24), Oklahoma State (2018-21), Duke (2011-17) and West Michigan (1997-2002).
“I think the flexibility of what he’s able to do schematically, to put guys in position, his ability to understand strengths and weaknesses based on matchups, and be able to subtly tweak how he’s playing things is important,” Heupel said. “It could be with his front, could be with his coverage — that’s all in his wheelhouse. One of the things just in our conversations — and I know this, having been a coordinator and had to go somewhere else too — I think a big part of your players picking it up as quickly as they can, is having guys in your staff room that understand your scheme, what you’re trying to implement and the why behind it.”
That process has been expedited with three of his main assistants having coached in his system along with multiple analysts. Four players transferred from Penn State to join the Vols’ defense, including 2025 leading tackler linebacker Amare Campbell (103), edge rusher Chaz Coleman, defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam and safety Dejuan Lane.
Meanwhile for Heupel, he begins a sixth season after compiling the winningest five-year stretch at Tennessee in over two decades. The 45 victories under his watch represented the most by the Vols since winning 47 from 2000-04.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
March 16, 2026
Opening statement…
“It’s been a while. Good to see everybody. I miss seeing (Wes Rucker) here. He’s obviously somebody that’s been covering and been around this program for a long time, and I miss seeing him in here. I just want to continue to lift him and his family up in prayers, and I know everybody is too.
“Good to be back out on the field. We’ve had a really good winter. Some changes in the building, that’s staff and players as well. I think 46 new players here on our roster heading into this season. It’s been a really good winter, and today was the start of what we’re doing on the field during the course of spring ball. Got the guys back (after) nine days off of spring ball, got them going today. There was good effort, good energy, and we’ll continue to progress with another practice tomorrow as well. Excited about the effort and attitude that these guys had, the strength gains, the speed gains, the size that they’ve added during the course of our winter offseason. Now you get a chance to get into the fundamentals, the technique and the scheme, the growth that we’re going to need there as well. Looking forward to it with these guys.”
On what changes have been implemented into practice this spring…
“Today is day one of practice. Just getting those guys used to and accustomed to the flow of it, what drills are coming next, ability to communicate. As we get going, there will be more music for you guys to make sure that you’re entertained during the course of our warmup. I miss seeing (Brent Hubbs) dance on the sideline. Not a ton of drastic changes within the scope of what we’re doing scheme-wise, some subtle things. I talked about it a minute ago, but with the long break and the structure of our calendar, when we started class and got these guys in the weight room, having a long break here before we get started into our spring ball, a little bit of a flush type of practice today. Tomorrow, we’ll get going with longer duration and a little bit more intensity in some of our group work for us, too.”
On his assessment of the winter portion of the football calendar…
“I don’t know that we’ve had bad winters. I think you look at this winter, the changes in the weight room. You look at the frames, the mass that we added, the strength numbers that we got out of it weekly, and then the speed numbers as well. I think it’s been a great winter as far as the development of our bodies in there. That encompasses what (Derek Owings) is doing in the weight room, but handling all the performance side of it, what our nutrition staff has done, and working together with our medical team as well. I just really like what we’ve done here in the seven weeks of our offseason before we got into spring ball. The expectation is that we’re still making some of those gains as we’re going through spring ball here as well. Just the design of our days and being able to maximize still getting great work in the weight room as well.”
On how Derek Owings can impact the program beyond the weight room…
“I think it comes down to the accountability in everything that you’re doing every single day. The mental side of how you approach everything, the accountability piece. Every rep, every single day parlays itself into how you need to play when get to Saturdays in the fall. It has to be in the structure of what you’re doing every single day.”
On what he wants George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon to get out of training this week as younger players…
“They’ve had a good winner with the introduction of some of the things we’re doing offensively. George obviously has more time on task with the general basis of what we’re doing. But as those guys have come into the program, gaining an understand of what we’re doing, the communication, how they’re calling protections, adjusting protections, our run game rules, being able to control everything that we’re doing, and then starting to master what’s going on in the back end from the defensive structures as well, and ultimately become a guy that is playing extremely efficient, extremely efficiently. It starts with their eyes, being able to see things, work through the progression and the fundamentals, technique to deliver the ball consistently and accurately. That guy’s (the starting quarterback) has to play on edge, he has to make plays, but he also has to take care of the football.
On how open the quarterback position is going into the spring…
“It is open. We had that conversation with all of them as we started the winter when they all arrived here. Had that conversation again as we were wrapping up our winter before we got into spring ball. We’ve had a couple of those battles, you guys know that we always communicate with those guys openly, transparently. We communicate with those guys together. Don’t expect a guy to be named here during the course of spring ball. I think it’s important that all the guys in that room learn and grow throughout the course of spring, also have a chance to go back in your summer months, digest it, reinstall and come back a much better player, and compete and earn it in front of their teammates as you get into training camp.”
On how he balances patience and pushing the young quarterbacks knowing one of them is going to start…
“You’re patient in understanding that just like every player inside your program, there is going to be growth, there is going to be mistakes. What you want to see is them not making the same mistake twice. Constant growth in what they’re doing and how they’re controlling things at the quarterback position. The patience part, that’s how that correlates. You have to push them in what they are doing on the offensive side of the football. Does that mean that everything is in over the course of these 15 opportunities that we have in spring ball? Not necessarily, but you have to force-feed those guys and expose them to what you are going to need during the course of the fall.”
On how the players have developed since Derek Owings got here…
“He and his staff did a great job onboarding, sitting down with our players one-on-one within the first 72 hours that they were here on campus. Hit the ground running as far as workouts, after his first day getting here. Getting to know the player, understanding their goals, what they want to accomplish, where they’re at, and how he and his staff can help them get to where they want to go. That’s in the physical gains that they’re going to make, it’s in their speed, it’s in short-area quickness, agility. But it’s also in their mindset and how you have to approach every single day. So, I think the accountability piece and everything that you’re doing every single day, how that impacts your growth. Taking a step forward every single day instead of one step forward, one step back, has been a big part of what I like about what we have done this winter. That’s a credit to Derek and his staff.”
On the individual traits he likes in George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon…
“Both those guys are quick minded. They grasp what we’re doing as you give them the playbook extremely well. They both have the ability to be accurate with the football, strong enough arm to extend the field vertically, but they’re both guys who anticipate windows extremely well over the middle of the football field. Fundamentally, for both of them, there’s still a bunch of growth out there, for (Ryan Staub) as well, but that’s what these opportunities are about, is continuing to grow every day.”
On why it was important to pick Jim Knowles up from the airport and bring him to his home during the interview process…
“Our paths hadn’t crossed. It was an opportunity to get to know the individual before you just dive right into the football. Understanding the opportunity to talk about past successes, things that didn’t go well, what’s important to expedite the process of becoming your best as fast as you can, and finding out if your vision is the same. You have an opportunity to have a great marriage, for lack of a better word, and hit the ground running.”
On the challenges of assembling team chemistry with many new players…
“From when I first got here, and the evolution of the transfer portal, you guys have heard me say it, there’s more turnover than ever, right? You know, typically a quarter to 35 percent of your roster is graduating or moving on, whether that is running out of eligibility or going on to the NFL. That number, this year for us, is even higher than usual. Because of the changes inside of college football, certainly this year, day one, you are building a team, right? You have to be clear in what are the expectations, what does it look like to be a Volunteer. You have to help them grow extremely quickly in what it needs to look like inside of this building. So, I don’t know that it’s a lot different than previous years, there are just more bodies that you’re going through that with. As we go through this spring, I think you’re going to find out a better idea of the true leadership in each position. We have some guys returning that have great traits in that, but some of the guys who have transferred in have those traits as well. And so, as you go through spring ball, I think you’re going to find out more about your leadership as you go through these 15 practices.”
On the benefit of not having roster changes after 15 spring practices…
“Yeah, different in that there isn’t a second portal (window). You have to be conscious of keeping your team healthy here as well, because there’s no way to go get another guy here post-spring ball as well.”
On the ability to merge Jim Knowles’ experience with what has been built at Tennessee…
“I think his ability to be at different places and find a way to be elite at each of those spots, and the growth from year-to-year in what he’s done defensively. The ability through his different spots to be a little bit different personnel-wise and be able to fit it to the guys that are on campus or that you’re able to recruit to, depending on where you’re at. I think the flexibility of what he’s able to do schematically, to put guys in position, his ability to understand strengths and weaknesses based on matchups, and be able to subtly tweak how he’s playing things is important. It could be with his front, could be with his coverage — that’s all in his wheelhouse. One of the things just in our conversations — and I know this, having been a coordinator and had to go somewhere else too — I think a big part of your players picking it up as quickly as they can, is having guys in your staff room that understand your scheme, what you’re trying to implement and the why behind it. That’s a big reason why a lot of his staff that we’ve hired has experience with him. I think that’s been an added plus to him onboarding here, being able to get our guys caught up as quickly as possible in our installs.”
On the health of the football team and maintaining that health…
“You need fundamentals, technique, growth and work. You have to get that work. I think some of your veterans, you have to be smart with in some of the live contact situations. I think that’s important, but you still have to grow those guys, so it’s a balance as you go through spring ball based on where your roster’s at, where you’re at in the understanding of what you’re doing, and some of the fundamental and technique work that you have to have. An example would be tackling. Just balancing how many high-risk situations you’re putting some of your guys in.”
On his assessment of the team’s health entering the spring…
“I feel like we are in a pretty healthy spot right now. There are a couple of guys that are still working through post-season injuries, Arion Carter right now. All those guys have done a really good job in the rehab right now.”
On what stood out on day one of spring practice …
“Fast practice today. I don’t know if there’s just one thing today. A lot of fundamentals and technique with just a little bit of scheme, so we’ll go back and watch some of the scheme stuff today. I thought our young guys in general did a good job just taking coaching and growing from one rep to the next.”
On when he expects Faizon Brandon to become acclimated to the speed of the college game…
“I think for all young guys, quarterbacks included, the first five days of spring ball. You’ve got some of the installs. The first five days are really hard, the game is moving really fast. It’s the first time you’ve played against like talent on the other side of the football. Size, strength, speed and the intensity in how hard you have to play every single rep. The second five days, get a little bit better. Things start slowing down. When you get to the third five days, you look back at the guy at the beginning, and he’s typically a much different football player than where you started. If it’s not trending that way, then that’s an area of concern, of how quickly can he continue to progress by the time we get to training camp and through training camp. But all of those guys, I kind of break spring ball into thirds. You have to stay diligent, you have to stay in the fight mentally, physically and emotionally to gain everything that you can out of every rep, every day.”
On the defense’s response to Jim Knowles’ system being implemented…
“The little work that we got in the winter, I thought they did a really good job. I think Coach Knowles, with some of his staff that has background with him, subtly how they’ve been able to tweak some of the things as far as how they install it. I thought that our guys have picked up on it really quickly, and again, as we continue to go through spring ball, we’ll have a better idea of where they’re at.”
