Everything Tennessee volunteers head coach promise before arriving In Orlando For…
Tennessee football arrived in Orlando on Tuesday for the 2024 Citrus Bowl matchup against Iowa. Third-year head coach Josh Heupel met with the media on Wednesday afternoon in Orlando to preview the matchup.
Heupel discussed Nico Iamaleava moving into the starting role, him returning to Orlando and much more. Here’s everything Josh Heupel said.
“Thankful to the Florida Citrus Committee. They put on a great event. I’ve known that for a long time. Obviously, it culminates with a really big football game. We want our players to enjoy the city this week. When they’re in the football meetings and in practice, be engaged. That’ll be important for us to go out and play the way that we need to against a really good Iowa football team. I also want thank UCF, their administration, coaching staff, allowing us to use their facilities. It’s a first-class operation and a bunch of great people that have helped me along our way as well.”
“Joe’s been with us throughout bowl preparation, just as he was going through his process of how he was going to handle things at the end. Guys are excited to get an opportunity to play with Nico. They appreciate Joe, obviously for everything that he’s done.
He has been a great teammate to everybody inside of that locker room. He’s been a great teammate to Nico as well. He’s been a part of the preparation. He’ll be with us all week long and continue to help us in that way.”
“He’s smart, he’s competitive. When he makes a mistake — and young players are always going do that — he continues to learn and grow from.
It doesn’t repeat it. He’s got the ability to reset from play to play, day to day. Extremely talented.
Everybody has known that. But I love the way that he works inside of our building, and he’s got a great demeanor about him. But he’s great at communicating with his teammates as well.”
