What Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said at the SEC spring meetings

What Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel said during his media availability at the SEC Meetings on Wednesday in Destin:

What he has seen from Tennessee quarterbacks George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon over the last couple months 

“Yeah, George has a familiarity with what we’ve done. One year in the system, continues to build. Really liked how he played and developed, uh, throughout the course of spring ball and how they finished the semester too. And just getting back started in the summer.

“Faizon, (for) a young guy just coming in out of high school, I thought he grabbed on to what we’re doing offensively really quickly. Doing a really good job getting better every day, uh, during the course of spring ball. 

He’s had a great offseason. He’s been developing. I thought he did a really good job post-spring ball. And just continuing to grow in his understanding of what we’re doing, the why behind it and understanding the defensive structures.”

An update on Tennessee transfer edge rusher Chaz Coleman

“Yeah, Chaz has been dealing with some things and we’re here to support him. And he will continue to go through that process.”

The feel from the SEC coaches about the future of the College Football Playoff

“I don’t know if there’s one future view. I think in general people think it will expand at some point. What that number ends up being … there’s a lot of things that people have to navigate. From conference championships, the timeline, the calendar in December and January and when you can play those games.” 

His thoughts on the bill looking to go back to one-time transfers, five years to play five years, those topics

“I’m not that familiar with the bill. The number of years to play is something that’s been a topic here as of late. Feels like something we’ll go through at some point. The number of times guys can transfer, I think everybody’s kind of looking to something in that realm. How it actually unfolds and what becomes real, I have no idea.”

Coaches wanting clarity, to show up and know what the rules are

“Yeah, I think over the last four years, everybody is looking for clarity. There’s been a lot of shifts and changes inside the landscape of college football. So I think everybody’s still looking for a lot of those things.” 

If he feels like other coaches would follow the new rules put in place or if they would see what they could get away with 

“Well, I don’t think it’ll always be, ‘Let’s go to court.’ I think in general the consensus from coaches, athletic directors, people on campuses, (is) let’s find a set of guidelines that we can all operate within and play the game inside of it.”

How he has seen Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander grow

“Have known Josh for a number of years now and (he’s) got a great family. Was excited for him to get the job. The guys inside the locker room wanted him to be the guy. In a given season, season, there’s going to be ups and downs, injuries, a lot of things that you’ve got to be able to deal with and navigate. In Year 1 for him, to work through all those things and be at their strongest right now, it’s a testament to him and his team. And (I’m) excited to watch those guys play here.”

Auburn coach Alex Golesh saying the spread, tempo offense is much more common in the SEC and college football

“Yeah, we’ve had two guys that worked on this at different times, different places, that are head coaches inside of this league. And I think that’s a testament to what we’ve done historically and the people we have around.”

His thoughts on Alex Golesh as Auburn’s new head coach

“I think he’ll do a good job. He’s smart, he’s competitive and I think he’ll do really a good job.” 

How much college coaches have to educate players about the dangers of gambling

“Yeah, the gambling is like everything else with your players. You’re constantly educating them and pointing out guys that have made mistakes and reminding them how important (it is). What they do outside the building matters to them having an opportunity to take advantage of, opportunities put in front of them.”

The SEC moving to nine conference games but the College Football Playoff not expanding

“I think everybody in that room, and I’m talking about head coaches, hopes that the (Playoff) Committee looks at adding another game inside of the league. Half the league is going to have one more loss, taking in the strength from top to bottom inside of this league, and that’s a part of how they look at it. It’s not just the last number on your win-loss column.” 

The answers the coaches got from the College Football Playoff committee on expansion

“First time that we’ve probably gotten that in-depth on some of the metrics. I think as a whole, some of our coaches would like some of those things maybe be tweaked a little bit. But the guys in the room, they did a good job sifting through all the analytics part of it, but then also the human part of it, the strength of what you’re actually playing week in and week out.”

If he wishes there was more transparency

“I think the education on what they’re using and why they’re using it, absolutely.”