It's hard to believe, but the time of the year has arrived - yup, we're talking about SEC Media Days. On Tuesday, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel is going to grab the mic and he's surely going to have a lot to talk about. It's been quite the offseason for the Vols.
After going 10-2 during the regular season last year and reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time, expectations are once again going to be high for UT. With camp right around the corner, there are going to be some hard-hitting questions sent Heupel's way. Fans are hoping they'll get some answers for these three in particular:
3. Who will Tennessee football's starting QB be for Week 1 vs. Syracuse?
To start us off, everyone is still wondering who is going to lead the offense out onto the field once late August gets here. All signs are pointing to UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar taking over the offense for Nico Iamaleava, who is getting ready for his first season with the hometown Bruins.
While the expectation is that Aguilar will start vs. the Orange, Heupel hasn't come out and officially named him the starter. Might he leave the door open for a fall camp battle to take place? If that ends up being the case, youngster Jake Merklinger will hope to make a strong push for the job.
2. When will cornerback Jermod McCoy be able to start practicing?
Way back in January, plenty of hearts dropped when news arrived that standout CB Jermod McCoy had suffered a torn ACL while working out back home in Texas. Talk about a complete and total gut punch. Since then, McCoy has been working around the clock in his rehab.
He's listed as a preseason All-American on several lists, but it's totally up in the air when he's going to be able to take the field. This is obviously something Heupel will be asked about. We're guessing McCoy is going to miss the start of the season, but it's unknown just how many games he'll be forced to sit out. Could he actually be way ahead of schedule?
1. How will this team move forward without Nico Iamaleava still on campus?
You're naive if you think Huepel isn't going to be asked about Iamaleava. The former 5-star quarterback pulled a fast one on the Vols and bolted to go play at UCLA. His camp can say it's about the offense all they want, but NIL money appears to have been the cause for the split.
Despite that, Heupel will likely be asked how this team is going to move forward now that Nico is off to the Big Ten. Don't be surprised to see Heupel say the program wishes Nico well, but all the focus is on the guys currently inside of the locker room in Knoxville. Might Heupel open up a little on what exactly went down leading up to him ghosting the staff before he left UT? We doubt it.