Tennessee football's secondary impressed Josh Heupel in the Vols' first intrasquad scrimmage in fall camp. The Vols staff focused on revamping the secondary through the transfer portal, which has excited the position group.
Despite the excitement, the defensive secondary has the biggest question mark floating over it of any position group on defense coming into the season. It has been one of Tennessee's biggest defensive issues since Heupel came to Knoxville.
The Vols secondary might be improving after the first fall camp scrimmage, though. After Friday night's intrasquad game,Heupel said he was pleased with the secondary's performance.
"Thought our secondary played really well early in the scrimmage as well," Heupel said post-scrimmage. "Really, really pleased with how they started.
"Their athleticism tonight played some really tight coverage down the field. Just within the game, the subtle details that allow you to play it at a really high level in particular corners tonight, I thought they did a really, really good job."
Safety Jourdan Thomas didn't play in the scrimmage after sustaining a season-ending leg injury. His injury opens the door for Boo Carter to see the field a lot more than previously anticipated, but that might not be a bad thing for the Vols. Heupel mentioned Thomas' injury opened the door for Boo and others to get on the field.
"It gives all the guys opportunities," Heupel said. "Boo has played really well. I thought the last couple days, even leading into the scrimmage have been his best day just within the scope of what we do defensively, playing within the framework of that and making plays at the same time."
Carter is an exciting player who brought some hype to his second season at Tennessee. Fans would love to see him play more this year, and they might get their wish if he emerges as Thomas' replacement.
We will have to wait and see how everything shakes out in the secondary ahead of Tennessee's season opener against Chattanooga on August 31, but it's safe to say we will see an improved secondary on Rocky Top this year.