Tennessee's Mantra For 2023? Be Intentional.

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel took the podium to address the media during fall camp, and one phrase kept coming up.

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is purposeful every time he takes the podium. Most college coaches are guarded, which is understandable. Many premier programs build a reputation for keeping the media out, not wanting them to know what makes these great teams so successful. Heupel isn't like that - he might not always flat-out tell you, but he drops hints here and there about what he wants to see from his team.

I went into his Tuesday press conference with that in mind. The timeframe is important here - it's the first day of fall camp, freshman are getting their first real taste of college football, and position battles are breaking out, all on top of the fact that they are about to play in the blistering heat for weeks. There was a decent chance that when Heupel got up on the podium, he would talk to everyone in the building, not just the media. That's what he did, though subtly. Going back over the transcripts, Heupel said the word "intentional" six times. That wasn't an accident - pun intended. He was very direct and measured with how he used that word, but once we got to the end of the presser, he began to use it more and more. In fact, Heupel used "intentional" three times in a few sentences when answering ONE question. I mapped out all the usages so you can see some context.

1. "We're intentional with the position that we're putting our guys in early in training camp..."
2. "...he was very intentional in how he worked and competed."
3. "Have I ever seen a bad one? Yeah, if you don't do a great job being intentional and make sure early in training camp."
4. "That's something to be really intentional with at the beginning of training camp..."
5. "...some of the things that you've been intentional with all spring, all summer. If those things don't show up, it's a telltale sign that the culture and what you're trying to build isn't going in the right direction."
6. "They're really intentional in how they work and affect their guys on the defense."

As I went over these quotes, I wondered why he used that wording. Tennessee has been known for being intentional since Heupel arrived - they run a particular offensive system that requires precise timing and terminology. Everyone who has seen significant snaps in that offense has had to be intentional to an extent, so that isn't what he's referencing. I kept returning to the point that Tennessee continues riding a wave of momentum that grows by the day - that can be dangerous for many programs.

It's critical to categorize who you are as a program. Is Tennessee going to be like Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, or other schools that have had flash-in-the-pan seasons during the 2010s but never put the whole picture together? Or will they rise to the levels that Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, and LSU have enjoyed over the years? That determination comes down to the people in the building. If you have coaches and players attacking daily with genuine intensity and hunger, you can be among the elite group. Heupel knows that and did a strong job of setting the tone on Tuesday.

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