KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — "Time" seemed to be a central theme in Josh Heupel's final media availability of the spring.
The head coach took the time to reflect on the strides his team has made throughout the past few weeks.
"There's been a lot of fundamental and technique growth, and that's what spring ball should be," Heupel said. "I really like what we've done for the first 14 days [of practice]."
The short span of spring practice helps to put things in perspective. The summer preseason is a much more extensive time to get prepared for the season, and that time is still quite a while away.
"There's more time from now until kickoff than there is from when they got back in late January from the offseason," Heupel said. "There is a ton of time to grow physically and grow in understanding what we're doing."
That time extends to Heupel himself, who is entering his second year as Tennessee head coach. In the time since he began, he is seeing a much different environment since he joined the program.
"In year two, they have a clear understanding of who we are and what we want to accomplish," Heupel said. "They have a real clear mission of what we're trying to get to."
The Vols will end their spring practice schedule on Monday, April 18. Tennessee is set to kick off its season with a primetime matchup against Ball State on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.