KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football held its second and final scrimmage of fall camp inside Neyland Stadium on Thursday, but head coach Josh Heupel said they spent most of the scrimmage making it feel like a road game.
Heupel said the team worked in fake crowd noise, continued to work through situational drills and implemented a mock halftime along with fake TV timeouts. The Vols also had a full referee crew at the scrimmage and Heupel said his players showed good discipline.
"[We] did not have really many penalties at all over the course of it, so I really liked that," Heupel said. "Both sides of the football, guys made some plays."
Heupel once highlighted Desean Bishop as a scrimmage standout and said he did a nice job at the running back spot and has grown in his development.
"I think he's got great command (and) comfort in what we're doing," he said. "He continues to get better in playing without the ball, his pass protection. We're really confident in him in that. He's just continuing to take steps every day to continue to get better."
Wide receiver Dont'e Thornton was back out there and Heupel said he is seeing an increased workload as he gets back to full health. Heupel said he also expects all three tight ends (Ethan Davis, Holden Staes and Miles Kitselman) to play a big role in the offense this season.
"As we began our tenure here, we've had to navigate some things, and that room has probably been thinner at times than you would want it to be," Heupel said. "I really like the three guys that we have in there, and all of those guys are capable of playing at a championship level."
Heupel said he and his staff have used training camp to learn about changes to the rules this season but he said that's just part of the job description to make those adjustments.
"I think logistically, there's more changes that affected everything outside of the white lines this year," he said. "You know, communication with your players, which is obviously on the field of play, too. But the coordination of that, the iPads, there's been a lot of logistical changes that everybody inside your program has got to be ready to handle the right way."
Tennessee football begins the 2024 season hosting Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31.