The unofficial kickoff to football season has arrived.

SEC Media Days is in Atlanta this year and Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel's turn at the podium in the main room took place Thursday morning.

Heupel touched on a myriad of topics as he gears up for his second season on Rocky Top. But here's a look at the four main topics Heupel touched on during his time speaking to the media.

NIL opportunities

So many college coaches love to complain about NIL. Not Heupel, who is routinely consistent in his message that athletes should absolutely be able to benefit from their name, image and likeness.

"There's great opportunity in it," Heupel said. "I think it's dramatically changed the way that young people come into your program, how thoughtful they are about every situation that they're involved in, how they're portrayed in what's out there on social media, the decisions they're making every night of the week."

Heupel certainly understands as he was a National Championship winning quarterback that would have loved to have benefited from NIL at the time.

"Certainly the most powerful thing that I had was my teammates and the logo that I was playing for," Heupel said. "At the same time, though, I think I was creating some value there, too. I would have liked to have had an opportunity to have been afforded to take part in NIL. Would have liked to have worn my starting left tackle's jersey or worn his shirt.

"I look at my own kids, Jace and Hannah, that get a chance to run around the house or run with their friends and wear a Cedric Tillman and Hendon Hooker shirt or jersey. I think there's empowering opportunities through NIL."

Tillman and Hooker have been great examples when it comes to how beneficial NIL can be for athletes.

The two recently went to Times Square in New York City to meet with influential business owners and also receive NIL education. They took part in the Nasdaq and were able to cultivate relationships that will help them greatly when their playing days are over.

"What a great opportunity," Heupel said. "Isn't that what the collegiate experience is about, is exposing and giving kids opportunities way outside of the realm of what they would normally have to grow professionally and personally."

It's Hendon Hooker and Cedric Tillman's show

Two players don't define a football team, but there's no doubt that Hooker and Tillman are the face of the 2022 Tennessee football team.

Hooker and Tillman were accompanied by safety Trevon Flowers to represent the Vols in Atlanta. The quarterback and wide receiver duo generated quite the buzz as many are looking forward to see what Tennessee's offense will look like this fall.

"Hendon is a pure winner," Heupel said. "He is a great leader inside of our program. I think from year one to year two, that's one of the things that he's really been able to gravitate to and grab ahold of, is that leadership component. Everybody inside of our building feels his energy and focus every single day.

"A transfer (Hooker) that came into our program a year ago. Earned the starting job. Competed so consistently throughout the year. Grew throughout the year. Has taken great strides this offseason. A young man that had an opportunity to declare for the draft, came back to our program I believe because of the culture we have, the improvements he knew he could make in coming back in helping his career as he steps to that next level after the season is over."

Tillman burst on to the scene last year, catching 64 passes for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns. Nobody really knew who the Las Vegas native was this time last year, but he now enters his redshirt-senior season as one of the best receivers in college football.

"His work habits a year ago parlayed into him playing the way that he did," Heupel said of Tillman. "For him in year two, compared to some of the great guys I've had, maybe a Gabe Davis that's had a huge impact in the NFL with Buffalo, his ability to really sit back, watch cut-ups, digest what we're doing offensively, but get into the intricacies of what he's doing, I think it's going to allow him to play faster, to be more decisive and create more opportunities and bigger windows for himself. Ultimately that should lead to us being successful offensively.

"But he's done a great job all offseason. You talk about January, February before we got spring ball, he was in there watching film every single day on his own. He's got great command of what we're doing. That allows him to play within himself at a higher level."

More depth

The biggest issue for the Vols in year one under Heupel was a lack of depth. Tennessee won't all of a sudden have an abundance of depth in year two, but it'll be much better than it was a year ago.

"A year ago we were with 69 scholarship players as we opened fall training camp," Heupel said. "We were the thinnest football team in America, hands down, not even close. You look across America, many were playing with 90 to 95 because of COVID seniors.

"We're deeper than we were. We're not as deep as we need to be. We'll still be under 85. But I think the depth, the competition, the year inside of our system, inside strength and conditioning, the ability to strain, finish, focus at the end of football games should allow us to take a step defensively for sure."

With an increase in numbers, Heupel's hoping that it'll lead to a big jump for the program from year one to year two. Especially when you pair the increase in numbers with the work they've put in this offseason.

"It can be the greatest from game one to game two, year one to year two can be the greatest push of growth inside of your program," Heupel said. "But it comes down to your work habits every single day. I am proud of what we've done up until this point. We have a long ways to go before we kick off on opening night."

Enjoying Knoxville

Heupel had no time to take in Knoxville and what it had to offer when he took over as head coach last winter. He's been able to this offseason, however, as he's now completely immersed in the community with the program up-and-running.

"Year two, have really gotten a chance to truly live in it, immerse in it, just soak it in," Heupel said. "It's a great time to be a volunteer.

"I reflect back on the last year, the success we've had as a football program, where we're going, but also the success we've had throughout our entire athletic department. Fun to take our players, family, kids, to the games in Knoxville, Tennessee. That's men's and women's basketball, baseball, all of our Olympic sports. So many positive things happening on campus there."

Heupel credits the leadership on campus for all of the feel good feelings taking place on Rocky Top.

"Danny White, our athletic director; Chancellor Plowman; and our president, Randy Boyd," Heupel said. "Great leadership that has a vision of how we want to compete, giving our players all the resources they need, and they're going to go out and chase it every single day for us.

"A year ago I talked about we were in a race to become as good as we could as fast as we can. I'm really proud of what we did in that first 12 months. But so excited about what's going to happen here in the future, too."