Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel ventured down to Hoover, Alabama on Tuesday morning to make his SEC Media Days debut.

Heupel made the media rounds with local media before making his way to the main podium to meet with various members from around the SEC footprint. Here's what we learned about the Vols at the unofficial kickoff to football season.

Innovative and Fun

The intrigue of Heupel's offense was one of the main talking points while he made the rounds. For the 43-year-old, it's more than just the accelerated tempo and wider than usual receiver splits. It's about being innovative and fun.

"I believe in the player experience, having played the game at the highest level and being able to hoist the trophy as a player, chasing that championship is something that you'll never forget," Heupel said at the main podium. "It's a journey that you'll never forget. But those relationships are really important as well, and we want to live those things out every single day."

It's why Heupel and his staff have spent so much time this offseason building up the player experience. There have dodgeball games, kick ball and even a crawfish boil. All for the sole purpose of spending time with the players in an effort to develop a culture.

"That pays forward once we get on the football field," Heupel said. "I believe that connection matters when you face adversity, that you know the person standing next to you, to the left or the right, and you can depend upon those people."

Heupel also addressed a common misconception about his offense — that the running game is forgotten about.

"That's the misnomer about what we do offensively," Heupel said. "We're very balanced in our approach. You look at our numbers, run and pass, we're extremely balanced.

"When we were at Missouri, we set a Power Five record for the fewest amount of zero negative yard plays and then reset the record the following year. When we took over at Missouri, they were 125th in the country in total offense. We ended up leading the league for two straight years in total offense.

Who starts at quarterback?

Heupel didn't come close to naming a quarterback, but he sure has heck was asked about the status of the most important position in all of sports.

Tennessee's quarterback room doesn't lack bodies. Despite Jarrett Guarantano (Washington State) and J.T. Shrout (Colorado) transferring out, redshirt-sophomore Brian Maurer and true sophomore Harrison Bailey return. Plus, the Vols added Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker and Michigan transfer Joe Milton.

"This is a quarterback-friendly offense that's going to allow us to play and apply pressure to defenses every single Saturday that we step on the football field," Heupel said. "Competition is the greatest friend that any coach has. You have to have it in that room. It's going to drive the players inside of it when you're not around it."

Milton has been the talk of the room entering fall camp, however. The redshirt-junior didn't go through spring practice, but has drawn strong reviews behind the scenes this offseason.

"Joe's got a unique skill set, a strong arm, accurate passer," Heupel said. "I think he's a very bright young man that's picked up on what we've done so far really well. He's talented. He can spread the football field from sideline to sideline and vertically and has a unique skill set with his size and mobility to use his feet as a weapon as well."

"Joe is a great guy," wide receiver Velus Jones added. "As soon as he came in, he fit in with the guys well, has a great personality, a great sense of humor. He's just a hard-working guy that wants to be great.

"I have confidence in any one of my quarterbacks that they can go out there and win a game and perform the way they need to perform. They all have great things and different traits about them, but, yeah, I'm really confident in all my quarterbacks."

So. Much. Attrition.

It's been well-documented how many players transferred out of the program after Jeremy Pruitt was fired. It seemed never-ending.

But Heupel and his coaching staff quietly restocked the roster. It may not be where it needs to be, and it may not draw as many headlines as a player leaving, but several talented prospects transferred into the program.

"By the time I got there in late January, there were a large number of kids in the transfer portal," Heupel said. "At the same time, we've been able to add really quality individuals inside our program. We love the player, but we love the person too and what they're bringing as far as the culture piece inside of our program.

"Some of those kids, we've had relationships with, whether it was a coach being at a previous school and knowing them every day, or through myself or other staff members who had recruited them coming out of high school.

"So I feel really good about what we've added. A majority of those guys we really feel like are going to play meaningful snaps right from the get-go when we kick off in September. A handful, or a couple of those guys, I should say, are guys that will have to earn it, like they all will, but guys that are going to develop in our program.

"I think for us long term, the benefits of the eight pieces that we've added here after spring ball is a majority of those guys have multiple years and will be able to help our roster as we move forward as well."

Other Tidbits

Third Saturday in October

With Hoover being 45 minutes east of Tuscaloosa, naturally, Heupel was asked about the Third Saturday in October, which he embraced.

"That ball game is huge to the fans and to the players, on both sides of it," Heupel said. "You come to Tennessee to play in games like that. This fan base loves football. They breathe it 365 days out of the year, man. If it's recruiting, they care about recruiting. If it's spring ball, they care about what's going on on the field."

Alontae Taylor explains why he stayed at Tennessee

"This is my state. I'm from the state of Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee means a lot to me. Wearing orange and white is a privilege and it's bigger than me, and wearing that Power T on my chest is bigger than me.

"Staying here versus going somewhere else was never really too hard of a decision to make. I knew I wanted to stay at University of Tennessee, and I tried to keep as many here as I could. And those who left, I don't have any hard feelings for those guys. I wish them the best."

Velus Jones discusses what Mississippi State receiver transfer JaVonta Payton adds

"Older guy, veteran and stuff, and you know, working out with him really -- I didn't know he was going to be as tall as he was, but he's really explosive and also fast and has like a big catch radius. So working with that guy, he has something to prove, I have something to prove, we all have something to prove. So we talk and how we're going to better the younger guys and just take a step forward with this program to have the season I know we can have."

Alontae Taylor on if he's had any NIL opportunities come his way

"For me personally, for the NIL, I've had a lot of opportunities with that, but I actually haven't tapped into any of those things. I'm really focused on just making sure I'm healthy and making sure I'm going into camp the right way, but the biggest thing is making sure my team is ready for camp. I'm not so focused on how much money I can make on my name right now, more so what can my team do so we can be the best team come the fall."

Velus Jones on USC transfers Chase McGrath and Caleb Tremblay

"I feel like that was a great choice by the staff of bringing Caleb Tremblay and Chase McGrath, both two great players. Chase McGrath with his clutch field goals. You probably remember the Texas game that was played at USC a couple years ago, won that for us. Also, he has a record tied for most field goals at USC. Chase is a veteran, and I know he's going to win some games for us.

"With Caleb Tremblay, you have a very strong, smart player with technique. You know just motivated in his passion for the game, especially his work ethic in the weight room. Those two guys are great guys, you know, just to be around and stuff like that. I'm so excited for them to be here with me at Tennessee. It's definitely going to be a great time."