Josh Heupel selects his leaders to represent Vol Football at SEC Media Days

AtoZ Sports

Lucas Panzica discusses the upcoming SEC Media Days and how Josh Heupel has picked out the three players that will be representing the Tennessee Volunteers football team with TE Miles Kitselman, DL Bryson Eason, and LB Arion Carter

Transcript

00:00With SEC Media Days right around the corner, Tennessee gave us a glimpse

00:03into who three of the biggest leaders of the 2025 Vols are. We'll explain just ahead.

00:12Hey guys, Lucas Panzeke here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports. Hard to believe it,

00:16but SEC Media Days is basically here. Next week, every SEC head coach plus three players from each

00:23team will convene with media in Atlanta, Georgia at the College Football Hall of Fame to talk about

00:29the upcoming season. It means the season is right around the corner. It is just over a month away

00:34and every school has put out the three players that will represent their program in Atlanta for

00:40Media Days. And for Tennessee, those three players are tight end Myles Kitzelman, defensive lineman

00:46Bryson Eason, and linebacker Arian Carter. These are the three that Josh Heupel has chosen as pillars

00:52of the program to represent the 2025 edition of the Tennessee Volunteers. These are the guys that

00:59he wants up on a podium in front of a microphone speaking and representing his football team.

01:05And none of them are a big surprise, right? Myles Kitzelman might be the biggest leader

01:09on this football team. I don't know if there is anybody on this team that other players rally around

01:15more than Myles Kitzelman. And we saw that on full display when the Nico Iamaliava saga came to a head

01:21when Kitzelman and some other Tennessee players met with the media following the orange and white game.

01:25Some really strong statements from Kitzelman during that time period about this football team

01:31after that Nico drama was kind of wrapping up. And the Alabama transfer was a very pleasant surprise

01:37last season. The most productive tight end on this roster will be a big piece of this offense,

01:43both on and off the field as a leader in 2025. And then the other two are on the defensive side of

01:48the ball. Bryson Eason looks to take another step up this season under Rodney Garner as part of that

01:54defensive line rotation that is among the best in the country. And then of course,

01:58Arian Carter, who I think had a breakout season last year in the middle of that Tennessee defense,

02:03highly touted prospect coming out of Smyrna High School in-state product that is continuing to

02:09establish himself as a leader on this football team. And this team needs its leaders. How often do

02:15we talk about unproven but talented as a key descriptor to this Tennessee football team?

02:21The culture of this team is going to have to remain really strong for some of those players

02:27to realize that talent and show it on the football field in 2025, especially after all of the drama

02:33with Nico Iamaljava heading out the door. Now, of course, of the three players Tennessee brought,

02:38none of them play the most important position in all of sports, of course, the quarterback position.

02:4311 of 16 SEC teams brought their starting quarterback to Atlanta. Tennessee was one of five SEC teams

02:50that did not. And that's, of course, because they don't yet know who their starting quarterback is

02:55going to be. Whether it's Joey Aguilar, Jake Merklinger, or George McIntyre, we expect a battle

03:00to take place in training camp. So it makes sense that right now the quarterback position is not what

03:06is coming to Atlanta to represent Tennessee at media days. But I'm going to be honest, I don't know

03:11that that would be the case even if Nico Iamaljava was Tennessee's starting quarterback. He didn't go to

03:17media days last season, and he hadn't had a full season as a starter quite yet. But Nico, not the

03:24type to be a vocal leader around a football team. That was certainly one of the criticisms while he

03:29was here, and I'm sure it will remain one as he moves on to the next phase of his career in UCLA.

03:34So it'll be really interesting to see which of these Tennessee players at that position emerge,

03:38not just as this team starter, but as a leader for this football team. But Kitzelman,

03:43Easton, and Carter are no doubt three of the pillars of this program. They're going to have

03:48to lead Tennessee football in 2025. They certainly will represent Tennessee football coming up at

03:53Media Days in Atlanta.

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