Everything Josh Heupel said when Vols arrived in Miami

The Tennessee football team arrived in South Florida Sunday night to start preparing for the Orange Bowl, and Vols coach Josh Heupel had plenty to say about it.

Heupel met with reporters moments after he and the sixth-ranked Vols landed in the Miami area to start preparing for the Capital One Orange Bowl against seventh-ranked Clemson on Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium — the home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

Tennessee’s Orange Bowl preparation until Sunday night had taken place in Knoxville, where the Vols wrapped up the fall semester academically and then took to Haslam Field for a week full of work — aside from one day off, when Heupel and the staff took the players up to the Smoky Mountains in nearby Gatlinburg.

Heupel and the Vols won’t quite be at full strength to face Clemson — star receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, along with senior linebacker Jeremy Banks have opted out to start preparing for the NFL Draft, star quarterback Hendon Hooker is sidelined with a torn ACL, and some players have entered the transfer portal in hopes of earning more playing time elsewhere — but the rest of the team is reportedly making the trip and preparing to play in the game.

Tennessee is a 5.5-point underdog heading into the week, likely owing to the high-profile absences from the top end of the roster. Clemson also found some much-needed offensive answers late in the season when it handed the offense to touted freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Here’s everything Heupel said moments after the Vols touched down in South Florida.