Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle met with reporters on Wednesday for the first time since his recent promotion to offensive coordinator.

Halzle's media session (defensive coordinator Tim Banks and new tight ends coach Alec Abeln also spoke to reporters) felt like the unofficial start of Tennessee's 2023 season.

And in that spirit, Halzle made a statement that every single UT player on the 2023 roster needs to hear.

Halzle was asked what his main focus will be this spring. The third-year Vols assistant made it clear that one of his main objectives this season is making sure everyone on Tennessee's roster understands that they won't have success in 2023 just because UT had success in 2022.

"Overall as an entire offensive unit, [the] main thing is these guys understand what we were able to accomplish last year does not just happen because you are here and you were the No. 1 offense in the country," said Halzle. "You don't just get to be that next year. Making sure that everyone knows the amount of work that went into that. Remembers the guys that were here that did it."

"You gotta remember what you put in to make that happen," added Halzle. "And the new guys gotta understand that just because you come into this system, with this group of guys around you, you don't just get to do what a Jalin Hyatt or a Cedric Tillman or a Hendon Hooker did. They put in the work to go earn that. And that's what the main focus for the entire offseason is — we have to start back at square one. Last year's plays have absolutely nothing to do with next year's."

Hyatt is a perfect example of what Halzle is talking about. In 2021, Hyatt's mind wasn't in the right place. That's something he readily admitted ahead of the 2022 season. Hyatt, however, essentially rededicated himself to football and he put in the work to get better.

The results on the field this past season weren't just because of Tennessee's scheme. Sure, putting players in a position to succeed is a huge part of finding success in college football. But Hyatt won the Biletnikoff Award because of the work he put in.

Hyatt was famously putting in extra work the week after his five-touchdown performance against Alabama. That's the kind of work ethic it takes to play at an elite level in the SEC — regardless of the scheme.

I think there's a bit of misconception around the country that Tennessee's offense is a plug-and-play system and it's more about the scheme than the players.

That's certainly not the case. And Vols head coach Josh Heupel would be the first to tell you that.

“Scheme? Yeah, there’s something to putting him (Hyatt) in position (to have success) — [but] it’s him going and making plays,” said Heupel after Tennessee’s win against Kentucky this past season. “It’s (QB) Hendon (Hooker) making plays, it’s our offensive line protecting. At the end of the day, it’s players, not coaches.”

The fact that Halzle and the offensive staff are making sure that players understand that last year's success won't guarantee anything in 2023 should help Tennessee avoid any sort of "hangover" after an emotional 2022 season that was full of program-shaping moments.