Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel said two things on Friday during his media session with reporters that should excite fans for the 2022 season.

The first thing Heupel said is a simple statement that carries a lot of weight.

Heupel noted that Tennessee is much deeper than they were a year ago.

Heupel: I feel like we are a much deeper football team than we were a year ago.

— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) August 19, 2022

The Vols obviously have a long way to go to build the type of depth that Tennessee needs in order to compete with Georgia in the SEC East, but it's still extremely encouraging to hear Heupel talk about how the team is deeper.

Past coaches have used a lack of depth as a crutch. Heupel has referenced having a thin roster last season, but he doesn't harp on it. He's not one for excuses. The fact that he feels like the Volunteers are deeper means this team is going to have a good chance to be competitive against really good teams in the fourth quarter.

The other thing that Heupel said that I felt was encouraging kind of goes hand in hand with his comment about depth.

As a result of having better depth, Heupel feels like Tennessee will be a better pass-rushing team in 2022.

Heupel: With the depth, the growth of our players individually, I think we’ll be better at applying pressure on the quarterback without having to bring pressures.

— GoVols247 (@GoVols247) August 19, 2022

If you're going to be successful in the SEC, you have to be able to get after the quarterback.

The Vols had some success last year rushing the passer, but there was plenty of room to improve, too.

Tyler Baron, Byron Young, Roman Harrison, James Pearce, and Joshua Josephs will be key to Tennessee's success this season.

If they're a more dangerous unit in 2022 as Heupel has suggested they'll be, it could lead to a special season for the Vols.

Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK