Tennessee and Chattanooga will kick off its 2024 football season on Saturday. The in-state matchup is slated for 12:45 p.m. EDT (SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium.

Josh Heupel enters his fourth season as Tennessee's head coach. He met with media on Monday to kick off game week.

"Good afternoon everybody, I'm excited," Heupel said. "Talking season is over, and we get to go play ball. Looking forward to seeing all of our fans inside of the stadium. It's been a long time. Unique kickoff time for us, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the Vol Walk at 10:30 (a.m. EDT). You guys know, this week we'll wear the Smokey Greys and wear the (Volunteer State) design for the first time. Facing a Chattanooga team that's a really good opponent, preseason ranked top 10 in their division. They return a lot of really good players. At the end of the day, this is the first step in our journey. Looking forward to going and competing with this group."

READ: 2024 Tennessee football game-by-game predictions

Everything Heupel said on Monday is listed below.

On his assessment of the state of the program entering year four

"We continue to build our roster, certainly. We're not quite at a full roster yet, but we really like the group that we have. As we continue to recruit here during the different cycles, length, athleticism and physicality are traits that we are looking for on the field. Competitive makeup, all of those things. I really like this team, and we have to continue to grow throughout the course of it. What they've done throughout the course of training camp, they've handled it really well. We have to handle game week preparation extremely well this week, too."

On what veteran players can do to make Nico Iamaleava's job easier

"For every quarterback, not just young ones, the guys around him playing at a really high level and execution are really important. That can be your offensive line in pass protection, being efficient in the run game and staying out of third-and-long situations. Your skill guys being where they need to be in the pass concepts or protection, all of those things tie into it together. At the same time, the quarterback has to make everybody right too."

On what will make a successful season opener for Nico Iamaleava

"Play smart football, take care of the football, manage the game extremely well, communication, play within himself and at times when they present themselves, make plays. He's had the opportunity to start the bowl game, and I think that was a great experience. It helped propel and create urgency within the offseason. He's handled himself extremely well here during the course of training camp too. Young quarterback. He's going to get better as we go through the season. I say that meaning that every rep you can get at that position on game day helps you as well."

On the challenges Chattanooga presents

"Veteran quarterback that has played at a really high level. Smart with the football. They have playmakers on the outside. For us offensively looking at them, they have explosive playmakers up front, and we have to do a really good job handling the line of scrimmage."

On the implementation of a two-minute warning in college football

"The two-minute warning obviously has a chance to change the sequencing of things at the end of both halves. We spend a bunch of time on that and hopefully, we are prepared the right way."

On Nico Iamaleava's first start at home in Neyland Stadium compared to his first career start as a player

"I have not talked to him about that. I talk to our team every week about really enjoying the journey leading up to kickoff. The Vol Walk, your experience at the hotel, hanging out with your teammates, seeing your family there in town and certainly running through the T, so to soak all those things in, it helps you enjoy the journey and makes you better for the next week. For him, at the end of the day it's 11-on-11 and when you get between the white lines, go play ball."

On what he likes about the team's work habits going into the season

"I challenged our veterans in each position room today. The preparation and urgency that you have to have, not just when the coach is in there but outside of those times. Making sure that our young guys understand what that process looks like each day of the week. A Monday looks different than a Tuesday or Wednesday as we get closer to kickoff. Our best men do a good job of leading the young guys. This group, you have heard me say it, post spring ball I thought they were extremely competitive and intentional. They were that way during training camp. The comradery and chemistry that we have as roles get defined and roles change each week, keeping that a part of our team locker room is going to be really important."

On fixing red zone issues and presnap penalties that affected the team last year

"We have done a good job throughout the course of training camp. I thought we got better in the second half of training camp, in particular on those things, which is typical as you go training camp with a lot of young guys learning how to play. Red zone, we spend a bunch of time on it, and we have to go out and execute in both areas offensively and defensively."

On how he feels about his first five on the offensive line and the depth behind them

"A couple of guys got built throughout the course of training camp, and that allows you to play more guys together. You don't have just five guys playing together. Throughout the course of the lead-up to this point in the year, I really like where that group is at. They push each other. We will play more guys and need to, but I really like where that group is at right now."

On if the College Football Playoff format has changed his thought process

"At the end of the day at this point in the season, it is about one week, winning every day and putting yourself in a position to go play your best football on Saturdays. It is a '1-0' mindset at this point."

This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Everything Josh Heupel said kicking off game week versus Chattanooga