ESPN considers Josh Heupel same caliber coach as Lane Kiffin, Deion Sanders

in other news

Tony Vitello flips elite catcher recruit to Tennessee baseball from SEC foe

Tony Vitello and Tennessee baseball has stolen one of the top catcher recruits in the country from an SEC foe.

• Ryan Sylvia

WATCH: Vols legend Zakai Zeigler records moment he graduates from Tennessee

Tennessee basketball's most accomplished point guard in school history is officially a graduate of the university.

• Ryan Sylvia

Using graphs to look at Tennessee baseball's best players of 2025

Tennessee baseball's regular season is in the books, so here's a look at the Vols' stat leaders.

• Ryan Sylvia

Tennessee baseball's Liam Doyle named SEC Pitcher of the Year

The Vols' left-hander is just the third player to win the award in program history.

• Noah Taylor

WATCH: Tennessee basketball 2025 signee goes off in French pro league

Tennessee basketball 2025 signee Clarence Massamba had a great game in his final game in Espoirs Pro A.

• Ryan Sylvia

in other news

Tony Vitello flips elite catcher recruit to Tennessee baseball from SEC foe

Tony Vitello and Tennessee baseball has stolen one of the top catcher recruits in the country from an SEC foe.

• Ryan Sylvia

WATCH: Vols legend Zakai Zeigler records moment he graduates from Tennessee

Tennessee basketball's most accomplished point guard in school history is officially a graduate of the university.

• Ryan Sylvia

Using graphs to look at Tennessee baseball's best players of 2025

Tennessee baseball's regular season is in the books, so here's a look at the Vols' stat leaders.

• Ryan Sylvia

Published May 19, 2025

ESPN considers Josh Heupel same caliber coach as Lane Kiffin, Deion Sanders

Ryan Sylvia • VolReport

Assistant Managing Editor

@RyanTSylvia

Ahead of the upcoming college football season, ESPN released its rankings of the top coaches in the sport.

The publication got 12 football reporters across the country to weigh in and vote on their top 10.

The results left Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel outside of the top 10, receiving three points.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

He received a tie for the 18th-most votes of all coaches. This tied him with Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin, Colorado's Deion Sanders and SMU's Rhett Lashlee.

The spot is good for a tie of fifth among SEC coaches. Coaches in the conference ahead of him are No. 1 Kirby Smart with Georgia, No. 5 Steve Sarkisian with Texas, No. 7 Kalen DeBoer with Alabama and Brian Kelly with LSU receiving more votes outside the top 10.

Other coaches inside the top 10 ahead of him are No. 2 Ryan Day with Ohio State, No. 3 Dabo Swinney with Clemson, No. 4 Marcus Freeman with Notre Dame, No. 6 Dan Lanning with Oregon, No. 8 James Franklin with Penn State, No. 9 Kyle Whittingham with Utah and No. 10 Matt Campbell with Iowa State.

Receiving more votes than Heupel outside the SEC were Bill Belichick with North Carolina, Curt Cignetti with Indiana, Lance Leipold with Kansas, Jeff Monken with Army, Jeff Brohm with Louisville and Kenny Dillingham with Arizona State.

Below Heupel were Chris Klieman of Kansas State and Kirk Ferentz of Iowa.

Heupel is now entering year five with Tennessee. He is coming off a College Football Playoffs berth where his team fell to the eventual champions, Ohio State, in Columbus. The Vols went 10-3 on the season.

In 2023, Tennessee went 9-4 and earned a spot in the Citrus Bowl where it beat Iowa. This came after a terrific 2022 campaign that fell just short of a spot in the four-team playoffs. The team finished 11-2 with a win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

In year one, his team went 7-6, capped off with a controversial loss to Purdue in the Music City Bowl.

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.