Josh Heupel on growth of Tennessee's program: 'The foundation has been set'

There's no denying that Tennessee's football program was in rough shape following a disastrous season in 2020 – which included just three wins (which were recently vacated by the NCAA due to infraction penalties) and countless recruiting violations committed by former head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

After Pruitt was fired on January 18, 2021, the Vols turned to then-UCF head coach Josh Heupel to become Tennessee's leader with the hopes of restoring the culture on Rocky Top. Heupel took the job less than 10 days later – on January 27 – and quickly went to work in Knoxville.

Now, just two seasons later, Heupel has already guided Tennessee to 18 total wins – including a New Year's Six bowl victory – and a No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff Top 25. His quick resurgence of the Vols' program has been nothing short of incredible, and expectations are as high as ever entering the 2023 campaign.

"First of all, the cornerstone pieces of who we are, the foundation has been set, it's been laid," Heupel said Tuesday while meeting with reporters at Tennessee's annual team media day. "Great trust and accountability inside of our walls. Our players, just their daily habits, who they are, what they're about, how they compete – individually with themselves and collectively as a group, too.

"We've come a long ways in a short amount of time."

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Following Pruitt's dismissal, Tennessee lost a significant number of players to the NCAA Transfer Portal, which left Heupel and his newly-hired staff with a pretty empty locker room. However, to he and his staff's credit, they were able to gather enough players to put together a 7-6 season in Year One – which included an appearance in the Music City Bowl in Nashville.

Fast forward just one season – to 2022 – and Heupel and his staff added even more players to their roster, went 11-2 overall, 6-2 in the SEC and defeated Clemson in the Orange Bowl in Miami.

Now, heading into the 2023 edition of fall camp, Tennessee's roster is even more intact.

"Our roster – you know, I've said it before. ... That first fall, we had 65 scholarship players. We're close to 85 (now). We've got real depth, real competition, really, at every position," Heupel said. "There's just great competition everywhere. Our athleticism, strength – all those things have continued to improve. We're continuing to take strides, but this is the time of year where you've got to go out and earn it every day."

Although Tennessee lost offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Alex Golesh to USF ahead of the Orange Bowl, Heupel was able to stay in-house and make some promotions following the conclusion of the season. Instead of hiring outside faces, the Vols' head man instead promoted a pair of staffers – making Joey Halzle the offensive coordinator and Alec Abeln the tight ends coach.

It's been a smooth transition for Heupel and the rest of the Tennessee coaching staff, to say the least.

"The people that we've been able to promote have been within the building, within those position units," Heupel said. "They have connections and relationships with those players. So, it's not like you're starting over from scratch even when you promote somebody. I think it's really important inside of your program – at any point – but it's certainly important where we took this program over in trying to build something.

"At every phase, every single year, we've never had to completely reset. ... We've been able to continue. It's allowed us to continue to grow really quickly, and I don't think you can understate that part of it as we've grown here over the first two years and into Year Three."

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Circling back to the NCAA violations committed by Pruitt, everyone associated with Tennessee – especially Heupel – is happy that the case has been closed and the Vols can move on from it. Avoiding a postseason bowl ban was significant for the program that Heupel has led back to prominence.

"The NCAA stuff being behind us is huge for us as a program – as much as anything on the recruiting side of it," Heupel said. "As far as how I'm different or what's different about the program, well, you've got two-and-a-half years of built-up trust and chemistry with your staff and players. But, at the end of the day, how we approach – and how I approach – every single day, it's not any different. ... This is a highly competitive game. You've got great players and coaches that we're going to be going against all fall long.

"You've got to reset and go earn it every single day. We have a real sense of urgency inside our program – and that starts with me."

Tennessee held its first fall camp practice Wednesday morning at Haslam Field and will continue preparing for its Saturday, September 2 season opener against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

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