BATON ROUGE, La. – Tennessee had high expectations for itself heading into the 2022 season. Did the Vols expect to get off to a 5-0 start? That's hard to say, but any coach or player will tell you they feel that anything can be accomplished.
For Josh Heupel and his program, they've made significant strides since joining together ahead of the 2021 season. After going 7-6 overall in Heupel's debut campaign, the Vols have already won five games – with no losses – up to this point in 2022. Two of them may have come against a pair of non-Power Five opponents, but the other three have been marquee victories over high-quality competition.
"I think they're on the same page," Heupel said. "They're fighting for the same goals. They understand the plans on their unit and compete really hard. They love each other, they love competing every day.
"Last week's practice – Tuesday and Wednesday, the way we finished, man. ... It's a fun team to be around. It's because of our staff and the buy-in they've gotten from their position players and collectively as a program and the culture that's there."
After opening the season with a blowout win over Ball State, Tennessee then hit the road to then-No. 17 ranked Pitt and recorded a 34-27 road victory. Following another dominant showing in a thumping of Akron, the Vols turned right around and handed then-No. 20 Florida a loss in the SEC opener at Neyland Stadium with ESPN's College GameDay there for the pregame show.
Now, after a bye week, Heupel's squad has went on the road and recorded another monumental SEC victory – this time by dominating No. 25 LSU from start to finish in a 40-13 win on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Tennessee has put together some strong performances under Heupel and his staff, but Saturday's outing was probably the best from an all-around standpoint. Linebacker Byron Young definitely thinks so.
"I would say yes – it was the best with how we came out," Young said. "I will say the reason for this is that we had two great days of practice. ... Everybody locked in and doing their assignments. I feel like our preparation is the reason why we came out the way we did."
Already ranked No. 8 in the latest AP Top 25 poll and now sitting at 5-0 with a 2-0 mark in league play, the Vols are red-hot. However, competition is going to continue to get tougher – especially next Saturday when they host No. 1 Alabama in Knoxville.
Tennessee knows it'll have its hands full facing the Crimson Tide, but the team's confidence level is at an all-time high.
"As far as the approach from our guys, I expect it to be like it has been," Heupel said. "Everybody understands the opponent that we have. It's important that our players and staff enjoy this one tonight on the ride home. As a staff, you turn to the next one tomorrow and the players will turn to it on Monday.
"Everybody knows what's coming to town and the opportunity that we have, so I expect next Saturday to be an electric atmosphere. ... Can't imagine it wouldn't be louder and more hostile than it was for Florida. Looking forward to that."
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