Wild Wild West: Heupel & Vols engulfed in a flurry of offseason moves

The college football offseason can be characterized as the Wild, Wild West.

With the addition of the transfer portal, the one-time transfer rule passed by the NCAA, the COVID-instilled additional year of eligibility and the Southeastern Conference likely waiving the intraconference transfer blockade – things have never been more hectic for college football coaches around the country.

Roster management is at an all-time high as players are coming and going at a rapid pace. Tennessee has been affected by this maybe more than any team in the country and new head coach Josh Heupel has been forced to adapt to the circumstances.

Coming off a 3-7 season in 2020 that coincided with an internal investigation ousting the incumbent coaching staff, many Vols looked elsewhere. Things complicated the process when the coaching transition proceeded the early National Signing Period – resulting in a couple of signees requesting their release.

Numbers were bare in spring due to the circumstances, coupled with injuries to several who stayed in Knoxville. Heupel and staff needed help in the immediate with an eye on the future as well.

In comes in Hendon Hooker, who was actually signed by Jeremy Pruitt. The former Virginia Tech Hokie will have an opportunity to earn the starting quarterback job in fall camp. He’ll have to compete, however, with transfer Joe Milton who started five games at Michigan as a junior.

Harrison Bailey will have a say in the conversation, while Brian Maurer and signee Kaidon Salter are also on the roster with former Vol signal-callers Jarrett Guarantano, J.T. Shroutt and Kasim Hill all out of town.

More pressing offensive casualties this offseason came with running back Eric Gray and offensive lineman Wanya Morris taking their talents to Norman, Oklahoma, along with defensive back Key Lawrence. Running back Ty Chandler is joining a top-10 team in Chapel Hill while Jahmir Johnson is set to play a big role for Texas A&M this fall on the offensive line.

Tennessee’s staff created some depth and parity at those positions in spring while also adding former Mississippi State receiver Javonta Payton to aid in an offense that deploys a plethora of wideouts.

Defensively, Tim Banks has been dealt a horrid hand as all four linebackers who started the 2020 campaign are no longer in Knoxville for one reason or another. Former Texas Longhorn Juwan Mitchell will help in the short-term while William Mohan, once the top-prospect in New York, is a body for now who can potentially transform into a vital player down the road.

Up front, the Vols lost some key contributors but also return a bevy of veterans. Will all those veterans be on the roster this fall? We will see. But needing more production now, Heupel added rental Caleb Tremblay of USC and brought in project Da’Jon Terry of Kansas to help with the push.

Tennessee has talent in the back end of the defense but struggles with depth. Lawrence could end up being a significant departure, Shawn Shamburger played a lot of snaps at Tennessee and Baylen Buchanan’s injury-riddled time on The Hill is no more.

Underclassmen Tamarion McDonald, Donieko Slaughter, Christian Charles and Deshawn Rucker will be charged with adding depth immediately – but the Vols went out and got former JUCO and short-lived Auburn cornerback Kamal Hadden anyway. He’s a multi-year guy.

The special teams took a hit this offseason too as starting place kicker Brent Cimaglia darted for Georgia Tech and Knoxville punter Joe Doyle is now in Memphis. Former Trojan kicker Chase McGrath is now in line to compete for field goals this fall.

In all, the transfer portal count is extremely high for the Volunteers when you compare the current roster to September of 2020. Should be noted, however, some were walk-ons, some were dismissed from the program for disciplinary reasons and several were graduates taking advantage of the additional year to compete – and elected to head elsewhere.

Heupel’s job is to recruit high-caliber players for future classes while taking advantage of the portal and transfer waiver to replenish the roster with immediate help and for help in the future.

As said in Thursday’s Mailbag Podcast, if Milton pans out -- it’s all worth it. That’s how important the quarterback position is in football. It’s up to the player and the coaches to find a way to make it work, but time will tell. Tennessee has failed to have competent quarterback play since Josh Dobbs in 2016.

Payton, Tremblay and Mitchell will be challenged to make immediate impacts for positions of crucial need in 2021 while Terry, Mohan and Hadden aid in the nutrition of younger players leaving the program.

Could there be more attrition before fall camp and could others be added to the roster? Maybe. It’s a balancing act and one that’s a must for Heupel as he looks to restore the Power T brand around college football.

Author’s note: I discussed this further on my podcast last week, Locked on Vols. Segment two of Friday's show examines the importance of traditional recruiting compared to the transfer portal and how both are vital in 2021.