Josh Heupel, the head coach of Tennessee football, is making a significant recruiting move for the Volunteers this cycle.
Josh Heupel, the head football coach at Tennesee, has no intention of spending a lot of money on the transfer portal this offseason. Adam Sparks of The Knoxville News Sentinel points out that the Volunteers are more concerned with their crowded class of 2025 high school students.
“Give those figures another look. Between its senior class (13) and the portal (12), UT lost a total of 25 scholarship players, Sparks noted.
With 25 high school recruits in the 2025 signing class, it restocked that.
Therefore, you might be in the wrong spot if you’re hoping that the Vols will use the gateway to replace all of their veteran players. According to the math, UT has already made the decision to go younger by adding freshmen to the 2025 roster instead of a big haul of transfers.
“UT will continue to add transfers at critical need positions. However, don’t count on the portal to seal every hole.
Focusing on the Volunteers’ high school class may appear to some as a surrender that the program isn’t yet prepared to win it all after being thrashed by Ohio State in the College Football Playoffs’ opening round.
Certainly not in the opinion of Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports. After Tennessee was humiliated by the Buckeyes, 42–17, Jeyarajah called them a “bubble team”.
Although it’s not entirely their fault, the Vols may have had the poorest performance of any team in the CFP. Ohio State, arguably the nation’s finest team overall, was a formidable opponent for Tennessee. After losing to Michigan in the championship game, the Buckeyes were furious and eventually found their groove. Regretfully, Tennessee didn’t appear to be the national contender it had intended to be—rather, it looked like a bubble squad. The Vols actually don’t appear to be that close,” Jeyarajah remarked.
On Rocky Top, Heupel’s long-term strategy would likely not be well received. particularly now that Nico Iamaleava has shown he can maintain this team’s competitiveness, at least in the conference.
In college football, things can change rapidly. If Heupel sticks, we’ll see.
