Josh Heupel credits players who stayed at Tennessee following NCAA investigation

Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel has done what many other coaches before him could not do in Knoxville–revive the Volunteers’ historic football program. He’s helped to catapult the Vols back into the top 10, which is never an easy feat in college football, especially in the SEC.

No coach in college football can get that done without some elite players. Not only that, but the Tennessee program has also had the cloud of NCAA sanctions hanging over it for the past few years.

On Friday, that cloud was finally lifted and the Vols finally got their answer with regards to the NCAA violations under Jeremy Pruitt.

The cloud has been lifted and now the Tennessee program can focus on on-the-field issues. Following the conclusion of the investigation, Heupel gave his players plenty of credit for sticking with the Vols through a very stressful period of time.

“The group of seniors we had this last year, and the year before will have a completely different lineage of their impact inside of Tennessee football. I say that because there was so much uncertainty. So many guys did leave. Those guys who chose to stay cared about the Power T and the guys in that locker room,” Heupel said.

“You look at the success and what they were able to rebuild in such a short amount of time, it’s certainly the pillars of our success that we’ve had and where we are going. Those classes will be remembered and revered in a completely different way than so many that came before them,” the Tennessee head coach said.

For more on Heupel and the NCAA violations the Volunteers had to deal with, check out this article from On3’s Nick Schultz.

Heupel had to deal with negative recruiting on the trail

After leaving UCF, Josh Heupel walked into a rough situation when he took the job at Tennessee. The program was coming off the firing of Jeremy Pruitt in light of 18 NCAA violations — an investigation that ended Friday, more than two years after Heupel accepted the job.

It hasn’t been easy for the program in the time since Pruitt’s dismissal. As it turns out, it made things tougher for Heupel on the recruiting trail as he tried to rebuild the program.

He opened up about that on The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday.

“Our players, because they are with you every day, have a lot of trust in what you are doing in leading that program and what you’re going to try and get accomplished for them,” Heupel told Peter Burns. “I think the hardest thing for our entire staff was in recruiting because it had nothing to do with us who are currently there. People tried to use it against us in recruiting, negatively. We had to develop great trust with the recruits and their families.

“You talk about the culture you are building, and you talk about what happened and what you think the end result will be with the NCAA. Today’s work gives us the ability to put it behind us. It’s out in the open and it’s finalized. They can all realize that they have an opportunity to go and play for championships.”

Heupel officially took over in January 2021, meaning he’s had two full recruiting cycles since arriving on Rocky Top. Tennessee brought in the No. 15-ranked recruiting class from the 2022 cycle and has the No. 12 class coming in from 2023, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. The Volunteers currently hold the No. 14-ranked group from the 2024 cycle.

The transfer portal also served as a key resource for Heupel and the Vols. Hendon Hooker was a key part of the turnaround over the last two years, helping take the program from a 5-7 record in Heupel’s first season to an 11-2 mark in 2022. Now, another transfer quarterback — Joe Milton — will take the reins as the starter now that Hooker is off to the NFL.

But now, the investigation into Tennessee is over. The Volunteers avoided a bowl ban, but still received an $8 million fine and Pruitt received a six-year show-cause, the NCAA announced Friday. Heupel addressed the decision not to ban the program from bowl games, and that added to his excitement about the decision.

“You don’t know until today what it’s actually going to be,” Heupel told ESPN. “It’s hugely important that our players were protected and the future players were protected as well. I’m really excited about the outcome.”

On3’s James Fletcher III and Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.