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Josh Heupel evaluates current state of Tennessee football program

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•06/04/23•

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Photo by Eakin Howard | Getty Images

After going 11-2 last season and dominating Clemson 31-14 in the Capital One Orange Bowl, Tennessee fans are riding high into the 2023 season. Evidently, they’re not the only ones.

UT head coach Josh Heupel couldn’t contain his excitement for his Volunteers squad when he met with reporters last week at the SEC Spring Meetings. He was happy to see similar positivity from the Tennessee faithful.

“From our fanbase, great passion, great energy, great excitement, a ton of expectation. That’s the way you want it. Expectations will never be higher than they are in the building. It’s a great time to be a Vol,” Heupel said.

Yes, it is. Tennessee led the nation in total offense at 525.5 yards per game last season. While the Volunteers lost their leader Hendon Hooker to the draft, they have options to replace him.

Tennessee’s first and most obvious option is Joe Milton. The redshirt senior was thrust into the limelight for the final two games of the season when Hooker tore his ACL. Under Milton’s leadership, the Vols put up 87 points in two games. Not bad.

As insane as it is to say following that statistic, Milton is not the clear choice. Tennessee brought in five-star freshman Nico Iamaleava this offseason. The tough choice at quarterback is a good problem to have.

“It’s been fun building this. When we first arrived, [there was] a lot of uncertainty surrounding the program and so many things we were trying to navigate,” Heupel said. “We got back in January and this group has been very purposeful in the way that it’s worked.”

The Volunteers will need every bit of their hard work to pay off. While Tennessee found its first 10-win season since 2011 last year, the Volunteers weren’t a perfect team. UT gave up 289.5 yards per game, ranking 127th in the country.

Thankfully for Tennessee, Heupel believes his team is ahead of schedule.

“Spring ball, I thought was as physical and competitive as we’ve had, moreso,” Heuepel said. “We’ve got have a great summer and get ready.”

Tennessee will kick off the season on Sept. 2 when it faces Virginia at noon in Nissan Stadium.