Josh Heupel explains his calm demeanor on the sideline

The Tennessee Volunteers are coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, an 11-win campaign capped by a win over No. 7 Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

Outside of one fairly inexplicable collapse against South Carolina, Tennessee was remarkably consistent throughout the year, too.

That’s likely a product of exactly what the coaching staff works toward when building the program’s culture around the players. It’s an example-driven process that ultimately allows players to simply follow the leaders in front of them, whether that’s head coach Josh Heupel or the guy one spot up on the depth chart.

But Heupel himself has a remarkably calm demeanor as a head coach.

“I think having played quarterback, understanding that you got to reset every play and the next play is the only one that matters, understanding that everybody around you is going to feed off of your energy too, you know, I think that plays a huge part in why I respond the way that I do,” Heupel explained on The Hard Count with JD PicKell.

His calm demeanor seemed to permeate the team as the Volunteers rarely ducked away when the going got tough.

If anything, Heupel’s bunch loved to punch back when games turned tight. Of course, that’s easier to do when the coach has an offense firing on all cylinders for most of the season.

Maintaining that excellence on the offensive side of the ball might be a bit challenging with starting quarterback Hendon Hooker gone, but that’s the whole point of Heupel and his staff always keeping things on an even keel.

The more intentional he and his coworkers on the staff are, calm demeanor and all, the more that trickles down and translates to the players.

“We’re very intentional as a staff, trying to make sure that, you know, our players are going to notice what we’re doing a lot more than even what we’re saying,” Heupel said. “So, making sure that we’re handling the moment the right way too.”

After losing Hooker, Tennessee will get a test straight out of the gates to open the 2023 season. Up first is a Virginia squad that will be seeking a turnaround.

Expected to take over at quarterback for Tennessee is Joe Milton, who took over and led the Volunteers after Hooker suffered a season-ending injury.

He’ll take over without a ton of statistical production in the Tennessee offense after going 53-of-83 for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.