Josh Heupel transforms Tennessee into recruiting force in 16 months

The Tennessee Volunteers are off to a hot start on the recruiting trail this cycle. After closing strong in 2022, Josh Heupel and his program finished with the No. 17 recruiting class in the country. They have carried that momentum over to 2023.

Tennessee beat out Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Oregon, and others for five-star quarterback commitment Nico Iamaleava. That news made headlines across the country and Iamaleava isn’t the only big-time prospect to pick Tennessee or lean toward the Vols this spring.

The Vols surged to the No. 4 class in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings after landing commits from four-star EDGE Caleb Herring, four-star safety Sylvester Smith, three-star offensive tackle Trevor Duncan and three-star defensive lineman Nathan Robinson in April. UT has also quickly become a factor in the recruitment of top prospects like five-star offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa and five-star receiver Carnell Tate.

Heupel has quickly turned Tennessee into a major player on the national recruiting scene in less than two recruiting cycles. It’s a major feat in the cutthroat recruiting world of the SEC.

“Coming here, I saw this as an iconic brand,” Heupel told On3 in an exclusive interview.

“Learning some more about the history of the program has been a lot of fun for myself and our staff. This is a program that’s top 10 in the history of college football in wins, NFL draft picks and first-round picks. I think it is just a unique opportunity in that you take an ultimate kind of program but put a new-age approach on it.”

Tennessee on verge of 1^st top-10 class in years

Prior to the success in the 2023 class, it had been more than a decade since the Vols reeled in a top-10 class. Yes, there’s still a while to go until the Early Signing Period in December. But all indications are Tennessee is in line for its best class in a long time.

Heupel said it’s the Tennessee community that’s played a huge role in turning the Vols into a threat with many top prospects.

“I think the thing that’s striking to me is just how engaging and passionate the fan base truly is,” he said. “You can see that on Saturday afternoons inside of Neyland Stadium. Vol Walk is unlike anything else in college sports. You see it as you drive past the river. Whether we’re going to the hotel on Friday night or driving into the stadium, you’re going to see 250 boats tied up and having a big party on the river.

“To me, this is the coolest college city in all of sports. Everything bleeds orange and white. It’s all centered around UT athletics. At the same time, it’s a unique blend. There are real personal and professional opportunities that are located here in Knoxville. It’s an awesome place to live.”

Heupel hasn’t been afraid to put his own recruiting wrinkles on the Tennessee brand. Some examples of this include the inclusion of former stars like Charles Davis and Peyton Manning within the program. He prides himself on celebrating UT’s rich football history and getting VFLs – Vols For Life – back on campus. But he believes he’s also done a good job of focusing on the things that matter to today’s players – including incorporating current players’ families into the program and doing team events outside of the football complex.

“It’s been a lot of fun building that,” he said.

Landing primetime QB big for Vols’s turnaround

That fun has been noticed by recruits, including Iamaleava, the most coveted quarterback recruit to pick the Vols since Manning.

“Tennessee has it all,” Iamaleava said when announcing his commitment to the Vols. “I love everything about Tennessee. The city, the people, the school, the location – everything about Tennessee is right for me.”

And it’s Iamaleava that has also given the Vols a big bounce in the 2023 cycle. Heupel can’t comment on Iamaleava since he’s not signed yet. But he made it clear that landing a star quarterback is a big piece of the puzzle to helping the Vols return to the top of the SEC.

“That guy becomes the face of that recruiting class,” Heupel said. “Whoever your starting quarterback, in a lot of ways, becomes the face of your program or your franchise, however, you want to phrase it. That kind of is the spearhead to everything that goes on inside of that recruiting class. Obviously, you got to recruit great players around them. But he has the opportunity and the outreach.

“Those types of players, have the outreach to help bring other guys on board and create a ton of energy inside of your recruiting class.”

Vols making strides locally, too

What’s also creating a ton of energy is recruiting well within the state of Tennessee. For years, the Volunteer State has been home to some top talent. But getting those top stars to Knoxville hasn’t been easy. Heupel saw that firsthand in the 2022 class when UT didn’t land a single player in the top 10 and missed out on Five-Star Plus+ defensive lineman Walter Nolen.

UT already has five 2023 in-state targets committed, including Herring – the No. 63 recruit in the country and eighth-best EDGE prospect overall.

“You got to recruit our state and our footprint the right way,” Heupel said. “For us, recruiting Tennessee is a high priority. It’s important that we do a great job of building relationships with coaches and people that have their boots on the ground inside of this state. It’s important that we do a great job of having constant, consistent communication with them when we have an opportunity to get out on the road to be seen here inside of this state. And to do a great job of evaluating players.

“Doesn’t mean we’re going to offer everybody. Doesn’t mean we’re going to get everybody. But we want to recruit it the right way. I think 16 months into our program, the people inside of the state have seen that we’re going to do it the right way.”

Tennessee can have success nationally – with right culture

Heupel also wants to continue to do things the right way through the rest of the 2023 cycle. To do that, he said he knows Tennessee – like it did under Phil Fulmer – must continue to have recruiting success down in Florida, across the country to California, back to the upper Northeast and everywhere in between.

“At the end of the day for us as a staff, it’s about finding the guys that don’t just fit what we do talent-wise, but fit what we’re building culture-wise,” he said. “The combination of those two things helps us put the cornerstones and the solid foundation inside of our program. I love what we did with our first recruiting class here this past December, but it’s how we’re going to continue to grow and win forever inside of this program.”