Tennessee expected to hire Utah State OL coach Micah James for analyst role

Tennessee is adding an offensive analyst to its football coaching staff, hiring Utah State offensive line coach Micah James to join the Volunteers staff, according to On3’s Matt Zenitz. James previously worked with Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel at UCF.

James played offensive line at Middle Tennessee State during his playing career. He was a team captain and earned all-conference honors.

Along with stops at Utah State and UCF, James has been on the coaching staffs at UMass, Arkansas State, Maryland and Faulkner University. He’s served as a run game coordinator, offensive graduate assistant and offensive line coach.

Josh Heupel recalls process of taking Tennessee job

Just two years later, it’s hard to imagine that Tennessee was a job that a lot of coaches didn’t want. However, when Josh Heupel took the job, it was seen as an almost impossible situation, with possible NCAA sanctions on the way and a roster exodus.

However, there was still plenty of appeal for Heupel when he followed athletic director Danny White by moving from UCF to Tennessee.

“Tennessee, the brand, the game day experience, the ability to compete at the highest level, all of those things were easy to see and known by me, things that I want to have an opportunity to do,” Josh Heupel explained.

“You want to be able to take care of your staff, make sure that your players are having a great experience. We have all the tools and resources to do all those things. So, now you get a chance to just compete.”

Another thing that Josh Heupel emphasized was the importance of going somewhere with good alignment. Having worked with White at UCF, he knew he could get that again at Tennessee, even though alignment goes beyond the athletic department.

“It was really important to me that leadership was aligned. I say that meaning your president, your chancellor, your athletic director. There’s a clear vision on what they want, what they expect, and a pathway to help you get to where you wanna go,” Heupel said.

“I got a chance to talk to those three individuals and really was just blown away by their passion for Tennessee, the people of Tennessee–their passion for Tennessee football, and how important it was for them to see it be successful and be back on top.”