Why the hype is being bought surrounding Josh Heupel, Tennessee's CFP hopes

Tennessee was the toast of the SEC until they ran into Georgia last year. For much of the 2022 season, the Volunteers were a juggernaut offense that mowed down one elite opponent after another, often surpassing 40 or 50 points in the process. An injury to star QB Hendon Hooker and a bad mis-step vs. South Carolina left a slightly sour taste in fans’ mouths to end the season, but the hype was back for the offseason when backup Joe Milton performed terrifically in the bowl game.

He’s no Hendon Hooker, but he showed he has plenty enough talent to keep the train rolling offensively down in Knoxville. The question is: can Josh Heupel retool and create another explosive offense, just with different pieces? On3’s JD PicKell is taking bets that yes he can. For a video on the On3 YouTube channel, he explained why he’s buying the hype for Josh Heupel in year three as well as Joe Milton. Take a look at his comments on on the Vols in this video here, or read them further below:

JD PicKell on why to buy the Tennessee hype

“Okay, so I’ll say this: I am buying the Josh Heupel hype one million percent. I’m bought in, I bought all the Josh Heupel stock very early in the year. I would also say this: you have earned the right in Knoxville to talk about a College Football Playoff birth. You have because you beat Alabama. Last year, kind of fell off the wagon against South Carolina. You know, Hendon Hooker got hurt, like there’s a lot that goes into those. But you look at how this thing is built with Josh Heupel running the show now, Tennessee, I believe, is gonna have a chance in every single game they play. So that’s for starters on Tennessee.”

“Hendon Hooker‘s gone, Jalin Hyatt‘s gone, some people outside of the Tennessee circles are saying great, Tennessee is going to really fall off now. They’re going to go back to winning seven games and Josh Heupel got lucky having Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt. But that’s not who they’re going to be long-term.

“Well Joe Milton steps into there and there’s a lot of people that they understand he’s not Hendon Hooker, but he’s also got some tools Hendon Hooker didn’t have. Really big frame, very durable, good athlete, like there’s a lot he brings to the table here and there’s a lot for Tennessee when it comes to what they’re going to do in 2023 that resides with Joe Milton and him being that dude.”