Josh Heupel believes Tennessee's exciting brand will parlay into recruiting successes

Five-star wideout Carnell Tate committed to Ohio State over Tennessee on Monday — a tough blow for the Vols but hardly a deathknell for their 2023 recruiting class.

The Vols currently have nine public pledges, including a trio of Top 100 prospects headlined by 5-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The California standout was considered by some to be the best player in the country at the OT7 event in Las Vegas earlier this month and he remains the foundational piece of perhaps Tennessee’s first Top 10 recruiting class (currently ranked No. 9 by On3) in close to a decade. 

So while Tennessee’s recruiting momentum has simmered a bit this summer since ‘Nico Mania’ hit Rocky Top back in March, second-year head coach Josh Heupel remains optimistic about the Vols’ chances to build an elite, championship-caliber recruiting class. 

In early June, UT hosted its first “Rocky Top Palooza” under Heupel, where more than a dozen blue-chip prospects were in attendance for the invite-only event. Iamaleava returned to Knoxville to help recruit studs like 5-star offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa, 4-star defensive lineman Tomarrion Parker, 4-star outside linebacker Chandavian Bradley and 4-star offensive tackle Lucas Simmons— all players still seriously considering the Vols. 

“I think our exciting brand and the culture that we’ve built inside the building has allowed us to get in on some elite players, and believe that we’re going to have an opportunity to continue to close with those same guys,” Josh Heupel said earlier this month at the SEC Spring Meetings. 

“A year ago at this time, we were just starting to get kids on our campus for the first time. And you can talk to them about a culture and energy and what we’re going to look like on the football field, but there’s nothing like actually seeing it. A year from last year, it’s so different. There’s a tangibleness to how we’re going to play offensively, defensively and special teams. The culture and energy and vibe between players and coaches alike inside the building, they’ve gotten a chance to see that firsthand.”

Heupel inherited a program with potential looming NCAA sanctions and low expectations. Yet he overdelivered in Year 1, winning seven games and coming within a couple bounces the right way (1-3 in games decided by a single score) of giving Big Orange Nation its best season in 15 years. 

That product — an exciting, high-flying offense coupled with playing in one of the biggest stadiums in the nation in front of one of the most rabid fan bases in all of sports — has allowed Heupel to create his own Orange & White calligram. Instead of selling just a vision, Heupel now has a picture he can point to.

“(Prospects) have been able to actually see,” he explained. 

“A year ago at this time, we were just talking about what we were doing and what we were going to look like on the field. Now, they’ve gotten a chance to see it during the course of the season. They’ve had a chance to experience it. They’ve been on our campus. They’ve had an opportunity to interact with some of our players. They’ve seen practice. They’ve seen games. They know the energy and the culture and what it’s going to look like to be a Volunteer on a daily basis.”

Josh Heupel on NIL and the power of the Power T

With a strong close last cycle, the Vols pieced together the nation’s No. 17 class in 2022, but they didn’t land a single Top 100 prospect. That won’t be the case in 2023, particularly with an outspoken collective in Spyre Sports, which is on record about wanting to raise lots of money (see: many millions) for NIL deals involving Tennessee athletes. 

Heupel has made it clear that he has no relationship with Spyre Sports, but he is an avid proponent for player compensation. The former 2000 Heisman Trophy runner-up at Oklahoma believes he missed an opportunity as a player to capitalize on his success and views the University of Tennessee as the perfect amalgamation for where a player can become a brand while repping the Power T, that is one already. 

“I would have liked the opportunity to be able to take advantage of some of the things that I was doing (back at Oklahoma) and, in some ways, the brand that I was creating for myself,” Heupel said in his support for NIL. 

“The biggest brand that you have is the program that you’re playing for. I think for all of us, just trying to find a way to navigate that space the right way.”

Regardless of how much a factor NIL plays in UT’s 2023 class, the Vols still need to show continued progress on the field this fall for their recruiting momentum to sustain. They lost a big-boy battle with Ohio State for Carnell Tate, but there’s a bunch of blue-chip prospects still uncommitted on their board. 

Win at Pitt in Week 2, and watch how many stud prospects fill up Neyland Stadium in late September with the Vols 3-0 hosting archival Florida. June’s “Rocky Top Palooza” might pale in comparison. 

“Tennessee football is as good as it gets,” Heupel said. 

“It’s an iconic logo. Top 10 in the history of college football in wins. First-round draft pick. A stadium that looks like nobody else’s on game day. Passion and pageantry. Knoxville’s an unbelievable place to live. … It’s an exciting time. It’s an exciting brand. I think that’s going to parlay itself into us recruiting at a really high level.”