Josh Heupel talks NCAA hearing and Tennessee's transfer portal needs
NASHVILLE — Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel was in Nashville on Wednesday night as the Big Orange Caravan made its second of five stops around the state. The head coach touched on a variety of topics, including the current NCAA Committee hearings that are underway as well as what positions the Vols might target in the transfer portal.
It goes without saying that the NCAA hearings currently taking place in Cincinnati are an item of interest not just for Tennessee coaches and administrators, but for also for Volunteer fans everywhere.
From the moment he was introduced as Tennessee’s head coach, replacing the fired Jeremy Pruitt, Heupel has always maintained a positive outlook regarding how he felt the investigation would play out. That’s an outlook he continues to hold.
“Obviously I’m going to pay close attention on the back end. As I’ve said from the beginning though I really believe this is just a speed bump,” Heupel said when asked how much of his attention was on the proceedings taking place in Cincinnati.
“I feel like we’re continuing to handle it the right way. Our administration has been forthright, they found it, they gave it to the NCAA and they’ve been nothing but cooperative the entire time.”
Heupel and his squad just wrapped up the third spring practice under his direction with last Saturday’s Orange & White Game. That’s all the football fans are getting until fall camp gets underway in August, but next week’s NFL draft should hold more intrigue for Tennessee fans than it has in many, many years.
Tennessee was once one of the NFL’s most reliable pipelines for talent. That trend petered out under Derek Dooley, Butch Jones and Pruitt. Since Heupel arrived on the scene it’s been a different story.
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The Vols have a chance to have multiple players picked in the first round and a handful of guys; Darnell Wright, Jalin Hyatt, Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman and Byron Young could all hear the names called in the first two days of the draft.
“As a coach there’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your guys have an opportunity to get their name called and go live their dreams out,” Heupel said. “I’m excited about the fact there are probably five guys in the first couple of nights who are going to find out where their NFL careers are going to start. I couldn’t be more happy for those guys.”
Real football may be over for a few months looking forward, but that doesn’t mean it’s vacation time for Heupel and his staff. That’s because with the NCAA’s transfer portal, recruiting literally never stops and the next couple of weeks are pivotal for anyone looking to add to their roster.
Tennessee doesn’t have the kind of glaring needs to address that they’ve had in the recent past, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be active with portal targets.
“I don’t know if there’s just one or two positions (we’re looking at). I think we need to continue to add maturity at the offensive line position in particular,” Heupel said.
