Year No. 6 at Tennessee is going to be pivotal for coach Josh Heupel.
It was 2022, his second with the Volunteers, that Heupel enjoyed his best year with Hendon Hooker under center executing an offense that couldn’t be stopped.
An injury to Hooker and a mind-numbing meltdown at South Carolina kept Tennessee out of the playoff.
Then came 2024. It was the Tennessee defense that paved the way for the Vols to be part of the first 12-team playoff, in spite of having to deal with Nico Iamaleava and his young mistakes at quarterback.
Last year’s 8-5 season, with a defense that suffered a significant collapse late — especially against Vanderbilt — has left Heupel vulnerable to the pressure that coaches who have plenty of resources available to them feel when the results aren’t there.
Not sure how another 8-5 would go over with the people in charge, let alone the Vol Nation fanbase.
I’m not suggesting that will be the case. I’m convinced that the Georgia Tech game in Week 2 will be quite important when it comes to getting this team ready for the rest of the season. That’s when Faizon Brandon is convinced that he belongs under center and when the Vol defense realizes that coordinator Jim Knowles really does know what he’s talking about.
Saturday against Furman will be just a dress rehearsal. Kennesaw State on Sept. 19 will be a time to work out the problems from Georgia Tech before Texas comes to town.
This is a time to trust Heupel. Give him the benefit of the doubt that he knows how to get a team ready for a season and navigate with a true freshman handling the football on every offensive snap.
What has impressed me the most about Heupel has been the way he deals with his players. He’s honest. He isn’t going to sugarcoat a situation. But, he’s also not going to throw them under the bus.
Even the bad situations aren’t going to be exacerbated by anything he said or did.
Take two very delicate situations he’s handled in the past couple years. Both could have turned out a lot worse than they actually did.
The Iamaleava incident was a fiasco. After getting his team to the playoffs, Iamaleava and his entourage felt he was worth more than the reported $2 million annual NIL payment. He stopped showing up late in spring practice and tried to squeeze more out of Heupel.
Instead, Heupel let him walk and hit the jackpot with Joey Aguilar as a last-minute replacement.
Then there was Boo Carter. The talented sophomore defensive back and return specialist skipped a lot of the workouts in the summer of ’25, and tried to get out of the doghouse in fall camp. The attempt lasted just a few games until Carter and the Vols parted ways.
Carter’s family had a huge presence on social media but it didn’t sway Heupel. Carter and his posse are Colorado’s problem now. We’ll see how Coach Prime handles it.
I’m convinced Heupel’s still the guy for the Tennessee job. I’ve gone out on a limb saying this is a 10-2 playoff team.
Now, it’s time to stop talking and start playing.
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