Josh Heupel keeps checking boxes as he prepares for his sixth season at Tennessee.
His first challenge when he was hired after the 2020 season: Prove he could execute a quick fix in a program reeling from the Jeremy Pruitt era.
Heupel did just that. Despite the loss of 10 starters who transferred, Heupel raised the Vols from the 3-7 hole dug by Pruitt into a winning season. A year later, the Vols won 11 games and were in the four-team playoff conversation as late as November.
Next, Heupel had to prove he was more than an offensive hotshot whose success hinged solely on his ability to score points at a fast and furious pace. But when the Vols advanced to the 2024 playoffs, their defense outshined their offense.
So, check that box, too.
You still might
have questioned Heupel’s recruiting prowess. After all, some of the most prominent players on his 11-win team were evaluated and signed by Pruitt.
However, Tennessee is gradually building recruiting momentum under Heupel. His 2026 class was his best yet. It ranked eighth in the 247Sports Composite and included two five-stars and 14 four-stars.
That class will look even better if five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon wins the starting job as a freshman – and better still if a handful of transfers solidify a defense that fell precipitously from 2024 to last season.
Tennessee’s record also dropped. And Heupel reacted quickly by shaking up his staff. That was a significant move for a coach who had worked toward maintaining staff continuity through his first five seasons with the Vols.
Not only did Heupel implement staff changes. He aimed high.
Veteran defensive coordinator Jim Knowles joined Heupel’s staff just two years after he oversaw a dominant Ohio State defense in the Buckeyes’ national championship season.
Heupel’s other high-profile hire was former Indiana strength and conditioning coach Derek Owings, who played a prominent role in the Hoosiers’ 16-0 championship season in 2025.
Never mind that the Vols have yet to test their offseason work in a game. Heupel can’t resist talking about how they have become bigger, stronger and faster in a matter of months under Owings. He seems confident those gains will show up on the scoreboard this season against the toughest SEC schedule he has encountered.
Fans would be more apt to celebrate Heupel’s progress if not for last season. Tennessee dipped from a playoff team to an 8-5 record that included not a single victory over a nationally ranked team.
But when you take a big-picture snapshot, Tennessee is much better off now than at any time since the late 2000s when the Phillip Fulmer era ended with a 5-7 season.
Heupel still has something to prove. Progress comes with expectations attached. At a school with Tennessee’s resources, those expectations are sky-high.
That’s why fans invariably ask: “Can Heupel deliver a national championship?”
The game’s best coaches eventually must answer that question, no matter how many games they have won or how much consistency they have achieved.
Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs came within one play of beating Alabama for the national championship in just his second year as a head coach. They won 31 of their next 38 games in a three-year stretch. He was a top-notch coach, but that didn’t suppress the question: Is he a national championship coach?
Georgia responded by winning back-to-back national titles in 2021-22, and Smart was hailed as the best in the business.
Ryan Day won 66 of his first 75 games at Ohio State. But when he lost to Michigan in 2024, many Buckeyes fans were disenchanted with a coach who they were convinced “couldn’t win it all.”
Day then led the Buckeyes to four consecutive double-digit playoffs victories and a national title.
Heupel hasn’t won at that level. But he has won enough – and checked enough boxes at Tennessee – to make you wonder if his best teams are yet to come.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why the best of Tennessee football under Josh Heupel might be yet to come
