As the team gets ready to begin preseason practice, Heupel remarked, “It’s really just a speed bump. I think we’ve positioned ourselves really nicely, and as we go forward, we can start to contend for championships.”
Heupel, of course, was not responsible for the 18 Level 1 infractions that former coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff are claimed to have committed from early 2021 until the end of 2018. Heupel was hired in January 2021 to take Pruitt’s position and fix the mess of violations he had left behind. In spite of recruiting limitations and self-imposed scholarship cuts made in an effort to appease the NCAA, he guided the Vols to a 7-6 record last year. Heupel and the Volts appear to have a bright future.
