Social media post from ESPN reporter illustrates a major issue with how Tennessee's Josh Heupel is viewed by the media
On Tuesday, ESPN college football reporter Pete Thamel sent a tweet that, while seemingly innocuous, perfectly illustrates how Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is unfairly perceived by the media. Thamel quoted a tweet from ESPN's Max Olson that suggests that Tennessee has a strong case for being the best defensive team in college football […]
On Tuesday, ESPN college football reporter Pete Thamel sent a tweet that, while seemingly innocuous, perfectly illustrates how Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is unfairly perceived by the media.
Thamel quoted a tweet from ESPN's Max Olson that suggests that Tennessee has a strong case for being the best defensive team in college football in 2024.
"Bizarre to think of Tennessee as having a defensive identity under Josh Heupel," wrote Thamel. "Credit to [Vols defensive coordinator] Tim Banks."
Tennessee is currently 7-1 with a legitimate chance to earn a first round bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff (that's if the Vols can beat Georgia later this month in Athens…which is a big if).
Yet the narrative from the national media has been that Tennessee is "winning ugly" because the offense hasn't been putting up 40 points a game in SEC play.
That same narrative hasn't applied to other teams in the top 10 (such as Georgia…who barely beat Kentucky, was tied with Florida in the fourth quarter, and lost to Alabama…which are similar results to Tennessee against the same opponents — except the Vols beat Bama).
The reason that narrative seems to only apply to Tennessee is because of this idea that Heupel is only an offensive minded coach, which is absolute nonsense.
Heupel has made it clear since arriving in Knoxville in early 2021 that he's a football coach, not just an offensive play caller. He's said on multiple occasions that the standard at Tennessee is to play elite defense, so I'm not sure why folks are surprised that the Vols are suddenly an elite defensive team. This was always Heupel's vision for the program.
This isn't a situation where the defense is the only reason the Vols are winning games. The defense is doing what Heupel envisioned. The offense, meanwhile, is still finding its way with a young quarterback under center and a few new players on that side of the ball. The narrative should be that once Tennessee his its stride offensively, the program could be unstoppable.
If Heupel's name was Kirby Smart and if you replaced the Power T with a G that looks like it was stolen out of Wisconsin, the Vols would be a top five team right now and a media darling.
But because of this strange perception that Tennessee isn't supposed to be a defensive juggernaut under an offensive minded coach like Heupel, the Vols have to work a little harder to earn the respect of the national media.
It's not fair to Tennessee, but it's reality thanks to ESPN and other big brand national media outlets.
