Tennessee's Josh Heupel is battling one of his former assistants for one of the top 2025 recruits in the nation
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is going head-to-head with one of his former assistant coaches for one of the top recruits in the 2025 cycle. Heupel and the Vols have their eye on five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham. Cunningham, 6-foot-3/180 lbs from Ackerman, MS, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 2 […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is going head-to-head with one of his former assistant coaches for one of the top recruits in the 2025 cycle.
Heupel and the Vols have their eye on five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham.
Cunningham, 6-foot-3/180 lbs from Ackerman, MS, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 2 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 1 player in the state of Mississippi. He's also rated as the No. 11 overall player in the 2025 class. In other words, he's elite.
For now, Mississippi State looks like the team to beat for Cunningham.
Jeff Lebby, Heupel's former offensive coordinator at UCF (the two coaches also know each other from their time at Oklahoma), took over as Mississippi State's head coach earlier this offseason.
While Lebby and the Bulldogs look like the team to beat for Cunningham, the Vols are very much in this battle thanks in part to Tennessee's "crazy" atmosphere and 2025 five-star Vols quarterback commit George MacIntyre.
“The Tennessee atmosphere is absolutely crazy," said Cunningham to On3 earlier this month. "They have a good coaching staff and they call me about every day. I would love to play with their quarterback commit George MacIntyre. I love their offensive scheme as well.”
Cunningham is hoping to make a decision before his senior season, but this battle, regardless of where he commits, will continue until the early signing period begins in December.
The Vols are an attractive destination for wide receivers thanks to Heupel's offense. But Lebby is running essentially the same offense in Starkville. For Tennessee to win this battle. Heupel will have to convince Cunningham that he's better off playing for the teacher (Heupel) instead of the student (Lebby).
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