Josh Heupel describes how he feels about Tennessee's 2023 regular season
On Saturday night, after the Tennessee Vol's 48-24 win against the Vanderbilt Commodores, UT head coach Josh Heupel was asked how fans should feel about the program going 8-4 during the 2023 regular season. Heupel acknowledged that there's been some disappointment for the Vols in 2023, but that doesn't change how proud he is of […]
On Saturday night, after the Tennessee Vol's 48-24 win against the Vanderbilt Commodores, UT head coach Josh Heupel was asked how fans should feel about the program going 8-4 during the 2023 regular season.
Heupel acknowledged that there's been some disappointment for the Vols in 2023, but that doesn't change how proud he is of the group of players that took the field for Tennessee during his third season as the program's head coach.
“They (fans) should feel the way that we feel," said Heupel on Saturday. "And when I say that, I’m proud of this group. They’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve prepared the right way. On gameday, they’ve been resilient. They continue to fight and compete. Man, every Saturday is different."
"We’ve all had some disappointment," added Heupel. "Everybody in that locker room, coaches, me, everybody, when we don’t end up on the right side of the scoreboard, there’s disappointment in that. This group has never walked out [onto] the field not thinking they were gonna win.”
Heupel seemed particularly proud of the seniors this season, which is mostly a group of players that he inherited in early 2021.
"A lot of them (seniors) were here when I first got here, chose to stay here through some uncertainty," said Heupel after Tennessee's win against Vanderbilt. "Bought into our vision of what the program can and would be about. It’s a phenomenal group. It’s a group that I think over the last couple of years has won 13 (home) games — which over that span is as good as it’s been since the late 90’s. We’ve had some disappointment in the results along the way, but this group, this team continues to fight and compete extremely hard. They prepare the right way. Really proud of them. That happens because a lot of the leadership from that senior group."
As for the state of the program moving forward, Heupel knows there's work to be done, but he likes the trajectory of where Tennessee is heading.
“I’m really proud of where we started, where we’re at, where we gotta continue to fight to go get to," explained Heupel.
The 2023 season wasn't perfect, but the Vols have experienced plenty of seasons with far less success in recent years. A few years ago, most national analysts thought the Vols were years away from winning eight games in a season. Now they've accomplished that feat two seasons in a row (and it should be three, if the right call gets made in the Music City Bowl against Purdue in 2021 on Jaylen Wright's non-touchdown).
ESPN’s rankings have a more favorable view of Tennessee Vols than the AP Top 25 poll
Tennessee is no longer ranked in the AP Top 25
