Fall camp has begun in Knoxville, as the Tennessee Vols take their first steps to what they hope is a step forward from an up and down but mostly forgettable 2025 campaign.

Naturally, with any year, there are positional battles unfolding all over the roster that will eventually help shape the season. Chief among them has been the quarterback battle between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon.

However, one position that hasn’t spent much time in the public eye is the punt returner battle. Boo Carter handled those duties last year, but he transferred to Colorado after the season. Tennessee has a number of candidates for the job, and they come from both sides of the ball.

Heupel was asked about the status of that position at his press conference on Wednesday, and he made it clear there are a number of players getting a look at the job.

Josh Heupel discusses candidates for Tennessee’s punt returner

“Got a bunch of guys that are competing for that spot,” Heupel said while also making prior reference to Tyreek King. “Qua Moss. (Braylon Staley) was back there some last year. Mike Matthews. There’s a bunch of them. You’ve got to have a guy that’s a fearless, dynamic playmaker. An aggressive but smart decisionmaker. Once he has the ball in his hands, has to be able to make somebody miss.

“It’s one of the plays in the game that can be as an explosive play as there is. When we’ve been really good on that unit, we’ve had ten other guys doing their job at the line of scrimmage at a really high level, but we’ve had a guy that’s fearless and willing to go make a play, too. It’s the expectation here. We’ve had some great returners since I’ve been here, but in the history of college football, too. You look at the history of the return game here.

There’s no doubt that Tennessee has had some special returners that have changed games with some magical moments. Willie Gault, Peerless Price, and Cordarrelle Patterson are a few who come to mind who made impacts on kickoff and punt returns.

And while Tennessee’s offense has the potential to be explosive, sometimes you need a lift in the return game to help carry you to victory. That was evident in the 2023 win over Texas A&M. Dee Williams’ 39-yard punt return touchdown put Tennessee ahead for good in the second half, and the Vols hung on for a hard-fought, low-scoring 20-13 victory.

We’ll see how things shake out in camp, but for the time being, it looks like Heupel has a full slate of options to choose from.