How does Josh Heupel’s first year of recruiting compare to past Vols coaches?
It’s been a little dicey but things have finally started moving on the recruiting front for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols. In just the last few weeks, Heupel’s 2022 recruiting class has shot up from around No. 35 to No. 18, as of December 8th. Relative to many past Big Orange recruiting classes, Heupel’s […]
It’s been a little dicey but things have finally started moving on the recruiting front for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Vols. In just the last few weeks, Heupel’s 2022 recruiting class has shot up from around No. 35 to No. 18, as of December 8th.
Relative to many past Big Orange recruiting classes, Heupel’s No. 23 class in 2021 and this year’s No. 18 effort aren’t all that impressive. But, given the full scope of the circumstances that Heupel and his staff are facing, it’s not necessarily bad at all. With the way Jeremy Pruitt destroyed the program on his way out and the cloud of an NCAA investigation currently hanging over UT, a lackluster recruiting class would almost be understandable.
Thankfully, it appears that Heupel won’t be conceding to a poor recruiting class and is pulling in commitments and transfers, with more commitments hopefully coming soon.
So this got me thinking if the 2022 class ended at No. 18 (though, hopefully it continues to rise up the ranks even further) how would Heupel's recruiting to this point stack up against the past four Tennessee football coaches in their first full year in Knoxville?
I would argue that no one has faced more of an uphill battle with their initial two recruiting classes than Heupel has thus far, but is it actually putting him that far behind the eight ball? Let’s see…
Josh Heupel
2021 class ranked No. 23 / 2022 class currently ranked No. 18 – No. 21 average
Jeremy Pruitt
2018 class ranked No. 21 / 2019 class ranked No. 13 – No. 17 average
Butch Jones
2013 class ranked No. 25 / 2014 class ranked No. 7 – No. 16 average
Derek Dooley
2010 class ranked No. 7 / 2011 ranked No. 14 – No. 11 average
Lane Kiffin:
Heupel is on the edge of matching Pruitt and Jones in their first two combined classes. If Heupel can ultimately reach the No. 11 spot with this year’s class he will have the exact same average between his initial two classes as Pruitt and only be a single spot behind Butch’s No. 16 average. (And let’s also not forget that Butch’s No. 7 class in 2014 had 32 commitments with no 5-stars and sort of fudged the numbers)
Considering Heupel appears to be a coach who can pull much more from his roster than Pruitt or Jones ever could, I like that Heupel is closing in on their recruiting numbers. And reaching No. 11 is certainly doable for Heupel, but it will obviously be a tall task.
The early signing period is quickly approaching and from the looks of social media, Heupel is hitting the recruiting trail hard. With only 18 commits so far for 2022, there’s plenty of room for more talent and he's trying his best to fill those spots. We all know Tennessee's biggest problem right now is depth, so recruiting is as important as it's possibly ever been in program history. Let’s hope that Heupel can close strong.
Featured image via Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
