Josh Heupel confirms suspicion surrounding Tennessee Vols football
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel confirmed one suspicion that's been surrounding UT football for the last couple of years. On Friday, the NCAA announced the penalties for the recruiting violations that occurred at Tennessee under previous head coach Jeremy Pruitt. The announcement puts a bow on a nearly three-year saga that has hung over […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel confirmed one suspicion that's been surrounding UT football for the last couple of years.
On Friday, the NCAA announced the penalties for the recruiting violations that occurred at Tennessee under previous head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
The announcement puts a bow on a nearly three-year saga that has hung over the program like a black cloud.
Over the last three years there have been rumblings that other programs have used the investigation to negatively recruit against Tennessee. Some college football analysts have dismissed that notion as nothing more than hearsay.
On Friday, Heupel confirmed that the negative recruiting has been taking place via an interview with ESPN.
"Whether it's intended or not, the length of the process absolutely hinders you on the recruiting side more than anything else," said Heupel to ESPN. "People try and use that against you."
"You are able to step forward and talk to your team, staff and recruits and say here, 'This is what it is. This is the impact and how we're going to be able to move forward,'" added Heupel.
Tennessee has recruited at a fairly high level since Heupel arrived — the Vols landed the No. 11 ranked 2023 recruiting class in the nation — but now that recruits officially know the Vols won't be hit with a post-season ban, recruiting should pick up a bit for UT football.
The fact that Heupel has recruited well and led the program to levels of success it hasn't seen in over two decades is even more impressive when you consider that the NCAA essentially gave rival programs free recruiting ammo to use against the Vols.
Now that the investigation is over, Heupel can really get to work on bringing a championship to Rocky Top.
Why Vols fans should have a lot of respect for Jeremy Pruitt after NCAA penalties were announced
Tennessee Vols fans should have a lot of respect for Jeremy Pruitt after NCAA penalties were announced
Featured image via Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
