Vols HC Josh Heupel sends a message to the rest of college football
For years, the Tennessee Vols haven't been active participants in the annual race to crown a national champion. Instead, the Vols have started each season (each season since 2005 to be exact) without being a legitimate national championship contender. Fortunately for Tennessee fans, those days are over. The Vols arrived on the national scene last […]
For years, the Tennessee Vols haven't been active participants in the annual race to crown a national champion.
Instead, the Vols have started each season (each season since 2005 to be exact) without being a legitimate national championship contender.
Fortunately for Tennessee fans, those days are over. The Vols arrived on the national scene last season, rising to the top of the College Football Playoff rankings at one point.
On Tuesday night, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel appeared on "SEC Nation" and he made it clear that competing for championships on an annual basis is the new expectation for the Vols.
And Heupel knows that to compete for a championship, Tennessee has to emerge as the top team in the SEC East (which means beating Georgia).
“Real simple for us. At the end of the day, you want to play in championship games," said Heupel on Tuesday. "For us in ’23, that goes through the East. A lot of work to put in to get ourselves into a position to accomplish that, but really love what our guys have done up to this point in the offseason. And looking forward to getting going with training camp here in about a week.”
Past coaches at Tennessee have shied away from big expectations. Butch Jones constantly made excuses for coming up short and Jeremy Pruitt talked mostly about "closing the gap" while losing to Alabama at home by 31 points in year three.
Heupel isn't like those coaches. He's hungry for a championship and he isn't willing to wait. That doesn't mean there will be a parade in Knoxville this winter — who knows what will happen this season — but it's clear that bringing a championship back to Rocky Top is Heupel's top goal. And he wants to make sure everyone knows it — which is why he made these comments on national television.
Tennessee doesn't just want to show the nation that they have staying power in 2023 — they want to win the whole damn thing. And Heupel isn't afraid to let the rest of the college football world know that Tennessee is planning to bring it this fall.
College football expert makes strong statement about Tennessee vs Georgia
A notable college football expert made a strong statement about the Tennessee Vols vs the Georgia Bulldogs
Featured image via Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
