Tennessee HC Josh Heupel wins important recruiting battle against his alma mater
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel doesn't have to go toe-to-toe with the Oklahoma Sooners — the program he led to a national championship as a player in 2000 — very often on the recruiting trail. But this past week, Heupel had to directly fight the Sooners for a key recruit. And Heupel won the […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel doesn't have to go toe-to-toe with the Oklahoma Sooners — the program he led to a national championship as a player in 2000 — very often on the recruiting trail.
But this past week, Heupel had to directly fight the Sooners for a key recruit.
And Heupel won the battle against his alma mater.
2024 four-star EDGE rusher Kellen Lindstrom committed to Tennessee last week over offers from Oklahoma, Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, and USC, among several others.
Lindstrom, 6-foot-5/235 lbs from Springfield, MO, is ranked in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 7 player in the state of Missouri and the No. 27 defensive lineman in the 2024 recruiting class.
While other programs strongly pursued Lindstrom, his final decision came down to Oklahoma and Tennessee. And the Vols won out in large part because of the "family feel" at UT.
"It felt like everyone was there with welcoming arms and everyone knew my name, everybody came up to me and greeted me," said Lindstrom to the Springfield News-Leader. "I love how everything's so tight-knit. Everything in Knoxville is downtown with the university, Neyland Stadium, the facilities, the dorms — they're all kind of in a one-mile radius which is awesome. It's gorgeous right there with the mountains and the Tennessee River riding through it. It really felt like a really big, nice Springfield, to be honest."
Lindstrom also noted that he feels like he's the type of player that fits well in Tennessee's defense — gritty and hard-working.
"Of course, Coach Heupel is going to have a big, high-flying offense with great wide receivers and a great quarterback but I think he's really trying to get down to the gritty-type players and the hard-working kids on the defensive side of the ball," said Lindstrom. "I think that's where I fit in because I consider myself a hard-working, gritty kid and I think it would be a great opportunity and great time to show up there and hopefully make a splash."
This isn't the only recruiting battle that Heupel will fight against his alma mater in 2024. The Vols are also pursuing 2024 five-star defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri. According to a recent report from On3, the battle for Nwaneri is between Oklahoma and Tennessee and it will "take a lot" for other schools to catch OU and UT.
Nwaneri's high school coach, Jamar Mozee, played at Oklahoma with Heupel. That certainly adds an interesting element to the battle for Nwaneri — and it means Heupel has to partially convince his former teammate that Oklahoma isn't the right place for the stud five-star defensive lineman.
So far, going toe-to-toe with Oklahoma in a key recruiting battle doesn't appear to be a problem for Heupel. While there's no doubt that Heupel deeply cherishes the memories from Oklahoma — not many quarterbacks get to win a national championship — it's clear that the Vols are easily his top priority when it comes to the two programs.
