The Tennessee Vols shouldn't still be dealing with the fallout from the recruiting investigation that started over two years ago when Jeremy Pruitt was the program's head coach. 

Yet as Josh Heupel prepares for his third season as the Vols' head coach, Tennessee is still waiting to hear from the NCAA about the penalties they'll face as a result of Pruitt's misdeeds. 

Tennessee, Pruitt and former Vols defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley (via Zoom) were in Cincinnati last week for a hearing with the NCAA. The results of that hearing should be known by this summer, which means UT will finely learn its fate.

The fact that Tennessee is even facing penalties — according to WBIR, a postseason bowl ban is on the table, though it's considered unlikely — is completely ridiculous and shows that the NCAA is completely out of touch with reality when it comes to handling these types of situations. 

UT should not be facing a single penalty at this point. And the fact that the NCAA can't see the absurdity in punishing Tennessee for "petty crimes" while multi-million dollar NIL deals are being negotiated with student-athletes by program-endorsed collectives shows that the college football's governing body has no business governing anything. 

Not only are the allegations levied against Tennessee quite minor in comparison to some of the major recruiting scandals we've seen over the years (UT is charged with 18 recruiting violations that involved around $60k in impermissible benefits), but the program has already self-imposed some serious penalties. And that should be more than enough to satisfy the NCAA.

Tennessee reportedly cut 12 scholarships in 2021 as one of their self-imposed penalties. UT also reduced scholarships in 2022 (though not as many as in 2021). And they self-imposed some recruiting restrictions over the last two years as well. 

And apparently they did all of that for nothing if the program is still facing potential scholarship reductions and recruiting restrictions. According to WBIR, Tennessee could also face a $7 million to $10 million fine. 

From WBIR: According to sources, a postseason ban could still be on the table for UT, but not likely as people like Sankey spoke on behalf of Tennessee. Recruiting restrictions and lost scholarships could happen as well. Sources tell WBIR that Tennessee could be fined between $7 million and $10 million as a punishment too.

The potential $10 million fine is just as ridiculous as a potential postseason ban. That's nothing more than robbery by the NCAA. How is fining a program $10 million over $60k in recruiting violations logical at all? That feels like the NCAA "sticking" it to Tennessee over not paying Pruitt his $12 million buyout. Maybe that's not the case, but it certainly feels that way. 

It's laughable that Tennessee is awaiting its fate from the NCAA while student-athletes all over the nation are using the transfer portal as leverage to earn new NIL deals. There's also the fact that there's barely anyone left at Tennessee that was part of the NCAA violations that occurred under Pruitt. The players that were involved transferred. The coaches are gone. Tennessee has a new athletic director and a completely new football coaching staff. The folks that are facing punishment from the NCAA right now had absolutely nothing to do with any of the violations that happened. 

I don't even think Pruitt should face a show-cause ban for the violations. Fans may not like the results that happened while Pruitt was the program's head coach, but I'll always believe he was just helping recruits and families that needed it. $60k in impermissible benefits isn't changing the course of many recruitments. That's nothing more than a coach that earns a significant amount of money providing some assistance for folks that needed it. 

But if the NCAA wants to penalize anyone, it should be the people who were actually involved in the violations, not the players and coaches currently at Tennessee that had zero to do with any of it. 

Tennessee fans have every right to be livid with the NCAA. This whole situation is nothing more than one last opportunity for the NCAA to flex its muscle.