Josh Heupel is officially in an impossible situation with the Tennessee Vols and there's no obvious answer to solve it
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is in quite a pickle. Heupel, who is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Volunteers, has an important decision to make this offseason and there could be some controversy if he makes the wrong decision. And the tough part for Heupel is that there is […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is in quite a pickle.
Heupel, who is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Volunteers, has an important decision to make this offseason and there could be some controversy if he makes the wrong decision.
And the tough part for Heupel is that there is no obvious answer. It's a bit of a catch-22 for the former national championship winning quarterback.
Late last month, news broke that rising junior cornerback Rickey Gibson III plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal when the spring window opens on April 16.
The timing of the report is…..odd.
Spring practice starts for the Vols on March 7. Gibson can't enter the portal until after spring practice. The timing seems to suggest that Gibson is using his leverage for a new NIL deal.
Gibson has some leverage due to Tennessee's thin depth at cornerback.
Jermod McCoy, an Oregon State transfer who was an instant star for Tennessee in 2024 (he was first team All-SEC), tore his ACL in January. It's too early to know when McCoy will be able to return to action.
With McCoy sidelined, Gibson instantly becomes the Vols' most experienced cornerback. The former four-star recruit played 636 snaps for Tennessee in 2024 (McCoy played 696 snaps). By comparison, Jalen McMurray, a cornerback who joined the program as a transfer before the 2024 season, played 264 snaps last season.
Gibson is undoubtedly a player that Tennessee needs on the roster. If he transfers from Tennessee, the Vols will need to rely on some young players that might not be ready yet to play at an extremely high level if the program is going to reach the College Football Playoff for a second straight season.
So what do you do if you're Heupel and the staff at Tennessee?
Does Tennessee give Gibson whatever he's asking for? Or do they call his "bluff" and let him enter the portal?
Option 1 could set a dangerous precedent moving forward. If Gibson receives a big NIL raise from Tennessee via his decision to announce that he's entering the portal before spring practice, what stops other players from doing the same?
Option 2 could also have negative consequences. If Gibson is truly set on receiving a big NIL raise, he'll almost certainly get it if he enters the portal. Cornerback is one of the hardest positions to find in the portal. Gibson would instantly be a hot commodity if he officially enters the portal.
Tennessee needs Gibson on the roster. But the Vols also have to protect the culture of the program. The word culture gets overused at times, but an elite culture is absolutely necessary for a program to win a national championship.
This is an extremely tough spot for Heupel and the Vols. And there's no handbook on how to handle this due to the fact that it's a relatively new phenomenon in college football thanks to the transfer portal and NIL deals.
It'll be interesting to see how Heupel handles this saga as it unfolds in the coming days/weeks. This situation is a great reminder that being a college football head coach is about far more than just X's and O's and scheme. It's just as much about putting out fires and managing hundreds of different personalities and situations.
If Heupel is going to be a championship coach, he has to prove he can handle an impossible situation like the one Tennessee is currently in with Gibson.
And with no obvious solution, I'm not sure how he's going to do it.
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