Josh Heupel already has a unique place in the Tennessee Vols history books
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has only coached 14 games at UT, but he already holds a unique place in the UT history books. On Tuesday, the Volunteers entered the AP Top 25 poll as the No. 24 ranked team in the nation. It's the first time that Tennessee has been ranked since early […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has only coached 14 games at UT, but he already holds a unique place in the UT history books.
On Tuesday, the Volunteers entered the AP Top 25 poll as the No. 24 ranked team in the nation. It's the first time that Tennessee has been ranked since early in the 2020 season.
With the Vols now in the top 25, it means that Josh Heupel is the sixth fastest coach (tied with John Barnhill) in Tennessee history to get UT into the top 25.
The only coaches (per 247Sports) who got there faster at Tennessee were Phillip Fulmer (0 games), Harvey Robinson (0 games), Bill Battle (1 game), General Robert Neyland (9 games and 3 games, after World War II), and Bowden Wyatt (9 games).
Heupel got to the top 25 quicker than his three predecessors — Butch Jones (25 games), Jeremy Pruitt (26 games, same as Johnny Majors), and Derek Dooley (27 games).
Lane Kiffin, who replaced Phillip Fulmer in late 2008, never saw the Vols ranked in the top 25 during his 14 months in Knoxville.
Tennessee's goal this season obviously isn't a top 25 ranking — they have their sights set higher.
But getting ranked is certainly an important stop on their journey.
Heupel getting the Vols ranked so quickly is also another positive sign that the program is quickly moving in the right direction. The more positive signs the better. Tennessee fans have dealt with red flags from coaches for far too long. It has to be refreshing to see a coach doing things the right way finally.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
