Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel doesn't like to make excuses.

There are plenty of challenges facing Heupel in his quest to rebuild the UT football program.

A looming NCAA investigation is having a negative impact on recruiting. The uncertainty of that investigation is almost as bad as any potential penalties the NCAA could announce.

A bigger challenge, however, is the Vols' depth.

Tennessee lost numerous players to the transfer portal after the 2020 season. Several of those players were starters who would've been key players for the Vols this season (LB Henry To'o To'o, RB Eric Gray, OL Wanya Morris, DB Key Lawrence, RB Ty Chandler, etc).

On Wednesday night, during an appearance on Vol Calls, Heupel was asked about Tennessee's depth.

The UT head coach acknowledged that it's a major issue, but he was also quick to point out that a lack of depth doesn't make the loss to Pittsburgh this past week sting any less.

"I would assume we are the thinnest team in the country just based on pure scholarship numbers," said Heupel. "We’re at, I think, 71 guys right now. That lends itself to being really thin at every position."

"As we continue to go through this season, there’s going to be guys that go down," added Heupel. "The challenge is it’s the next guy up. Nobody cares at the end of the day, they’re going to look at the scoreboard when the clock ticks zero, and you’re either good enough or you’re not. That’s what I love about it. You get all week to prepare, you get one 60-minute clock."

“There’s no asterisk in your win-loss record based on who was injured and who wasn’t available. We’ve got to continue, our young guys have got to grow up really quick, and that comes in the form of preparation, it comes in the form of practice, it comes in the form of competing extremely hard every day."

It would certainly be easy for Heupel to make excuses this season. The Vols aren't set up to have a nine or ten win season this year, due to the lack of depth the team possesses.

But Heupel doesn't see it that way. He understands there's a lot of work to be done at Tennessee. However, he's also expecting wins, despite everything that's working against the Volunteers.

That's the type of winning attitude the Vols need in a head coach.

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