The Tennessee Vols aren't being shy about it. 

Tennessee's goal in 2023 is to bring a national championship back to Knoxville. 

"The reason why I chose Tennessee is overall the goal that they have to reach a national championship," said Vols defensive back and transfer addition Gabe Jeudy-Lally earlier this week. 

For many media analysts and Vols fans, 2023 feels like a "sandwich year" for Tennessee. 

The Vols are coming off an exciting 11-2 season. And they lost a lot of the talent responsible for that magical 2022 season. 

Gone are key players like Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman, Darnell Wright, and Byron Young. 

Not quite ready yet are potential SEC stars like Nico Iamaleava and Cam Seldon. 

The feeling for some is that a 10-win season for the Vols in 2023 will suffice before hoping to compete for a national championship in 2024 when Iamaleava takes over for Joe Milton as Tennessee's starting quarterback. 

The Vols, of course, see it differently. They think they can compete for that national championship in 2023. And they have something going for them in 2023 that gives them a better chance than many realize to achieve that goal. 

For the first time in nearly a decade, Tennessee has quality depth — the kind of depth it takes to win a championship. 

Now, the Vols' roster isn't quite on Alabama's or Georgia's level — that takes several years of top recruiting classes. But Tennessee's as close as they've been to that level in a long time. And it's evident from the way Josh Heupel talked about the Vols' roster this week. 

Heupel, for example, praised the depth at the offensive line position that Tennessee has built going into the 2023 season. 

"We're deeper in that (OL) room, so much deeper than we were when we first got here, and last year, too," said Heupel on Thursday. "There's really good competition and that ties all of us to get better. Each of them have a little bit different skillset, but at the end of the day feel like all of them could be really efficient, effective in the run game, and have done a nice job with pass protection throughout the course of spring ball."

Heupel also talked about the depth in the Vols' running back room and how Tennessee will "need them all". 

"We are going to need them all," said Heupel. "There are times where you stay healthy for a long period of time. You never know when your opportunity is going to come. We are going to need all of these guys throughout the course of the season. With competition, iron sharpens iron. We are going to need that. Everybody on this roster better believe they will have an opportunity to play next fall and continue to sharpen their skills."

A year ago, the Vols' running back room was thin. That's far from the case in 2023. Tennessee returns their top three options from last year in Jaylen Wright, Jabari Small, and Dylan Sampson. Tennessee also has Seldon and Desean Bishop that appear to be ready to contribute this fall. 

The quality depth isn't just on the offensive side of the ball, either. Tennessee has quality depth at linebacker with BYU transfer Keenan Pili joining the program this offseason. Talented youngsters like Jeremiah Telander, Arion Carter, Elijah Herring, and Kalib Perry give the Vols some legitimate linebacker depth. 

Heupel also raved about the competition at defensive end earlier this spring. 

"We have great competition on the edges," said Heupel earlier this month. "That's at defensive end, Tyler Baron and Tyre West on the edges, with our Leo's being Roman (Harrison) to Josh (Josephs) to James (Pearce Jr.) to Caleb (Herring). We have great competition there and can do so many things with our front."

Even the secondary is deeper entering Heupel's third season with the program. 

"The last year, we have had a tremendous number of injuries," said defensive backs coach Willie Martinez this week. "Having those five guys (the true freshmen) come in here, in addition to Gabe Jeudy-Lally being here also, has made us able to compete. We have had a competition open." 

"We don't have a first group," added Martinez. "We don't have a second group. That includes everybody. Whether it's Tamarion McDonald, Jaylen McCollough, or Wesley Walker, they all are competing. We have kind of been moving everybody around to give them an opportunity. We want the competition."

Tennessee might have lost a few star players to the NFL this offseason, but overall, the roster is in a better place. Heupel and his staff obviously want to continue to add talent to the roster, but this is one of the deepest Tennessee teams we've seen in a while. And that could translate to some big wins that are won in the fourth quarter in 2023.