Vols insider explains how Tennessee will be in a tricky situation after the 2023 regular season
The Tennessee Vols are going to find themselves in a tricky situation immediately after the 2023 regular season. And while it's not a "bad" situation, it's one that the coaching staff will have to quickly find a way to navigate. VolQuest's Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will on Friday morning and […]
The Tennessee Vols are going to find themselves in a tricky situation immediately after the 2023 regular season.
And while it's not a "bad" situation, it's one that the coaching staff will have to quickly find a way to navigate.
VolQuest's Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will on Friday morning and he explained that Tennessee has numerous players (around 15 to 20) that could come back for another season thanks to the extra COVID year from 2020.
Getting some of those players back (guys like Omari Thomas, Cooper Mays, Omarr Norman-Lott, John Campbell, Javontez Spraggins, Gerald Mincey, etc) would obviously be huge for the program. But the Vols will need quick answers from each of those 15-20 players because of the winter transfer portal window.
"It'll be individual decisions, but I do think Tennessee can get some of those guys back," said Hubbs. "What's interesting about it is the number of quality players on the offensive and defensive lines that could come back. And that's where you dramatically change your football team if you can bring that kind of maturity back, or at least some of that maturity back next year. The window's going to be tight here. You get your NFL [evaluation] in early December. Tennessee is going to need to know some quick answers because they've got to do work in the portal if you're leaving. If you're not leaving, that takes off the burden there. You got to make sure your numbers are right in January in terms of mid-term enrollees. So it's a tight window in terms of roster management for Josh Heupel and the staff in early December."
The NCAA transfer portal opens the Monday after FBS conference championship games. And it will remain open for 30 days. The portal will open again in the second half of April for 15 days.
That means Tennessee's staff needs to know some decisions from players well before NFL draft season gets underway early next year. Some decisions will be easy. Some guys probably already know they're ready to move on while others already know they want to return. Other decisions might not be quite as easy because players will be on the fence about going to the NFL depending on their evaluations. And NIL, of course, will be a factor.
The good news for Tennessee is that they won't be the only program dealing with tricky roster management in December. But the situation is a bit more difficult for the Vols to navigate because of the way Tennessee utilizes the portal. They don't necessarily cast a wide net. Heupel and his staff are extremely careful when it comes to what types of players they bring in (they're big on making sure guys fit into their culture). That means if they miss on a guy they like, it's not a certainty that they'll be able to find someone else that fits their criteria at the same position.
I would bet that Tennessee will try to keep a few roster spots open for guys that don't make a decision in December. The second portal window in April could be used to fill those spots if a senior that was undecided in December decides to not return.
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