Josh Heupel’s First Month as Vols Coach Was Plenty Rough
Transfers! A no-name coaching staff! And the recruit Tennessee dreamed of landing was destined to be a dream all along.
It’s been one month since Josh Heupel was hired as the Tennessee Volunteers head coach.
It seemed appropriate that month ended with quarterback prospect Ty Simpson verbally committing to Alabama instead of Clemson or Tennessee.
True, at this point nobody knows if Simpson is going to be another Mac Jones or a Chris Walsh, who 30 years ago was the top rated quarterback prospect in the country, seemingly destined to follow in his brother Steve’s footsteps as “the next great Miami Hurricanes quarterback.”
Ever hear of him?
Still, not getting Simpson, or even thinking the Vols would, is the same old, same old.
Tennessee hoped to get the successful head coach at Penn State, but that was akin to you dreaming of dating a movie star.
The Vols hoped to get the top quarterback prospect from their home state, but that was like hoping the Homecoming Queen would go to the prom with you instead of the football captain because you had a locker right next to her.
While trying to evaluate a first February for a football coach is much like trying to evaluate a recruiting class upon its signing, here are the first impressions of Heupel’s first month.
COACHING STAFF:
1. Nobody roots for a running backs or wide receivers coach per se, but perhaps one of the reasons it seemed like even during the worst of times Jeremy Pruitt had his supporters was because his staff included Jay Graham and Tee Martin, two Tennessee stars of the Vols’ 1990's hey day.
They’re no longer around, but weep not for Graham and Martin. They now have more prestigious coaching positions at Alabama and in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens, respectively.
Heupel’s staff is decidedly more low key than Pruitt’s. Graham’s position as running backs coach was taken by a coach from Rice, Jerry Mack.
