Josh Heupel and Tennessee lining up a strong 2023 recruiting class

#1
dduncan4163

dduncan4163

Have at it Hoss
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#1
Josh Heupel and Tennessee lining up a strong 2023 recruiting class

When we hired Heup the ONLY worry I had was his ability to recruit top talent. I knew he could coach with the best of them. Well worry no more Heup is KILLING IT on the recruiting trail. The number one kid in the state and we need an elite edge rusher. Can you imagine what Rodney is gonna turn this kid into.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO It's great to be a VOL NATION
 
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#2
#2
Top in-state prospect, elite edge rusher Caleb Herring commits to Vols


“I’ve always had that great feeling with Tennessee.”


Herring said “the energy with the coaches” has given him that feeling during his visits to Tennessee’s campus, and the Vols’ fans “played a huge role into it, too — going to the games, the atmosphere.”


“Everything about it, I’ve enjoyed it,” added Herring, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 50 overall prospect and No. 6 edge rusher in the 2023 class.

“He wasn’t expecting that. He screamed into the phone. He was telling me congrats. Then, his wife was with him, too, and she screamed. She was happy, as well. Just, like, the whole Heupel family, they were happy.”


Tennessee has hosted him on at least five visits since June, and he admitted he has been leaning toward the Vols for “a good amount of months.” He has been one of Tennessee’s top targets in the 2023 class for more than two years, and he said the Vols have been at the top of his list since at least last year.



HELL YEAH
 
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#4
#4
Devo182 said:
I don't get why anyone worried about his recruiting when he killed it at UCF. It still baffles me.

Or did people just not adjust for the fact that he was in the lowly AAC? Recruiting is all relative to your level of program. He beat up the AAC in recruiting.
Click to expand...
You make a good point. I don't really know why I worried like I did. Hell he coached in the SEC.
 
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#6
#6
Devo182 said:
I don't get why anyone worried about his recruiting when he killed it at UCF. It still baffles me.

Or did people just not adjust for the fact that he was in the lowly AAC? Recruiting is all relative to your level of program. He beat up the AAC in recruiting.
Click to expand...

He's doing very well NOW. He did well in the transfer portal. Also to end 2022 class.

But he wasn't killing it at UCF imo.
It was top 3rd in that conference but at a place like UCF he could have maybe should have been #1 in AAC.
 
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#8
#8
LittleVol said:
He's doing very well NOW. He did well in the transfer portal. Also to end 2022 class.

But he wasn't killing it at UCF imo.
It was top 3rd in that conference but at a place like UCF he could have maybe should have been #1 in AAC.
Click to expand...

Recruiting to UCF vs. Tennessee is night and day. While UCF has had some recent success, they don't have some of the greatest names in college football as legacies. They don't have the amazing stadium and fan support. So much more that Tennessee has to offer. I think that Josh is the right guy, with the right tools, and the right product to sell recruits. It may take a couple of more seasons to prove he's not a fluke. I expect by 2025, at the latest, a division championship is in the cards with conference championship games and wins not far behind.
 
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#11
#11
We lost a lot of depth with the coaching change. BUT...we are replacing it with (better) quality depth. The more depth and development we get, the better we will be. Our issue last year was not having the horses to get off the field on third downs. I'm gonna believe that was a depth issue not a schematic or coaching issue. If we can get off the field quicker, we are going to have some amazing success.
 
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#12
#12
Devo182 said:
I don't get why anyone worried about his recruiting when he killed it at UCF. It still baffles me.

Or did people just not adjust for the fact that he was in the lowly AAC? Recruiting is all relative to your level of program. He beat up the AAC in recruiting.
Click to expand...
And Heupel recruited better classes by ranking than Frost did if I’m not mistaken.
 
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#14
#14
ftsandersvol said:
It’s going to take some time, but the first step is to make the top in-state talent want to stay home.
Click to expand...

TN fans need to rethink this line of thinking. Getting the instate guys is not very important. You recruit the best you can from wherever you can. The 2023 instate class isn’t very strong at all.
 
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#15
#15
Devo182 said:
I don't get why anyone worried about his recruiting when he killed it at UCF. It still baffles me.

Or did people just not adjust for the fact that he was in the lowly AAC? Recruiting is all relative to your level of program. He beat up the AAC in recruiting.
Click to expand...
Honestly because we didn't actually know if he could recruit at a high level.

I really like the guy for a lot of reasons. But being completely honest, NIL changed things. I think he's a very good coach. It may simply matter less now than before if he's a guy who can just sell it like past coaches have. I wasn't a big fan of NIL but if it means that a good coach with some NIL help can get the talent needed to win vs a moron like Jones who somehow managed to "sell" lemons to recruits while not being able to coach worth a dime... then maybe my mind will change.
 
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#16
#16
Devo182 said:
I don't get why anyone worried about his recruiting when he killed it at UCF. It still baffles me.

Or did people just not adjust for the fact that he was in the lowly AAC? Recruiting is all relative to your level of program. He beat up the AAC in recruiting.
Click to expand...
People like BeardedVol had everyone convinced the Heupster had no idea how to recruit.

Hmm interesting how BeardedVol is just gone now that everything is positive... must have been tough for him when we landed Nico.
 
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#18
#18
dduncan4163 said:
Josh Heupel and Tennessee lining up a strong 2023 recruiting class

When we hired Heup the ONLY worry I had was his ability to recruit top talent. I knew he could coach with the best of them. Well worry no more Heup is KILLING IT on the recruiting trail. The number one kid in the state and we need an elite edge rusher. Can you imagine what Rodney is gonna turn this kid into.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO It's great to be a VOL NATION
Click to expand...


Heupel is like a modern day Urban Meyer or Steve Spurrier. When he gets all his guys in , no one will be able to stop us. Glad we got him.
 
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#20
#20
Devo182 said:
I don't get why anyone worried about his recruiting when he killed it at UCF. It still baffles me.

Or did people just not adjust for the fact that he was in the lowly AAC? Recruiting is all relative to your level of program. He beat up the AAC in recruiting.
Click to expand...

I mean, let's not get too revisionist here. He kept UCF right at their historical average for recruiting. That isn't exactly, "killing it." People had a right to be at least mildly worried, and that's certainly not baffling.
 
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#21
#21
Devo182 said:
I don't get why anyone worried about his recruiting when he killed it at UCF. It still baffles me.

Or did people just not adjust for the fact that he was in the lowly AAC? Recruiting is all relative to your level of program. He beat up the AAC in recruiting.
Click to expand...

Most just considered that the guy before went undefeated and won the National Championship there before he took over.
 
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#22
#22
Probably_in_Class said:
I mean, let's not get too revisionist here. He kept UCF right at their historical average for recruiting. That isn't exactly, "killing it." People had a right to be at least mildly worried, and that's certainly not baffling.
Click to expand...

Great point. Revisionism runs rampant around here for + and -. Nobody was on this board crowing or pounding their chest @ CJHs recruiting acumen. That was probably rlthe biggest question mark. But, if it gets to the point where people are strutting around saying they told us so, I'll allow it for the greater good. 😄
 
#23
#23
Now a song goes around in my head..."we've only just begun" to recruit the big fish that we need to build up to Championships.

It's hard to believe how many good things are already happening and it's only still very early in his 2nd year on the hill.

I can only imagine what he might be able to get done if people donate well and we get BIG $$$ to use for the NIL deals.

I really don't think it's going to take too much longer before many of the big fish will be saying..."If you want to really compete against the very best, get the very best training and have the best chance to make it to the NFL then Tennessee is the best place to go."

Keep bringing them in coaches!!!

WOOO HOOO!!

VFL...GBO!!!
 
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#24
#24
I KNEW he could coach so I loved the hire. I had no idea if he could recruit or not. He has figured our NIL with the help of Spire and a motivated booster/advertising infrastructure. He is an innovator and that is what I felt when he was hired, and that is what I felt about Danny White, or at least hoped. That is probably the better word.

UT Vols have not been cutting edge since the 60s so it is pretty exciting. I hope he holds his staff together and doesn't flame it out.

Even Butch would have been better with Jancek and Bajakian on staff. They were doing the coaching, it turned out.
 
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