“It’s a great weekend, opportunity for (College) GameDay to be here on the biggest stage in college football,” said the Tennessee Volunteers head coach, Josh Heupel, before their face-off against the Georgia Bulldogs. We don’t know whether Heupel will still stand by his “great” take after witnessing a 41-44 loss against Kirby Smart’s squad, after their last minute blunder. But no matter what, he cannot afford to fester over the loss. After all, Heupel got to put up the brightest smile and woo the recruits who were in attendance at the Neyland Stadium.   

As per On3’s 2026 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings, Heupel’s squad stands at No.8 with 24 recruits locked in. Heupel can be hailed as the offensive scheme guru, known for his immaculate play calling and quarterback development. But when it is about Heupel’s skills as an elite recruiter, there has been a lot of debate. Now, after taking an L from Georgia, how is the head coach going to pitch to the recruits? Well, seems like he has adopted some strategies.

In the stands, fans spotted Faizon Brandon and Tristen Keys. Recruits from the offensive side of the football. Also in attendance were Brayden Rouse and TJ White, from the defensive side. Not just the 2026 class, recruits from 2027, 2028 class, like Kennedy Brown, Cooper Witten, and David Gabriel Georges were spotted. But how did Heupel’s squad welcome the recruits? On the September 13th episode of the Rivals podcast, Steve Wiltfong shared, “Peyton Manning on the field pre-game talking to the Tennessee quarterback commit Faizon Brandon. I mean, how cool is that?”

This must be reminding Vols fans of how the Tennessee alum was spotted smoking a cigar with George MacIntyre. Wiltfong continued, “Kennedy Brown, the number one player in the country, offensive tackle, 2027, Tennessee was a program that he highlighted to me before this season that he wanted to visit, he’ll be back. This was to check out a game day atmosphere, talking to his mom, I expect them to be back down the road at some point.” As per the reports, Heupel’s Tennessee is viewed as Brown’s “favorite” while other power teams like Clemson, Texas A&M, and Oregon, among others, are also in the race. 

The next up in line was the 2027 five-star linebacker, Cooper, who is the son of the 11-time Pro Bowler Jason Witten. “Where does Tennessee stand? I think Tennessee is obviously right there at or near the top…But Tennessee is not recruiting him like that. Tennessee’s recruiting him as if his name is Cooper Smith or Cooper Johnson, just a very generic name, not Witten,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price. Then there is 5-star running back Georges. Heupel and co. will have to win his trust by beating Ohio State. Considering the loss, was hosting recruits during the Tennessee-Georgia showdown bad timing on the part of Heupel?

A missed field goal sealed the Vols’ fate

Tennessee had a chance to win in the final seconds of regulation. That’s when Heupel and co. fell prey to a blunder. Max Gilbert’s 43-yard field goal sailed wide right, serving Smart’s squad with a lifeline, forcing overtime. Had they managed the clock better, and given their kicker a shorter field, the score would have looked different. Heupel’s boys managed only a field goal on their first drive of overtime. Then Georgia gave the knockout blow with a 21-yard rush from Nate Frazier that set up Josh McCray’s one-yard touchdown plunge. 

This marked the Bulldogs’ ninth straight win over Tennessee. The game flipped in just a matter of moments. But the Tennessee head coach had already done his homework to keep his trust with the recruits intact. 

Not just Heuepel, himself, he also took RBs coach De’Rail Sims, who dived into the mission. On September 5, Chad Simmons tweeted, “Tennessee HC Josh Heupel and RB coach De’Rail Sims here at the @BaylorSchoolFB -@theBAFootball game!  Multiple Tennessee commits/targets in action. @Rivals_HS.”  Their target was David Gabriel Georges, a product of the Baylor School.

After the latest stumble against Georgia, if Josh Heupel feels a bit underconfident, he must draw motivation from his latest recruiting win. Three-star safety Jowell Combay committed to the Vols over South Carolina, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Georgia back in July. But the real question is that after getting steamrolled by Georgia in front of the prospects, will those recruits still book their ticket to Knoxville?