As Tennessee got out of the playoff race after a 42-17 loss to Ohio State, Josh Heupel must have pumped themselves up with self-talk. ‘Never mind. Will make it happen the next time.’ But hardly did Heupel realize that the next time would be filled with bumps and sharp turns. The Volunteers’ 2024 chapter opened up with a big Nico Iamaleava drama, where Heupel had to pull the brakes on his former quarterback. Even that was not enough.

Heupel’s Tennessee witnessed a mass exodus of players, where they lost 18 players to the transfer portal. But the head coach did not allow the outside pressure to break his morale. After all, he knows that he needs to buckle up as their 2026 recruiting class is running slow, standing at No.15 with only 13 recruits. Turns out that Heupel and Co.’s luck is finally flipping for the better.

On June 28, Hayes Fawcett confirmed, “BREAKING: Four-Star ATH Legend Bey has Committed to Tennessee, he tells me for @on3recruits.” Was the race to land Legend Bey a cakewalk for Heupel? Definitely not. The 6’0 185 ATH from Forney, TX chose the Vols after canceling out Texas A&M & Duke. But what made him sign up for the orange and white gang? Well, Heupel has earned a soft corner in his heart. No, not with NIL, but with a bit of reassurance, as Bey shared, “I wanted to know if playing early and getting touches would be a problem, and Coach Heupel reassured me that none of that will be a problem.”

The head coach warded off all his worries, saying, “With Heupel being an offensive head coach, it lets me know even if we were to lose an OC Heupel would hire someone for his offensive play style.” Maybe Bey was waiting for some confidence; otherwise, Tennessee had already wooed him. The speedy four-star ATH took an official visit to Knoxville on June 13-15. That marked his first time on campus. And he had already been touched by the atmosphere in Heupel’s camp. He said, “The first time being there was exciting. Knoxville is beautiful in itself, and I was very impressed by the culture of the players and the development with Coach Pope. Tennessee was definitely a huge eye-opener. The visit was phenomenal. I had standards, and they were definitely met here at Tennessee.” Now, how are the Vols going to benefit from this commitment?

The North Forney head coach, Marcus Shavers, came up with a clean chit for their player. “Legend is the best football player, I believe in the state of Texas, with the ball in his hands. Think he’s really good at getting the football down the field, and I say that knowing that is a real general statement, but I think he’s the best football player with the b- -l in his hands anywhere on the football field.” Now, this good news is something that Heupel is in dire need of. After all, the Tennessee head coach now has too many things on his plate. 

Josh Heupel’s Tennessee is standing on shaky ground 

Definitely, Heupel carries a deep wound after losing Iamaleava. However, he tried to show that it’s a new era for Vols with Joey Aguilar in the quarterback seat. The 104-5 The Zone podcast host tried to drag the Iamaleava topic into the conversation. But Heupel took a firm stand, hinting at how he has moved on. “Let’s start calling it the Joey Aguilar situation. At the end of the day, that’s just the landscape.” However, deep down, he, too, knows that a turnaround led by Aguilar comes with a lot of clauses. 

Back at Appalachian State over the two years, the quarterback lost his charm. The 2023 season might have been his breakout year, but he failed to carry forward his success to the next season. His completion rate witnessed a stark fall from 63.7% to 55.9% between the two seasons. More threat looms for Heupel’s Aguilar love as his new favorite failed to complete at least 60% of his passes in eight out of 11 games. So, multiple red flags are spotted when it comes to Tennessee’s quarterback room. What adds to the uncertainty is that Heupel is moving into 2025 with a shaky wagon. 

As 247’s Patrick Brown addressed the elephant in the room. “They’ve lost most probably half of that ’23 class, the Nico class. I think half of those guys have gone, and that of all their portal departures this offseason, most of them have been from that class. Now, a lot of those guys hadn’t played yet, but through two years, that’s sort of a spot where you know if guys aren’t playing, they kind of realize I need to go somewhere where I can play. But they’ve kept the entire 24 class here and obviously certainly the 2025 class here.”

With veterans like Christian Charles, John Slaughter gone, Josh Heupel no longer has players who have three or four years of experience. Led by a quarterback with everything to prove and a roster short on experience, the Vols are stepping into 2025 with bold hopes and bigger risks.