Well, Josh Heupel must still be having a nagging pain in his heart. They made a huge blunder, letting Ryan Day’s Ohio State steal the win. But the Tennessee Volunteers head coach is all set to make his fourth season a big hit. There was a time when the Vols used to pin their hopes on their QB Nico Iamaleava. But gone are those days! Heupel now takes a dip in the transfer portal. And it did serve him big as he paved a brighter future for Tennessee. 

Ever since the transfer portal opened its gates, Iamaleava has been a target for many teams from across the nation. Heupel’s quarterback led the Vols to a 10-win season (including wins against Alabama, Oklahoma, and Florida). He even helped Tennessee earn a spot in the College Football Playoff as a redshirt freshman in 2024. Even though he did not transfer anywhere else, his stats have been concerning, adding to the uncertainty.

As analyst Brandon Zimmerman pointed out, “Nico Iamaleava has the lowest QBR of any starting QB in the CFP.” And it’s not unknown to Heupel. So the Tennessee HC has made preparations beforehand. 

On the On3 Recruits podcast, host Josh Newberg dropped the big news. “At No.2, Faizon Brandon, and he is committed to the Tennessee Volunteers. He’s out of Greensboro North Carolina number six player overall in hypo did a good job identifying him early,” stated the analyst. Looks like Heupel had his eyes on Faizon Brandon for quite some time now. The young chap who had led his Grimsley high school to an unbeaten season this year, coming off 15-0, had committed to the Vols since August. 

Well, it is going to be a tough task to ignore his impressive stats. As Newberg noted, “He had a huge junior season. Thrown for over 2,000 yards, 76.3% completion percentage, and even more impressive his touchdown to interception ratio at 27-1 quite impressive.” Along with the stats, back in December, Heupel’s new weapon was awarded the Mr. Football for the 2024 season. It goes to the top high school football player in North Carolina. Not just the QB position; Heuepel did not inch back before spreading his recruiting magic.

How Josh Heupel promises a new era for the Vols 

Well, we get the Tennessee fans’ concern. Even though Iamaleava chose to stay back, there still remained some uncertainty. That’s because Heupel’s true freshman wide receiver Mike Matthews started looking for other options to swap wagons. After all, the 5-star prospect and the No.6 wide receiver was the program’s second highest-rated recruit in the class of 2024. But even Matthews changed his plans and will now stay with Tennessee.

But Heupel refused to take any risk. He gained the commitment of the three-star wide receiver Tyran Evans, who is committed to the Volunteers’ 2026 class on Sunday, January 5. The fight was tough. Heupel’s Vols had to fight with South Carolina, NC State, Miami, and Florida State, among others, to land Evans. Standing tall at 6-foot-3 and weighing 170 pounds, he is the second North Carolina recruit in the Vols 2026 class.

Tyran Evans will now be joining the five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon. Other than playing under Josh Heupel, there is one big reason behind the WR’s choice. As the player told On3, “Pope reminds me of my high school coach a lot and we have a great connection.” That’s the Tennessee WR coach Kelsey Pope. So no matter how bad the situation is for the Vols, their HC had some big catches from the transfer portal.