Tennessee football: Josh Heupel’s SEC Media Days slot keeps Vols under the radar

A 7-6 record and a recruiting class outside of the top 10 when you’re in the SEC will make national media naturally overlook you. There is lots of stability for Tennessee football entering Josh Heupel’s second year, so any coverage of the Vols will be positive, but there won’t be much of it.

Too many SEC teams are generating storylines, good and bad, for the Vols to get the bulk of the news. Vol fans welcome that, as they have recently been in the public eye for tons of bad publicity. Quiet stability is all anybody could ask for entering Heupel’s second year on the job.

That’s no more on display than Tennessee football’s slot for 2022 SEC Media Days. The league revealed Friday that Heupel will take the stage on the last day of the event, which will take place at the CNN Center in Atlanta and last from Monday, July 18 through Thursday, July 21.

Not only is Heupel going on the last day, but he’ll be sandwiched between Bryan Harsin and the Auburn Tigers, who will come before him, and Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies, who go after him. With both of those coaches sharing the stage, there’s no way Heupel steals the show.

Harsin barely avoided being fired this offseason and is under a ton of scrutiny given the departures of his assistants, the way some players who transferred out have described him and accusations of improper behavior on a personal level. Oh, he also lost his final five games to finish 6-7 on the year.

Basically, Auburn is in a situation you might be used to seeing Tennessee football in. On the other side, though, Fisher and A&M had a bitter year in 2021, going 8-4 despite predictions of being a national championship contender but still beating the Alabama Crimson Tide, their benchmark foe. They also secured the No. 1 recruiting class in 2022.

Simply put, Texas A&M’s expectations and Auburn’s dumpster fire will render Heupel and the Vols irrelevant. That’s exactly where they need to be. They may have just gone 7-6, and they may not have made a splash on the trail, but they return a ton of talent for next year.

At the same time, as mentioned in previous posts, two of the three Power Five teams who are among their first five opponents next year are undergoing coaching changes, the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators. The third, the Pittsburgh Panthers, just lost their quarterback, Kenny Pickett.

Taking all that into account, a 5-0 start is on the table, with or without any major headlines, and as long as the cloud of the NCAA investigation from the Jeremy Pruitt era is lifted by then, they’ll have their chance to make a splash. Oh, and their splash will do a lot more for recruiting long-term than anything else.

Given the way things were last year, every Tennessee football fan should welcome being in this position. Heupel has a flashy offense and a fun style of play to watch, but the way he has gone about this offseason has been anything but flashy, and that’s exactly what UT needed.