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- š Josh Heupel goes on the offensive
š Josh Heupel goes on the offensive
More questions about the Vols' offense?
Hello. This is the Josh and Swain Newsletter, a quick roundup of the weekās top stories and topics involving Tennessee and the sports world.
Hereās what we have for you today:
Josh Heupel AGAIN responds to questions about his offense
Ohā¦ letās talk about Tennesseeās defense
An honor for a Tennessee and SEC legend
A VFL and coach breaks down Tennesseeās players in the NFL Draft
DONāT QUESTION HEUPELāS OFFENSE PT. 2
![](https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=scale-down,format=auto,onerror=redirect,quality=80/uploads/asset/file/068c8f8e-5d48-401c-b5ab-7694705e9d9d/Heupel-and-players_utad.jpg)
Josh Heupel has heard enough.
Tennesseeās football coach led the nationās No. 1 scoring offense in 2022.
Hendon Hooker finished in the top five of Heisman Trophy voting as the Volsā quarterback.
Jalin Hyatt won the Biletnikoff Award ā the first in school history ā as the nationās best wide receiver.
Despite those accomplishments, Heupel has heard plenty of questions about his offense.
Those questions came up again during the NFL Draft process.
āAre Hooker and Hyatt legit pro prospects or products of a system?ā people wondered.
Critics suggested Tennesseeās system doesnāt prepare players for the next level.
Some of those critics are in the media. Some are fans. And some are opposing college coaches or NFL evaluators.
When asked about Tennesseeās ability to develop players this week at the Big Orange Caravan, Heupel responded.
āIāve had more wide receivers drafted in the last three years than any other college coach. I think that speaks to what weāre doing (and) how weāre developing those guys. Those guys understanding coverages, concepts, but also how to beat man coverage.
That can be press, that can be off technique. That doesnt just happen by accident. I think what we do does translate to how those guys can develop.ā
Heupelās job is to score points and give Tennessee the best chance to win.
Heās done that (and then some) in his first two seasons in Knoxville.
Yet, heās left to answer questions about his ability to develop players.
These are questions that come up during the recruiting process.
Recruits want to go to the NFL. Opposing coaches will try to convince those recruits that Tennesseeās system will hinder their chances.
Heupel and his staff will tell them otherwise.
The real test will come when Tennesseeās former players perform in the NFL.
And weāll see mixed results. Because some players will succeed and some wonāt.
Thatās how it goes.
Thereās a fair and unfair way to have this conversation.
ā Fair: Tennesseeās offense is one of the best in college football but creates challenges for NFL teams trying to evaluate individual players.
ā Unfair: Tennesseeās offense is too simple and players canāt develop for the pro level.
Players can ā and will ā succeed in the NFL after playing in Heupelās offense.
The conversation hasnāt seemed too harmful for the Vols to this point.
Five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava enrolled at Tennessee in January and four-star QB Jake Merklinger committed for 2024.
Tennesseeās offense has also attracted highly-touted running back Cameron Seldon and transfer receiver Dontāe Thornton from Oregon.
So the āsystemā talk hasnāt affected everyone.
Josh Heupel is just ready to talk about something else.
We led Tuesdayās Josh and Swain discussing the subject of Tennesseeās offense and the idea itās a āgimmickā after hearing Heupelās comments.
Podcast below. ā¬ļøā¬ļø
HOW ABOUT TENNESSEEāS DEFENSE?
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Defensive coordinator Tim Banks has Heupelās confidence
That āsomething elseā that Heupel wants to discuss might be defense.
With Heupel, the Volsā offense most often leads as the subject.
For many of the reasons stated above.
But donāt ignore Tennesseeās defense, Heupel says.
Speaking at a separate Big Orange Caravan stop, Heupel offered a strong endorsement for the Volsā defense.
āWeāre not going to play good defense. Weāre going to play elite defense at Tennessee.ā
- Josh Heupel at Big Orange Caravan
ā Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks)
10:56 PM ā¢ May 3, 2023
Alright now.
Those are strong words from Tennesseeās head coach.
Will they prove true?
Predicting āeliteā defensive play feels like a stretch ā and we can argue about the definition.
Still, there are several reasons to be optimistic about improved defensive play.
Tennessee has to replace leading edge rusher Byron Young, who was drafted in the third round by the LA Rams.
But the Vols will have more pass rushers they can count on this season thanks to development.
Transfers Gabe Jeudy-Lally (cornerback), Omarr Norman-Lott (defensive line), and linebacker Keenan Pili (linebacker) add experience and depth.
And the Vols should be more athletic in the secondary thanks to recruiting.
Tennessee has also kept its entire defensive staff intact since Heupel arrived.
Will the Vols be elite on defense this fall?
Be careful with that prediction. BUT weāve already established today: Heupel wonāt say it if he doesnāt mean it.
SPORTS NUGGETS
š Friday guest Barrett Sallee released his SEC Spring overreactions and he dropped a doozy for Tennessee.
š ESPN announced a 30 for 30 documentary: āThe Minister of Defenseā on the late Reggie White.
š Excellent ESPN analyst Louis Riddick shared his list of favorite non-first round selections in the NFL Draft. A few Vols made the list.
š ESPN updated its way-too-early top 25 teams for college basketball and Tennessee made a big jump thanks to several roster additions.
ā¾ Tennessee will take its eight-game winning streak to Athens to play Georgia this weekend. Hereās weekend info ahead of the series.
ā¾ Alabama fired baseball coach Brad Bohannon after being linked to suspicious bets made last week.
ANOTHER HONOR FOR AN SEC LEGEND
Condredge Holloway is more than a Tennessee legend.
Holloway became the first black starting quarterback in the SEC in 1972 after starring at Lee High School in Huntsville, Ala.
He was a terrific multi-sport athlete. Holloway was selected fourth overall by the Montreal Expos in the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft.
Holloway passed on the draft to attend Tennessee, where he excelled in football and baseball.
Holloway made a name for himself as a player and helped more athletes that came after him than we can name.
Lee High School honored Holloway recently by introducing the āCondredge Holloway Athletic Complex.ā
Check out the video below.
.@leehighhsv hosted a ceremony to name the school's fieldhouse in his honor as the "Condredge Holloway Athletic Complex."
He was a three-sport athlete at Lee before attending the University of Tennessee where we became the first African-American quarterback to play in the SEC.
ā Huntsville City Schools (@HSVk12)
8:27 PM ā¢ May 2, 2023
ONE LAST BYTE OUT THE DOOR
This was a great week for Kevin Simon to drop some knowledge.
The former Tennessee linebacker, who worked on staff at Tennessee from 2018-21 after serving as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons, made two appearances on Josh and Swain this week.
He joined us Monday to recap the draft and the landing spots of five Vols drafted into the NFL. ā¬ļøā¬ļø
And then Simon stopped by the studio to co-host Wednesdayās show with Swain.
Check out the full show below.
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Thank you for reading.
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