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KNOXVILLE – What a difference two years makes.

When Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel took over the Volunteers’ program a couple of years ago, he inherited a holy mess. The team was coming off one of the worst seasons in program history and there was also an NCAA investigation hovering over everything. The performance the Vols did in year two of the Heupel era has helped to make all those problems seem like a long time ago as Tennessee went 11-2 season and win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl.

At the annual Media Day on Tuesday, the Vol boss reflected on how far his program has evolved in just a few years and where he wants to see it go next. “It’s different in that you have two years of experience with the majority of your roster, you have a culture that is built and there is continuity and there is also an understanding from the players of exactly what they are getting into. Now you are able to go out and compete on a daily basis and that, as much as anything, is we don’t have a lot of issues with our guys as they do a phenomenal job on the field and outside (the practice facility) and in the classroom as it’s truly about us individually and collectively becoming our best.”

While Heupel has brought an exciting offensive brand to Knoxville, he said the players are still at the core of what makes it work. “Individually, we have made a lot of great strides. I really like the position some of these guys have put themselves in to be ready to go. I’m excited about the continuity we have coming back as a staff as over the last three years, we have been able to maintain the core group of our guys. That has allowed us to continue to grow in a culture and continue to grow in our schemes and build on the trust we have had over the first few years. We are excited to kick things off (on Wednesday) and start training camp. It’s a long month but it’s a process throughout the season and the process of training camp will show how we are ready to start the season in Nashville in 31 days.”

“The foundation has been set and there is great trust,” Heupel said when asked about where his team is now compared to 2021. “We have come a long way as our roster. That first Fall, we had about 55 scholarship players but now we are close to 85. We have real depth and real competition at every position. There are veterans and a lot of young guys, 18 of them who were with us during the course of Spring practice, and I expect them to be much more complete and mature players when they step on the field. There is great competition everywhere as our athleticism and strength has continued to improve. We continue to make strides as this is the time of year where you have to go out and earn it every day.”

Wednesday marks the start of Fall camp at Tennessee and Heupel said success in the regular season begins in the pre-season. “You want good seeds that are planted. Practice habits and how that affects your health during camp and during the regular season, the ability to play each play independently no matter what happened on the previous play, playing harder than your opponent even though you are competing against yourself during the course of training camp, how you take care of the ball and how you attack the ball. You have to continually grow in this game and reset in the course of the offseason. It’s important that you develop the habits and the leadership and we try to be intentional with that even during the course of training camp. We give guys ownership and they have to go be problem-solvers when we go out and play against an opponent this Fall.”

The stench of the Jeremy Pruitt years has lessened as the NCAA released their findings of the investigation of the program last month and only hit the Vols with a few additional penalties due to the University taking quick and decisive action when the issues came to the surface. Heupel said he is relieved all those problems are now in the rearview mirror and he is looking forward. “The NCAA stuff being behind us is huge, especially with the recruiting part of it. We have two and a half years of built-up trust and chemistry with your staff and your players but at the end of the day, how we approach, and how I approach things, is not any different. This is a highly competitive game and you have great players and coaches we are going to be going against all Fall long and you have to reset and go earn it every single day. We have a real sense of urgency and that starts with me. There were a lot of great moments last year but none of that comes with us and at the end of the day, there were a lot of goals we didn’t reach. This group has been really intentional about pushing forward and go chase some of those things.”

Probably nothing is going to bring more interest to the Vols as they start training camp as the two young men who will be under center this season. Joe Milton III is expected to be the starter after stepping in for the injured Hendon Hooker in the last two games of the season and showed what he is capable of by earning MVP honors in the Orange Bowl. During the 2022 season, Milton threw 10 touchdowns and no interceptions which included three scores against Clemson. The rocket-armed quarterback went 19-of-28 for 251 yards as the Vols tamed the Tigers 31-14. Highly touted freshman Nico Iamaleava enrolled early and was able to practice with Tennessee for the bowl game and then looked great in Spring practice. The number two rated quarterback in the country coming out of high school in California is expected to do big things during his Vol career.

“Both of them I expect to compete and lead at a high level,” Heupel said of his two top quarterbacks. “I think it’s very important that those guys have great energy and urgency and that transcends not just through our offense but also through our football team. For all of our players, this is a game that is never going to be perfect and being able to reset from one play to another is one of the most important traits you have as a competitor and player in this game. For those two guys to do that and then master what we are doing offensively will be really important.”

Tennessee is coming off the best season in years where they got to double-digit wins, finally defeated long-time rivals Florida and Alabama and finished ranked in the top 10 in the nation. That has raised expectations at Tennessee but Heupel said he wants his team to go even further and accomplish even greater things. That all starts this week when the team reports to campus for Fall practice. The UT head coach said no position is guaranteed and he will be looking for players who are willing to go to the next level with the Tennessee program. “At this time of the year, you have to show you can master what we are doing. It’s your job to prove you can play at a championship level.”