Why Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel still prioritizes high school recruiting

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel doesn’t have to make trips to Nashville area high school football programs. He wants to. While college football coaches are increasingly tapping into the transfer portal to build championship rosters, Heupel said during the Big Orange Caravan on April 29 that high school recruits are vital — including the ones around Nashville.

That area has been good to the Vols, with 11 players from Middle Tennessee on Heupel’s current roster. More: Tennessee football's Josh Heupel weighs in on Jermod McCoy's NFL draft drop More: Josh Heupel updates Chaz Coleman status amid Tennessee absence, NIL questions “The portal’s a way to supplement your roster. I don’t think you can just strictly build it that way,” Heupel said before the event at Marathon Music Works.

“That’s guys in your system developing that way, leadership, all those things. The two have to merge together. This year we’ve had more kids in the portal than we typically have.

I think that depends where your roster’s at, where you’re going to lean a little bit. ” Tennessee's in-state recruiting bottomed out following former coach Jeremy Pruitt’s dismissal in 2021. The Vols signed just one top-10 prospect from the state in the 2021 and 2022 classes combined as the program dealt with questions related to NCAA infractions committed during Pruitt's regime.