Josh Heupel Discusses His Recruiting Pitch at Tennessee

Josh Heupel was quick to state that recruiting is the "life-blood" of a program during his introductory press conference as Tennessee's head coach. Heupel's 2022 recruiting class is off to a slow start, so far, as Tennessee is fighting multiple uphill battles on the recruiting trail. However, Josh Heupel has been extremely active on the front, and he has made his impression on several of Tennessee's top targets. During a recent press conference, Heupel discussed his recruiting pitch to Tennessee. 

"It's about developing relationships. It's about pouring into kids," Heupel said. "There is no substitute for that. In some ways, we're a little bit behind schedule with the timing of when we got hired. The nature of that and then some of the questions surrounding our program. Our coaches have been working on that relationship building with those players. "

At the end of the day, this is one of the greatest traditions in college football, and we get to put a completely new-age approach on it," Heupel said. "That's the way we interact with our players, the energy we have in our building every day and who and what we're going to be out on the football field. It's going to be a place that guys can be able compete at the highest level, have a great attitude and are going to have fun inside of our building. I don't care if that's in the strength and conditioning area or the way we practice. In what we do, it is going to be fast, it's going to be fun and most importantly, there are going to be real relationships that are formed. We're going to be real in who we are, and as recruits see that, they'll find out that this is a pretty special place to come play football, grow as a football player and grow as a man, more importantly. As we continue to go through this recruiting cycle, I think recruits are going to see that."

Heupel assembled a star-studded recruiting office to help him get back on track in Knoxville, and the Vols seem to be building steam with multiple top targets coming over the past couple of weeks. 

Tennessee will return to the practice field this week following a short, three day break for the Easter Holiday. Heupel and company have been creative with the virtual world to show several top targets an inside look at practice, and they will have to continue to do so throughout the coming weeks.