Tennessee's Josh Heupel Must Deal with Former Staff's Violations
Anytime the NCAA Infractions Committee comes unexpectedly knocking at an athletic department’s door, the news shall not be good. For the University of Tennessee and Head Football Coach Josh Heupel, there’s a bit of a double whammy with their particular infractions case that was just sent over from the NCAA.
Heupel was actually the leader for UCF when now New York Giants Defensive Assistant Jeremy Pruitt was handing out wads of cash to recruits when he was the leader of the Vols. Heupel had nothing to do with the cheating. Zero, zip, none, nada.
When he hired on to be the Head Coach for Tennessee, however, he knew one day the NCAA Infractions Committee would come calling. There’s a reason that Pruitt was fired from being the Tennessee Head Coach.
Today is that day Heupel knew was coming. That does not mean it’s any easier with what’s ahead. Now he must take on a situation that is possibly going to fester and get worse.
The Volunteers are coming off a 2021 season in which they exceeded expectations and went 7-6. Many believed Tennessee would not even win five games heading into this past season.
Tennessee had several great games and an exciting offense that averaged 39.3 points per contest. It has Vols fans looking forward to this next season. That enthusiasm has probably taken a hit with the NCAA’s letter to Tennessee. That also leads to the following points.
The NCAA will eventually hand out penalties for the 18 Level I violations charged to the Volunteers. To place that number in perspective, LSU is facing eight Level I infractions for its own transgressions and there are serious concerns about a serious loss of scholarships. Tennessee’s list of Level I violations is over twice that amount of infractions LSU is looking at.
Uh-oh.
While not his fault, Heupel is likely to be the head coach that must find a way to overcome a loss of scholarships because of his predecessor’s disgraceful actions.
He left UCF for this tradition-rich SEC job, so now let’s see what he can do. With that in mind, a few questions.
Would a loss of scholarships be fair for Heupel and his staff? How about the Tennessee players and fans? Opinions will vary, but the NCAA also has to give out some sort of punishment for wrongdoing or there’s no reason to follow rules at all.
Will the NCAA Infractions Committee come down hard on the Vols, such as 10 or more scholarships lost?
If it’s three, perhaps five scholarships lost for a season or two, that’s doable in regards to Tennessee still being a competitive SEC program. If the number of scholarships taken away from Tennessee reaches 10 or more, that’s all but a death knell to any college football program, let alone one that is competing with Georgia and Florida in the SEC East.
Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel has a tough task ahead with the NCAA Infractions final decision looming.
Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Next, what impact will the NCAA’s letter of allegations have on Vols’ recruiting for the class of 2023?
Several top-notch recruits have decided to cast their lot with the Volunteers, but uncertainty sometimes gives recruits reason to at least explore their options.
Of particular importance, how will Tennessee quarterback commitment Nickolaus Iamaleava handle this situation?
He’s an incredible talent and the Long Beach (Calif.) Poly signal caller will certainly be receiving calls from other coaches with the news of what’s happening to Tennessee.
Finally, does the impending final decision from the NCAA cause issues for Heupel, his coaching staff, and the UT players while trying to go through the 2022 college football season while they wait on the NCAA?
Outside forces have been known to impact college players and how they perform, same with coaches.
Heupel took on a unique job at Tennessee when he left UCF, but he’s going to be earning every penny of his salary with how the impending NCAA investigation case turns out.
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