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Josh Heupel rescued Tennessee football and returned the program to national relevance. Entering his sixth season, however, merely being relevant is no longer enough.
The Volunteers finished 8-5 last season, went 4-4 in the SEC and lost to Illinois in the Music City Bowl. That would have once qualified as progress in Knoxville. Now it feels like Tennessee is moving backward while the conference continues speeding past it.
Josh Heupel has already completed the rebuild
Heupel inherited a broken program in 2021 and immediately made Tennessee entertaining again. The breakthrough arrived one year later when the Volunteers won 11 games, defeated Alabama and finished No. 6 in the final Associated Press poll.
Tennessee reached the College Football Playoff following the 2024 season, further confirming that its revival was legitimate. Heupel is 45-20 through five seasons, representing the program’s best stretch in more than two decades.
He deserves enormous credit for that turnaround. He also cannot continue spending it forever.
The Volunteers have not returned to the SEC Championship Game since 2007. They have not won the conference since 1998. Heupel was not hired merely to make Tennessee respectable.
At some point, the revival needs to produce hardware.
Tennessee’s quarterback gamble must work
Heupel enters 2026 without an established starting quarterback. Redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon are competing for the job, with neither separating himself enough for Heupel to name a starter before preseason camp.
Both are talented. Neither has meaningful college experience.
That leaves Tennessee trusting one of the SEC’s most demanding schedules to a quarterback who will be learning while trying to avoid being flattened by grown men. Sounds relaxing.
Heupel built his reputation on quarterback development and offensive creativity. This competition gives him another opportunity to prove it. Tennessee cannot endure another season in which its passing attack disappears against the strongest opponents on its schedule.
Running back DeSean Bishop provides some security after rushing for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. Five-star freshman receiver Tristen Keys could become an immediate playmaker once he moves past a minor soft-tissue injury.
The pieces are available. Heupel must assemble them quickly.
Another eight-win season would raise difficult questions
ESPN’s Football Power Index projects Tennessee to finish around 7-5. That reflects the uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position, roster turnover and another unforgiving SEC schedule.
It should also make everyone in Knoxville uncomfortable.
A young roster gives Heupel a reasonable explanation for modest expectations. It does not give him a free season. Tennessee has recruited too well and invested too heavily to accept eight victories as its permanent destination.
The Volunteers do not necessarily need to reach the College Football Playoff for 2026 to be considered successful. They do need to remain in contention deep into November, defeat at least one premier opponent and show that their younger players are developing into the foundation of another championship run.
Heupel has already proven he can restore Tennessee football. The next challenge is harder: pushing it beyond the occasional breakthrough and into the SEC’s ruling class.
If Tennessee takes that step, Heupel’s early success will look like the beginning of something sustainable. If the Volunteers settle near the middle of the conference again, fans will begin wondering whether the program has already reached its ceiling under him.
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