Go back and look at Josh Heupel’s interviews dating back to the end of spring practice. From then through SEC Media Days through fall camp, he hammered home a consistent theme that Tennessee Football is the deepest and most talented it’s been since he arrived at UT.
Our own Jimmy Hyams disagreed here. Well, within three days of Hyams writing that article, Heupel already seems to have come around to his side. After all the talk about the depth and the talent, he made an alarming quote to kick off UT’s week one opener against the Chattanooga Mocs.
“We’re not quite at a full roster yet, but we really like the group that we have,” he said in his Monday press conference. “As we continue to recruit here during the different cycles, length, athleticism and physicality are traits that we are looking for on the field.”
Wait…what?
Heupel out of the blue decided to tell us that the Vols aren’t at a full roster? He chose the week of the first game for Tennessee Football to do it? Sorry, but something doesn’t make sense here. Why is Heupel volunteering this information now?
One guess is that we’re reading too much into this. It’s not a contradiction to say you don’t have a full roster but that you still have the most talented roster since you arrived. Another possibility, though, is that Heupel was disappointed with the lack of progress at fall camp.
What if Heupel expected players to emerge to fill the few voids this team does have? We know left guard is an issue on the offensive line as well as depth at that position. Is Heupel upset the Vols didn’t develop there the way they needed to. He has a quote that seems to suggest so.
“A couple of guys got built throughout the course of training camp, and that allows you to play more guys together,” he said. “You don’t have just five guys playing together.”
If you know Heupel, an answer like that when asked about his offensive line means he’s not happy with where it’s at. He wants to go 10-deep, the Vols were only four-deep going in, and he just touted a “couple” of players. Where does this come from.
Taking all this into account, the signs are there that Heupel is all of sudden concerned about the state of the Tennessee Football program. Now, this may not last, and he could be hiding some things, but for the moment, it’s definitely alarming.
