This time last year, the Tennessee Volunteers were about to start spring football practice with a coaching staff that had been on the job for less than two months.
“Great urgency” and “Get as good as we can as fast as we can” were common themes Josh Heupel repeated as workouts began, with those early days laying the foundation for a debut season that yielded an unexpected 7-5 record before a 48-45 overtime loss to Purdue in the Music City Bowl. Tennessee will begin its second spring under Heupel on Tuesday morning, no longer viewed as a Southeastern Conference calamity but instead a program on the upswing.
The Vols will conduct their 15 workouts but will not stage the Orange & White spring game due to Neyland Stadium renovations.
“It will be completely different,” Heupel said at the conclusion of last season. “We get a chance to come back and start the process all over again. If we can continue to buy into the process and each other, we have a chance to do something special.”
With no quarterback controversy in sight due to Hendon Hooker’s efficiency after transferring from Virginia Tech, here are three storylines worth following in the weeks ahead: