As a coach-quarterback tandem, Josh Heupel and Hendon Hooker have guided Tennessee to a meteoric rise in national prominence.
The Volunteers won just three games in 2020, when Jeremy Pruitt was in his third and final season as coach and Jarrett Guarantano, J.T. Shrout, Brian Maurer and Harrison Bailey took turns at quarterback. Heupel and Hooker have provided a stable foundation and an exciting brand that has Tennessee 5-0 and ranked sixth in the country.
Imagine what a win Saturday over No. 3 Alabama would do to further enhance their respective legacies in Knoxville.
"This is why you come to Tennessee," Heupel said Monday in a news conference. "We've got a big-time matchup this weekend, and we're really excited. Our players have earned the right to play in a game like this."
Heupel's Vols are coming off a 40-13 thrashing of No. 25 LSU in Baton Rouge, the program's most resounding road win since the Phillip Fulmer era, and Hooker is now third behind Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud and Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams in the odds to win the Heisman Trophy, making him the top candidate out of the Southeastern Conference.
It's been since 2006, when Fulmer was coach and Erik Ainge the starting quarterback, that the Vols tasted success against the Crimson Tide, losing 15 consecutive contests to Nick Saban-coached teams. It's a drought spanning the coaching regimes of Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones and Pruitt, as well as the quarterbacking stints of Jonathan Crompton, Matt Simms, Tyler Bray, Justin Worley, Josh Dobbs, Maurer and Guarantano.
Hooker admitted Monday that Alabama's impending visit is absolutely a validation opportunity for the Vols.
"I feel like we're one of the top programs in the nation and that we're just continuing to build and continuing to strive for what we want," he said. Hooker added that he isn't deleting social media from his phone during this game week, saying he needs it "for business purposes."
Saturday's CBS-televised showdown that will be accompanied by ESPN's "College GameDay" show has two significant questions that will be answered by kickoff -- will Bryce Young be Alabama's starting quarterback, and will Tennessee strong safety Jaylen McCullough be eligible following his Sunday arrest on a felony aggravated assault charge?
Young hasn't played due to a shoulder injury suffered in the 49-26 triumph at Arkansas on Oct. 1, with the reigning Heisman Trophy winner having been replaced by redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe, who was inconsistent this past Saturday in the 24-20 escape of Texas A&M.
"Hopefully we're going to try and get him ready to play this week," Saban said Monday. "This is something that nobody can predict in terms of how quickly this is going to give him an opportunity to go out and do what he needs to do. We'll see as the week progresses."
According to a Knox County Sheriff's Office arrest warrant, McCollough allegedly punched a man in the face, causing him to fall down stairs at an apartment complex and lose consciousness. The victim admitted to having been drinking and having walked into the wrong apartment, and he exchanged words with McCollough before McCollough followed him out of the apartment and threw the punch.
"We learned of it really late yesterday," Heupel said, "and as we gather more information, I'll have more for you."
Redshirt freshman Andre Turrentine and freshman Jourdan Thomas are next in line at strong safety should McCollough not play, but the Vols also could turn to junior Doneiko Slaughter, the backup free safety, or redshirt junior Wesley Walker, the backup at the star position.
"We feel good about the guys who have played at that position, and we have flexibility in the secondary," Heupel said. "Guys have been trained to play multiple positions, so we'll see as the week unfolds. We have great trust in all those guys."
Weekly winners
Tennessee won two SEC honors Monday, with senior edge rusher Byron Young earning defensive lineman of the week and sixth-year senior kicker Chase McGrath snagging special teams player of the week.
Young racked up five tackles, five pressures and 2.5 sacks at LSU, while McGrath was 4-of-5 on field-goal attempts and scored 16 points. McGrath's tally was one shy of the single-game school record for a kicker shared by four different players.
Lengthiest march
After Tennessee's offense failed to close out Florida with a 38-27 lead, which helped enable the Gators to pull within 38-33 and then recover an onside kick, the Vols had a 13-play, 81-yard drive at LSU that consumed eight minutes and 47 seconds and culminated with a 32-yard field goal.
"I like that we continue to get better, which is what good teams do throughout the course of a season," Heupel said. "We were really excited about the amount of time we were able to chew up and eat. We still want to finish that drive and punch it in, but there were a lot of positives in the course of that drive.
"We played with physicality and technique, and our running backs did a really good job, too."
Odds and ends
Tennessee's home game next week against UT Martin will have a noon kickoff on the SEC Network. ... Heupel on fifth-year senior receiver Cedric Tillman, who has missed the last two games with a high-ankle sprain: "Cedric is doing good, and this is part of the reason why he had the surgery -- to be back for this one. He's continuing to progress, and we'll monitor him." ... Heupel would only say that Gerald Mincey was "unavailable" for the LSU game but that the redshirt sophomore left tackle would be back this week. ... The only other season in which "College GameDay" made two trips to Knoxville was 2002, when the Vols lost to Florida and Miami.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.