Amid the euphoria of Tennessee’s 31-14 downing of Clemson in the Orange Bowl, the biggest postseason victory for the Volunteers in a quarter-century, coach Josh Heupel made sure the excitement of that Dec. 30 night would not be tempered moving forward.
“We’re just getting started in what we’re developing here,” Heupel said.
Tennessee has already won the race in Heupel’s quest “to be as good as we can as fast as we can,” with each of his first two teams in Knoxville showing a four-win improvement over the previous year. Last season’s 11-2 squad even landed at No. 1 in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings before losing on November’s first Saturday to eventual national champion Georgia.
Yet it’s the “just getting started” portion of Heupel’s claim in Miami Gardens that is sure to be his focus Monday, when the Vols hold their first of 15 spring practices. Tennessee is also scheduled to work Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday of this upcoming week, which will represent the early stages of the eventual buildup to the Orange & White spring game at 2:30 p.m. on April 15.
It’s a unique time for a program that could produce as many as six players within the first two rounds of next month’s NFL draft — quarterback Hendon Hooker, receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, offensive tackle Darnell Wright, edge rusher Byron Young and linebacker Jeremy Banks — but also returns a slew of experience.