Josh Heupel shares confident words Tennessee Vols fans will love to hear at SEC Media Days

Vols fans have been on quite the roller coaster ride over the past two decades. From the mediocrity of Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley, to the high profile near successes and failures of Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt, the Tennessee Volunteers were long overdue for a head coach like Josh Heupel.

Heupel already has 27 wins through his first three seasons with the Vols and expectations are set high in 2024. At SEC Media Days coach Heupel made it clear he understands and feels the pressure to reach greater success than ever before, but is also incredibly excited and confident in the team's future.

Josh Heupel's rise and confidence in Vols future

Reece Van Haaften of Channel 6 News in Knoxville met with Josh Heupel and asked some great questions regarding his rise to the Vols head coaching job and where the program might be headed. Some forget, but Josh Heupel started his coaching career rather humbly at Arizona with the tight ends group there. And as one might imagine, the pressure as the Vols head coach is a bit different than what he experienced back then.

"Yeah, as stressful you thought the tight ends [coaching] position was, you have no idea what real stress is. But I've just absolutely enjoyed my journey. Been around so many great people, learned so much about myself, and how to be better too. And that comes from the players and the coaches I've been around."

Heupel has come a long way in coaching as he's progressed throughout the ranks with stops at Arizona, Oklahoma, Utah State, Missouri, and UCF before joining the Vols in 2021. It's amazing to see him still be so humble after winning a national championship at Oklahoma as a quarterback, now rising near the top of the college football coaching ranks at Tennessee.

However humble he might be as a person, Heupel also shared some confident words when asked about the trajectory of the Vols program and what he's most proud of in his time at Tennessee:

"I think the culture that we've built. The amount of leadership that we have inside of our locker room. We've had a lot of successes. There's some things that we wish would have changed on certain game days. But the trajectory, the continuity, the connection that we have inside of our program...our best is still coming. I can't be more excited to go chase it with these guys this fall."

The stage is set for the 2024 season to be a truly special one if things come together like Vols fans hope. Five star stud Nico Iamaleava will be starting his first full season. The wide receiver group is stacked. The defense is extremely experienced and boasts a few future NFL stars. It's still going to be a tough task to make the 12-Team College Football Playoff, but Josh Heupel is right. The Vols are on the right trajectory and the best is still coming!

Related: Three potential Tennessee Volunteers breakout players for the 2024 college football season

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And if you want to watch some Nico Iamaleava highlights to see what he will bring to the Vols in his first full year as the starter you can check out the video below!