‘Butch Jones ignored it' – Vols head coach Josh Heupel is avoiding a critical mistake that coaches have made before at Tennessee

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Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel is avoiding a critical mistake on Rocky Top that some of his predecessors, such as Butch Jones, didn’t manage to avoid during their time at UT.

Despite what Paul Finebaum says, Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is doing an incredible job on Rocky Top.

Heupel, who is entering his sixth season at Tennessee, has brought the program out of the wilderness.

Under Heupel, the Vols beat Alabama for the first time since 2006 and earned a win over Florida in Gainesville for the first time since 2003. The program also won 11 games for the first time in two decades.

Additionally, the Vols reached the College Football Playoff in 2024 for the first time in program history.

What Vols fans have experienced over the last five seasons is a far cry from the miserable seasons fans suffered through under Derek Dooley, Butch Jones, and Jeremy Pruitt.

Josh Heupel is avoiding a key mistake that some previous Tennessee coaches made

There are a litany of reasons why Heupel is finding success at Tennessee.

One of those reasons is because he’s not ignoring the Memphis area in recruiting.

Memphis is a talent-rich area, but not every former Vols coach recruited it the right way (to be fair, Pruitt recruited Memphis well).

“Butch Jones ignored it,” said VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs Tuesday on WNML’s SportsTalk when asked about recruiting Memphis. “He didn’t recruit Memphis at all when he was here, because he didn’t believe in that area. But obviously, Jeremy Pruitt went back into Memphis and had some success. And Josh Heupel’s gone to West Tennessee and recruited players. There are players from that area on the roster right now.”

Tennessee currently has four players from Memphis on its roster: sophomore wide receiver Radarious Jackson, redshirt senior running back Hunter Barnes, longsnapper Bennett Brady, and redshirt freshman wide receiver Joakim Dodson.

The Vols also have other players from the Memphis area on the roster, such as freshman defensive back Javonte Smith from Jackson, TN.

It can be tough at times for the Vols to land talent out of Memphis — especially with Ole Miss just around the corner — but one way for Tennessee to increase its chances is by making the Vols’ presence felt year-round. And it certainly seems like that’s what Heupel and his staff are doing.

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