Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with the media on Wednesday on the first day of the early signing period as the Vols look to finalize their 2025 signing class.
Heupel discussed plenty about Tennessee’s top 10 ranked signing class, his reaction to the latest College Football Playoff rankings and much more. Here’s everything Heupel said.
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Opening statement
“Great day to be a Volunteer and wear the Orange. Had an opportunity to practice with our guys today, got some really good work in particular for our young guys. But the story of the day obviously is signing day. Love the group that we’ve signed up until this point. Great competitive makeup. Tough, smart, competitive individuals. Guys that fit the culture of caring about the guy next to him. A lot of leadership traits, guys that are still playing right now as they’re chasing state championships. But the athleticism and the makeup of the individuals, couldn’t be more excited about what we’re bringing into to this program.
“I want to thank the families that have entrusted their young men to us. And we get a chance to be a part of their journeys and help them go chase their goals and dreams. And I also want to thank our entire staff. You look at our scouting, personnel departments, our on-campus department. And then obviously, our coaching staff did a tremendous job of finding guys that that fit the traits that we want athletically, but also finding the right makeup of the individuals that we’re bringing in as we continue to grow this program. So it’s a great day, one where we’re continuing to take steps forward and, obviously, I’m excited about everything that’s going on inside of the program right now.”
On what stands about this Tennessee signing class and the needs the Vols were looking to fill
“When you’re talking about recruiting high school players, you’re looking at the immediate, as they come on the campus for the following fall, but you’re also looking long term. And so size, length, speed, athleticism, we have to continue to grow in that area. But also, I mentioned it earlier, just the makeup, the competitive makeup of who they are, how hard they’re willing to work, what they’re willing to sacrifice, leadership traits. But those traits to grow inside of this game.
“And you want all the physical attributes, but it’s the mental makeup, the passion and purpose that they have within them that dictates their climb at this level. And the longer we’ve been here, it’s still like we continue to recruit to the culture of our program and the guys that fit in within the competitive makeup of it. Couldn’t be more excited about the group we have coming in.”
On Tennessee flipping Miami defensive back commit Tim Merritt on Signing Day
“Yeah, really excited about Tim. He’s somebody that we’ve been recruiting for a long time. I go back to last January, just having an opportunity to meet his family, hear his story. The player itself, you can see really quickly on video. Great athleticism, extremely fluid. Played quarterback this year for them at times and and a dynamic playmaker. Tough, competitive makeup. And when you talk with him, you can feel his competitive mindset and his passion for becoming what he’s capable of really quickly. And our staff did a great job and just continue to develop a relationship with him and pour into him. The family has got great trust in us and I’m obviously really excited about getting him.”
On what Tennessee was able to do at linebacker and tight end in this class
“Just continuing to add athleticism on the second level of our defense. Guys that have the ability to play in space that have length have the ability to play with power, come out of their hips, they’re smart, they’re competitive. I’m really excited about what we’ve done there. Coach Inge and our linebacker staff did a great job.
“At tight end, as we’ve been here, the athleticism length, the explosive movement, the ability to play in space, but also do things within the structure of our core, in particular, the run game. Couldn’t be more excited about the two guys that we’re bringing in. They’re both highly competitive guys that come from really good programs that we’re going to need to make an impact quickly inside of our program.”
On four-star QB George MacIntyre having to play in multiple offenses for multiple coaches in high school, what he can take away from that
“George has got a great ceiling and a great future in front of him. Extremely athletic, young guy. And you see that on the football field, his ability to improvise, extend plays, make plays outside of the pocket. Got a chance to see him play basketball multiple times. Extremely fluid and natural on the basketball court. For him, through his journey in high school, it’s tough when you’re playing in a different offense every year. But the positives that we talked about that with him is that, man, you’ve been exposed to so much football and it has forced you to grow while you’re in high school. I think that only helps him as he comes to us at this level, with the diversity of what he’s had the opportunity to play in. And I think that helps expedite his transition into to college football.
On how hard it is in this era to get a signing class to the finish line, to avoid Tennessee’s commitments getting flipped late in the process
“It’s always been difficult. There’s no time period in recruiting because of how competitive it’s always been, the nature of it, that it’s not difficult to to get it to the finish line. And signing day to me is always about who you get and do they fit the profile of what you wanted at those positions. But do they fit the competitive makeup that you got to have inside of your program. And fit the culture of the program. And we’re really excited about the guys that we’ve gotten. Some of those guys have been with us for a long time. Some of them, more recent. But guys that we’ve been in communication with for a long time and got great relationships with. Really excited about it.”
On how tough it is to compete in recruiting in the SEC, if the level of competition on game days helps prepare you for it
“Most competitive league in America in all facets of what go on in college football. It ultimately shows up on Saturdays, when we’re competing against each other. But it starts with the recruiting process. Highly competitive.”
On what the rest of the signing period looks like for the Tennessee coaching staff
“We’ve had a great start to the day. We’ve got to continue to go finish it as well.”
On Nic Moore requesting donations and Christmas gifts to be collected at his signing day ceremony, what that says about him
“It shows that he’s full of character. Nic is a great young man. He’s got a great future on the field. But he’s got a real focus on who he wants to become as a man to. And I’m excited to have him and his family apart of this football family.”
On what he saw from linebackers coach William Inge and running backs coach De’Rail Sims as recruiters in their first year at Tennessee
“Similar to what I saw when they first got here on campus. The ability to communicate, relate to young people, develop relationships with them. That’s where recruiting starts. Kids get a pretty quick feel, usually, if you care about the person and the player, if it’s just the player. Those guys pour into our young guys. That’s why they built their rooms extremely close in a short amount of time. And that has transcended onto the recruiting trail too. Those guys are high level.”
On Daune Morris being a running back that is tailor made for Tennessee’s offense
“Daune, somebody that we’ve had our eye on for a long time. And just getting an opportunity as this season continued to go on to be able to communicate with his family more, just building a relationship. They had a great official visit here a few weeks ago. And he’s a dynamic playmaker. You see that with the ball in his hands out on the perimeter, return, playing the running back position. Unique skill set, extremely athletic, great short-area quickness. In some ways, it kind of reminds you of a young (Dylan Sampson), just his ability to do so much. And we couldn’t be more excited to get him here.”
On his reaction to the latest College Football Playoff rankings:
“Listen, we control what we control, right? We don’t have a game before the final rankings come out. There’s a lot of football to be played yet. But if you’re not of the mindset going into this thing, anyone, anywhere, anytime, then you’re just there to have a cup of coffee anyway. So, this is a highly-competitive group. We’ll play where we play. We’ll play who we play. Let’s go put the ball down.”
On Tennessee’s in-state recruiting
“When we first got here, I said that developing relationships inside of this state, that’s high school coaches, that’s everybody that has their feet on the ground, was gonna be a real priority for us, and our staff has done that. And we’ve tried to do a great job of evaluating the guys within the state. Doesn’t mean we take every one of them, doesn’t mean we get every one of them, but we’re gonna recruit it the right way. And that means time and energy and communication. Our staff from the time that we’ve been here has invested that way. You know, product of who we are on game day, the success of the program, the success of our players, what they’re doing off the field, how they’re being prepared for life, and growing as men while they’re here I think speaks volumes inside of the state for sure, but in this region, I think everybody can see the trajectory of what this program is and the connection and the true culture that we have within it. That makes your career a whole lot easier.”
On offensive line signee Nic Moore
“Smart, tough, competitive, got position flexibility. I already said he’s smart, man, but he’s extremely bright. And, you know, for a young guy, he’s got a lot of strength on his frame already. I’m really excited to get him here and he’ll be here in a couple weeks and start progressing and get to work.”
His thoughts on what Tennessee signed along the defensive line
“I think we’re at five guys on the defensive line at this point. I just think you got great length and athleticism on the edges. You got explosive power on the edges, but you have it on the interior as well. Our defensive line plays vertical. The success that we’ve had in the development of our defensive line, guys that have been here, is a huge part of the success that we’ve had on the recruiting trail with these guys. Our defensive line staff starting with Coach G (Rodney Garner) and through Coach Chop (Levorn Harbin) and everybody that’s in there, just do a great job. These guys fit the traits that we want to be able to to cause havoc at the point of attack. Really excited about these guys.”
On if he expects Squirrel White to available to play in a potential playoff game
“You guys can look forward to the injury report next Wednesday or something like that. You got some time here, but feel like we’re gonna have everybody getting ready to roll here.”
