Tennessee Issues Statement on Hiring of Josh Heupel

Matt Ray | Jan 27, 2021

Josh Heupel is officially the next head coach at Tennessee. Heupel, who served as Head Coach at Central Florida with Danny White, now joins him in Knoxville. Tennessee has officially announced Heupel as the new head of the program, including a statement from him.

Heupel said on the opportunity, ""I am thrilled to be coming to Tennessee. I understand that Volunteer fans are hungry for a return to the top that they so richly deserve, and it is my goal and commitment to bring a championship back to Rocky Top."

Chancellor Donde Plowman added on the search and hire of Heupel, ""We brought Danny White in to hire a talented coach who can be here for a long time and build a championship program. Coach Heupel has compiled an impressive record, and I think Vols fans can look forward to a bright and exciting future. We are delighted to welcome him and his family to Tennessee."

Athletic Directors Danny White said, "We looked at a number of potential candidates. Josh Heupel, who I had the privilege of working with for three years, is everything we were looking for: winning with integrity, a history of championships and the architect of explosive offenses. He is a players' coach and the kind of person the student-athletes go the extra mile for. I saw that first-hand, and you can see it in his coaching record."

Tennessee's press release also included Heupel's offensive success as a play-caller, "An elite playcaller with a history of explosive offenses, Heupel was the architect of a unit that ranked in the FBS top 10 in points per game in each of his three seasons as UCF head coach—eighth in 2020 (42.2), fifth in 2019 (43.4) and sixth in 2018 (43.2). The Knights also ranked in the top five in the FBS in total offense per game in each of those three seasons—second in 2020 (568.1), second in 2019 (540.5) and fourth in 2018 (522.7). "

Heupel will be introduced during a 12:05 p.m. press conference on the SEC Network.

Featured Image via UT Sports

Published Jan 27, 2021

MATT RAY

Matt Ray is the publisher of Sports Illustrated-FanNation's Volunteer Country, serving as a beat reporter covering football, recruiting, and occasionally other sports. Matt also is a lead analyst at Sports Illustrated All-American, Sports Illustrated lead authority in high school recruiting coverage. When not at work covering the Tennessee Volunteers or the recruiting trail, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife Destiny traveling the country.