Tennessee shares new ‘mic’d up’ session with Josh Heupel during fall camp
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Tennessee fans would all agree on 1 thing about the 2025 season — it wasn’t nearly good enough.
The Volunteers stumbled their way to an 8-5 record, capped by an equally disappointing loss to Illinois in the Music City Bowl. And how about that dreadful 4-4 mark in the SEC? Tennessee faithful would just as soon forget what happened in 2025, from the Nico Iamaleava controversy last spring to what happened on the field last fall, when the games counted.
A lot of the blame fell on head coach Josh Heupel, who takes a 45-20 overall record and a less-than-overwhelming 24-16 SEC record into Year 6 of his tenure in Knoxville. For Heupel, his players and for his passionate, anxious fan base, everyone in orange is hoping that the 2026 season starts a fresh mindset filled with more fun — and, most importantly, more wins.
It all starts now, in August, in the heat and intensity of fall camp, and in that spirit Tennessee has released a mic’d-up version of Heupel barking out orders and getting his players’ minds right as they go through their first steps of camp.
On Monday, as fall camp really got rolling in Knoxville, Tennessee football’s social media account released the video featuring Heupel and his fired-up players.
Included in the spirited video are a lot of “great job” salutes by Heupel and also some gentle pointers about what players could’ve done better. It’s all part of the teachings of fall camp, teachings that Heupel and his fan base hope will lead to more than 8 victories in 2026.
Here is Heupel, all mic’d up and fired up:
Heupel hopes his drills at fall camp are sowing the seeds for a potential SEC title run in 2026 for the Vols. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about Tennessee’s chances to pull a surprise and pull off an SEC championship this fall:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
