1. I don’t want to get on a soapbox, but …

Just in case he didn’t already feel it or know it, Josh Heupel got affirmation.

Tennessee is in Alabama’s head.

Just in case Heupel had any doubt about these 2 quick seasons at Tennessee birthing something no one could’ve seen coming, Alabama coach Nick Saban himself confirmed it.

The SEC is using a 10-year metric to decide each school’s 3 permanent opponents for the new scheduling format in 2024, and that metric apparently has spit out LSU, Auburn and Tennessee for Alabama.

When discussing this with Sports Illustrated, Saban said, “Tennessee wasn’t as good as they’ve been in the previous 10 years, but now they’re as good as they used to be before those 10 years.”

Let’s all pause briefly, and stand and applaud Josh Heupel. He not only beat Alabama last season in Year 2 in Knoxville, he already has Saban complaining about having to play the Vols — which just so happens to be 1 of the top 5 rivalries in SEC history.

After Saban’s Alabama teams beat the Vols every season since his arrival in 2007 — many in unimaginably humiliating ways — Heupel showed up last season with his second team that had figured it all out offensively. They knew Heupel’s Blur Ball system inside and out, and they had a quarterback who threw accurately on all levels and wouldn’t be intimidated.

And the next thing you know, students are throwing the goal posts into the Tennessee River, and the Vols had officially arrived. Well, maybe not officially.

Because even after the wins over tortured rivals Florida and Alabama, after winning 11 games for the first time since the last time they were relevant (2001) and the win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl, there was still hesitation. More to the point: the 63 points Tennessee gave up to South Carolina with the Playoff on the line.

But just in case there were a sliver of doubt, it ended last week with Saban’s tantrum. After beating Tennessee 8 times by at least 31 points, after completely destroying an historic SEC rivalry, Saban legitimized 2 years of Heupel’s rebuilding after a last-second field goal snapped 15 years of Tennessee futility in the series — and more than 2 decades since the Vols were nationally prominent.

Now Saban is complaining (again) about tempo offenses, and how they lead to player injuries. The same thing he did after Kick-6 in 2013, and after it appeared — for a moment, anyway — that Auburn coach Gus Malzahn had figured him out.

Saban then embraced the tempo offense by hiring Lane Kiffin as his OC, and has used tempo offense since. But no, not like this tempo. This is different.

This will get players hurt.

Imagine Heupel waking up one day last week to this. He’s busy organizing spring practice, and deep into a quarterback competition (more on that later) that could help Tennessee take the final step toward the Playoff.

He sees his kids off to school, he hops in his car and drives to the football facility. He walks into the office where he’s greeted by Andrew Goodman, his new director of football operations, who says you gotta read this.

Understand this: Heupel is wildly competitive, and he knows he has it turned at Tennessee. He knows this program is on the verge of making a significant move not seen in Knoxville since the late 1990s.

He doesn’t need anyone to tell him the program is dangerously close to something unique. He knows it.

But think about that: The biggest, baddest coach on the block is whining about having to play the Vols every year and complaining again about a tempo offense.

That smile must have been as wide as the Tennessee River where those goal posts still reside — a permanent reminder of the day it turned.

2. The other side

It was overlooked the entire season, and only negatively came into focus when South Carolina hit 60 in November.

But Tennessee’s defense most certainly improved in 2022. Enough, in fact, to get to the Playoff.

Tennessee was top 10 in the nation in 2021 on 1st- and 2nd-down defense, but was horrific when it mattered most on 3rd down. By the end of Heupel’s first season, the Vols were allowing more than 52 percent of 3rd-down conversions in SEC play — far and away the largest number in the league.

Tennessee was among the top 10 in the nation in tackles for loss, and was making plays in the front seven and secondary. The Vols just weren’t getting off the field on 3rd down enough to get the ball back into the hands of their tempo offense — and allow that offense to wear down the opponent.

That’s how Blur Ball works: score quick, get a 3-and-out on defense, score again. Then you’re up 2 touchdowns, and the opponent starts to press — and that’s where mistakes happen.

Fast forward to last season, where defensive coordinator Tim Banks zeroed in on 3rd down, and the Vols lopped 13 percentage points from their 3rd-down defense, improving all the way to 39.8% in SEC games.

In their 2 biggest wins of 2022, the Vols held Alabama and Clemson to a combined 13-of-32 (40%) on 3rd down. In their 2 losses to Georgia and South Carolina, the defense gave up 15-of-23 on 3rd down (65%).

The Vols must cover better and affect the quarterback. That’s why Tennessee added CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally and LB Keenan Pili of BYU from the portal. Jeudy-Lally, who started his career at Vanderbilt, is a man cover cornerback, and Pili is a 240-pound run stuffer who will move all over the front 7 to also add pressure in situational pass game.

Tennessee’s top 10 recruiting class is heavy on defensive linemen and cornerbacks, and all 3 corners (including 4-stars Jordan Matthews and Rickey Gibson III) are midterm enrollees.

The goal is to get off the field — and let the offense take control of the game.

3. The transformation, The Epilogue

There would’ve been pause for everyone — including Saban — had Joe Milton III gone out and tripped up like he had in previous seasons at Michigan and Tennessee.

He lost the job at Michigan because he made too many mistakes. Did the same at Tennessee, and that led to the rise of record-breaking quarterback Hendon Hooker.

But once Hooker was lost for the season late in the South Carolina loss, Milton changed his narrative — and that of Tennessee — with 2 strong games against Vanderbilt and Clemson. What those 2 games meant, as much as anything, was Heupel had the program turned.

Even with a backup quarterback, the offense still hummed, and still won a big game against a top-10 team. Translation: The Vols aren’t going anywhere.

Hence, the Saban angst.

This spring is the beginning of more change. Milton is back and competing with 5-star recruit Nico Iamaleava for the starting job — the same Iamaleava whom Saban and then-Alabama OC Bill O’Brien badly wanted (which fits perfectly with Saban’s other rant about the ills of NIL — see the pattern?).

Now there’s another program in the SEC, where it doesn’t matter who lines up at the most important position on the field, there’s going to be success. Where before it was Alabama and Georgia and occasional 1-offs from various programs, now Saban sees the danger in Tennessee — the rival he once owned and now likely must continue to play every season in the new 16-team SEC.

If these past 2 years have told us anything, it’s that it doesn’t matter who wins the Tennessee quarterback job — the offense isn’t going to change. That’s the validation.

Saban’s tantrum is more confirmation than anything.

4. Manning the middle

Overlooked in the regression of Texas A&M last season was the late push and play from freshman DT Walter Nolen.

A consensus top-3 recruit in 2022, Nolen started slow last season and by the end of November, was a disruptive run stuffer and pass rusher on the interior. Now he’s part of a young and potentially devastating group of defensive linemen.

“All of those young guys are physically the part,” an NFL scout told me. “You see them in practice, and the talent and explosion is clear. When the game slows down for them, like it did for (Nolen) at the end of last year, they’re going be tough to deal with for everyone in that league.”

It’s not just Nolen, who should develop into an elite interior player in the SEC this fall. Shemar Stewart, another 5-star lineman from the No.1-ranked recruiting class of 2022, can play inside and out, and had a more complete freshman season than Nolen.

They key to this fall — and the critical development this spring to watch — is DT Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy. Another 5-star from the 2022 class, Brownlow-Dindy was held out much of last season with a lingering knee injury.

Some recruiting analysts believed Brownlow-Dindy had the greatest potential of the Aggies’ 3 mega defensive line recruits (including Nolen and Stewart). His athletic ability and strong hands made him a devastating interior pass rusher, and he was drawing comparisons to former Alabama All-American Jonathan Allen.

The addition of offensive coordinator/QBs coach Bob Petrino made the biggest splash this offseason. The development of Brownlow-Dindy, and his ability to give the Aggies 3 athletically powerful disrupters along the line of scrimmage, could be as or more difficult for SEC opponents.

5. The Weekly 5

Kentucky’s national championship odds and 5 things the Wildcats need to reach the Playoff.

1. Get the ball to electric WRs Dane Key and Barion Brown. They have elite speed and are dangerous after the catch. Pass game or run game, get them as many touches as possible.

2. Find the groove again with OC Liam Coen. He worked his magic in 2021 with a new QB (Will Levis). Can he do it again with another (Devin Leary)?

3. Pass protection must improve. Levis was sacked an SEC-worst 46 times in 2022. Pressure (and shaky pass protection) led to Leary’s season-ending injury at NC State in 2022.

4. Use Vanderbilt transfer RB Ray Davis just like Chris Rodriguez Jr. He’s not as big as Rodriguez, but Davis is deceptively powerful and has good burst.

5. Affect the opposing QB. Can Keeshawn Silver, a former 5-star Top 30 recruit in 2021 for North Carolina, find his game at Kentucky and help improve the pass rush (only 20 sacks in 2022).

6. Your tape is your resume

An NFL scout analyzes a draft-eligible SEC player. This week: TE Darnell Washington, Georgia.

“I think he helped himself at the Combine. Not necessarily with the physical work — we all knew what kind of a physical anomaly he was. Everyone I talked to said the interview process went well. He is still raw as a player, still a guy who can be coached into an elite player. He just has so many skills, and a combination of so much rare physical ability. You can throw it just about anywhere, and he’s going to come down with it. A big target with soft hands. He doesn’t have to come off the field. He’s an inline and move (tight end). It’s just reps at this point. (Brock) Bowers got there, and (Washington) just didn’t get the reps.”

7. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and 1 big thing: in the spirit of the NCAA Tournament, ranking the best football/basketball coach combinations:

1. Alabama: Nick Saban and Nate Oats. The greatest CFB coach ever, and a basketball coach who gets better (as a recruiter and coach) every season.

2. Kentucky: Mark Stoops and John Calipari. Stoops annually does more with less (and better than anyone else in the SEC). It could be argued that Calipari has done less with more the past 3 seasons.

3. Auburn: Hugh Freeze and Bruce Pearl. Freeze beat Alabama twice the last time he coached in the league. Pearl got Auburn to the Final Four.

4. Tennessee: Josh Heupel and Rick Barnes: Heupel is on his way to revitalizing Vols football. Barnes has been a fixture in the NCAAs at Texas and Tennessee (but needs to break through).

5. Georgia: Kirby Smart and Mike White. Why is Georgia this high? Smart is No. 1 or No. 2 in CFB coaches, and White consistently had Florida in NCAA Tournament.

6. Arkansas: Sam Pittman and Eric Musselman. The impact of Pittman for the football Hogs has been a revelation of sorts. Musselman has done even more — and it’s time for a deep NCAA run.

7. Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher and Buzz Williams. Fisher took a big step back in 2022, and Williams took a big step forward.

8. LSU: Brian Kelly and Matt McMahon. Potentially, a top-3 combination. Kelly Is the No. 3 football coach in the conference, and McMahon needs more time to develop a roster.

9. Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin and vacated. If Ole Miss hires Chris Beard to replace Kermit Davis, this is a top 3 combination.

10. Missouri: Eli Drinkwitz and Dennis Gates. A masterful 1st year by Gates, and Drinkwitz secured an extension with a late push in 2022.

11. Florida: Billy Napier and Todd Golden. Both Napier and Golden were better at previous jobs. But both are only 1 year into the grind.

12. Mississippi State: Zach Arnett and Chris Jans. Arnett takes over after the tragic death of Mike Leach, while Jans’ 1st season was solid. The potential is there.

13. South Carolina: Shane Beamer and Lamont Paris. Beamer has Gamecocks dreaming big. Paris has a heavy lift in front of him.

14. Vanderbilt: Clark Lea and Jerry Stackhouse. Both took significant steps (comparatively speaking) this season.

8. Ask and you shall receive

Matt: Why does Brian Kelly continue to use the transfer portal. Can’t he recruit high school players as well as Nick (Saban) and Kirby (Smart)? — Alan Sherman, Charlotte.

Alan:

I don’t think I’m breaking news by declaring no one recruits as well as Saban and Smart. But that doesn’t mean a coach — in this case, Kelly — can’t recruit well enough to win a national title. Because he can, and he frankly is on his way to doing so.

LSU was ranked 12th by the 247Sports composite in Kelly’s first recruiting class and 6th this year. It’s obviously very early, but the Tigers are ranked No. 2 for 2024.

It’s no secret that the key to winning national titles is consistently recruiting among the top 5 in the nation, and then supplementing that with transfer portal impact players. At this point — 1 season and 2 recruiting classes into his tenure — Kelly needs to supplement from the portal at a higher level until he and his staff can make the turn with high schools.

The No. 6 class this year is a big start. Let’s see where Kelly is after next year’s class, and then judge him on his ability to recruit high schools.

He may not have had top-3 rankings in his first 2 high school classes, but he and his staff identified and developed a handful of critical players from the 2022 class: Edge Harold Perkins, OTs Will Campbell and Emery Jones, and TE Mason Taylor.

There’s more potential in Kelly’s 2nd class, including top-100 players Edge Dashawn Womack, S Javien Toviano and WR Jalen Brown.

9. Numbers

63.6. The deficiency was clear: Ole Miss couldn’t cover in the secondary last season. Opposing quarterbacks had a TD/INT ratio of 22/8, and completed a whopping 63.6% of their passes.

It should come as no surprise that Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin added 3 impact players (and starters from 2022) from the transfer portal: CBs Zamari Walton (Georgia Tech), DeShawn Gaddie (North Texas) and John Saunders (Miami, OH) combined for 28 pass breakups and 3 INTs in 2022.

10. Quote to note

Tennessee DC Tim Banks: “Everywhere I’ve been we’ve had great success rushing 4. We would love to be able to do that. When you can do that, it’s helps everyone. We have young guys coming in that we hope can help us be more efficient rushing 4.”