Josh Heupel discusses his first few days at Tennessee, what he's told players about a clean slate

The Tennessee Volunteers have hired their new coach in former UCF head coach Josh Heupel. Now, Heupel has his work cut out for him to turn the program around.

On Monday, he got his first taste of Vol Calls, the weekly radio program which features conversations with the head football coach.

During this edition of the show, Heupel explained that he’s told players they all have a clean slate under him moving forward:

Josh Heupel on players starting with a clean slate: I told our football team we never judge them for who they were yesterday, we judge them for who they are today. I watched some game tape and also watch them in the weight room to get a feel.

— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) February 2, 2021

He added that his biggest priority at the moment is working on the 2022 recruiting class and getting to know his current players:

Josh Heupel on Vol Calls discussing how he manages his day as he takes over the Tennessee job: Each day I've tried to chip away at the 2022 class. Especially the guys that are in-state. I've also tried to watch a good chunk of workouts in the morning to get to know the players.

— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) February 2, 2021

The looming cloud of NCAA penalties is still over the Tennessee program. We’ll see what happens for this team moving forward, but Heupel is working hard to turn things around already.