Josh Heupel reflects on return to Orlando, leading Vols back to the standard at Tennessee
Josh Heupel will return to Orlando for the first time since taking the head job at Tennessee. Now, Heupel will accompany his Vols down to Florida for the Citrus Bowl against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
“This is a great city,” Heupel said of Orlando. “My family, myself, we absolutely loved living here. A lot of our staff at Tennessee was with us here. It has been great to be back in this city. To the administration, Coach Malzahn at UCF, they were great in allowing us to go practice there.”
The coach spent 3 seasons as the head man in Orlando for the UCF Knights before landing in Knoxville.
“Rode in the first day. Rode through campus. Get off the bus, you are sitting right next to the Bounce House,” the coach explained. “Get a chance to get on the practice field. It was a lot of fun, because there was so many great memories that came back.”
The coach was also asked if he expected to get the Tennessee program turned around this quickly.
“We have been disappointed with some of the results this season, obviously. Who we are, what we are about and how we are continue to go grow, what we have been able to recruit, we are really excited about the future,” Heupel declared. “We have to go chase championships. I know that is a standard at Tennessee, but excited about the future.”
The Vols will kick off against the Iowa Hawkeyes on New Year’s Day at 1 p.m. ET.