Something feels off in Knoxville, and if you’re a Tennessee fan, you’ve probably noticed it. The Vols spent the last three years making noise, going 11-2 in 2022, 9-4 in 2023, and then finally cracking the College Football Playoff in 2024 with a 10-3 record. That’s the kind of run that should have the media eating out of Tennessee’s hand, right? Nope. Instead, the Vols got zero love this offseason. No top-tier ranking hype. No “watch out for Tennessee” talk. Just silence. And why? Turns out, Josh Heupel fumbled the bag when it came to the transfer portal.

On February 18th, Tennessee insider Eric Cain hopped on his ‘Locked On Vols’ podcast and let it rip: “I’m not going to sit here and say Tennessee shouldn’t have went out and got another wide receiver in the transfer portal. Brought in Amari Jefferson—we’ll see what happens, sure. You know, I know Tennessee missed out on—you know, they got two offensive linemen via the portal, which was good. But they missed out on one or two that they might have liked more.”

Translation: Tennessee went bargain hunting while everyone else was loading up on game-changers. The Vols brought in just four players from the portal—Arizona OL Windell Moe, Alabama WR Amari Jefferson, Duke RB Star Thomas, and Notre Dame OL Sam Pendleton. That’s barely a blip on the radar. And it showed. 247 Sports ranked Tennessee’s transfer portal class No. 88 nationally and dead last in the SEC. On3 was a little kinder, putting them at No. 38 nationally and No. 10 in the SEC. Either way, that ain’t cutting it if you want to stay relevant in the cutthroat world of college football.

Then, Cain didn’t hold back: “The disrespect—it almost feels like nobody’s talking about Tennessee. Nobody’s really factoring Tennessee to be a contender next year after, you know, keeping a Nico, and a Boo Carter, and a Mike Matthews, and Bru McCoy, Ricky Gibson, Bryson Eason, Arion Carter, DeShawn Bishop. Tim Banks—we’ll see if, uh, if it ends up being what I think it’s going to be. And, you know, Coach Chop is retained on this roster. Like, all those moves are huge. They’re just not s–y.”

The fans and college football media already slept on the Tennessee Volunteers after their lack of movement in the portal. Ain’t gonna lie, it’s big-time embarrassing for Josh Heupel and Tennessee for that poor transfer portal class. No wonder why media snubbing Vols and putting them outta top ranking threats.

The SEC arms race—and Tennessee’s stumble?

Let’s keep it real: the SEC is an arms race. Georgia reloaded. LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M all made aggressive portal moves. Tennessee? They stood pat. And when you’re not aggressively improving, you’re falling behind. Losing Squirrel White, Jaylen Smith, and others in the portal didn’t help either.

That’s why the offseason rankings are disrespecting the Vols. Programs that landed big-time transfers are getting all the hype, while Tennessee is low-key treated like an afterthought. It’s not about whether Heupel’s strategy will work—it’s about perception. And right now, the media’s perception is that Tennessee ain’t a serious threat in 2025.

But here’s the thing—Heupel still has a squad. Nico Iamaleava is still the guy. The defense, which ranked top 6 nationally in 2024 and allowed 16 points per game, is still mostly intact. The coaching staff stayed put, which is a rare W in today’s football world. As Cousin Shane put it, “They’re paying the money, they’re doing the right things, they’re keeping continuity on the coaching staff… and yeah, I think Tennessee, BS, you talk about being consistent, brother—you got the look here: 11 (wins), 9 (wins), 10 (wins)—this is the culture that Josh Heupel has created there in Knoxville.”

Josh Heupel bet on coaching retention instead of reinforcements. If it works, he looks like a genius. If it flops? Tennessee might get left behind in the SEC arms race. One thing’s for sure—the media already made their decision. The Vols aren’t getting any respect this offseason, and if Heupel wants that to change, he’s gonna have to prove them wrong when the season kicks off. Buckle up, Vols fans. It’s about to get interesting.