The 2022-2023 collegiate sports year is coming to a close. And with Tennessee Baseball’s loss on Tuesday night in the College World Series, the Vols’ year is officially in the books.
While both Tennessee’s men’s and women’s basketball teams made the Sweet 16, the baseball and softball teams made the Men’s and Women’s College World Series, and several more successful teams shined in the light, the loss on Tuesday does mean one important thing for Tennessee fans:
The Tennessee Volunteers kick off the football season in 73 days.
The 2023 Tennessee football season will be one of the most highly-anticipated in recent memories after back-to-back seasons of evolved success under head coach Josh Heupel and his staff.
While the offseason admittingly has been going on for a good six months at this point, the real road to the 2023 college football season starts now.
More from RTI: Offseason Additions Give Tennessee Football an Edge on the Gridiron
What’s Been Going On?
Despite being in the offseason, Tennessee had an ultra-busy spring in every regard. The biggest event on the timeline was Tennessee’s three weeks of spring camp workouts in March. Spring practices began on March 20 and concluded with the Orange & White Game in Neyland Stadium on April 15.
All of the spring practices in combination with the three scrimmages that the team participated in are all designed to allow the team to get more familiar with each other, the coaching staff, their teammates, the playbook, and the overall routine of the program. Tennessee does bring back several veteran leaders such as Cooper Mays and Omari Thomas, but the Vols also welcomed in a slew of fresh, new talent from both the 2023 recruiting class and the transfer portal.
“There are a ton of things we’re going to learn from, but I’m really proud of the effort and energy they showed today and throughout the course of spring ball,” head coach Josh Heupel said after the spring game. “These guys have been very intentional the way that they’ve worked since January. They have great comradery, energy and connection. They care about one another. They compete extremely hard with each other, and that’s showing during 14 days of spring ball that we’ve had up to this point.”
On the heels of Tennessee’s spring camp came two big events for former Vol players: Tennessee Pro Day and the NFL Draft. Without diving into all of the specifics on those two things, Tennessee saw five former players drafted before the fourth round back in April. Five selections are the most players that Tennessee has had drafted in the first, second, and third rounds of the draft since 2007 when Tennessee put out two first-rounders, two second-rounders, and a third-rounder.
With the dust still settling from spring camp, Pro Day, and the NFL Draft, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel took part in the Big Orange Caravan alongside Rick Barnes and Kellie Harper, a traveling event that saw different stops across the state of Tennessee to excite and energize the Vols’ fanbase over the spring/summer.
More from RTI: Breaking Down Tennessee’s Seven Preseason All-SEC Selections
Summer Plans for Tennessee Football
Recruiting is one thing that really never stops in the college football world. Barring the handful of dead periods throughout the year, Tennessee has been on the hunt for top talent on the recruiting trail. Ten of the 13 commits in Tennessee’s 2024 class have all committed following the Vols’ win in the Orange Bowl to close out the season, including Tennessee’s top prospect, four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger.
Speaking of dead periods, though, there is one on the horizon.
A recruiting dead period will begin on June 27 and run through July 24 to give a little bit of breathing room for coaches and their staff to both decompress from the spring and begin the major preparations for the 2023 season.
Near the end of the aforementioned dead period will be an event that really signifies football season being around the corner with SEC Media Days. After the event took place in Atlanta last year, SEC Media Days will move to the Volunteer State in Nashville for 2023.
SEC Media Days will last from Monday, July 17 to Thursday, July 20. Four coaches are set to speak on each of the first three days with three coaches set to close out the final day. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel will speak on the final day of the event.
While the dates for Tennessee’s fall camp have not been announced yet, it’s safe to say that the Vols will be kicking off fall camp in early August. Going back to the 2022 season, Tennessee hosted a press conference event with the media on Sunday, July 31 before officially starting fall camp on August 1.
The media event consisted of press conference opportunities with Josh Heupel, offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, and defensive coordinator Tim Banks. Tennessee quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle was promoted to the role of offensive coordinator this offseason following the departure of Golesh, which makes him a prime candidate to speak to the media on the first day of the Vols camp.
Speaking of Nashville, head coach Josh Heupel will return to the midstate with his team in early September for the Vols’ season-opening game against Virginia in Nissan Stadium. That game will take place at 12:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday, September 2.
Get ready, folks. Football time in Tennessee will be here sooner than you expect.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for consistent coverage of the lead-up to the 2023 Tennessee football season.
