By certain criteria, Tennessee had a poor season. Even so, they concluded the season with a 9-4 record and a commanding victory in the Cheez-It Citrous Bowl over the 17th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. The Vols were still a popular issue even though rookie quarterback Nico Iamaleava attracted a lot of attention to the team during the bowl game, according to Front Office Sports.

Josh Heupel, the head coach of Tennessee, keeps drawing attention to the Vols across the country. In Knoxville, Tennessee, they have persisted in building a robust culture and are approaching a critical two-year period. They have laid the groundwork, groomed some of the players on the coaching staff, and done a great job recruiting. Tennessee is aiming to qualify for the College Football Playoff for the first time since it was founded, as the competition will have twelve teams subsequent to its inception.

In the 2023 class, Iamaleava was ranked third by 247Sports’ Composite Rankings. Given his skill set—he weighs 205 pounds and is 6 feet 6 inches tall with a tonne of live arm talent—he will garner a lot of national attention.

Tennessee is one of the leading candidates to catch a highly-regarded Louisiana offensive-line target. Devin Harper, a four-star offensive lineman in the Class of 2025 from Shreveport, Louisiana’s Calvary Baptist Academy, revealed his top 10 college selections on social media on Friday afternoon. The Vols are among nine SEC clubs that are vying for Harper’s services.

Tennessee led a group of contenders that included Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Texas Tech in addition to the 6-foot-5, 300-pound Harper. Nearly thirty colleges have offered him scholarships, including all ten of his current top choices. He shared an image with the ten colleges’ logos on it.

On August 1, Harper accepted an offer from Tennessee. He disclosed his Tennessee offer in a post on his X account, tagging McKenzie Milton and Micah James, two offensive analysts for the Vols.

Scouting analyst Gabe Brooks of 247Sports stated in November that Harper was “pretty raw” but had “plenty of upside” as a prospect.

“Harper plays physical and sets the tone at the (line of scrimmage) for Shreveport (La.) Captain Shreve,” Brooks wrote at that time. “He is a block-finisher and down blocker by conviction. Harper demonstrates above-average foot quickness and the necessary lateral mobility, but his hand placement and body control are still developing. Although hands don’t always land on target, they do so when they do.