Evaluating Josh Heupel's first Tennessee football recruiting class: Hits and misses

Evaluating Josh Heupel’s first Tennessee football recruiting class: Hits and misses

Posted by author February 4, 2025 Football

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Josh Heupel’s first Tennessee recruiting class produced two of college football’s best players, no notable offensive linemen and a debatable impact on the Vols.

That 2022 signing class featured no five-star recruits. But it produced an SEC Player of the Year and a projected NFL first-round draft pick.

However, there were also misses. And almost two-thirds of those players won’t finish their career with the Vols.

The late signing period kicks off Wednesday. It appears UT won’t add any players to its 2025 signing class, which will determine its legacy in the next few years.

But we can now review UT’s 2022 signing class, the first under Heupel. Let’s take a look.

Tennessee 2022 signees: Where are they now?

UT signed 23 players in the 2022 class. That included seven four-star recruits, 15 three-star recruits and one two-star recruit, according to 247Sports Composite.

Here are those signees listed according to their recruit rating at the time, from highest to lowest.

OL Addison Nichols: Transferred to Arkansas in 2024 and started; then transferred to SMU.
DL Tyre West: Steady development; projected as key member of 2025 defensive line.
QB Tayven Jackson: Transferred to Indiana after Nico Iamaleava arrived at UT.
DE James Pearce: All-SEC; projected 2025 NFL first-round draft pick.
RB Justin Williams-Thomas: Transferred to Cal in 2023.
WR Kaleb Webb: Transferred to Maryland in 2025; 28 catches in three seasons at UT.
DE Joshua Josephs: Steady development; one of SEC’s best returning edge rushers in 2025.
DB Cameron Miller: Transferred to Memphis in 2023.
RB Dylan Sampson: SEC Player of the Year; broke UT single-season rushing and TD records.
PR Dee Williams: Junior college transfer became one of nation’s best punt returners.
WR Squirrel White: Transferred to Florida State in 2025; 131 catches in three seasons at UT.
WR Chas Nimrod: Transferred to USF in 2025; 29 catches in three seasons at UT.
DL Jordan Phillips: Transferred to Maryland in 2023 and started; now NFL prospect.
LB Elijah Herring: Transferred to Memphis in 2024; then transferred to Florida State in 2025.
OL Mo Clipper: Transferred to Charlotte in 2024.
LB Kalib Perry: Transferred to Louisville in 2025; 37 games at UT, mostly as backup.
OL Masai Reddick: Still on UT roster; did not play in a game in 2024.
DB Jourdan Thomas: Torn ACL in 2024 preseason; 25 career games at UT.
OL Brian Grant: Still on UT roster; 16 games in three seasons.
DB Christian Harrison: Transferred to Cincinnati in 2025; 26 games at UT, mostly as backup.
DL Jayson Jenkins: Transferred in Florida State in 2025; 20 games at UT, mostly as backup
OL Savion Herring: Dismissed from team in 2022 before playing a game.
P Jackson Ross: One of SEC’s best punters, returning in 2025.

Biggest hits from Tennessee 2022 class

Sampson and Pearce were the obvious hits as a couple of the best players in college football in the 2024 season. Notably, Sampson was only a three-star recruit. Pearce was a four-star recruit.

But don’t overlook Williams and Ross, who turned into high-caliber special teams players. Williams came to UT as a defensive back. Ross was an unknown Australian with a two-star grade.

Count Josephs and West as hits from that 2022 class. They already have proven to be good SEC players, but their best is still ahead in 2025.

White was a very productive receiver, especially for a three-star recruit. Unfortunately, he won’t finish his career at UT because he transferred to Florida State.

Predictably, the best players from the 2022 class stayed at UT. Most role players eventually transferred to other schools.

Biggest misses from Tennessee 2022 class

Numbers don’t lie. None of the five offensive linemen in the 2022 class started a game at UT. Only two remain on the roster, and they’re buried on the depth chart.

Nichols is the exception in one way. He can’t be tagged a bust because he started at Arkansas in 2024, and he’ll likely start at SMU in 2025. But considering he was the highest rated recruit in UT’s 2022 class, Nichols’ signing didn’t pan out for the Vols.

Star ratings must also factor into recruiting misses. Jackson, Webb and Williams-Thomas were four-star recruits. But none ever played to that level, and only Webb contributed for the Vols before transferring.

Why 14 players transferred out of UT from 2022 class

The transfer portal has served as a resorting tool in college football. Recruits are graded out of high school, but their true evaluation comes in practices, games and position battles at the college level.

It’s clear that nearly all of the 14 players who transferred out of UT dropped to a lower level appropriate for them. UT backups left to become starters for weaker teams, which is sensible.

White may be the exception. He proved to be a good SEC player and one of the most productive receivers of Heupel’s tenure. But he was a downgrade from UT’s previous slot receivers, Velus Jones Jr. and Jalin Hyatt.

But Tennessee’s transfer rate wasn’t unusual

Almost 61% of UT’s 2022 signing class eventually transferred to another school. That’s typical of the portal era, and actually a lower rate than many SEC competitors.

For example, 81% of Alabama’s 2022 signees eventually transferred to another school. Granted, a coaching change from Nick Saban to Kaleb DeBoer accounted for some of those departures.

But only half of Georgia’s 2022 signees remained with the Bulldogs under Kirby Smart. And Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, the longest tenured coach in the SEC, eventually lost 75% of his 2022 signing class to the portal.

Players transferring to another school is the norm rather than the exception.

What Tayven Jackson transfer told us about QB recruits

Heupel relied on transfer quarterbacks Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton through his first three seasons. But he’s gone with high school recruits at quarterback since then.

Jackson, a four-star recruit, was the first in that line. He didn’t pan out, transferring to Indiana after the arrival of five-star Iamaleava in 2023.

Four-star Jake Merklinger signed in 2024. Four-star George MacIntyre signed in 2025. And five-star Faizon Brandon is committed in the 2026 class.

Quarterbacks don’t wait around long to play in the portal era. So expect at least one of those three to finish their career elsewhere. It’ll sort itself out, just as it did for Jackson and Iamaleava.

How Vols fixed 2022 recruiting mistakes

UT’s 2022 class featured only two in-state recruits (Herring and Miller) and no five-star recruits. Both shortcomings were glaring but explainable in Heupel’s first class. And he fixed those problems in every class since.

In-state recruiting was hindered by COVID-19 protocols, which didn’t allow coaches to recruit in-person until summer 2021. By then, most of the top players in Tennessee had already committed to other schools.

But UT signed six in-state recruits in 2023, six in 2024 and seven in 2025. The most notable were edge rusher Caleb Herring (2023), linebacker Arion Carter (2023), defensive back Boo Carter (2024) and MacIntyre (2025).

Heupel also landed at least one five-star recruit in each of the next three classes, according to 247Sports Composite: Iamaleava (2023), edge rusher Jordan Ross (2024), wide receiver Mike Matthews (2024) and offensive tackle David Sanders (2025).

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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