Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel said what LSU head coach Brian Kelly should've said

Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel put on a clinic on Wednesday night on how to address the seemingly lawless NIL/transfer portal era that college football is currently in.

Earlier this week, LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly generated numerous headlines when he said that his program isn't "in the market of buying players".

On Wednesday evening, ahead of the final Big Orange Caravan stop, Heupel was asked by a reporter about Kelly's comments.

"Man, there’s a lot of different layers to the cake that’s getting baked," said Heupel ( via 247Sports ). "At the end of the day, we want guys that want to be there, that it matters, but are looking for the type of culture, environment, right? Playing style, development as a man -- not just on the field. So all those things go into ultimately trying to bring the right people inside the building."

That's a perfect response from Heupel. He didn't back away from the things that's he made clear are important to him -- the positive/team-oriented culture that he's built in Knoxville. But he also didn't suggest that Tennessee "isn't in the market of buying players".

Because to be competitive in the 12-team playoff era where rosters are getting rebuilt nearly every offseason, you have to be willing to pay a lot (at times...or all the time if you're Ole Miss) to swim in the transfer waters where championship teams are born.

Heupel knows that. Most coaches know it. It doesn't mean they love it, but if they're going to win, they know they have to be a bit flexible when it comes to the transfer portal.

Kelly didn't do himself any favors with his comments. And now he has a fire to put out.

Heupel, meanwhile, breezed right through a media availability without causing himself (or his program) a headache.

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