It's Game Week In Tennessee
The Vols host the Ball State Cardinals this Thursday night under the lights in Neyland.
Welcome to the Tennessee Volunteers section here at SRM. This is a section of the newsletter where I write about the Tennessee Volunteers. Who would have guessed? In my game recaps I follow a “cut to the chase” style with those words highlighted in bold throughout the piece. I do hope that you enjoy it and add your email below so you never miss an issue. This newsletter is delivered to your inbox, not your doorstep, daily. Happy reading.
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I’m drinking the big orange Kool-Aid.
There are too many Tennessee football hype videos across my social media timelines not too at this point. I’m writing this on a Monday afternoon, hours removed from the first official depth chart of the season getting released for the Volunteers. Former USC and Texas wideout and five-star high school recruit Bru McCoy is listed as a co-starter with Walker Merrill. You see Juwuan Mitchell as one of the co-starters with Aaron Beasley at the linebacker spot opposite of Jeremy Banks. Christian Charles found himself as a co-starter with Kamal Hadden across from Warren Burrell. When you look at this depth chart and compare it to what head coach Josh Heupel had to work with last season it’s a night-and-day difference for Coach Heupel in Year 2 on Rocky Top.
Thankfully, the Vols don’t open on the road in Dublin against a Big Ten West team this week to rip our hearts out this early in the season. No, the Vols have Ball State on the docket Thursday night. I will be in Neyland Stadium once again on Thursday night. I will, once again, likely watch the Vols score a lot of points and dominante an overmatched Group of 5 school, as Tennessee should. I am very much looking forward to spending three hours with the Tennessee football team once again on Thursday night under the lights.
I’ve missed it dearly.
I’ve missed the best first-quarter offense in the country.
I remember soaking in those last few moments following the conclusion of the Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt game to wrap up the regular season last fall. I did not want to turn away from the football coliseum that I had spent so much time pouring my emotions into over the last several months. I could not believe it was already over again. The summer before the season starts feels like an enterinity and the actual season moves faster than you would ever believe. I remember the deep breaths I took before I left the stadium with the Sports Renaissance Woman. I took some pictures, sure, but I stared a lot. Each season, you only get six of these games at home, and then they’re gone for nine months again. It’s never not going to be a jarring experience when it hits you the season is over once again.
You don’t really feel this during basketball and baseball season. You feel like the season went as long as expected. It feels like a grind, even though you still enjoy it. You don’t ever feel like it passed you by too fast. It is enjoyable and a lot of fun, don’t get me wrong, but it’s the limited dates for Tennessee home football games that will always catch you off guard. One week, I was losing my mind like a madman watching Tennessee fall to Pittsburgh at home for their first loss of the season to watching Tennessee crush the Commodores and wrap up their 2021 season.
It goes quick, man. Like Peter in Season 1 of ‘FBoy Island’ — gone before you know it. I could tell you to soak it all in. I could tell you to do your best to stay present and enjoy the ride. I did last year. It still flew by. It will fly by this year. Regardless of the record for the Vols, this season will fly by. I know it will. I know in December I’ll be dumbfounded it’s all over once again.
I’m happy this is the case, though. I love that about the sport. Every Saturday matters, and you only get a handful of these each year. Enjoy it, but understand it’s going to be Vanderbilt Week before you know it and you are never going to be able to believe it.
Drink the big orange Kool-Aid, friends. It’s free and good for you. Hendon Hooker could be a Heisman finalist. Tennessee could win ten games. The Vols could win six games. The offense is going to be electric. The Vols are going to score a bunch of points. You’re going to have a good time watching this Tennessee team this fall. It all starts on Thursday against the Cardinals without the question mark at quarterback like they had a season ago. You have a star quarterback, a star wideout and a star offensive mind as your head coach. Things are good on Rocky Top. It’s officially Game Week in Tennessee.
Chase Thomas is the Sports Renaissance Man, Atlanta Sports Guy and Vol For Life. He is a graduate student at the University of Tennessee and resides in Knoxville, TN. Chase obtained his undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of North Georgia. He has written for a variety of publications that include Outsider, SB Nation, VICE Sports, SI’s The Cauldron, Cox Media Group & ESPN’s TrueHoop Network. You can email him at chasethomaspodcast[at]gmail.