Watch: Tennessee players thank fans ahead of Senior Day at Neyland Stadium
Tennessee football will pause for a moment before kickoff against Missouri on Saturday to recognize its seniors on Senior Day.
The players themselves took a second to thank fans on Thursday in the form of a social media video from the Vols, narrated by senior offensive lineman Jerome Carvin:
“Vol Nation, you made our home the most unbelievable environment in all of college football. Every Saturday, you showed up and made an impact on our opponent. And we just want to say thank you. Thank you for the Vol Walks. For the pageantry that makes us who we are. For Checker Neyland. For celebrating all our wins. For the 703,726 of you that came to watch us perform. For all the times we sang Rocky Top. And for the passion that made our home field the toughest place to play in all of college football. We just want to say thank you.”
No. 5 Tennessee (8-1, 4-1 SEC) and Missouri (4-5, 2-4) are scheduled for a Noon Eastern Time kickoff Saturday (TV: CBS) at Neyland Stadium, the final home game of the season.
The Vols are a perfect 6-0 at home this season and 11-3 at Neyland during the first two seasons of the Josh Heupel era.
Tennessee seniors ‘stuck it out here in tough times’
“It will be great to recognize this group of guys that have poured so much into this program,” Heupel said during his weekly press conference on Monday. “Stuck it out here in tough times and have helped this program continue to rise here over the last two years, since myself and my staff got here.
“Appreciative of what those guys have done and what they’ve meant to this football program and the Power T during their playing career. Obviously in the future, too.”
There’s a line that has to be walked, though, between celebrating the careers of seniors on roster while also staying prepared to play an important football game.
“You try to prepare them,” Heupel said. “It’s unique that you pause for five minutes before you go back in the tunnel. You get a chance to see your family, take it in one last time. Obviously our appreciation as a program, these fans too, to recognize those guys, what they’ve meant, what they’ve done inside of our program.
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“When you run back in,” he added, “then you have to reset and it’s got to be just about football for 60 minutes. A year ago, our guys handled that pretty well. It will be important that our guys do that here too. A lot of those guys will play a lot of football for us.”
Senior Vols have ‘a lot of football ahead’
Most notably among the seniors, it will be the final home game for Tennessee redshirt senior quarterback Hendon Hooker. In just two seasons with the Vols, he’s already accounted for 5,478 passing yards and 52 touchdowns, against just five interceptions.
He’s widely considered a Heisman Trophy candidate this season, throwing for 2,533 yards and 21 touchdowns through the first nine games of the season.
“I mean, just to put it into words is tough,” Heupel said Monday when asked what his quarterback has meant to the rebuilding of the Tennessee program. “He’s been such a leader, he’s been such a dynamic playmaker, he’s been so consistent in the building. He’s a huge part of the culture that we have from within the locker room. The ownership that we have from within it.
“I don’t think anybody inside of our program, players, coaches or fans, would ever take anything for granted. He’s had a huge impact. Excited for him to get back out there, play one more time in Neyland. But we’ve got a lot of football ahead of us and (will) continue to compete down the home stretch with him.”
