One Last Time.
Fans packed the stadium and this group took care of business in their final game at Neyland. Can’t ask for much more than that.
After last week’s loss at Georgia, I wrote that this Tennessee team would need to run the score up in each of their last three games in order to find themselves in the thick of the College Football Playoff conversation. Consider Saturday’s home finale against Missouri to be a good start.
Neyland Stadium sold out yet another game, as Vol Nation wanted to see this senior class run through the T for the final time and shower them with much-deserved appreciation. After all, the oldest of these guys arrived on campus in 2017, as did I. They’ve had three chancellors, athletic directors, and head coaches in their college careers. And that’s not considering the coordinators, position coaches, and support staff, etc. that interact with them on a daily basis. As someone who was at UT during those years and with the team in 2019, the environment surrounding Knoxville felt more like a revolving door than friendly confines. When you think of DL Latrell Bumphus, H-back Princeton Fant, WR Grant Frerking, DB Cheyenne Labruzza, and LB Solon Page III, just remember that. Many of their peers in the 2017 signing class were long gone before what would have been their last season in 2020, as well as the extra year in ‘21. Matthew Butler, Theo Jackson, Josh Palmer, and Trey Smith are all in the NFL. Ty Chandler transferred to North Carolina prior to finding his way to the league. Kivon Bennett was dismissed from UT in 2020, but earned a second chance and reunited with Butch Jones at Arkansas State. Shawn Shamburger traveled a few hours west to UT-Martin and played his senior season last year. As for the rest, you’d have to do some digging to find out where they ended up. Not everyone can go pro or even stay all four years, we all understand that. However, for two-thirds of a signing class at any Power 5 school, let a program of Tennessee’s prestige, to just vanish into the void? That shouldn’t occur. Since this is supposed to be a flowery piece, I’m off my soapbox now.
Speaking specifcally to Latrell Bumphus and Princeton Fant, no one believed that either one would be integral pieces by now. But it’s a testament to their hard work and buy-in with the third coach of their careers that they’ve carved out roles and have potential to sign with a pro team next spring. Grant Frerking, Cheyenne Labruzza, and Solon Page III have made innumerable contributions to this program, even if they won’t count as stats on the field. Leaders are leaders, no matter if they’re a star player or the best scout teamer in the country. They have the respect of their teammates, coaches, and fans, and will do great things as representatives of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in whatever they choose to pursue. All of these guys were a party to some of this program’s darkest days, but they also had a hand in bringing it back to where it rightfully belongs. From calls to boycott the games to six straight sellouts, they’ve seen it all. I’m glad that they got to finish things on a high note.
Jeremy Banks, Paxton Brooks, Jerome Carvin, Trevon Flowers, Cedric Tillman, and Jacob Warren were brought in as members of Jeremy Pruitt’s first class in 2018. Banks and Carvin made the trip across the state from the Memphis area, Brooks and Flowers came from Lexington, SC and Atlanta, respectively. Warren prepped at Farragut over in West Knoxville, and Las Vegas native Tillman decided that his best bet to play big-time college ball was in East Tennessee of all places. Much like the 2017 recruits, there’s a couple notable names, some left a year or two and an overwhelming majority of them never got off the ground. As of today, Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson are in New Orleans as members of the Saints. Tanner Antonutti medically retired shortly after his arrival on campus. JT Shrout transferred to Colorado. Dominick Wood-Anderson and Kenneth George, Jr. are the only junior college signees from this group that exhausted their eligibility in a Vol uniform, as Jordan Allen left for Weber State, Jahmir Johnson finished at Texas A&M last year and former “Last Chance U” star and Brownsville, TN native Emmit Gooden was dismissed following his arrest in 2020. Again, go search for the rest of the players that were in this class and tell me if you know where they ended up. If he didn’t have a picture and jersey number on the team’s website, J.J. Peterson would have more in common with the Loch Ness Monster than anyone that’s suited up for UT. No disrespect, but seriously, a top high school player from Georgia becoming an urban legend because he barely made it to campus is coaching malpractice. Sorry, not sorry. If I’m going to tell a story, I’m telling the whole story.
Anyways, this group will be held in high regards as well, as they were asked to contribute immediately, and did just that. Jeremy Banks’ saga is one of redemption, as he was booted off the team before earning a second chance with Pruitt and making the most of it when Heupel and his staff arrived. Jerome Carvin has been an iron man on the offensive line, setting the new record for games played (57). Flowers has finally come into his own at safety, and will have a chance to impress some teams in need of depth at that position and help on special teams in the spring. Speaking of special teams, Paxton Brooks has been the model of consistency ever since he stepped on campus five years ago and looks to follow in the footsteps of the Colquitts as the next great punter from Tennessee. Jacob Warren has grown immensely as a blocker at tight end, and teamed up with Fant to create quite the duo at a key position in Josh Heupel‘s offense. Last but not least, Cedric Tillman turned down a preferred walk-on offer from USC at the last minute to sign with the Vols, and the gamble he made on himself in 2018 is finally paying off. After not making much of an impact in his first three years, Tillman went from afterthought to potential Biletnikoff winner. Injuries have cost him some data points, but he’s still had a hell of a year and I would be shocked if he doesn’t hear his name called in the NFL Draft next spring.
Darnell Wright, a 5-star signee from West Virginia, turned down his home state Mountaineers to come to Rocky Top. The only 2019 signee to participate in senior day activities, he’s been an immediate starter since his arrival. Living up to the hype is difficult on its own, but coming into the SEC as a 19-year old offensive tackle is another story. All told, he’s developed into the player many recruiting analysts thought he would be, and still has room for growth as a senior. In consideration for the Rotary Lombardi Award, Wright could also be selected in the NFL Draft if he chooses to play in a postseason senior game and earns an invite to the Combine.
Many of Wright’s peers from the 2019 cycle are coming back for their bonus year, but we still need to address the other departures. When people talk about the mass exodus of players during Coach Heupel‘s first offseason, a lot of 2019 signees come to mind. Wanya Morris, Eric Gray, Henry To’o To’o, and Quavaris Crouch are the names you think of the most, but Aubrey Solomon, Kasim Hill, and Deangelo Gibbs were transfers that never panned out. Jackson Lowe and Sean Brown left weren’t impact players in any sense, but their departures left the tight end room almost empty. Savion Williams was the #1 JUCO defensive tackle in the country, did approximately nothing in Knoxville, and left just as quickly as he got here. Brian Maurer quickly became the most popular backup quarterback in the nation once he got to campus, but his decision-making left a lot to be desired, and thus he is now at Stephen F. Austin. This isn’t the last-man-standing narrative it appears to be on the surface, but Darnell Wright’s loyalty to Tennessee, like so many before him, will be remembered forever. After all, those who stay will become champions.
Before we go any further, I’d like to shout out some walk-ons that will be moving on after this season. Michael Bittner, Romello Edwards, Nick Humphrey, Maurese Smith, and Toby Wilson ran through the T for the final time on Saturday, and they too need to be recognized. It may be self-explanatory, but life as a walk-on is basically all of the physical toll on your body that comes with playing college football, but almost none of the benefits. If it weren’t for the coaches and some of the fans, it’d be the definition of a thankless job. Their sacrifices are are a big part of why this team is where it is now, and they deserve all the praise they receive. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors.
It’s also worth noting that this was Smokey X’s final game as the official mascot of the Tennessee Volunteers. The best boy in college football has seen plenty of ups and downs in his nine years on The Hill, but he too was sent off with a hero’s farewell. My heart, along with the rest of the Vol faithful’s, is full because we went undefeated at home in his last year. You won’t have to go far to find his replacement, as his son was selected to become Smokey XI. There’s a plethora of wonderful dogs and other pets that represent their university very well, but only one blue-tick coon hound does it for The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Congrats on your retirement, Smokey!
You may be thinking that I forgot some of the most important seniors on the team, but I promise that there’s a method to my madness. Hendon Hooker, Chase McGrath, and Byron Young didn’t sign with UT coming out of high school, but each of them will have a place in Vol history for years to come. Along with the players listed above, these three have changed the trajectory of this program. As standouts at three of the most important positions on the field, they have affected the outcome of multiple games in their short time here, and will be remembered as important members of the group that brought Tennessee back.
McGrath originally started at USC before ending up in Knoxville. After Brent Cimaglia’s departure in 2020, the former Trojan has done wonders for the Vols as the starting placekicker. He’ll always be remembered for the game-winner against Alabama a few weeks ago, but something tells me that he’s not done helping this team win a game or two down the line. Byron Young’s path to becoming one of the best EDGEs in the SEC is one that could be a movie if you think about it. Barely recruited out of high school down in South Carolina, he worked at Dollar General before he earned a tryout at Georgia Military College. After a season in which he became the top junior college recruit at defensive end, he chose to join Josh Heupel’s first recruiting class in 2021. His tenacity and relentlessness on the edge is unmatched, and it will be handsomely rewarded when he signs with a pro franchise next summer.
Saving the best for last, Hendon Hooker has been a revelation at quarterback for the Big Orange. He was one of Jeremy Pruitt’s last recruits before Pruitt was fired and Heupel was brought in. The Virginia Tech transfer lost the preseason battle last year, backing up former Michigan signal-caller Joe Milton III. After Milton was injured in the Pitt game last year, he led this team to a near-comeback and made his case to be the starter. He showed continued improvement week in and week out, and was the main reason why many had reason to be excited coming into the 2022 season. Hooker’s calm confidence has washed over this team in waves, as the guys that had been skittish in huge moments before had now risen to every challenge in front of them. Tennessee’s QB1 has been in Heisman conversations all year, and there isn’t much keeping him from an invite to New York City. To say that he will be sorely missed is an understatement; his NFL jersey will be a bestseller in Knoxville, and he will always be one of UT’s favorite sons. One time for Hendo Cinco.
As for the game, Tennessee got back to business as usual against the 13th-ranked defense in the country. Eli Drinkwitz has had his fair share of unlucky moments this year, but he also had his guys ready to play. This matchup had trap game written all over it for two-and-a-half quarters, and many were getting antsy as the game went on. That was before Hendon Hooker and the Vols’ high-flying offense turned it up a notch, finishing with a school record 724 yards of total offense. On the flip side, let’s credit Tim Banks and the defense for making the necesaary adjustments to put some hits on Tigers QB Brady Cook, otherwise it would’ve been a battle to the finish. Joe Milton III came in to finish the game and started throwing bombs, giving the sellout crowd at Neyland a peek at what’s to come in 2023. 66-24 was the final score, Hooker directed the Pride of the Southland Band, and a few guys didn’t want to leave the field, soaking it all in as their careers are coming to a close. Scenes like what we saw on November 12 are what make this place near and dear to the hearts of so many all over, myself included.
This is getting a bit long, but I want to leave you with this image. Around this time four years ago, I was working as a gameday runner with CBS for UT’s final home game against Mizzou. I was on the field, watching on as cheerleaders and members of the Pride formed the T with tears in their eyes. The sense of finality that set in with them was also what pulled at my heartstrings. We lost 50-17, but that memory is what sticks with me more than the score. As an intern with the team in 2019, I was right there as Jauan Jennings ran out of the T and emotionally greeted his family before we carried the fight to Vanderbilt for 60 minutes. Fast forward to yesterday, and seeing guys that I took classes with and said hello to me in the football offices, playing in their last game, reminded me of 2018 and 2019. The dudes wearing the uniforms and us fans alike still have plenty of football to enjoy, but there truly is nothing like Neyland. I know that those guys are grateful for every second of it, and we are too.
There are some guys who elected not to participate in Senior Day because they plan to return. Others that did, have the option to come back for one more year. Jalin Hyatt is one of a few guys that may leave early for the NFL. All of them will have decisions to make about what’s next in a few months, so I’ll include him in this. However it plays out, they have earned the right to be commended, regardless of whether they stay or go.
So, for all the blood, sweat, and tears, helping this program rise like the phoenix from the ashes, and giving your all for Tennessee,
Thank You, Seniors.