KNOXVILLE - Half of Tennessee's six touchdowns during Saturday's 42-7 win over Indiana State came from two players with families in the projected path of Hurricane Irma.
The storm, which was expected to hit Florida early Sunday morning, forced the cancellation of several college football games involving Sunshine State teams this weekend.
Tennessee's game continued unaffected, but the storm's impact was felt on a team with 13 players from Florida.
"We've been in touch with all our Florida families and we're going to help them and do everything we possibly can to assist them and their individual needs," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said after the game.
Sophomore receiver Brandon Johnson, who is from Plantation, Fla., said his immediate family was in Knoxville for the game. Many of the team's Florida families were, Jones said.
Tennessee's Carlin Fils-aime (27) outruns Indiana State's Jonas Griffith for a touchdown, one of two in the game for the resident of Naples, Fla. His family is weathering Hurricane Irma there.But sophomore running back Carlin Fils-aime, who is from Naples, said his immediate family was at home planning to stay through the storm.
"It was pretty tough," Fils-aime said after running for two touchdowns. "Coach pulled me aside, and he talked to as many people as he could who have families from Florida and he told me, 'There's not much I can do personally. All I can do is worry about what I can do now, and we'll pray and hope for the best.'
"They've tried contacting our families to help any way that they can, and that's really all that they're able to do and as much as I can do."
Fils-aime said he was thankful for the outreach made by the Tennessee program. He said he planned to call his father as he left the stadium Saturday.
Johnson, who made his first career touchdown catch Saturday, said he had extended family staying in Florida for the storm.
"My thoughts and prayers are with everybody in Florida," Johnson said. "Obviously, that's my home state. Right now, my whole (immediate) family is here for the game. But Tennessee as a whole has been doing a good job of making sure everyone whose family is from Florida has been taken care of and that everybody is squared away. They did a great job with that. My whole family is here. They enjoyed the game, and I can't wait to hang out with them afterwards."
Tennessee is scheduled to play at Florida in Gainesville this Saturday.
Florida's game against Northern Colorado from this past week was cancelled.
Tennessee athletic department spokesperson Tom Satkowiak said in an email Friday that athletic director John Currie's was "completely focused" on the home opener at Neyland Stadium.
"After that game is in the rearview mirror, he'll assess things and see where we are," Satkowiak said. "(Currie) did reiterate that our thoughts and prayers are with everyone facing the uncertainty of Irma."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.