Russ Huesman broke into a tiny grin, as if a warm and fuzzy moment from his past had just flashed in his head.
"I like getting on the bus and hanging out with our guys and spending some time together at the hotel," the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach said during Tuesday's media luncheon as he discussed this weekend's road trip to Furman, the Mocs' first Southern Conference game of the season.
"You get a good sandwich on the bus, watch a couple of movies you haven't seen. It's nice."
Depending on Friday afternoon traffic, the Mocs could be on those buses for more than five hours on their way to Greenville, S.C., and Saturday night's game against the Paladins.
"We'll leave at 1:15," Huesman said. "We'll probably get there about 5:30. Go by the stadium for a walk-through. Then check in at the hotel and go to dinner. Because we don't play until 7 (p.m.), we'll have most of our meetings, including FCA, on Saturday. When it's a night game, it's a long day."
Then it will be back on the road for a late trip home, the Mocs expected to get back to campus no earlier than 3:30 Sunday morning.
Said Huesman with a bigger grin: "I don't think (Tennessee coach) Butch Jones travels this way."
Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean the Big Brother Vols aren't missing something, beginning with the turkey-and-cheese or ham-and-cheese sandwich that awaits each member of the travel party as they board the three buses.
"They're both good," the coach said.
"Ham, I'm definitely a ham guy," said senior wideout Xavier Borishade, who caught three touchdown passes in last week's 34-0 shutout of Presbyterian.
Added leading tackler Dale Warren: "I like ham."
As for the movies they'll watch, Huesman said he'll run some options by football operations aide Kadeem Wise and director of performance Scott Brincks, noting, "Those are my movie guys."
Whatever choices they make, Huesman then screens them, "just to make sure they're appropriate."
Both the players and their coach not surprisingly lean toward action films, though Borishade said, "I also like a motivational movie right before a game."
For Warren, the perfect movie would be "300," because "a team comes together and goes into battle against other warriors, kind of like a football game."
Not that movies and sandwiches are all that's shared during these excursions.
"I'm a calm, collected, humble guy," Warren said. "I try to study the other team some, think about making tackles, making plays. My main focus is on the game. But there are inside jokes about everybody. It's always fun when you win. It's always a fun ride home."
Borishade had an especially fun ride home after one road game last season. As the team watched an SEC game go to overtime, the receiver told then-quarterback Jacob Huesman the potential winning field goal was going wide right.
"When it did, Jacob ran around the bus telling everybody, 'I can't believe he guessed it. He guessed wide right before they kicked it,'" Borishade said. "That was a fun moment."
Said Russ Huesman: "We almost always watch football on the drive home. And I'll usually watch our game on my laptop for a couple of hours."
Yet however late the actual hour of arrival, Sunday's routine never changes for the three-time defending Southern Conference champs.
"No, they're all lifting weights by Sunday afternoon," Coach Huesman said. "Besides, most of them will get at least a couple of hours of sleep on the bus coming home. But no matter when we get home, there's always another game to prepare for."
Indeed, Samford visits Finley Stadium the very next week, though at least that SoCon battle kicks off at 2 p.m. instead of 7.
"All the league coaches have requested not to have (night games)," Huesman said. "But this time of year, with the heat and all, I'm OK with it. I just don't want to play one in November."
How OK their coach is to share a bus with after a loss the players would prefer not to find out this season.
Said Warren, his voice calm and collected: "We're trying to prevent that from happening."
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.