Tennessee offensive lineman Alex Bullard (78) prepares to block for quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) against Auburn Saturday in Knoxville.KNOXVILLE — If you need to find James Stone sometime this week, there’s not many places on Tennessee’s campus you’ll need to look.
The Volunteers’ center and Tennessee’s other seniors will play their final game in Neyland Stadium against Vanderbilt on Saturday night, but the Nashville native is trying to approach it like the previous 47 games of his career.
“I’ve tried really not to think about that as much and try to just approach this how we’ve been approaching all our other games,” the preseason All-SEC selection said Monday. “I feel like I can think about that probably later on after the fact, but right now I’m just trying to focus on being as prepared as I can for the football game.
“Once you get into the complex and you’re around the guys on the team and you see everybody else focusing on the football game, it’s easier to get focused when you’re around the team. I’m trying to spend as much time as I can in the complex and on film and in school, so I can keep myself occupied and ready to go.”
To extend their careers by one more game, the seniors need Tennessee to win the next two Saturdays against the Commodores, who blasted the Vols 41-18 in Nashville last season, and then Kentucky in Lexington. At 4-6, the Vols must win out to get the program to its first bowl game since 2010, Derek Dooley’s first season as coach.