Tennessee defensive back Cameron Sutton celebrates stopping Utah State on 3rd down during the Vols’ season-opener football game against the Aggies on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s supposed to be all about the football game.
The setting and the schedule make that focus a little trickier to maintain.
On their first full day here ahead of Friday’s TaxSlayer Bowl matchup with Iowa, the Tennessee Volunteers were greeted by a warm, sunny Florida afternoon before their first on-site practice for the program’s first bowl game in four years.
The trip is new to nearly every player on the roster, and managing the game preparations and the off-field fun is a balance the Vols will have to find throughout the week.
“It’s exciting to come down here and play the game that we love,” cornerback Cam Sutton said before Tennessee’s practice at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida.