Did you hear that Tennessee is playing Florida next week and that the game inside Neyland Stadium is already sold out?
Volunteers coach Josh Heupel is aware, but he’s even more cognizant of Saturday’s test against Akron. Tennessee is ranked No. 15 after opening victories over Ball State and Pittsburgh and is seeking its first 3-0 start since 2016.
“Fans get to do whatever they want to, right?” a smiling Heupel said earlier this week. “They get a chance on Saturdays to enjoy the football game, and in some ways they’re prognosticators who get a chance to enjoy the buildup to everything.
“When you’re a competitor, you’ve got to be really consistent in your habits, and that’s something that we talk about with our football team.”
Heupel recently received a pay raise from $4 million annually to $5 million, and his contract that ran through January 2027 now goes through January 2028. Vols assistants have received pay hikes and one-year extensions as well, with offensive coordinator Alex Golesh jumping from $750,000 a year to $1.2 million.