Minutes after Tennessee’s first regular season under football coach Josh Heupel came to a close with a 45-21 defeat of Vanderbilt inside Neyland Stadium, it was natural for the older players to reminisce and the younger players to dream of even brighter days ahead.
The Volunteers will take a 7-5 record into an undetermined bowl game that included a 4-4 record in Southeastern Conference play, with three of their league wins transpiring by at least 24 points. Tennessee was picked before the season to finish fifth in the SEC East but wound up alone in third in the division and having knocked off second-place finisher Kentucky, 45-42, in Lexington earlier this month.
“With this being the first year of Coach Heupel, we haven’t reached the peak or the ceiling of where we could be in the next coming years,” sophomore running back Jabari Small said after amassing 103 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries Saturday against the Commodores. “I’m very excited to see the whole team buy in to what Coach Heupel is doing. We have some young players, and it’s our first year in the system.
“The future is bright.”
Will the University of Oklahoma wind up spoiling the mood?