The countdown to Thursday afternoon's Music City Bowl between Purdue and Tennessee inside Nashville's Nissan Stadium can be measured in days or even hours at this point, and no hour is a given right now in college football.
On a Sunday in which this week's Fenway Bowl and Military Bowl had to be canceled due to COVID-19 issues with the participating teams, the Volunteers (7-5) resumed bowl practices with a workout at Vanderbilt University. The practice was Tennessee's first in Nashville to prepare for Purdue (8-4).
"We've been very fortunate in that our guys who are nonvaccinated have done a great job taking care of themselves throughout the entire year," Vols first-year coach Josh Heupel told reporters after the workout. "We'll continue to follow the testing protocols set forth by the league. You want your kids to be smart in how they handle themselves and that they make sure they take care of themselves, their teammates and their families."
The only joint player event for the Music City Bowl, a welcome party Monday at the Wildhorse Saloon, was canceled late Sunday afternoon out of an abundance of caution.
Tennessee's biggest health question otherwise continues to be senior right tackle Cade Mays, who injured his ankle in the 11th game against South Alabama and was unable to play against Vanderbilt. Mays was on an exercise bike during the several minutes of Sunday's practice that were open to the media, and Heupel said the 6-foot-6, 325-pounder did not participate in the padded portions.
On the receiver front, redshirt junior Cedric Tillman's announcement Thursday that he is returning for another year was labeled as a "great pickup" by Heupel, while freshman Kaemen Marley is no longer on the team. Marley, a four-star signee in the 2021 class, did not play this season.
The Vols are scheduled to practice each of the next two mornings at Vandy in preparation for a bowl that is expected to have plenty of orange.
"This is Tennessee territory," Heupel said, "and it's going to be exciting to see all our fans here."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.