KNOXVILLE - Tennessee football players hoping for a packed Neyland Stadium in Thursday night's season opener against Bowling Green didn't get their wish.
It certainly was a step in the right direction.
A year after COVID-19 guidelines resulted in Neyland audiences that ranged from 21,000 to 24,000, an announced crowd of 84,314 attended the debut of the Josh Heupel era as the Volunteers overwhelmed Bowling Green. The opening crowd was bolstered by the student section selling out all 14,000 of its allotted tickets Wednesday.
"Our fan support tonight on a Thursday night was absolutely fantastic," Heupel said. "The student section - you could feel their energy from the very beginning at kickoff. I appreciate that, and we're going to continue to need that here in the future."
Though this is Tennessee's 100th season in the 102,455-seat facility, the Neyland dedication game took place on Oct. 20, 1962, when the Vols fell 27-7 to rival Alabama. The reference to Tennessee's home before Neyland was Shields-Watkins Field, with the Vols notching their first triumph with a 27-0 blanking of Emory & Henry on Sept. 24, 1921.
Tennessee entered Thursday night with a 473-138-17 home record, good for a 76.7% win clip.
Evans introduction
Vols fans waiting to see what junior-college running back Tiyon Evans could do had to wait until the second half.
The 5-foot-11, 220-pounder from Hartsville, South Carolina, who spent last season at Hutchinson (Kansas) Junior College, had six first-half rushes for only 12 yards and wasn't providing the expected tandem with starter Jabari Small. At the start of the third quarter, however, Evans had a 21-yard gain to the Bowling Green 12 and an ensuing 11-yard carry to the 1.
Quarterback Joe Milton scored on the next play to give Tennessee a 21-6 lead, and Evans reached the end zone from 19 yards out midway through the third to make it 28-6. Evans finished with 16 rushes for 116 yards and the score.
Evans rushed for more than 2,000 yards as both a sophomore and junior at Hartsville High School before moving to quarterback as a senior. He didn't rush for any yards last year due to the pandemic canceling the 2020 NJCAA season.
Waiting to erupt
Tennessee redshirt junior receiver Cedric Tillman entered the opener with just eight career catches through his first three seasons in the program. He collected his ninth with an 8-yard reception in the first half against the Falcons, and his 10th was a 40-yard touchdown catch with 5:11 to play that made it 38-6.
"He's got great work habits, or at least has since I've gotten here," Heupel said before the game of the potential of the 6-3, 215-pounder from Las Vegas. "He has trained himself physically to be a different football player with what he's done on the strength and conditioning side of it. He's been super detailed in his work habits on what we do offensively and has been as consistent as anybody inside of our program.
"He's become a real leader inside of that wide receiver room, and he has gained as much confidence in his playing ability as anybody inside of our program. I'm really excited about what he's done."
What scouting report?
Leading up to Thursday, players on Tennessee's defense had discussed how Bowling Green would try to pound the ball and shrink the game out of sets that included two tight ends.
Through the first 30 minutes, Bowling Green rushed 11 times for just 5 yards, relying instead on quick passes from senior quarterback Matt McDonald. Using five different receivers, McDonald completed 15 of 20 first-half attempts for 133 yards.
Odds and ends
Sitting out Thursday's game for the Vols were junior defensive end Byron Young, sophomore receiver Jimmy Calloway and junior receiver Ramel Keyton. Young, a transfer from Georgia Military College, had been listed as a co-starter Monday at the edge-rushing spot with sophomore Tyler Baron. "We're working through the NCAA eligibility process with a previous school that he attended after high school," Heupel said of Young's absense. ... Former Alabama defensive back Brandon Turnage had a 6-yard punt return for the Vols in the first quarter. ... Sophomore center Cooper Mays was injured after Tennessee had built a 14-0 lead and briefly came back into the game before halftime but was limping noticeably. Heupel expects Mays to return next week.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.