Nick Saban On Vols Head Coach Butch Jones

Oct 8, 2011; Knoxville,TN, USA; A general view of Neyland Stadium prior to the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

In case you haven’t heard, Nick Saban had a little speaking engagement on Tuesday evening in Athens, TN.

Let’s just say the event was met with “mixed reaction” from Vol fans and Tennessee residents.

Some people from around the country might look at fan’s reactions and think “wow that’s ridiculous”, but that only means they clearly don’t understand the religion that is “SEC Football”.

Regardless of how much Tennessee fans didn’t want Saban to speak in Athens, it still happened and Saban provided an extremely enlightening quote, via Evan Woodbery of the Knoxville News Sentinel.

"I don’t really know that much about Butch, but I have a lot of respect for him. He’s had success everywhere he’s been. I’ve got a lot of respect for the University of Tennessee."

First off let me say this — Rivalries are fun, it’s what makes college football (in my opinion) the greatest sport in the world.

To borrow the title from one of the leading websites on SEC football, there’s nothing like a “Saturday Down South”.

Those words ring true because of the rivalries between schools like Tennessee and Alabama, or Florida and Georgia etc etc.

However. it’s important to remember that rivalries have their place, and respect should be practiced between schools and their fans.

The way that Nick Saban, Butch Jones and Mark Richt (among others) conduct themselves is what separates them from the likes of James Franklin and Lane Kiffin.

You may not like Nick Saban, you may not respect him, it’s part of the rivalry, but you have to respect the fact that he handles himself the right way.

Butch Jones is not any different (except he’s a LOT more energetic) in the way he handles himself.

These guys do SEC rivalries the right way. Don’t take it for granted, not every school can say that, although Vol fans already know that after what they’ve been through the past four seasons.

For more on the Vols make sure to follow us on Twitter @vols_zach and @AllforTennessee