Today On Rocky Top: Vols Eager To Practice

From The Daily Herald

"On several occasions between the end of Tennessee’s 2013 football season and the 2014 season opener against Utah State, coach Butch Jones reminded his players that their opponent was ahead of them because the Aggies played in a bowl game last season and had more time to work together while the Vols did not.“I remember last year, coach Jones was saying that Utah State had 15 practices more than us,” sophomore linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said. “He always talked about that. I was just thinking to myself, ‘That makes a big difference.’ Fifteen practices, you can get a lot done in that time.”Read more at The Daily Herald"

From The Chattanoogan

"The Vols resumed bowl practice on Sunday. For the first time they practiced knowing their opponent: Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl. It was also the Vols’ first practice in a week as the players finished their finals and the academic year.Read more at The Chattanoogan"

From The Tennessean

"Just as this year’s Tennessee team will do in two weeks, the 1982 Vols sat at a pre-bowl luncheon alongside their opponents from Iowa.There was nothing particularly flashy about that year’s Iowa team, except for its jewelry. The Hawkeyes, who faced Tennessee in the Peach Bowl, were slow and large and not particularly graceful. But on each massive finger belonging to each massive Hawkeye, there was a ring, a memento from their trip to the Rose Bowl the previous season.“They were kind of flashing it in our Tennessee faces, like, ‘You’ve never done anything like this,’ ” recalled Mike Casteel, a defensive lineman on the 1982 Vols and now a principal in the Loudon County School District. “I remember it very vividly.”Read more at The Tennessean"