We’ve almost reached the halfway point of October, and after this weekend, the Tennessee Vols football season will be more than halfway over. Talk about things going by extremely fast! Of course, that applies to Josh Heupel’s offense as well.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with more coverage of Heupel and the football program. We have a press conference and a jersey update to bring you. Preseason men’s basketball also makes news for today.
On top of those two sports, we have previews of five different events taking place this weekend in soccer, swimming and diving, volleyball, men’s tennis and cross country. We’ll break down all of them after talking about the football and men’s basketball news. Let’s dive in.
Josh Heupel holds final press conference before Ole Miss – Jake Nichols, SI.com
Ahead of Lane Kiffin’s return to Rocky Top, Tennessee Vols football head coach Josh Heupel held his last press conference of the week to preview the Ole Miss Rebels. Heupel said Tiyon Evans, who is banged up, will be re-evaluated before the game. Here’s a bit of what else he said about Ole Miss and the matchup.
"“They’ve got good players. They play extremely hard. It’s the next step for us as an offense, and I say that meaning the next challenge.”"
Uniforms revealed for Ole Miss – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
As Tennessee football checkers Neyland Stadium for Saturday night’s matchup with Ole Miss, the Vols will also bring back the all orange jerseys. This will be the second time they wore the “orange wave” jerseys in 2021, the first being in a 41-34 home loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers.
"Last week Tennessee wore black for just the third time since 1922 and for the first time since wearing black on Halloween night against South Carolina in 2009. The “Dark Mode” alternate included black jerseys and black pants, with orange numerals on the jerseys and orange stripes on the pants."
Veteran Vols talk preseason basketball – Ben McKee, VolQuest
Preseason practice continues for the Tennessee men’s and women’s basketball programs, and they’ll actually hold an open practice Saturday. On Thursday, Tennessee Vols men’s basketball juniors Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James spoke with the media. James talked about how this year’s offseason is different from last year. This is how he described it.
"“Last year with COVID was hard to get the camaraderie that we wanted throughout the season, but this year with the restrictions kind of loosening up a little bit, the camaraderie has been there since day one. I’d definitely say that this is the closest team that I’ve been on since being here, and that’s not a knock on any of the other teams.”"
Vescovi talked about his his role has changed on the team this year with the newcomers. Here’s what he said on that front.
"“It’s pretty similar to last year, but I’m playing a little bit more of the two now, especially having Zakai (Zeigler) and Kennedy (Chandler) playing the one, which they’re smaller than I am, so they play the point and they’re really good at it. I’m feeling really comfortable playing either way, either playing the point guard or the two, I think it feels natural.”"
Soccer to host Mississippi State – UTSports
At 12-1 and No. 10 in the nation, the Tennessee Lady Vols soccer team will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 7 p.m. ET Friday. MSU comes in with a 3-6-3 record and most recently lost 1-0 to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
"The Vols are attempting to break the Regal Soccer Stadium attendance record during the match, and promotions include free checkerboard jersey t-shirts for the first 500 fans, food trucks inside the stadium, a Mississippi State smash car and photos with Smokey X. The current attendance record of 3,042 was set in 2001 when No. 18 UT hosted No. 1 UNC."
Volleyball to visit Georgia – UT Daily Beacon
Coming off a sweep in two games at the South Carolina Gamecocks last week, the No. 21 Tennessee Lady Vols volleyball team remains on the road this weekend to face the Georgia Bulldogs. The only matchup between the two is Friday night at 7 p.m. ET.
"Tennessee enters the match having won six of its last seven matches with a 14-3 record (6-1 SEC) for the season.Georgia enters the match in the midst of a struggling season. The Bulldogs have a 5-11 overall record this season, including just a 1-4 mark in conference play."
Men’s tennis taking part in Fighting Illini Invitational – FightingIllini.com
After taking part in the ITA All-American Championships and the Bulldog Invitational last week, the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team remains on the road this week. UT will take part in the Fighting Illini Invitational in Urbana-Champaign, Ill., hosted by the Illinois Fighting Illini. The event begins Friday and will last through Sunday.
"Illinois men’s tennis will host Arizona State, Middle Tennessee and University of Tennessee this weekend at Atkins Tennis Center.The teams will each play each other in a round robin format."
Cross Country set for FSU Invite/Pre-Nationals – Seminoles.com
The Tennessee Vols men’s and women’s cross country programs will be in Tallahassee, Fla., this weekend to take part in the FSU Invite/Pre-Nationals meet, hosted by the Florida State Seminoles. UT is sending 13 men and 14 women for the races.
"The Pre-Nationals meet will include four races with the Garnet fields featuring many of the top Division I teams in the country. The races will feature 31 teams either ranked or receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA poll."
Swimming and Diving to visit N.C. State – UTSports
Two weeks after their opening meet at the UNC Wilmington Seahawks, the Tennessee Vols Swimming and Diving program will stay in North Carolina for its second meet on the year. UT travels to Raleigh to visit the N.C. State Wolfpack.
"The women’s meet will be a battle between top-10 teams, as the Lady Vols checked in at No. 7 in the preseason CSCAA Top 25 and State ranks third. On the men’s side, the Wolfpack are fourth in the country, while the Vols are 17th."