Tennessee football: Josh Heupel makes appearance on ‘The TODAY Show’

In a heartwarming story for Mother’s Day, Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel made a surprise appearance on NBC’s “The Today Show” Friday. The leader of the Vols was there to present to healthcare workers with a gift.

Nurse practitioner Robin Black and her daughter, Piper Black, who is a Doctor of Nursing Practice graduate this spring, were featured on the show for their roles as rural healthcare workers. They work together in Erin, Tenn., which is in Houston County, just west of Nashville.

After the feature segment on them ended, Heupel appeared on set to award them and their family complimentary tickets to Neyland Stadium for Tennessee football’s Oct. 29 matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats. Both Robin and Piper Black were UT Health Science Center students.

Obviously, stories like these are always great to see around Mother’s Day. It wouldn’t be shocking that they are Vols fans either, and Rocky Top may need all the help it can get in order to keep its dominance against Kentucky alive when the two face off in October.

That’s also not a bad game to get tickets too. Although the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida Gators are both home games, Kentucky may be the third biggest home game of the year for the Vols. It comes after they face the UT Martin Skyhawks as well.

Also, it’s still possible that attending the Alabama game is a lost cause, as UT may not be on their level yet. As a result, Florida and Kentucky are the two best other options, and there’s a good chance that Kentucky is the better team this year.

Taking all of that into account, Tennessee football picked right giving them tickets to that game. The tickets are well-deserved, and everybody clearly appreciates the work they do in their community. This was a great gesture by Heupel and the program.