Tennessee football: Kennedy Chandler talks Florida game at Grizzlies media day

He may be a rookie in the NBA still trying to carve a path for himself, but former Vol Kennedy Chandler still had to keep up with Tennessee football over the weekend. Chandler, who played one year for Tennessee basketball last season, said he watched the program beat the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium.

The Memphis Grizzlies guard who hails from that city has many connections to players on the Vols. That’s partially due to the fact that the athletes at UT are connected and also due to the fact that so many players on the football team also come from Memphis.

Indeed, two of the key players in Tennessee football’s 38-33 victory Saturday are from Memphis, Omari Thomas and Jabari Small. They both arrived at UT a year before Chandler, but Chandler noted at the Griz Media Day that he has a history with both of them.

Both Small and Thomas were crucial in the game. Small had 19 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown while catching three passes for 32 yards and another touchdown. Thomas forced a fumble in the second half that was the catalyst for the Vols going up 38-21.

Of course, Chandler’s comment that he couldn’t watch the final stand after Florida recovered the onside kick was how many Vol fans felt. It was as if they were once again going to choke away an easy win over the Gators, this time in a more epic fashion than ever.

Basketball was all over this game. Rick Barnes had plenty of recruits on hand to witness the event, and former basketball stars joined a litany of former football players on hand. Jordan McRae, Grant Williams and Jaden Springer were all honored at one point.

Barnes has always been good about using Tennessee football as a tool to recruit talent, and he certainly seems to have done that over the weekend. We’ll see what comes of it, but a guy like Chandler talking about the game along with the stadium honoring former basketball stars has to help with some of it.