Vols senior has refreshing take on Tennessee's rivalry with Alabama
For the last 15 years, the rivalry between the Tennessee Vols and the Alabama Crimson Tide was liking watching Mike Tyson's boxing matches in the mid-1980s when Tyson usually had the match won before the bell was rung. Whether Tennessee's players from the past will admit it or not, Alabama's standing as the premier college […]
For the last 15 years, the rivalry between the Tennessee Vols and the Alabama Crimson Tide was liking watching Mike Tyson's boxing matches in the mid-1980s when Tyson usually had the match won before the bell was rung.
Whether Tennessee's players from the past will admit it or not, Alabama's standing as the premier college football program in the nation usually gave the Crimson Tide an advantage before games against UT even kicked off.
Fortunately for the Vols, those days are long gone. Tennessee was able to knock off Alabama last season in part because the Vols' mindset toward the Crimson Tide has changed. Tennessee no longer views itself as a program that's trying to "catch up" to Alabama. Instead, the Vols view themselves as a program that's on same level as Bama, which is something that was evidenced by comments from Tennessee redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren at SEC Media Days last week.
"We expect to win every game and Alabama is no different," said Warren last week. "Alabama is obviously an amazing program, amazing team, amazing talent. We're in the same boat. We're an amazing team, amazing talent, amazing program. We have a lot of storied wins. It's just a matter of who goes out there and wants it more on that day."
It's pretty obvious from Warren's comments that Tennessee isn't intimidated by Alabama. And they shouldn't be. The Vols showed last season that they can take down Alabama — even though the Crimson Tide had two top three NFL Draft pick on their side of the field (quarterback Bryce Young and edge rusher Will Anderson).
That mindset allowed Tennessee to never give up last season when Alabama took the lead late in the game and it started to feel like a "here we go again" moment for the Vols. In previous years, maybe Alabama puts the game away late in the fourth quarter and it's just another "good showing" for Tennessee.
Instead, the Vols dug deep because they knew they were on the same level as Alabama as a football program. That mindset will serve the Vols well in 2023 as they look to win the SEC East and compete for a national championship.
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