Dallas — During an SEC Media Days inquiry about Tennessee’s exclusion from conference title and College Football Playoff contention, Omari Thomas changed his seat, grinned, and began to salivate. For him and the other members of the Vols, the 2024 season cannot come soon enough.
Thomas declared on Tuesday, “Our team, we don’t need validation from anyone,” with his diamond-encrusted “O” chain propped on his breast. “Knowing that we arrive together and support one another is reassuring. We’re going to be the ones to push ourselves to achieve our goals, which includes winning the national title.”
Preseason projections across the conference show Tennessee ranked lower than Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, and Missouri, yet only three of those schools have finished in the top 20 consecutively, unlike Josh Heupel’s team. Former LSU offensive tackle Lance Heard filled a void in the Vols’ offensive line, and other additions improved the defense’s back end.
Nico Iamaleava has plenty of support as he adjusts to starting quarterback duties for Tennessee thanks to the return of James Pearce Jr., the best edge rusher in college football, and the league’s most seasoned wideout group.
Nevertheless, most media members will prefer to focus on the flash and glamour of Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss gateway sweepstakes roster and the dominant Georgia and Texas teams, rather than placing the Vols in the SEC’s elite tier at the conclusion of the week in Dallas.
Linebacker Keenan Pili is happy about the lack of regard, stating that he hardly uses social media and ignores stories and offseason predictions.
“If we’re at the bottom, it doesn’t matter. We should be the underdogs, I kind of hope,” Pili said to 247Sports. “I’m hoping for no hype. Every day, we aim to earn that. Ultimately, I believe that will benefit us as the underdogs on Saturdays.”
With 20 victories in the previous two seasons, Hurley put Tennessee in charge of its own postseason fate going into the last stretch in 2022 before losing to South Carolina and Georgia. Tennessee was 5-1 and inching their way up to the top 10 last fall, but defeats to Georgia and Missouri before a loss at Alabama caused the Vols to lose their chance to win the league.
With the 2024 Vols intent on qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in program history, that is in the rearview mirror.
“I believe that we want to excel at all we do. Tennessee offensive lineman Cooper Mays stated, “We expect to win every week when we go out there.”
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If the Vols can pull off victories over Oklahoma and NC State in September and go undefeated through September, they will be among college football’s national talking points. That’s the goal, according to the three veterans Heupel brought to SEC Media Days.
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