DALLAS — Omari Thomas adjusted his seat and smiled, salivating throughout a query centered round Tennessee not being talked about amongst convention championship and School Soccer Playoff contenders at SEC Media Days. So far as he and the remainder of the Vols are involved, the 2024 season cannot get right here any sooner.
“Our group, we do not want validation from anybody,” Thomas stated Tuesday as his diamond-encrusted “O” chain rested on his chest. “It is simply good to know we are available in collectively and we have got one another’s backs. We will be those to push ourselves to go to the place we wish to go and that is win the nationwide championship.”
Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and Missouri have all been slotted forward of Tennessee in most preseason projections throughout the convention, however solely three of these colleges have consecutive top-20 finishes like Josh Heupel’s program. The Vols plugged a gap of their offensive line with former LSU offensive sort out Lance Heard and refreshed the again finish of the protection with different additions.
James Pearce Jr. returns as school soccer’s vanguard rusher and the two-deep at wideout as one of many league’s most veteran teams, which implies there’s loads of assist to help Nico Iamaleava in his transition to Tennessee’s beginning quarterback position.
Nonetheless, the Vols aren’t going to be slotted within the SEC’s elite-tier by media on the finish of the week in Dallas, most selecting to go along with the glitz and glamour of Lane Kiffin’s portal sweepstakes roster at Ole Miss and the behemoths on the prime with Georgia and Texas.
Linebacker Keenan Pili, who stated he is not often on social media and would not take note of narratives and offseason projections, welcomes the dearth of respect.
“I do not care if we’re on the backside. I type of hope we are the underdogs,” Pili informed 247Sports. “I hope there is not any hype. We wish to earn that day by day. I believe on the finish of the day, that’ll assist us on Saturdays, being the underdogs.”
Heupel has 20 wins during the last two seasons and had Tennessee in charge of its personal playoff future in 2022 getting into the ultimate stretch previous to losses to Georgia and South Carolina. Final fall, Tennessee was 5-1 and creeping towards the highest 10 earlier than a setback at Alabama preceded letdowns towards Georgia and Missouri that pushed the Vols out of the convention title hunt.
That is within the rear view with the 2024 Vols centered on making a playoff look for the primary time in program historical past.
“I believe we count on to be on the prime of something that we do. Each week we go on the market, we count on to win,” Tennessee offensive lineman Cooper Mays stated.
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Tennessee will likely be one in every of school soccer’s nationwide speaking factors if the Vols are in a position to get by September unscathed, together with wins over NC State and Oklahoma. In response to the trio of veterans Heupel introduced with him to SEC Media Days, that is the plan.
