What a heckuva August weekend for Tennessee Football.
With the season opener now less than two weeks away, Tennessee scores a commitment from 5-star and top ranked 2025 offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. And then the Vols flip a 4-star linebacker commitment from SEC nemesis Bama with Jaedon Harmon making it a two commitment weekend for Tennessee.
Tennessee remains hot on the recruiting trail with no end in sight.
Right on queue in advance of the season opener, the Pride of the Southland marching band begins releasing videos of their practice sessions playing the traditionals – “Down the Field” and “Fight Vols Fight”. I haven’t seen a practice video with “Rocky Top” yet but expect that one will be next.
The Pride of the Southland is a proud Tennessee tradition that is a consistent crowd favorite from season to season. Contrary to the ups and downs of Tennessee Football, the “Pride” is on top of their game every season. Their crisp Game Day formations and circle drills are second to none in college football.
Their playing of “Rocky Top” drives Vol fans into a frenzy and causes opposing fans to turn their headsets up to drown out the best college fight song ever. And then you add in the flag corp and majorettes and the Pride sits alone at the top of college football bands.
I’ve seen every opponent’s band live in the SEC with the exception of newbie conference member Texas. Of the fourteen SEC bands I’ve seen live, only two come close to the Pride of the Southland. The LSU Golden Band from Tiger Land is an entertaining and quality band in every aspect. And I’ll tip my hat to the Million Dollar Band from Alabama as another elite band. In my humble opinion, those are the only two SEC bands that are in the same league with Tennessee. From what I’ve seen on TV broadcasts, Texas possibly will be added to my list of top SEC bands but I’ll withhold judgement until I see them live.
So Tennessee Football fans, these last two pre-season weeks are some of the most fun days leading into the new season. The team is undefeated, the Pride of the Southland is warming up and now under Heupel, the recruiting trail is a glowing orange hot for the Vols. Enjoy Vol fans, all signs are pointing to a fun 2024 football season.
