Tennessee tight end Jacob Warren is a legacy player. He’s also mindful of what his own legacy will be one day.
That legacy will be defined largely by what happens this season, as well as what happens against Florida on Saturday.
“That’s just how it is,” Warren said on The Vol Report. “You’ll still think about that when I’ve got grandkids, talking about the good ole days.”
Warren has been on the receiving end of some of those conversations. His father, James Warren, likes to recite games in which the Vols notched a noteworthy win during his career in the early 1990’s. The younger Warren will remind his father that those games occurred over two decades ago. That doesn’t matter. The stories continue.
So what will the stories be like if Tennessee beats Florida on Saturday?
“If we win, the city might (be) set on fire,” Warren said with a smile. “It will be crazy. There will be people everywhere going crazy. The fan base will be excited and we’ll be excited.
“Me personally, I think that’s just something that I have to be able to do it before I leave, right? This is big for me, winning these big games and haven’t won one yet. Ever since I’ve been here we haven’t beaten Florida so it would be huge for me to be able to do that.”
If so, Warren will be able to tell his grandkids about what happens on Saturday.
“Obviously, later down the road, looking back at it, we’ll be like, ‘Yeah, We did that. We beat them and it was on our home field. It was a ranked game. It was on College Gameday, all that.’” Warren said. “Obviously, that would be huge.”
It certainly would be huge for Tennessee and Warren if the Vols can beat Florida. It would also a way to wipe away a bad memory. Despite the 38-14 loss to Florida last season, Warren believes the Vols let one slip away, that they were the reason that the Gators were victorious.
“It’s unfortunate that we left some opportunities out there and I think we all know that was something that…caused us to lose a lot of a lot of games, is in critical situations, we’re making mistakes, we’re getting penalties, we’re dropping balls or taking sacks or whatever it may be,” he said. “That game kind of sticks out as one of those that you really wish you could have finished that one out, especially seeing how the season progressed for each team.”
Like everyone else, Warren saw what happened last season. Tennessee surged after the Florida game and became one of the most improved teams in the country. Florida fell apart and eventually fired head coach Dan Mullen.
“You kind of feel like you missed an opportunity there,” Warren said.
Taking one game at a time and not giving anything away, Warren said he’s seen Florida, is aware that they’ve played some tight games and certainly won’t overlook the Gators even though the Vols are an 8.5-point favorite according to Draft Kings.
“They fight and they play hard,” Warren said. “Obviously, they’re not just going to lay down. Coming into this game, they’re going to be just as fired up as we are. I think that team has a lot of talent and will put up a good fight and I think it will be a good game.”
Someone will be talking about this game glowingly 30 years from now. If it’s Tennessee, Warren’s kids had better be ready to hear some stories.
