Tennessee football players trade handshakes and stories with fans at Food City
· Yahoo Sports
On a typical Saturday, Food City's lines wrap around the registers. On July 25, Tennessee football had them wrapped around the aisles instead.
The team sent 22 players through the Food City on Malone Creek Drive in Knoxville for a meet and greet July 25 ahead of fall practices, an afternoon built for fans to take photos, build some personal connections with the players and wish them good luck with just six Saturdays to go until college football is back.
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Defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs, entering his fourth year with the Vols, has worked enough fan events to know what's coming, but Tennessee's fan base still finds a way to surprise him.
One interaction from the day stuck with him most. A fan pulled out two photos Hobbs had never seen before, asking for his autograph. One was from his first sack back from an injury last season, the other from Tennessee's 42-9 win over New Mexico State a few weeks later.
"It's the same thing every time," Hobbs said. "Every time there's an event, the fans are here showing love. We've got the best fan base in college football, and that's what they expect."
Junior tight end Ethan Davis said these events aren't a chore, just the bare minimum.
"I absolutely love doing things for Vol Nation," Davis said. "They come out every single Saturday and show out for us, so it's the least we can do to be involved in the community."
Madilyn Price worked her way through the store with her dad a step behind her, in a shirt that looked like it was signed by half the roster. The 6-year-old has been a Vols fan her whole life, she said, and today will stick with her as one she would remember for a long time.
Clinton Boyd, 29, has his fandom permanently inked on his arm, about one or two new tattoos a year since he started in 2023. He rolled up his sleeve for defensive linemen Mariyon Dye and Jordan Norman, who couldn't contain their excitement seeing such devotion.
"Oh, that's awesome," Boyd said of the reaction he gets from players. "That's just a good way to show my pride every single day."
Three friends were working their way across all five tables. Greyson Hopkins, Neyland Hanson and Jariel Ramos tried to meet everyone before the day ended. Hanson never really had a choice in his own fandom, but says he would have picked the Vols anyway.
"My dad's been the biggest Tennessee fan for as long as I can remember," Hanson, 13, said. "When I was born, they just decided to name me Neyland because it made sense."
Hopkins, 14, had his own story. He said he nearly quit junior high football until a summer scrimmage where he felt the “adrenaline of the Vols” course through him, and decided football was still his sport.
The players understand that kind of pull better than anyone. Hobbs was once in a similar position himself.
“I remember looking up to college players,” Hobbs said. “I thought they were the coolest people ever. Now being in those shoes for these little kids, it's a pretty cool thing.”
Junior wide receiver Mike Matthews echoed that sentiment.
"I've been a kid before, I know how it is," he said. "I didn't think I had that many people behind me."
With fall practices approaching and the season opener against Furman set for Sept. 5, sophomore linebacker Edwin Spillman said the fan affection follows the team all the way to game day.
"It really means the world to us, getting to feel that energy from Vol Nation," Spillman said. "It translates on the field and all the way off the field, too."
Xavier Burton is a sports intern for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football players trade handshakes and stories with fans at Food City