So Much Has Changed Since Vescovi, James Arrived at Tennessee

Dark days in Razorbacks football, Musselman preparing for first year when they arrived

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Feb 12, 2024 5:00 PM EST

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – It happens every time the Razorbacks play Tennessee and it's going to happen again Wednesday night. Arkansas fans look at their screen and assume Rick Barnes is running some sort of nursing home because he's got another handful of players who feel like they have been in Knoxville since Peyton Manning roamed the campus.

This year the two players bringing forth the nostalgia act for the Volunteers are Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. Both arrived on the scene in 2019, which puts them from an entirely different decade.

To put things in perspective, here are some of the events and notes that bring into focus how long they have been suiting up against the Razorbacks.

• Children born that year are finishing up kindergarten right now.

• The world had just seen the death of Tony Stark in Avengers: End Game.

• Normal people had never heard the word COVID 19.

• Joe Burrow had never won a national title at LSU, Nick Saban still hadn't won his national championship and Kirby Smart had never won a national title as a head coach either.

• Chad Morris was still the head coach of the Razorbacks football team.

• Eric Musselman was preparing for his first season as Arkansas head coach.

• "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus was the No. 1 song in the country.

• The surprise movie of the year was "Shazam!"

• The world had never seen Donald Trump and Joe Biden face off in an election.

• Kofi Kingston beat Daniel Bryan for the WWE championship and AEW had just been founded.

• TikTok was just starting to get a foothold in the United States.

• Disney Plus debuts with a handful of movies and shows from the Disney vault. The first Marvel series, Wandavision, had yet to be seen.

• Taylor Swift still had not released "Lover," "Folklore," "Evermore," or "Midnights," nor had she announced "The Tortured Poets Department."

• The world had not been exposed to the Nintendo Switch game "Animal Crossing."

• Arkansas went to the College World Series and was looking forward to heavy hitter Heston Kjerstad's junior season.

So, yes. Arkansas fans are right. It has been a really long time since Vescovi and James first showed up in Tennessee. They're a bit long in the tooth, but will still have plenty of bite come Wednesday night in Bud Walton Arena.