Nichols: Even in Chase Burns’ Fiery Debut, It Is Tennessee’s Culture That Remains Most Essential

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — What you were doing at 19 years old?

Maybe you were working a new job. Maybe you were adjusting to life as an average college student. Heck, maybe you were going out every night for all kind of shenanigans, living the life that most 19-year-olds do.

Whatever your answer, it’s vastly different than what we saw Friday from Tennessee pitcher Chase Burns.

In No. 19 Tennessee’s 9-0 Opening Day win over Georgia Southern, the Gallatin native — who turned down first-round MLB Draft money to come play for Tony Vitello and Tennessee — was masterful.

He touched 98 and 99 miles per hour with his fastball, then cooled down to a filthy 82 with a changeup that floated across the plate — at least when compared to his heater.

So why give a freshman the nod on Opening Day?

“Cause he doesn’t act like a freshman,” Vitello said. “Well, he does when he’s off the field. He doesn’t stop smiling and acts like he’s six years old, actually. Like a lot of great players I’ve coached who are almost two different people in and out of uniform.

“When he’s on the field he’s very serious about competing, but more evident is that it’s important to him to be great. He wants to be great. … He obviously has advanced stuff but there’s a lot of people across the country that don’t have advanced intangibles and character to go with the advanced stuff.”

In total, Burns — who Jorel Ortega called “a freak” — finished with just 70 pitches in five innings, tossing five strikeouts and one walk in his first collegiate start.

And what did Burns say about the Tennessee culture that drew him away from the allure of the big leagues?

“It’s electric,” Burns said. “That is all I can say. We are never out of the fight. We are all dogs in there.”

The Vols’ bats matched Burns’ comments, as Tennessee sliced through a 42-degree day with four home runs on nine hits and no errors amidst a record crowd of 4,335.

It was a smack-em-around kind of day to start Vitello’s fifth season, and the output resembled the type of wins this team shelled out on the regular last year.

Don’t be fooled by the familiarity of a rout, though, even with the numbers this team put up during last summer’s run to Omaha — Tennessee’s first since 2005.

Instead, give a respectful nod to the newly-painted “2021” next to the College World Series logo in right field.

Then, look for a moment at the double-decker stands that were built by that run, that helped house that crowd on Friday.

And finally, focus more on the revamped roster that will call Lindsey Nelson Stadium home throughout 2022.

Because these are nowhere near the same Vols as last season.

Sure, there are the veterans. The Evan Russells. The Luc Lipcius’s. The Drew Gilberts.

Those three, along with the departed Liam Spence, Chad Dallas, Max Ferguson, Connor Pavolony, Sean Hunley, Will Heflin and Pete Derkay, helped create a majority of the magic that drove Tennessee to Omaha.

Consider the differences now, though.

Instead of participating in the action, Dallas, Hunley, Pavolony and other familiar faces sat behind home plate to watch.

Instead of Russell jogging out to his spot in left field on Friday, he strapped on a chest plate and knelt behind home — his first time at catcher since high school — after shifting positions in the offseason.

Instead of Gilbert flipping his batting helmet skyward after a home run, it was third baseman Trey Lipscomb — a backup behind Andre Lipcius and Jake Rucker the previous two years — who jacked a two-run shot for the Vols’ first lead of a new season.

For reference, the Vols’ other three homers came off Seth Stephenson, a transfer from Temple College; Ortega, another player who waited his turn in Knoxville; and Christian Scott, who only made nine starts in 31 games last season.

So, yeah — plenty of newness to go around.

There were other glimpses, of course, of what Tennessee did last year, with a fan favorite being the pink ‘Daddy’ hat that found its way to each dinger-hitter’s head after he crossed the plate.

But there were also other new additions — yes, outside of the stadium structure — to the Vols’ routine.

First on the list might be the cheetah-printed coat that accompanied the ‘Daddy’ hat for each home run hitter that crossed the plate.

Tennessee Baseball home run celebration now consists of a fur coat and pink ‘daddy’ hat.

Glorious @Vol_Baseball pic.twitter.com/XedvhLkodF
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) February 18, 2022

“That is another Evan Russell creation," Lipscomb said. "He has the cheetah print pimp coat. We like it. Just put it on your shoulders or whatever.”

That coat won’t hide the Vols’ intentions, though, as they seek not to tread the same line as last season’s team — but to create a new identity with the same goal in mind.

“Obviously, we want to make it back to Omaha again,” Ortega said. “That is the goal and that is what everyone is playing for. This is a whole new team, a new identity. That is what makes the team even better. Having your own sauce, you could say. I think having that makes this team more special.”

Added Vitello, who mentioned how eager he’s been to start this season: “I think in January there was a very distinct line that this is 2022. This is this group. That doesn’t mean anything more than just what I am saying.

“I think it has become the team you saw and you will see the rest of the spring. It dates back to January. It has been fun to watch it evolve.”

Something tells me that evolution will take another leap on Saturday, when Chase Dollander faces his former team at 1 p.m.

But we also shouldn’t be surprised to see Burns’ Friday heat manifest itself in a different way this season, especially from Drew Gilbert.

He is, after all, the one who kickstarted the chippy back-and-forth last year in Statesboro and carried this team’s swagger to Nebraska.

That fiery standard is what created the first glimpse of Tennessee’s potential in 2021, and it is essential to similar production this year.

Because it is that culture, more than new faces, new positions or even a kid who could have gone in the first round, that will continue driving the ‘dogs’ that Tony Vitello has brought to — and kept at — Tennessee.