Nichols in Neyland: Meet Sports Illustrated’s Eyes and Ears for 2021 Tennessee Football Home Games
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — At long last, It’s Football Time in Tennessee.
Tomorrow night, Josh Heupel and the Vols will sprint through the T amidst fireworks and LED lighting to open the 2021 Tennessee football season, which doubles as the 100th year of Neyland Stadium.
With strong-armed Michigan transfer Joe Milton III at quarterback (and plenty of questions on a an already-questionable Bowling Green defense), Heupel’s official offensive debut should make for quite an introduction.
But before we get to that introduction, I figured I should present one of my own.
A few of you reading this may know me from my early years in West Tennessee, where I grew up before moving east for college.
Some of you may know me from my time at The University of Tennessee, where I graduated with a Journalism degree in 2019.
More of you may know me from Twitter, where I tweet too many memes from The Office and rant about why Chick-fil-A and Michael Jordan are the greatest in their respective fields.
Finally, most of you probably know me from this past spring and summer, as I provided firsthand, in-depth coverage for Tennessee baseball’s historic run to Omaha and the 2021 College World Series.
No matter how you know me, though, I figured it’s time for a more formal greeting.
Tomorrow night, I’ll enter the Neyland Stadium press box for the first time as Sports Illustrated’s 2021 Tennessee football home game correspondent.
In other words, for one Thursday and seven Saturdays this fall, I’ll be your SI-filtered eyes and ears for the ever-nourishing and equally soul-sucking lifeblood of this state: Tennessee football.
At this point, I could wax poetic about how I grew up around the Vols and why that’s important for what you’ll read from me this year. I could tell you about when I witnessed James Wilhoit’s 2004 field goal to beat Florida, or when my grandmother and I saw Jauan Jennings’ 2016 Hail Mary grab firsthand, or how my grandparents, great-grandparents and late mother instilled in me an early love of Tennessee football.
But I’m not going to do that — or I won’t delve any further, at least.
Because as much as I’ve shared the orange-blooded passion that courses through folks from Memphis to Mountain City, my duty as a journalist brings that fandom to a halt.
From me, you’ll get pure objectivity, as well as an appreciation for the power of the written word. (A grandmother with years of experience as an English teacher will do that to someone.)
Moreover, through the degree I earned at Tennessee, I know how to survey that aforementioned passion and this historic program from a completely neutral point of view — especially given the last 15 years.
And don’t worry — it’s not like I’m new to covering Tennessee football.
In 2018, I covered Jeremy Pruitt’s first season while working as the sports editor for the Tennessee Journalist, an online on-campus publication.
In 2019, I roamed the sidelines as a photographer for Rocky Top Insider, meaning I got an up-close view of that Georgia State catastrophe.
And in 2020, I worked with our Sports Illustrated Volunteer Country team by filling gameday pieces from the place we all worked last year: the couch.
So this isn’t exactly my first rodeo.
Still, when you read or see my work this fall, you should be aware of the following:
- Some pieces will be purely factual, with sentences laced in straight, no-nonsense reporting.
- Other pieces may be mired in my own opinion, although those thoughts will assuredly be well-researched.
- Most importantly, every bit of my work, whether done by laptop or phone or digital camera, will be completed to the very best of my ability, because that’s what you as fans deserve. And it’s what my family, especially my late mom, would expect.
Obviously, I’m pumped to bring you pretty of insight from the first season of the Heupel era — which should feature a surplus of intrigue, with or without mentioning the fact that he’s the Vols’ sixth head coach in the last 14 seasons.
From Tennessee’s gameday additions for the aforementioned Neyland Stadium Centennial celebration, to the looming Jeremy Pruitt/Tennessee administration-induced NCAA investigation, to transfers and newcomers across the board, to a concerning lack of proof on a revamped defense, to a potentially high-powered offense with an equally unproven quarterback, to a team and fan base that just want to win…. this season should certainly be one to remember.
Now, we’re officially less than 48 hours from watching all that unfold.
I hope you’ll join me in-person this season, or at least that you’ll enjoy the work I produce and the Michael Scott memes I’ll undoubtedly use during games. The combined effect should be pretty fun.
Oh, and if you’re coming to the game on Thursday, remember to bring sunglasses. Because those LED lights will be even brighter than this fan base’s sky-high expectations.
See y’all at kickoff.
