Vols Open Music City Bowl Practice in Nashville
(utsports.com) Tennessee football has arrived in the Volunteer State capital and returned to the practice field Friday afternoon, resuming Music City Bowl preparations with its first workout in Nashville ahead of the upcoming postseason matchup against Illinois. Kickoff between the Volunteers and Fighting Illini is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium.
UT continued bowl practice after three days off for the holidays. Head coach Josh Heupel said the break provided valuable time away before shifting focus back to competition.
“The guys had a great couple days off for Christmas, staff too,” Heupel said. “Get a chance to be a dad and be with the families. Excited to get back here and start competing, and get ready for kickoff against a really good Illinois team.”
Heupel discussed how bowl preparation allows for added reps and opportunities, particularly for younger players, while the Vols look to finish the 2025 season strong.
“It’s an opportunity through the month of December to continue to grow and get better with fundamentals, technique inside of the scheme,” Heupel said. “You know with bowl games, young guys get a lot of opportunity in the preparation but also on gameday too. Obviously, it’s the last chance for us to compete with this team together in this 2025 season, and in some ways it’s a build up to the following year.”
The Vols will be without starting cornerback Colton Hood and edge rusher Joshua Josephs in the Music City Bowl, as the two recently announced their intentions to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft – joining Chris Brazzell II, Arion Carter and Jermod McCoy.
“Some of those guys waited to announce their intentions,” Heupel said. “We’ve been practicing with the same group of guys for a while now. Planned on those guys making that announcement. We feel good about where we’re at, guys that are here are ready to go play.”
Tennessee will continue its bowl preparation in Nashville over the coming days leading up to Tuesday’s Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl showdown at Nissan Stadium.
