Tennessee Vols star admits the quiet part out loud about fans' reactions

The Tennessee Volunteers haven't had the follow up season to a great 2022 that many fans had hoped for.  At 7-3 and coming off a blowout 36-7 loss to Missouri, the vibes are trending down for the Vols as the #2 Georgia Bulldogs roll into Knoxville on Saturday.  

As such, there's been a palpable sense of impending doom among the Tennessee fan base as a team that hasn't lost since December 2021 comes into town on a roll.  

Believe it or not, the Vols have sensed it.  And yes, they care what people think about them, both as players and people. 

Tennessee TE Jacob Warren met with the media on Monday and responded to a question mentioning social media and asking about whether people are prematurely writing them off going into this game. 

"Truly, every single week...all that matters is this week, right?  I think the guys within this program have done a really good job of understanding that.  It doesn't really matter what's being said on the outside.  I've said it before, that we don't care what people say about us.  I've recently had talks with a lot of my people.  We do care what people think.  We do care about what people think of us as players.  What people think of us just as people.  But at the end of the day, am I able to focus on what matters and be able to set my eyes on the goal?  And that's to win this week.  So, regardless of whether we were up against Bama or what we should have done against Missouri or whoever, it's just about going out there and putting our best foot forward this week." - Jacob Warren, via Tennessee Athletics

Warren's comments are a refreshing twist on the typical by the book response that players often give about not caring or being aware of outside commentary.  You know players probably care, but they regularly claim that they don't.  

Warren's honest response serves an often-forgotten reminder that these players are people.  They're each someone's son, brother, and/or friend.  They are college-aged kids performing in one of the most pressure-laced environments in American sports.  And winning is very, very hard to do, especially in the toughest conference in the country.  

Some might argue this is more of a business now in the age of NIL and that players being (often heavily) compensated opens them up to criticism.  That still doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of those who are viciously criticizing players online behind a keyboard are paying as much now to players - which is zero - as they were when players weren't getting paid.  As such, that's highly flawed reasoning. 

No Tennessee fan is thrilled about the losses this year, especially in the underwhelming fashion in which they happened.  But the players are human and as such are going to sometimes be aware of your perception of them.  And given as much blood, sweat, and tears as the players put into the program, it's certain that losses gut them even more than it does the fans.  

Remember that the next time you crack your knuckles before getting ready to angrily pound your keyboard after a UT loss.