Mike Keith goes to bat for Tennessee Vols as 'real UT' vs. Titans rookie T'Vondre Sweat from Texas

It's a tale as old as time.  Well, not really, since the University of Texas was officially founded in September 1883, close to 90 years after the University of Tennessee.

But I digress. 

There's been a long-running debate among those who back the Texas Longhorns and the Tennessee Volunteers as to who the "real UT" is between the two.  Which orange is the real orange.  Which mascot is better.  Who has the better sports programs.  A big talking point between two programs from different parts of the country derived from two little letters that are contiguous in the alphabet. 

Of course, the players also have weighed in on that debate over the years, and that didn't stop this week with one of the Tennessee Titans' newest players.  Second-round draft pick and former Texas Longhorn T'Vondre Sweat joined Titans play-by-play Mike Keith on the Official Titans Podcast, and he was crystal clear on his stance on the matter. 

"I graduated [from] the real UT," Sweat said.  "You know, education."

"It's a great school," Keith responded.

"Better school," Sweat retorted.

"No, don't do that," Keith answered.  "Do you know where you are know?"

"I know where I'm at," Sweat said.  "I still bleed orange.  Burnt orange."

"Do you think that's real orange," Keith asked.  

"Most definitely," said Sweat.  "Yeah, y'all was before us.  Yeah, yeah, yeah." 

"Glad you're coming to a real conference now," Keith quipped.  

"Yeah, we're going to run it," Sweat responded, which caused Keith to lean forward laughing. 

Whew.  Quite the exchange there.  But Keith made a couple of key but obvious statements.  Sweat is now in the Volunteer state, and Nashville is a Tennessee Vols haven regardless of what anyone argues.  Nissan Stadium's attendance for every UT game answers that question.  So that's a heck of a place to be poking that particular bear. 

But it's the quip about the schedule that's really amusing.  Texas is about to go from facing an SEC team in week two or in a bowl game to having to deal with that high level of competition week in and week out.  The Longhorns also play at Michigan in week two and get Oklahoma and Georgia in back-to-back weeks this year.  They'll get a true chance to show through the middle of the season that it's not too much for them. 

It's also certainly not a surprise to hear Keith respond like he did.  After all, he's a Tennessee graduate.  He worked at WIVK and WBIR in Knoxville.  He bleeds Tennessee orange the same as every other Tennessee Vol.  And he just so happens to be right regarding Texas joining a real conference at last.  

We'll see if other fans will be laughing the same as Keith when the Longhorns begin SEC play this fall, or if Sweat's Horns can prove they can hold their own in college football's premier conference.