Tennessee’s players didn’t take the bait that was dropped earlier in the offseason.
Just about a month ago, Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia went on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast and made some big claims about the Commodores’ desire to take the Volunteer State spotlight when it comes to the 2025 football season.
“Vanderbilt is going to run Tennessee after this year,” Pavia said. “This is gonna be the new staple of college football. It’s going to happen here at Vanderbilt. Everyone wants to come to Tennessee (the state) because of Nashville. So they want to come to Nashville, so Vanderbilt. And then when we have the most money in NIL, why not come here? We literally just have to win this year and throughout the rest of the year, it’ll take care of itself.”
During SEC Media Days on Tuesday, Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter was asked about Pavia’s comments. The rising junior didn’t bark back at the comment, and instead just deflected it in a subtle way.
“No, sir,” Carter said when asked if he had a response to Pavia. “We don’t really take too much account for offseason comments, you know? We’re just ready to be prepared for the moment’s time, moment comes, and be out there to go play football. That’s the most fun part about it. We’re about to kick off in a couple of weeks here.”
Carter’s response embodies Tennessee’s style that has been prevalent since Josh Heupel’s arrival on Rocky Top. Save the talking for the field, essentially. Tennessee will look to capitalize on a 36-23 victory over the ‘Dores in Nashville last season when Vanderbilt travels to Rocky Top this fall.
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It’s a bit of a stark difference from some others in the conference, though. Others will bite back a bit at offseason comments, directly or indirectly, adding fuel to the fire. There’s no right and wrong way to handle these moments, necessarily, but certain responses can be out of character for certain programs.
Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos took a shot at Alabama this offseason, declaring that Nick Saban is gone and that he doesn’t see the Tide being able to stop him when the two teams square off in week one. That comment got to Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson this offseason, who addressed it on the SEC Network on Wednesday morning.
“It definitely ignites us a little bit,” Lawson said on SEC Network, via CBS Sports. “We can’t really think too much on that. It’s gonna come down to what we do and how we prepare that week. I think all disrespect will be addressed accordingly.”
Tennessee will host Vanderbilt on Nov. 29 this week in the final week of the regular season.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more offseason Tennessee news, notes, and coverage.
