Tennessee Preview

Senior Night will be doubly important for the Tennessee football team on Saturday, as the Vols will honor many players’ final home game, while also aiming to become bowl eligible against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Neyland Stadium. Vanderbilt, which sits at 2-9 overall, is still looking for its first SEC win.

Senior running back Montario Hardesty said being recognized Saturday is a big deal, but the most important thing to him is earning Tennessee’s sixth win.

“It’s going to be a big deal to me,” Hardesty said. “I’ve been here a lot of years, a lot of great memories, but the big deal to me is going and getting the win.”

The Vols have dominated their in-state rivalry in recent years, winning three straight and 25 of the last 26. Still, the Commodores have played well in Neyland Stadium, defeating Tennessee in Knoxville in 2005 and losing by a single point in 2007.

Hardesty said he doesn’t expect anything to be different this Saturday.

“(Vanderbilt) always gets up to the game … and play us close, especially at home,” he said. “We’ve got to be ready to play on Saturday.”

Tennessee wants to keep last Saturday’s road loss to Ole Miss in the rear-view mirror. The Vols gave up 282 rushing yards to Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster, the most allowed to an individual player in Tennessee history, en route to a 42-17 loss in Oxford.

Head coach Lane Kiffin didn’t think it would be difficult for the team to leave the loss in the past.

“I know they’re excited to get back out there and prove that that’s not who they are,” Kiffin said. “It will be interesting Saturday night, but I know they are excited about it.”

Kiffin said cornerback Dennis Rogan and linebackers LaMarcus Thompson and Rico McCoy will all be game-time decisions. Freshman safety Janzen Jackson will likely miss the Vanderbilt game as well, as Kiffin’s staff continues to investigate his involvement in a robbery that occurred near campus on Nov. 12.

Safety Eric Berry remains eight yards shy of the NCAA record for most interception return yards in a career. He will face off against Vanderbilt’s second quarterback of the season, Mackenzi Adams, who has thrown an interception in each of his last two starts.

Berry, a junior who will also play his final home game if he elects to enter the NFL Draft after the season, said the record would be nice, but he just wants to play his best Saturday.

“That would be nice to get that, but that’s in God’s will,” Berry said. “If God wants me to break it, then I’ll break it. All I can do is just go out there and give everything I’ve got.”