University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Close 2004 With Final Cotton Bowl Practice
December 31, 2004 | Football
Dec. 31, 2004
IRVING, Texas - Tennessee's Friday walk-through at Texas Stadium marked the end of preparations for the 69th SBC Cotton Bowl Classic. The Vols face Texas A&M Saturday in Dallas.
"We've had a good week," head coach Phillip Fulmer. "We had good work in Knoxville and good work here and I'm just hopeful it carries over to the field."
UT is looking for a return to the bowl win column for the first time since its 45-17 Florida Citrus triumph over Michigan in 2002. Saturday is Tennessee's 16th consecutive bowl game and first meeting against Texas A&M since the 1957 Gator Bowl.
"Certainly we have a challenge on both sides of the ball," Fulmer said. "But how we're going to win it is as a team."
Tennessee welcomed the return of Karlton Neal during the walk-through. Dressed in street clothes, the senior defensive end from Chicago has been sidelined with the flu since the middle of the month and will not play in what would have been his final collegiate game.
"Karlton's back and it's good to see him," Fulmer said. "He's obviously not going to play in the game but he went from being in the hospital to coming to the game and that's a good recovery."
The Vols Saturday will honor the late Reggie White, who died Sunday at 43 years old, with a decal on their helmets and the coaches' caps. The decal features an orange cross with the number 92, White's number both at UT and during his professional football career.
