University of Tennessee Athletics
Homecoming A Business Trip
September 22, 2014 | Football
Sept. 22, 2014
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
-- The first Southeastern Conference road trip for Team 118 will be a homecoming for 17 Volunteers from the state of Georgia.It is a fact is not lost on those players, from freshmen wanting to make a first impression to those, like A.J. Johnson, playing against the Bulldogs and in their home state for the final time.
"We have to go down there for one thing and that's to get the `W,'" Johnson said. "We haven't beaten them since I've been here, so that's the main goal to go down there my last time playing in their stadium, my last time playing Georgia, I want to come out with the `W.'"
This will be the third game in his home state for the Gainesville native. He played in a pair of 2012 games, one against the Bulldogs in Athens and a season-opening win over North Carolina State in Atlanta.
Sophomore Cameron Sutton will be playing in his home state for the first time. While none of his high school teammates from Jonesboro will be suiting up for UGA, he knows plenty of the players on the Bulldog roster and plenty more that will be in the stands.
"We're going down there with our road focus to try and come out on top," Sutton said. "It's always good to play in your home state, but we're competitive. We're not worried about being friends on the field. We can talk and hang out and all of that after the game is over, but on the field we're competing trying to get that `W.'"
Likewise, Johnson won't face any former teammates, but knows he will see plenty of familiar faces.
"I know a lot of those guys," said Johnson. "I've been in camps with them. But at the end of the day, we're competing for the win."
In all, eight of the 17 Georgia Vols will face off against a total of 12 high school teammates. Joshua Dobbs once threw passes to the Bulldogs' leading receiver, Michael Bennett, at Alpharetta High School. Ryan Jenkins was a target at wide receiver for UGA QB Hutson Mason at Lassiter High School in Marietta.
The onetime bonds now help forge a rivalry among the players. Now the players are ready to go out and take care of business on the field. To do that, the Volunteer defense will have to rise to the challenge posed by the potent Georgia ground game.
"That's our job, we have to get the ball back to our offense any way we can," Sutton said. "That takes a lot of pressure off of our offense, when we can get the ball back to them. The more opportunities they have with the ball in their hands, it's better for the team."
