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Group of Tennessee graduates start each season with trip to Gen. Robert Neyland’s grave
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For the last seven years, a group of friends have started each Tennessee football season at the grave of the man who helped put Tennessee football on the map, General Robert Neyland.
Tennessee graduates Steven Mackey, Richard Collins and Clint Cunningham call it “revisiting the General,” and they consider it an important part of every football season.
“This keeps the connection to my university that I love and hold dear,” Cunningham told Gridiron Now. “It keeps the connection to the football team I love and hold dear, and keeps the connection to my friends who I celebrate with.
The friends sip Tennessee whiskey while they pay tribute to one of Tennessee’s greatest legends, because they say whiskey was General Neyland’s favorite.
Neyland served three stints as Tennessee’s head coach between 1926 and 1952, with absences due to military service. Under his instruction, the Tennessee program won four national championships, five SEC titles and went an incredible 173-31-12, which is good enough reason for naming where Tennessee plays on Saturdays after him.
While the Vols haven’t had much success in the last decade, the group of friends hasn’t considered changing things up.
“We are in the sour part, but that just means the sweet is gonna be that much sweeter when we get there,” said Collins. “That’s why we keep doing it and we aren’t gonna stop … It is tradition and tradition doesn’t die easy.”
Jordan Dajani covers SEC football for Saturday Down South and is a University of Tennessee graduate. He also has experience working in the NBA and with ESPN.
