Tennessee

Does Tennessee use fake crowd noise at Neyland Stadium? I stood by speakers to find out

Published

3 weeks ago

November 3, 2024

Does Tennessee use fake crowd noise at Neyland Stadium? I stood by speakers to find out

Brock Vandagriff ran frantically to his offensive line.

The Kentucky quarterback tried to communicate, bolting right then left then right again. Vandagriff yelled to his running back, got the snap and started to run. The play didn’t count. Wildcats coach Mark Stoops had called timeout on the sideline but players didn’t hear the whistle signaling the timeout inside a roaring Neyland Stadium.

There was no noise coming from the speakers by the Kentucky bench in the northwest corner of Tennessee football’s cathedral.

An Alabama play-by-play announcer claimed that Tennessee pipes in fake crowd noise at home games during UT’s 24-17 win against the Crimson Tide on Oct. 19.

I decided to find out if there is any validity to those claims during Tennessee’s 28-18 win against Kentucky on Saturday night. There is not.

Alabama announcer made claim that Tennessee uses fake noise

I came to Neyland Stadium on Saturday equipped with a pack of Walgreens foam earplugs and a plan to find out how the on-field speakers are used.

Crimson Tide Sports Network announcer Chris Stewart declared two weeks prior during the CTSN broadcast that Tennessee pipes “in crowd noise as well” on top of the sound of a sellout crowd. UT and athletics director Danny White dismissed the comment. Stewart doubled down on a Birmingham radio station, stating it was a fact that Tennessee amplifies noise with speakers.

Stewart was correct about one thing: Tennessee has speakers on the field. The speakers line the east and west sidelines at Neyland Stadium. There are two sets of three in each of the corners. The visiting sideline featured three sets of three at intervals behind the bench. The on-field speakers supplement the ones attached to the video board and others under the overhang of the upper deck. They are intended to provide noise to the bottom half of the lower bowl and face the crowd − and not the bench − for that reason.

The pregame featured music and announcements through the speakers.

I popped in my first set of earplugs 18 minutes before kickoff by the speakers in the southwest corner. The stadium reached more than 100 dB before kickoff. It hovered at the same mark on the first play.

How Tennessee uses Neyland Stadium on-field speakers

Neyland Stadium always seems to be at its best on third downs. That was the case against Kentucky.

The crowd was bumping as “Spooky Rocky Top” played on the first third down. The raw fan noise hit 106.6 dB. The speakers in the southeast corner were silent as Kentucky lined up and failed to convert. Then music returned before fourth down. Fans dialed up the noise to more than 115 dB after a failed fourth-down attempt. Then UT sent the band playing “Rocky Top” through the speakers.

The pattern was consistent. UT utilized the speakers in between plays when it was on defense. It pumped in music ranging from Travis Scott to The Killers to Michael Jackson. It funneled in the band playing in dead-ball situations. It used the speakers for announcements via the referees’ microphone and the public address announcer.

The speakers dropped off and natural crowd noise took over each time the Wildcats lined up without any added crowd noise on top of 100,000 screaming Vols fans, which is how White described the sound at Neyland Stadium in his rebuttal of the fake noise claim.

Does Tennessee use fake crowd noise at Neyland Stadium?

The speakers came to life during the first-quarter Kentucky timeout.

The Pride of the Southland Band boomed through. The refs announcing the resetting of the game clock came through as well. The noise from the speakers dropped off and Neyland Stadium was all natural for the final play of the quarter.

That was the experience throughout as the No. 7 Vols moved to 7-1 (4-1 SEC). The noise of Neyland Stadium was more than enough to cause chaos during Kentucky plays. The stadium sound system was used outside of live football and I used three sets of earplugs.

I watched Kentucky’s Hardley Gilmore IV dance around when the band noise played through in a media timeout. I witnessed how fluid the game management crew is at turning on the speakers following big plays such as Andre Turrentine’s interception. The band struck up “Rocky Top” and the speakers had it. They turned them off for fans to sing the chorus, the natural sound carrying.

But fake crowd noise? I never heard any of that.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

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Tennessee

Analyst Slams Titans, Aaron Rodgers Rumors

Published

4 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Analyst Slams Titans, Aaron Rodgers Rumors

The Tennessee Titans have to figure out what they’re going to do at the quarterback position moving forward.

Will Levis showed flashes of big-time potential during his rookie season last year. Unfortunately, in year two, he has taken a huge step back and shown a lot of regression.

That has led to questions about his future with the team.

Recently, it has been suggested that Aaron Rodgers could end up being a potential target for the Titans if they’re looking for another quarterback.

It’s widely expected that Rodgers will part ways with the New York Jets in the offseason. Some speculation has even suggested that he could cut ties with the Jets during the 2024 season.

With that being said, Mike Moraitis of The Sporting News has slammed the rumors of Rodgers being a potential target for Tennessee.

“However, for the Titans to even consider bringing Rodgers in, they would have to be confident they are just a quarterback away and that Rodgers can put them over the top,” Moraitis wrote. “And, Rodgers would have to believe that the Titans are right there in terms of being a contender. Nothing we’ve seen from Rodgers or the Titans in 2024 has indicated any of those things are the case.”

He continued forward, revealing his thoughts on what the Titans should actually choose to do.

“What the Titans need to do is find their long-term solution under center and not a shaky bridge quarterback,” he wrote. “If Levis doesn’t rebound, Tennessee needs to get their guy in the 2025 NFL Draft, where they will have a high pick.”

Obviously, in an ideal world, Levis would bounce back strong down the stretch of the season. He could still very well do that and there is no denying the talent he possesses.

Bringing in Rodgers would be entertaining, but it wouldn’t change much about the outlook for the franchise. Depending on the price, they could consider signing Rodgers to a one or two-year deal and drafting a rookie. Starting Rodgers and letting a rookie learn from the sideline could make sense.

Even with that being a possibility, the idea of Rodgers to Tennessee just doesn’t make a ton of sense. Fans should not expect to see the Titans try to pursue Rodgers this offseason.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Tennessee

Titans Predicted for Another Loss vs. Texans

Published

12 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Titans Predicted for Another Loss vs. Texans

The Tennessee Titans are just one day away from their next matchup against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.

The Titans are looking for their first win since Week 9, when they beat the New England Patriots at home. In the last two weeks, Tennessee has lost by double digits to strong playoff-contending teams, and this week might not be much different against the first-place Texans.

CBS Sports writer Pete Prisco believes the Titans’ struggles will continue, falling 31-21 to the Texans.

“The Texans are playing on a short week, but they looked better on offense against Dallas with Nico Collins back. The Titans will have trouble stopping them this week, so look for the Texans and C.J. Stroud to play well. Will Levis won’t keep up,” Prisco writes.

The Titans will have to stop Houston’s multi-dimensional offense with Joe Mixon on the ground and Collins and Tank Dell through the air. Tennessee has the No. 2 overall defense this season, so it should provide a good test for C.J. Stroud and the Texans offense, but it still doesn’t make them a favorite.

If the Titans want to win against the Texans, they will have to pressure Stroud and take advantage of their offensive line, which has proven to be suspect at times during the season.

When it comes to the Titans’ offense, it needs to take care of the ball. Giving the Texans shorter fields will be the easiest way to lose the game, so if the Titans can prevent the Texans from scoring up close on short drives, they will have a chance to be competitive against their division rival.

Kickoff between the Titans and Texans is set for 12 noon CT tomorrow. The game can be watched on CBS or streamed on Paramount+.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Tennessee football commit Ethan Utley not looking ahead after Ensworth’s season ends vs McCallie

Published

20 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee football commit Ethan Utley not looking ahead after Ensworth’s season ends vs McCallie

There was a reason Tennessee football commit Ethan Utley didn’t make any trips to Knoxville during the home stretch of Ensworth’s season.

Utley wanted to be fully locked into the Tigers’ TSSAA football playoffs run.

That’s one reason why Friday’s tearful postgame was so difficult. McCallie ended Ensworth’s season, defeating the Tigers 31-7 to advance to the Division II-AAA state final on Dec. 5 in Chattanooga against Baylor.

Utley, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound four-star defensive lineman, doesn’t know if he’ll enroll early at Tennessee yet. He hasn’t been thinking that far ahead. Everything lately, he said, was about the Tigers trying to reach their first TSSAA football state championship game since 2014.

“It hurts and it will hurt for a while. My mind was set on going to the state championship,” Utley said. “All the personal stuff, it doesn’t really matter. I knew Ensworth was going to be my home and where I would graduate from. I never wanted to transfer. My seniors and I gave it everything we could and just fell short.”

Ensworth (11-1) trailed just 7-0 at halftime. McCallie (10-2) began to put the game out of reach when Vanderbilt commitment Carson Lawrence returned an interception 44 yards for a touchdown to go up 21-7 with 10:46 left.

Utley, who appeared in all 45 of Ensworth’s games since the beginning of his freshman season, played through an injury most of the second half until the pain became too much. He said he was kneed in one of his nerves in his right shin. He was helped to the bench by Ensworth staffers late in the fourth quarter.

“I told myself if it has to end this way, I’m going to have to get dragged off this field,” Utley said. “And that’s what happened.”

Utley is the No. 3 prospect from Tennessee in the 2025 class and No. 21 defensive lineman nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite. He intends to sign with the Volunteers when the early period begins Dec. 4.

“He’s super athletic for his size, very smart,” Ensworth coach Tim Hasselbeck said. “Depending on how he wants to change his body in the weight room, how he eats, he’ll figure out what position he’ll play. I think he could play on either side of the ball. He’s got a very bright future.”

Utley was an easy teammate to get along with, Hasselbeck said. That’s where Utley’s focus was Friday as he hugged players on the field one last time.

But he knows a big stage awaits in Knoxville.

“I’m excited for the competition. I’m grateful to be able to go play Division I football in the SEC. Most kids can’t say they can go do that,” Utley said. “I’ve been through some hard times. For that to be my next step, I’m more than blessed. When I get healthy and get my body right, get back in that weight room, get back on the field and start attacking it more, I’ll start getting ready for the bigger things ahead.”

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Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.

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