Tennessee impressed by Collin Hill and smaller but ‘still loud’ Williams-Brice crowd
Before Saturday night, Tennessee linebacker Henry To’o To’o had never experienced the atmosphere at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Some might say he still hasn’t. After all, a socially distanced crowd of 15,009 is a far cry from the nearly 80,000 the stadium can hold.
In preparing for this season, one of the challenges for South Carolina was figuring out how to maintain a home-field advantage while also abiding by COVID-19 safety guidelines. That’s been a challenge for every team in the country.
A mostly empty stadium on opening night might’ve looked strange to TV viewers, but did it feel that way to the players?
“To tell you the truth, you couldn’t really tell it was empty,” To’o To’o said after Tennessee’s 31-27 victory. “South Carolina’s fans did a great job of coming out and supporting them playing. It might have looked empty, but it was still loud, and they bring that energy for them.
“And, you know, South Carolina did a great job. Not only their fans, but the team. We give them so much props. It was a dog fight out there.”
The first football game of 2020 for either team was predictably a bit messy, with botched snaps, high throws and a mishandled punt that could live in infamy for some time. At one point, To’o To’o silenced the Gamecock crowd himself when he intercepted a ball off the hands of wide receiver Shi Smith and raced toward the end zone, looking like the tailback he once was in high school. The score gave Tennessee a seven-point lead, and with the USC offense scuffling through most of the first half, the play seemed as though it could be an early dagger.
But the Gamecocks came roaring back, and so did the crowd.
To’o To’o said he was impressed with the way new USC quarterback Collin Hill and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo made adjustments in the second half, mixing in new wrinkles to the offense and giving the Vols defense different looks.
Hill and the Gamecocks marched quickly down the field at the start of the third quarter, scoring on a 29-yard pass to Smith. And Hill tacked on a score on a quarterback keeper on the very next drive. He finished the night with 25 completions on 39 attempts, tallying 290 passing yards.
“We knew he knew the system,” To’o To’o said. “We knew he was with coach Bobo (at Colorado State). He knew exactly how he wanted to execute their offensive plans. So we just had to execute on defense. We had to do our job every single play because he knew where the ball was supposed to go. He knew the calls to make, and he did a tremendous job of that. He got their offense down and up the field multiple times.”
The Vols-Gamecocks matchup has produced its fair share of topsy-turvy contests over the years, and Saturday’s bout was no exception. South Carolina would’ve had one more drive to attempt to take the lead had a late punt return not gone awry.
Even with a somewhat subdued atmosphere, sparks continued to fly on the field.
“These battles with South Carolina, going back to my freshman year, they’ve always been crazy,” Vols quarterback Jarrett Guarantano said. “I mean, it was the last drive freshman year. And then the second year around, we were here last year, we were able to get them. But I told coach (Will) Muschamp, I thanked him. It’s an honor and privilege to go against a coach like that and be able to have those battles.”
