KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – SEC Football Media Day is being held in the Volunteer State for the first time, and Tennessee will take center stage on the final day of the event on Thursday at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville.
Head coach Josh Heupel, quarterback Joe Milton III, defensive tackle Omari Thomas and tight end Jacob Warren will represent the Volunteers. Live coverage of the event is available all day on SEC Network beginning with SEC This Morning at 8 a.m. ET.
Heupel will be live at the podium on the main stage at 1 p.m. ET. He joins the SEC Network set live at 2:15 p.m. ET. Tennessee players are featured in the main room at 1:50 p.m. ET.
Milton will appear live on the Finebaum Show, and the Vols will also be showcased during College Football Live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. ET.
Milton, a native of Pahokee, Florida, enters his sixth and final season at the collegiate level after a strong finish to the 2022 campaign as the most valuable player of the Orange Bowl. In two seasons with the Vols, he has thrown for 1,346 yards and 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions. Of the 114 FBS quarterbacks who threw 10 or more touchdown passes last season, Milton was the only one to not throw a pick.
Thomas returns as a leader at defensive tackle in his fourth season with the program. The Memphis native has played in 36 games with 19 starts, accumulating 57 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He has served as the Vols’ representative on the SEC Football Leadership Council the past two seasons.
Warren, UT’s starting tight end, elected to return for his sixth and final season. A leader on and off the field for the Vols, the Knoxville native has caught 37 passes for 416 yards and four touchdowns in his career. He made nine starts a year ago, catching 12 passes for 163 yards for the nation’s No. 1 offense. He is a five-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and a candidate for the Wuerffel Trophy.
Tennessee enters its third season under the direction of Heupel, who has posted an 18-8 record with seven victories over Top 25 teams and the program’s first New Year’s Six berth in the College Football Playoff era. The 2022 Associated Press SEC Coach of the Year, Heupel led the Vols to their first 11-win season in two decades, culminating with a victory over ACC champion Clemson in the Orange Bowl and a No. 6 final ranking.
The Vols report for preseason camp on Aug. 1 before going through their first practice on Aug. 2. Tennessee returns to Nashville for the season opener vs. Virginia at 11 a.m. CT/noon ET on Sept. 2 in Nissan Stadium.
Tickets for the Nashville opener are on sale now through the Nashville Sports Council and Nissan Stadium via Ticketmaster.com.
