John Adams: Meet Tennessee's new football insider
The limited media viewing period for Tennessee’s football practice ended about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Media were then dismissed from Haslam Field.
Only one of them would watch the rest of practice. Me.
As the rest of the media headed for their laptops or cars, I was off to visit my new best friend, Hunter Duff.
An introduction is in order. Duff is a junior from Nashville majoring in political science. He’s also president of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.
My interest in Duff has nothing to do with his political career. It’s about where he lives, rather than what he has done or plans to do.
He lives in Room 207 of the Phi Sigma Kappa house, across the street from the practice field.
When Duff moved in last spring, he had no idea what he was getting into. He was getting into UT football.
A year later, few have such an inside perspective on the team. Duff was reminded of that a week ago when a loud voice awakened him from a mid-afternoon nap. The voice, amplified considerably by a microphone, was that of football coach Butch Jones.
“Uh-oh,” was Duff’s first waking thought. “It’s football time again.”
He only had to raise up from his bed and look out the window to realize he wasn’t dreaming. All of Haslam Field was in sight.
Duff was nice enough to share that view Tuesday afternoon. I brought my binoculars, but they weren’t necessary. He looked out the window and called the names of players.
“I can always make out Kahlil McKenzie,” he said. “And Ethan Wolf.”
Duff doesn’t pretend to be an expert on football. He made all-state in the 182-pound weight class while contributing to coach Pat Simpson's wrestling dynasty at Father Ryan High School but didn’t play football.
However, he doesn't mind offering an opinion on what's happening outside his window.
“What about Jarrett Guarantano?” I asked of the redshirt freshman competing for the starting quarterback job.
“He does have a powerful arm,” Duff said.
About that time, I noticed quarterback Quinten Dormady throwing against a scaled-down defense. Maybe he can’t run as well as Guarantano or Joshua Dobbs, UT’s last quarterback. But he can fling tight spirals with plenty of zip. Duff and I were impressed.
Read more:
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Mike Strange: Quinten Dormady, Jarrett Guarantano locked in QB battle
Guarantano: Competing for Tennessee's starting QB role 'like a dream come true'
I’m not the only nonresident to watch practice from Room 207. A UT alum once shouted to offensive lineman Jashon Robertson from the window: “What’s up, man?”
Robertson, who was preoccupied with practice at the time, was too far away to hear.
Duff isn’t the only fraternity member with a great view of practice. One door down, Isaac Wyatt, a senior from Knoxville, can see the field just as well.
An even better view was once available. Fraternity members could climb out the window of another room and watch from the ledge attached to the portico. The window later was sealed to prevent bugs from entering.
Duff liked that view, but I can verify there’s nothing wrong with the one he has. And now that we’re buddies, I plan on seeing a lot more UT football next fall.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @johnadamsKNS.