Tennessee Vols: Players from Florida concerned as Hurricane Irma approaches home

Normally, football coaches talk about distractions to take players’ attention away from the game. On Saturday, football took players’ attentions away from bigger things, like hurricanes barreling toward home.

Well, to some extent.

Football is just a game, after all, and Tennessee players from the state of Florida are worried about their loved ones as Hurricane Irma closes in.

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“It definitely feels nice (to be on the field),” wide receiver Brandon Johnson, who is from Fort Lauderdale, said after the Vols' 42-7 win over Indiana State. “But the worry is always with my loved ones back home, family, friends. That’s always there.”

Johnson’s immediate family is in Knoxville for Saturday's game and he expects them to stick around into next week. But he has extended family and friends back in Florida, awaiting the storm.

Sophomore running back Carlin Fils-aime had a big smile talking about his two rushing touchdowns, but that dimmed as he spoke about his family back in Naples, Fla. His family is hunkering down behind the hurricane shutters and waiting out the storm.

“I’m praying and hoping for the best for them and will talk to them when I can,” he said.

More: Tennessee 42, Indiana State 7: Five things we learned from Vols' romp

His mom wanted to head to North Carolina but Fils-aime’s father wanted to stay. Now, it’s too late to leave, so they are trying to stay safe where they are. His biological father was uncertain what he and his family would do.

In preparation for the game, coach Butch Jones talked about living in the moment and not worrying about something you can’t doing anything about. Fils-aime did find relief on the field. He was able to shut off worries about home for the most part.

More: Parity, Indiana State, take a beating against Vols

“It felt great being out on the field with the guys,” he said, “giving it everything I had be with them and knowing they had my back.”

Naples hasn’t seen a recent storm like Irma, but Fils-aime remembers when Charley hit in 2004. Charley devastated Port Charlotte, about 75 miles north of Naples, and was the worst hurricane to hit Florida since Andrew's devastation in 1992.

“I just remember the lights went out,” he said. “My aunt told me to go hide. I was a hard-headed kid; I wanted to go outside and check it out. She told me to stay inside, to try to protect me.”

Johnson credited UT with reaching out to players from Florida to try to help make sure their families are taken care of.

Jones said UT is trying to address individual needs.

“I love them all and really appreciate them,” he said. “That’s why we’re going to assist them as a family every possible way that we can.”