NEYLAND QUOTES:Bob Davie (ND coach): "As a coach, I've been a part of teams that traveled to LSU, Florida State, and Texas and almost every other place in the country that could be considered one of the toughest places to play as a visiting team......But when I was at Notre Dame, we went down to Knoxville for a night game in 1999 and the Tennessee crowd that night was the most impressive that I ever faced. Neyland Stadium was just electric. Not only was there a fever pitch, but the crowd was educated. They knew that they were a factor, particularly when you were on offense and trying to change a play at the line of scrimmage. The Tennessee crowd can flat take you out of the game."
Jeff Tedford (Cal coach): “We’ve n
ever seen anything like that. That’s a pretty impressive atmosphere, there’s no doubt about it. The environment they create gives Tennessee a real home field advantage.”
Nate Longshore (Cal QB): “It’s static noise. You can’t hear anything. You go up and down the line, your wide receivers, your running backs, your tight ends, nobody can hear. Nobody.”
Baker Mayfield (OU QB): "Last year when we went to play Tennessee in Neyland Stadium, that was probably the best game experience I've had and probably will ever have. That's a different type of loud. I can't even describe it. It was unbelievable."
Ty Darlington (OU lineman): "I ran out of the tunnel in Knoxville, Tennessee, FOR WARMUP and was greeted by thousands of screaming fans and the chorus of “Rocky Top.” The game wasn’t set to start for over an hour, and these people seemed to think it was kickoff time. I exited the tunnel for the pregame warm-up, and those psychotic students were already there, giving us a small preview of what to expect in the hours to come. What had we gotten ourselves into? What followed in the 4 quarters and 2 overtimes of play was a dissertation on the impact a crowd CAN have upon a football game. The Vol faithful made it absolutely impossible to communicate. On the first drive, we had to change our snap count, because even our silent count was ineffective against that wall of noise. I came off the field after that first drive and reassured Coach Bedenbaugh that the fans would settle down in due time, and that noise was not going to be an issue going forward. Boy was I wrong. The noise was a constant, oppressive force. I could literally feel it on my skin. But these fans weren’t just loud on the first drive. Or just on 3rd down. Or just in the fourth quarter. It was every. single. play. That night, as I boarded the flight back to Norman with Rocky Top ringing in my ears, I realized that I had been converted. From a man skeptical of fan impact, to a man in awe of it. “Absolutely not — not even close,” Darlington told OUDaily. com when asked if any other crowd he faced approached what he saw in Neyland Stadium. “Nothing I’ve ever experienced or ever will experience will compare to Tennessee.”
Brady Quinn (ND QB): "Look, I’ve been to Neyland Stadium, I’ve played there – that is the loudest place I ever played,” Quinn said on CBS Sports HQ. “I swear to God, our center turned around on third down in the third quarter, and he looked at me like, ‘The ball is moving.’ It was so loud. It felt like I had speakers right behind my left and right ears blaring. If I go hard of hearing, I might be suing the University of Tennessee."
Trevor Knight (OU/Texas A&M QB): "My favorite place to play this year was at Auburn....the loudest & most intimidating ever was Tennessee"
Cole Cubelic (SEC analyst and former SEC player): "I played in Neyland Stadium. I promise you....it’s the loudest stadium I’ve ever heard in my life. And it ain’t close.”
Tate Ratledge (UGA lineman): “Neyland Stadium, no offense to Sanford or Georgia fans, but Neyland Stadium is the best stadium in the SEC. 112,000? And it’s a bowl, right on the river.”
Justin Forsett (Cal RB): It's the best atmosphere I've ever played in my life"
John Robinson (Southern Cal and LA Rams head coach): "That's the greatest stadium I’ve ever been in. I used to think the Coliseum in Los Angeles was, but that Tennessee stadium-there's just something different about it. Just the aura around it. I always thought Tennessee fans were classy. It's just a first-rate place, and it's been sold out every time I've been in it. I believe it's one of those places in college football where you say, "It's one of the key bench marks of what college football is supposed to be."
Josh Pate (CBS Sports) after UT/Bama 2022 game: "This is the best regular season game I've ever witnessed in person. It's the loudest environment I've ever witnessed in person. I could not believe the sustained roar, the sustained decibel level.....phenomenal atmosphere."
Ricky Pearsall (Florida WR): "I was actually shocked that it even compared to the Swamp.....I'm gonna take the Swamp over everything. But their fans, actually are really loud. I remember just the first play. I walked out there because we broke the huddle, and I just started laughing because of how loud it was."
Will Anderson, Jr. (Alabama linebacker) in an interview with former NFL veteran Chris Long........“Toughest stadium to play in that people might not expect in the SEC?” Long asked. “Tennessee,” Anderson replied.
Jim Donnan (Georgia Coach): "The Tennessee marching band plays "Rocky Top" an average of 41 times per game throughout the football season, but in my two appearances there with Georgia I felt like I heard it 441 times. That helps make Neyland Stadium one of the loudest, most imposing stadiums in the country, with its orange-clad supporters cheering their beloved Vols on every play. That means hand signals for the wide receivers and silent counts for the linemen are a must during game preparations heading into Tennessee."
Admiral Schofield with a hype video of Ty Darlington's quote (one of my favorite hype videos):
https://www.youtube.com/v/DHwZ36ZKjj4
