Josh Heupel’s pitch to Peyton Manning in full uniform: ‘Come back for one more’

Josh Heupel wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. Tennessee Football’s head coach was in the locker room at Neyland Stadium with Peyton Manning dressed in full pads.

“I tried to get him to come back for one more,” Heupel said this week, “and he said he’s done.”

It was Sunday night when Heupel was with Manning, Nico Iamaleava and Bru McCoy , joining country artist Morgan Wallen for his walkout from the Tennessee locker room — the Peyton Manning Locker Complex — to the stage on Shields-Watkins Field, where Wallen was playing the second of his two Neyland Stadium shows over the weekend.

“There are very few nights during the season where you get a chance to do something like that,” Heupel said, “so it was a lot of fun.”

Wallen on Friday night walked out with Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello and members of the 2024 national championship team, with the championship trophy in hand.

“(He’s) obviously a tremendous artist,” Heupel said of Wallen. “But he was just so welcoming. When we got to the stadium and his family was there, it was a really cool experience.

“It was a home game of a different kind, to walk off to the full Neyland Stadium and no football on the field. It was a really cool environment. You can’t beat seeing Peyton in his uniform, you know what I mean?”

Heupel and his players were fresh off No. 5 Tennessee’s 25-15 win at Oklahoma Saturday night. The Vols (4-0) are off this week before going back on the road at Arkansas next week.

Heupel said Wednesday he had not yet made plans for a rare Saturday off.

“At some point I’ll sit down and watch some ball,” Heupel said, “and would assume I get a chance to watch a little bit of (Georgia-Alabama). Hopefully my daughter takes me out on the golf course and beats up on me.”

New sod at Neyland Stadium was laid following the concerts, with the project finishing on Thursday morning.

After playing the road game at Arkansas — it will be the third time in the first five games that the Vols play away from home to start the season — Tennessee will play four straight home games against Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Mississippi State, with a second bye week set for October 26.

On Sunday night Heupel got to see Neyland Stadium from a different perspective — as a fan.

“It was a home game of a different kind,” Heupel said. “It was awesome walking into that stadium and seeing 80,000-plus (fans) in there. It was a really unique, but cool experience.”

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