Amare Campbell isn’t walking into Tennessee’s Week 10 showdown with Kentucky blind to what’s coming. He’s already lived through a big-stage test, and he says that experience changed how he sees the moment ahead.
“Yeah, I feel like for me personally, that was my breakout game. A top-10 matchup, and just being able to know I could compete at that high level was definitely a confidence booster for me.”
Now the Volunteers are back from their Week 9 bye trying to reset after a 24-27 loss to South Carolina, their second defeat of the season. Tennessee sits at 6-2 overall and 3-2 in SEC play, ranked 16th in the AP poll and tied for fifth in the league with Texas, LSU, and Missouri.
Up next is No. 8 Kentucky, a longtime rival that brings plenty of noise and plenty of pressure.
Campbell said the Wildcats’ offense made an impression the first time around because of how much it moved before the snap.
“I remember a lot of pre-snap shifts and motions, a lot of eye candy to kind of run simple plays in a sense and get people out of position.”
He also made clear that this Kentucky group is not identical to the one Tennessee has already studied.
“Yeah, some. They don’t have the same personnel, so it’s not all the same stuff, but there are some familiarities.”
For Campbell, the challenge in a game like this goes beyond scheme. It’s the communication, the noise, and the need to stay locked in when the stadium gets loud.
“Yeah, it definitely hinders us because we have to have a lot of communication depending on the call and our job. Not being able to hear each other or maybe not being able to hear the mic in my head can sometimes be hard because the fans are just so loud. But that’s what comes with it.”
He said he tries to make that communication easier any way he can.
“I mean, I try. I feel like that’s more of a mental thing, but just trying to separate the helmet from my head so I can actually hear the mic clearly. So, yeah.”
And when the atmosphere turns into one of those heavy, high-profile nights, the volume becomes part of the job.
“Yeah, definitely. Definitely in those loud, big-time primetime games when it’s loud. You definitely have to yell a lot.”
Campbell said the key for Tennessee is staying disciplined no matter what look Kentucky throws at the defense.
“Just knowing what our job is regardless of what they line up in. Whatever look we get, knowing what we have to relate to or what we key in on in whatever look. It’s just the repetition of it and not being caught off guard by a formation.”
He doubled down on that point, saying the defense has to be ready for anything and not get tricked by the presentation.
“Yeah, definitely. I’d say that.
It definitely makes you know what your job is. Like I said, knowing what your job is regardless of the play, whatever funky formation, just knowing what you have to do specifically on that play.
It’ll bring you to everything you need to know.”
Campbell was also asked about quarterback play and what matters most in that role.
“I would just say protecting the ball. He knows what I feel like the coach asks from him and wants from him within each play, and the biggest thing is not turning over the ball. I just feel like he trusts his coach well, and they work together.”
He also pointed to Tennessee’s familiarity with the defensive structure it has seen in the program before, saying that background has helped him settle in.
“It’s about the same as far as schematically what we want to do. But I feel like this year, the previous coordinators that have been here have run a lot of different types of split-safety stuff. So the familiarity of already knowing that here has helped us kind of boost, I feel like, being here at Tennessee versus at Penn State.”
Campbell said playing next to a strong teammate has lifted him, and he credited the group around him for making the defense work.
“It’s great. Just being able to play next to a great player makes you rise on the field and off the field.
The whole defense as a unit, as a group, I love those guys. We all feed off each other, so our success is pretty much us bonding together.”
He also spoke about adjusting to a new program and finding his voice alongside established leaders.
“It’s definitely hard coming into a new school and being a new person. Having already established leaders here as well, great leaders like Telander and Arion, it can be hard to know when you want to kind of speak up and when you don’t want to.
But it’s just the trust from your teammates and your coaches. It helps when your peers respect you a lot, and it helps with that.”
With Kentucky coming in ranked eighth and the game set for a blackout atmosphere, Campbell sounded ready for the stage.
“A conference game, big-time matchup, top-10 matchup, blackout - I’m excited. I know it’s going to be crazy.”
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Even A Former Alabama QB Thinks Tennessee Got Jobbed
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What has made the reaction louder is the committees shifting emphasis from week to week, with head-to-head results carrying real weight in some cases and seeming to fade in others. Tennessees supporters have every reason to feel the inconsistency, and the broader issue now is whether the rankings are rewarding the right things or simply creating more confusion as the playoff picture tightens. [Read more 🡒]