October 12, 2024

Neyland Stadium Jumbotron finished

The jumbotron outside of Neyland Stadium was finished on Wednesday

After months of question and confusion, the jumbotron atop Neyland Stadium finally received an update. Tennessee added former team captain Al Wilson, hall of fame head coach Robert Neyland and Jason Witten as the three new pictures displayed on the jumbotron.

Before the update, Butch Jones, General Neyland and Reggie White loomed over the Tennessee River. Fans expressed outrage and confusion after Jones continued to stay on the jumbotron despite being fired in November 2017. Nearly four months later, crews removed the former coach’s image.

Many fans were content with leaving Neyland and White on the jumbotron, but the university decided to change all three. While Neyland remains on the jumbotron, he has a new picture. Neyland was previously shown in a Volunteers baseball jersey but is now shown in his iconic kneeling position, much like the one his statue portrays in the concourse of the stadium.

Wilson replaced Jones on March 5. The former linebacker Wilson was captain of the 1998 National Championship team and went on to play eight years in the NFL after his tenure from 1995-98 as a Vol.

Jason Witten replaces Reggie White. Witten played for the Vols from 2000-2003 and left after his junior season for the NFL. Witten played all 15 seasons of his pro career with the Dallas Cowboys. The Elizabethton native left Tennessee with the third-most receptions by a tight end and fourth-most receiving yards by a tight end in program history.

With the new trio of Wilson, Neyland and Witten ready to go for the beginning of the Pruitt era, Vols fans look forward to the coming season. Though pictures on a jumbotron seem like little to celebrate, Tennessee fans will take any good news after a disastrous 2017 season. If this change is any indication about the Volunteers program moving forward, great things are set to come.

Edited by Seth Raborn

Featured image courtesy of Mark Nagi