KNOXVILLE — Tennessee returned to the practice field for the first time this week since the coronavirus pandemic canceled college athletics in March.
Sophomore linebacker Henry To’o To’o is a California native and he discussed what it was like being away from Knoxville during quarantine.
“These are crazy times, and these are probably not times we want to be in, but for me it was a good thing because I was able to be around my family a lot more,” To’o To’o said. “Being so far away from my family, I was able to spend some time with them, watch my little brothers grow up – I worked them out and I worked my sisters out a lot more – so I kind of grew a relationship with my family that I’m truly thankful for during this time of quarantine.
“Being out there and then coming back to Knoxville and being able to see my team after about three months, I missed them, so being able to see the boys and work out with the boys again, I was happy. I was juiced.”
To’o To’o totaled 72 tackles, five TFLs and half a sack during his freshman 2019 season. He is now looking to build off a stellar freshman campaign during a time that he understands how fortunate they are able to practice and scheduled to have a season during a global pandemic.
“It’s huge,” To’o To’o said of practicing and playing. “It’s a blessing to be able to have such a great medical staff that supports us, that wants the best for us, that keeps us updated every single day on what’s going on and how this virus can spread and how we can prevent it from reaching our team.
“We feel really fortunate to go out there and play some ball. It’s not just us, I know the entire world misses football, so we just got to take advantage of it. We got to do the right things. We got to be responsible. Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt tells us all the time, act like pros now, so we got to do the right things, just be responsible and do the things so that we can have a season.”