KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tee Martin took his sons out to dinner on Wednesday night at Wasabi Japanese Restaurant. He called it their "last supper."
"Had a good meal and I was like , 'alright fellas, that's probably the last time we can do that during the season,'" Martin said. "They were like, 'what do you mean?' They're used to California being able to do whatever you want to do during the year."
The Vols begin fall camp on Friday and from that point Martin, Tennessee's new wide receivers coach, will be consumed with helping head coach Jeremy Pruitt turn around a program that has won two SEC games in the last two seasons. Martin spent the last seven seasons at USC in the Pac 12.
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He's happy to have his family with him in the place where he made a name for himself in football, quarterbacking the Vols to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1998. His older son Kaden is competing for the starting quarterback job at Knoxville Catholic High School and youngest son Cannon is getting started in football too.
"We love this community, my son is in training camp right now getting ready for his first scrimmage on Friday, I'm just as nervous about that as I am about this," Martin said. "And my little man scored his first little league flag football touchdown a couple days ago, so everything is all good, we've been blessed."
Martin says he's pumped up for the start of fall camp and happy to wear the orange every day for the first time in a long time.
"It's been 20 years since I've been in front of you guys, speaking to fans that I actually know and have a relationship with and not at some place where I didn't come from and so that part of it is special to me," Martin said. "I'm just as excited about getting started as our fan base is."
The Vols first game is August 31 at home against Georgia State at 3:30.
