Ahead of Tennessee-South Carolina, a look at Connor Stalions' ties to both sides

As Tennessee prepares to face South Carolina, the Knoxville News Sentinel is looking beyond the matchup itself at a name that keeps surfacing around both programs. Its story traces the background behind Connor Stalions' connections to Tennessee football and to South Carolina, and how those ties came to be.

Stories like this one tend to resurface whenever the two teams meet, because the connections touch both sidelines rather than just one. The piece walks through that history so readers can understand why Stalions' name is part of the conversation around this particular game at all.

For Tennessee fans, it is a piece of context worth having before kickoff. The game will be decided on the field, but the background the Sentinel lays out explains one of the more unusual subplots following the Volunteers into their meeting with South Carolina.