PROVO — When BYU quarterback Joe Critchlow was in the fourth grade in Franklin, Tennessee, he had to perform the song “Rocky Top,” the unofficial fight song of the University of Tennessee and one of the state’s official songs, in a school play.
Naturally, the redshirt sophomore is “beyond excited” about Saturday’s BYU-Tennessee game at Neyland Stadium (5 p.m. MT, ESPN), even if it is highly unlikely the third- or fourth-stringer will play in the first-ever meeting between the Volunteers and Cougars. BYU has blared a performance of the song by UT’s Pride of the Southland Band over the loudspeakers during its practices in Provo all week, and offensive line coach Eric Mateos has carried around a speaker and played a version in the ears of his beefy blockers as well.
“So I got it memorized,” Critchlow said. “It is kind of weird listening to it on the field, but it has been a lot of fun this week, hearing it so many times again.”
Franklin is about a three-hour drive from Knoxville, where the game will be played at 102,455-seat Neyland Stadium. The Cougars are scheduled to fly into Knoxville on Thursday to get accustomed to the heat and humidity and the Eastern time zone.
Critchlow, who started in three games his freshman season (2017) and won two, said he wasn’t the biggest University of Tennessee fan growing up, but he attended several games in Knoxville when he was invited to accompany friends and still remembers the electric atmosphere, pageantry and supportive environment at the stadium.
Vanderbilt, a private school in Nashville, showed some interest in Critchlow after he earned the title of Mid-State Mr. Football his senior year at Franklin High, but he was never recruited by UT.
“A lot of my high school friends are diehard UT fans,” he said. “I have a lot of friends still at the university right now. I am excited to get down there.”
Both teams are coming off disappointing season-opening losses, which should bring a “sense of urgency” to the game, Critchlow said.
“They had 100,000 people show up for their spring game (a few years ago),” he said. “That’s absurd, when you think about how committed the fan base is, how crazy those people are about football and how much they love the program and want it to succeed. I know Tennessee has had some tough years, but the fan base is still loyal. They are just as frustrated as all the coaches and the players and they want to succeed just as much as BYU fans want us to succeed.”
BYU players such as Critchlow and South Carolina transfer running back Ty’Son Williams and assistant coaches such as Jeff Grimes and Mateos who have witnessed the Neyland atmosphere have spent the week preparing the others for what they will encounter in Knoxville.
Critchlow went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Montreal after high school and was going to play at Southern Utah when he returned. But he signed with BYU in February 2017 when former SUU coach Ed Lamb joined Kalani Sitake’s staff in Provo.
The 6-foot-4 quarterback was No. 4 on the depth chart when the 2017 season started, but Critchlow got his shot after Tanner Mangum and Beau Hoge were injured and Koy Detmer Jr. struggled. He beat UNLV and Hawaii but was the starter in the disheartening 16-10 loss to UMass, a loss that was almost as embarrassing for BYU as last Saturday’s 38-30 loss to Georgia State was for Tennessee.
But when preseason camp came around in 2018, Critchlow found himself behind Mangum and current starter Zach Wilson. He didn’t play a single down in 2018, which was classified as a redshirt year. He may never get on the field again as a Cougar.
“Obviously, I am a competitor,” Critchlow said. “I would love to be out on the field. At this moment, I will do anything I can to help BYU win. And that’s all that is on my mind right now.”
Although he admits he has thought about transferring to another program in search of more playing time, Critchlow said he doesn’t regret coming to BYU.
“No, not at all,” he said. “I love BYU. I met my wife here. I am close to graduating from here (in finance). It has been a great experience.”
Last January, Critchlow married fellow BYU student Allie Romney, granddaughter of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the 70th governor of Massachusetts and a candidate for president of the United States in 2008 and 2012.
“It has been a great nine months, very successful,” Critchlow said. “I married very well. I have a very supportive wife. I have a great family. I just look forward to making the most out of every day.”
Quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Aaron Roderick said Critchlow has “been very professional” about his diminished role.
“What I like about Joe is he wants to play and he has never been happy about not playing,” said Roderick, who hasn’t decided if Critchlow or redshirt freshman Baylor Romney is No. 3 on the QB depth chart. “But he’s never allowed that to let him detract from the overall team. Joe could start for a lot of teams, and we are lucky we have him. He’s a great guy and a good football player.”