A ‘Pur’fect UT Vols ending for ex-FHS football star Purcell
Brought Third-Team All-Southern Conference honors from Wofford
However, by 2024 — and only one year of college eligibility left — it was time to chase his dream in Big Orange Country.
This former Farragut star linebacker/tight-end, perhaps best remembered for playing despite a hairline fracture in his leg as an Admirals senior (Class of 2021), found himself playing “Between the Hedges” in Georgia’s famed Sanford Stadium and in Ohio State’s even more famous “Horseshoe,” in the Division I-A college football playoffs, as a Tennessee Volunteer.
After leaving Wofford with 33 games as a starter in three seasons (linebacker and special teams), his taste of Rocky Top “was a great experience I wouldn’t trade for anything,” said Purcell, a starting special teams player and back-up linebacker at UT who played in all 13 Vols games, including seven in Neyland Stadium. “And I ended up earning my way to start on all the four special teams units” as a non-scholarship walk-on.
“I knew I was good enough to play at that level, and that was always a dream of mine,” he added. “It just meant a lot to me to get to play on that level and compete.
“Also, the relationships I built while I was there were special.”
In the 2024 season opener in Neyland versus UT-Chattanooga, “I was only (starting) on kickoff returns,” Purcell said. “And then the second game of the year, in North Carolina (at Charlotte versus North Carolina State), I was (starting) on kickoff return and kickoffs. And then after that, I got put on the punt return (unit) as well.”
