The story of Josh Sawyer, aka: JSawyerVSN
By: John Dunn
Founder, Managing Editor, Producer, Host
The All Vol Call in Show
20240702
A native to east Tennessee, Josh Sawyer was born and raised to be "All Vol". His father passed down the fandom, and Josh has remained devoted ever since. Josh is now a radio personality and does play-by-play commentary for Volunteer High School in Hawkins County. He is the husband of Hannah, from VV: Vol.1, Ch. 3.
"I grew up in Hawkins County in east Tennessee. My dad was a huge Vols fan and just kind of passed it on to me. I became an even bigger fan after spending time around the campus and having family members who went and graduated from there. I've been bleeding orange since I can remember. It's just in our family's DNA and our history.
Growing up and listening to Bob Kesling on the radio call games when Casey Clausen was playing really hooked me. But the thing I remember the most was my dad absolutely erupting when Erik Ainge through the interception in the SEC Championship game. I remember just sitting there in our recliner and my dad was going absolutely ballistic.
That same passion and fandom has now spilled over into my marriage. The week before the Alabama game in 2022, our T.V. just quit working for some reason. I remember telling my wife that we had to have a T.V., regardless of the cost. She was in agreement, and we went and bought a 75" or 80" T.V. (but we got it at a steal).
I remember watching that game, and when Hendon [Hooker] lost that snap and Alabama recovered it, I remember thinking "well here we go again, we will get close and not being able to finish it". I kept thinking about Lane Kiffin tweeting out the picture of Terrence Cody blocking the field goal in 2009. My BVS was kicking in hard. But when the field goal went through and we won the game it felt like I nearly blacked out. We were all outside jumping and celebrating. It was an amazing feeling.
It wasn't long ago that Tennessee seemed to be struggling in everything. I think of football the most during the era of Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt. It really felt like it had a physical effect on the fans. It was like the wind was just sucked right out of us.
There were good times, like the Hail Mary in 2016, but during that time I felt like I had so much going on in my life and felt like I lost a little bit of interest due to Jones and Pruitt. I'm a big fan of offensive football. I played quarterback in high school myself. Now with Josh Heupel leading this team, my excitement is unlimited. I absolutely love his brand of football. It's completely different from the guys before him. It's a great time to be a Tennessee fan. Everything is heading in the right direction.
Follow Josh on X: (@JSawyerVSN)