Perhaps predictably, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said that Georgia Tech's loss of B-back Dedrick Mills will not impact the Yellow Jackets in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game Sept. 4 in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mills was dismissed from the team Friday for a violation of athletic department policy.

"It doesn't affect them one bit," Jones told reporters after Tennessee's Friday's practice in Knoxville, Tenn. "I believe they were 3-0 without him last year."

Jones actually sold Tech short. The Jackets were 4-0 without Mills, beating Mercer, Duke, Virginia Tech and Virginia. Jones additionally praised Tech’s spread-option offense and its team overall.

“They have a system that’s challenging, and they have good players and a very solid defense and good special teams,” Jones said. “This is a complete football team that we’re playing, we prepare the same way, so it doesn’t affect our mindset our how we look at things.”

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Georgia Tech head coach Damon Stoudamire reacts during the second half of a game Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. (Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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Rose Scott signals as Closer Look goes on air in the WABE studio. An Atlanta resident left WABE a $3 million donation, a boost after WABE lost $1.9 million in annual funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. (Ben Gray / AJC file)

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