A former Buckeye-turned-Volunteer feels stadiums across his conference are louder than the Horseshoe.
Safety Andre Turrentine, who spent his freshman year with Ohio State in 2021 before transferring to Tennessee, said the Shoe isn't as loud as SEC stadiums. That's not just the icons like LSU's Tiger Stadium or Alabama's Bryant-Denney Stadium, but he said the noise levels at South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium, Arkansas' Razorback Stadium and Tennessee's own Neyland Stadium are louder.
"The Shoe isn't as loud as the SEC," Turrentine said in an interview session on Tuesday. "It's a different animal here. Whether you're at South Carolina at nighttime or whether you're at Arkansas at nighttime, whether you're at Neyland (Stadium) at nighttime, or the daytime for that matter, it's loud here. I would (say) it's deafening."
"It's a different animal here."#Vols DB Andre Turrentine played his freshman year at Ohio State.
— Frank DeLuca (@FrankDeLucaTV) December 10, 2024
He'll get to go back to Columbus, this time on the other side, and he says the environment at Ohio Stadium is not quite the same level of intensity as an SEC school. pic.twitter.com/rVtR5yc1cs
Turrentine offered some props to Ohio Stadium at the end of his answer, though he reiterated that he thinks SEC environments are louder.
"I would say the Shoe is the same way, that they have really diehard fans that are willing to make enough noise to achieve what they need to," Turrentine said. "So I would say that the SEC is a little bit louder, but the Shoe brings it as well."
A four-star prospect from the recruiting class of 2021, Turrentine played in four games and redshirted as a freshman for the Buckeyes. Buried on the safety depth chart, he hopped in the portal and landed with the Volunteers. He made three starts for Tennessee in 2023 before grabbing the team's starting strong safety gig full-time in 2024. He has 35 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and an interception this season.
The Horseshoe drew criticism for sleepier atmospheres during the more mundane portions of Ohio State's schedule but produced raucous environments for the Buckeyes' 38-15 win over Indiana and 13-10 loss to Michigan, at least until the late stages of the game when it was clear Ohio State might lose to the three-score underdog Wolverines.
Ohio State will be looking for its fans to create another such environment when it hosts Tennessee at 8 p.m. Dec. 21 to close the first round of the College Football Playoff.
