Ramon Foster opens up on pressure of being a star at Tennessee

Former Tennessee and Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Ramon Foster knows a thing or two about high expectations and big time pressure. And he knows that it’s just the way things will be at Tennessee, especially with some sustained success.

As the Volunteers head into Year 4 of the Josh Heupel era in 2024 and look to compete for a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff, Foster knows the fan expectations around Rocky Top will be high. He explained to On3’s Andy Staples that there’s no better way for it to be.

“It is, but it’s a good place to be, because that should be the demand,” Foster said. “When you look at that conference and how many national champions have come out of it and you know you have — we can throw this in now, the collective — you have the fanbase, you have the support, and you mean to tell we are getting these players? You go from Top 10 classes, five stars, like it is supposed to be that way. And you’d be idiotic to not be that way as a fan. So I have to tell people often: Fan is short for fanatic. They’re gonna be crazy. And if you give them a little bit of light, it’s going to take us up to the next level and that’s what the fanbase is.”

In three seasons under Heupel, Tennessee is 27-12, and 20-6 the past two years, including an 11-win season in 2022. With heralded quarterback Nico Iamaleava set to take the reins under center in a new-look SEC, hopes are high around the Volunteers going forward.

And it should lead to more crazy environments at Neyland Stadium.

“If you go to campus, and you’ve been there during those games — I went to the one where they beat the streak on Alabama, where Alabama won so long,” Foster said. “I’ve never been a part of a stadium — I’ve played in a Super Bowl, too — to where it rocked and people were chaotic. In a good way. And that right there, of course you mentioned Nick Saban not being a part of it, there’s gotta be other fanbases around — it’s not just Tennessee, it’s Auburn, it’s Texas A&M, it’s Texas coming in, it’s Oklahoma — because you feel like ‘OK, the system which Alabama had in place because of Nick,’ and I know their coach will do his thing, too, and they have a crazy support system, also. But it somewhat gives you an opportunity now to jump in and say, ‘Watch us do work.’ And that’s where Tennessee is, and Auburn, and everybody else involved.”