University of Tennessee Athletics
Historic Flyovers Set for Saturday Featuring Two VFLs
November 17, 2017 | Football
Part of Tennessee's "Salute to Service" for football showdown vs. LSU
By Rhiannon Potkey, special to UTsports.com
They have flown missions with greater significance to the country. They have piloted flights with life-saving implications.
But the sentimental value of their time in the sky on Saturday will be hard to match for U.S. Navy Capt. Stan Jones and Air Force Captain Leigh Smith.
The former Tennessee athletes will be performing military flyovers before Tennessee plays LSU at Neyland Stadium.
Smith, 36, will be piloting one of the five F/A 15 jets that will appear during the Vol Walk at 4:45 p.m. Jones, 52, will be at the controls of one of two F/A 18 jets that will fly over Neyland right after the national anthem at 6:55.
For Jones, the bucket list item will be a retirement gift. The former UT defensive back is set to leave the Navy next spring after 27 years of service.
"For me to do this at my alma mater is very special," Jones said. "I am just like every other Tennessee football fan. I love Knoxville, I love the hill and I love being in Neyland Stadium for a big game. It's such an electric atmosphere to be a part of. It would be great to do something that gets the fans fired up."
The flyover is part of UT's "Salute to Service" game, which honors U.S service members, veterans and their families.
Jones, a 1988 UT graduate, is the squadron commander for Air Test and Evaluation Squadron NINE in China Lake, California.
The Squadron, also known has VX-9, is bringing three combat planes – two F/A-18F Super Hornets and one EA-18G Growler - to Knoxville on Friday.
The public can meet Jones and view the planes at McGee-Tyson/TAC Air from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
"It's going to be great to be back there and see all the people," Jones said. "They treat you like you never left, so to be able to give back a little bit and be a part of that is something I always wanted to do."
Smith was a three-time SEC javelin champion (2001, '03, '04) and an Olympian (2008). He helped the Vols capture a national team track and field championship as a freshman in 2001.
The Raleigh, N.C., native earned a degree in wildlife biology with a minor in forestry at UT. The son of a career Air Force lawyer, Smith worked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and as a flight instructor while training for the Olympics in New Orleans.
He dreamed of becoming an Air Force pilot, but his eyesight prevented him from doing it until the military approved LASIK surgery. Smith joined the Air National Guard in 2011.
"Ever since then, in the back of mind, I thought it would be fun to do a flyover at UT to show the fans what the Air Force really looks like up close and support the veterans," Smith said. "I just want them to have an awareness we are up in the sky and there to protect you."
Jones took part in a flyover last season at Kyle Field before Tennessee played Texas A&M with Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Edwards, a Texas A&M graduate.
Jones expressed his disappointment to Edwards about never having the chance to do a flyover at Neyland. Edwards, who has family in East Tennessee, began putting the wheels in motion.
He contacted the Army ROTC in Knoxville and asked about its plans for games this season. Edwards was put in touch with the UT administration.
Unbeknownst to Jones, the Air Force was trying to do the same for Smith and his crew. Both branches received approval for flyovers.
The initial plan was to have a flyover before and after the anthem. But once the 7 p.m. kickoff time was announced, the structure changed.
"The Air Force and Navy both don't like night flyovers. The Air Force pretty much said, 'No. They can't do it.' My leadership said, 'You are the commanding officer. You make the call.' I said, 'Alright, I'll see you in a couple of weeks because I am doing it,'" Jones said. "As long as the weather is good enough, I am OK doing it at night."
Jones played two seasons for the Vols as a walk-on defensive back in 1985 and 1986. He decided to try out for the team during his third year studying at Tennessee.
"I was bored and I actually walked into the stadium one day on my way to class. The gate was open and I had some time to kill so I sat down in the bleachers and watched them practice," said Jones, who played high school football in Memphis. "I wasn't supposed to be there, but I sat there thinking I think I could play with those guys."
Jones asked for a chance to try out and was told to report for winter workouts.
"I didn't prepare at all. I didn't work out. I wasn't in great shape. It was a terrible plan because there was no plan," he said. "But I ended up making the team."
Jones played for Coach Johnny Majors, and was a member of the 1985 Sugar Vols team that upset No. 2 Miami in the Sugar Bowl.
His two seasons on the UT team provided lessons that have remained with Jones throughout his naval career.
"I learned that the leadership side of things and teamwork is so important. It relates a lot to flying, especially off an aircraft carrier, because people see the airplanes come and go but have no idea how many maintainers it took to get that airplane to go airborne," Jones said. "It's like when everyone wants to talk about the running back who scores four touchdowns. That guy understands that the guard and the tackle were really the unsung heroes."
The camaraderie Jones experienced at UT helped lead him to the military after taking a civilian job out of college.
"When you show up at football, you have 100 best friends for life. The day you show up in a Navy flight squadron, you have best friends for life," Jones said. "That is part of the reason I quit my engineering job. There was a big void in my life with being part of a team and among a group of people with a common cause who are willing to embrace the hard work required to achieve that without a need for personal recognition."
Smith still reflects fondly on the memories he made in his four years on Rocky Top.
"There were so many good times we had on the track team in the Bill Webb era. Being a scholarship athlete at a major university is like a full-time job and we spent hours and hours in the weight room with a lot of great coaches and great guys supporting us," Smith said. "We went through a lot of hardships and ups and downs, but there was a lot of positives being a track athlete and a student at Tennessee."
Jones earned two degrees from Tennessee – a bachelor's of science degree in industrial engineering in 1988 and a master's of science degree in aviation systems in 2005. He obtained a second master's degree in 2014 in national resource strategy from National Defense University.
Any time he speaks to young people, Jones stresses the importance of making education a lifelong pursuit to help them achieve their goals.
"Live large and don't be afraid to swing the bat. Have the confidence in yourself to go after what you want to do," Jones said. "You only live once, and I would much rather swing and strike out than have never swung at all."
Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jones has spent much of his time deployed on aircraft carriers. He flew combat missions in Afghanistan for eight months.
During his military career, he's logged 3,000 flight hours, made 623 carrier landings and operated 30 different aircraft.
But Saturday will be his first and only flyover at Neyland.
Jones is eager to see the trademark checkerboard end zones and stadium filled with orange from above. After all these years of waiting, he hopes his timing is perfect.
"I just want to get it right and not have the schedule change or get delayed," Jones said. "because you can't put the brakes on at 300 knots."
