The Vanderbilt Commodores and head coach Clark Lea are getting ready to host the Tennessee Volunteers. It’s a game that they may not need extra motivation for but will have anyway, as the Volunteers attempt to make the College Football Playoff.

When Clark Lea's oldest son got sick about five years ago and was in the hospital for eight days, Brian Kelly — at the time vacationing overseas — called to check in on Lea's family. Today, Lea remembers that gesture when he thinks back on the mentorship Kelly, now the head coach at LSU, gave him.

Here's what Clark Lea said about the importance of the rivalry between Vanderbilt football and Tennessee. The Chiefs were headed out of the stadium after securing a win over the Carolina Panthers when the incident occurred