Some...but I think they’re flying Southwest to Nashville for a few extra days. I’ll likely fly straight into Knoxville...which means leaving at about eleven or midnight so I get into Knoxville in time to get to the campus in time for registration. ;-) I’ll be starting out sleep deprived, but I don’t think there’s an easy way around it.
Gate checking is really easy. You show up at the gate, they give you a tag to tie on the bag and you leave it at the door of the plane. Then when you get off, you wait at the plane door again and they bring the bags up.