Gameday Today: Frightened by controversy, and wishing good things for monsters

With two weeks and counting to football, we’re beginning to feel good about the team’s talent, still worrying over quarterback controversy, and hoping monsters develop mental stamina. All this and more in today’s Vols link roundup.

Football

• Hey, y’all. We are a mere two weeks away from actual football, as the Vols players report to fall camp on July 28 and start practice on July 29. Fall is coming.
• I haven’t checked the information in this post from Rocky Top Insider concluding that the Vols have the most talented and most experienced roster in the SEC East, but it rings true to me. I’ve been saying it since I sent the magazine off to the printer.
• Dave Hooker thinks we should be frightened by the prospect of a two-quarterback system. Maybe. I wrote over ten years ago that that very thing was one of the primary reasons for the 2005 debacle. Maybe the passage of time has dulled the pain and thus the lesson, but I think I’d characterize myself as more “wary” than “frightened” right now.
• Freshman offensive lineman Trey Smith is a monster, but senior Jashon Robertson knows that even monsters need to develop mental stamina:

“You go through the pregame routines. You go through the preparation in your mind the day before the game,” Robertson said. “You go through the ‘Vol Walk’ and all of those things, which are all great things. But at the same time, it takes a certain amount of your mental energy in itself. You go through that and then you play a half of the game.

“For myself, I was sitting around and looking, thinking like, ‘Is this the end of the game?’ I look up at the scoreboard and it’s halftime. It’s just a whole other level, a whole other commitment to the game in itself. Just doing that week in and week out was something I had to get accustomed to.”

• Speaking of Robertson, the man has absolutely no clue as to which of Tennessee’s current defensive linemen is the best of the bunch. Defensive tackle Kendal Vickers wants a word (same link).
• What’s keeping Shy Tuttle from letting two serious injuries in two years derail his career? According to GoVols247, it’s his attitude:

One of the most popular and well-liked players on the team, Tuttle is a happy-go-lucky guy. In the only interview he’s done as a Tennessee player as an early enrollee in 2015, he didn’t say much, giving credence to his name. Behind the scenes, though, his carefree attitude and positive spirit have carried him through the toughest of the times the past two years.

• If the Vols surprise folks on Rocky Top this fall, Rock Gullickson may be the MVP, as he is doing his part to get the guys ready.
• Hey. Georgia Tech is beating Tennessee in ticket sales for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game. Fix, stat.

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SEC Media Days video recaps

The 2017 SEC Media Days hay is in the barn, and these are the best bales of the season:

Hmm. That disturbing image of Paul Finebaum in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff helmet is eerily reminiscent of something. Oh, right.

Other Vols news

SEC Diver of the Year Liam Stone and U.S. national open water champion David Heron are competing in the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.