Author Archives: Joel Hollingsworth

Gameday Today: Players weigh in on the question of the day

Players weigh in on the positivity question, the Jajuan Jennings hype builds, and Peyton Manning continues to entertain. This and more in today’s Vols link roundup.

Football

  • Huh. Players (well, Kendal Vickers and Emmanuel Moseley at least) love Butch Jones’ positive leadership:

“It’s a good talent to have, because with all the scrutiny around the SEC in general, there’s times when you might not want to be so positive,” defensive tackle Kendal Vickers said. “But he always stays positive and always tell us and always tries to feed positivity into our brains. It really helps in tough times and stuff like that, just to have a guy like him talking to us and just saying what’s on his mind.

“He’s a great leader, and we all love to listen to him.”

. . . .

“Coach Jones, he’s a positive guy,” cornerback Emmanuel Moseley said. “He brings positive energy. He knows that’s what we need as a team, and he does that on a day-to-day basis.”

“Jauan is a football player, and a very good football player,” Jones said. “He’s had a very, very good offseason. His body is completely different. We’ve spoken to him about doing the things that great football players do, with obviously in the weight room and nutrition and rest and all that goes into being a great football player.

“I’ve been very, very encouraged and very, very excited about the summer that he’s had. I know he wants that role. I know he wants that opportunity.

“He’s a great competitor, and he wants the football in his hands.”

VFLs

  • Does following Peyton Manning ever get old? No, it does not. Here’s Manning talking about playing golf with the president:

And here he is making jokes at the ESPYs last night:

I will say that I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Durant and Westbrook were in on the joke.

  • I found these quotes from Josh Dobbs about how he’s discovered more hours in the day and how he’s using them amusing:

How does the academic background help you with the game?
 It helps a lot. It’s been cool just focusing on football. It’s crazy how many hours are in the day when you don’t have school. Just the habits and structure and discipline it took to be successful in the classroom it took pursuing a strenuous and difficult degree, it’s the same as a quarterback, the same structure and discipline in the classroom and on the field. You might be taking the same drops over and over, but you are building habits that are going to help you on Sunday. That discipline, structure and learning how to be successful in the classroom have helped me on the field.

What are you doing with the extra few minutes you have now?
 Sleeping. Eating a little bit more. Getting all of my meals. In college every day coach would ask me two questions. How many hours of sleep did you get last night and did you get your two meals before practice. Usually it was yes, but half the time it was no to both questions. But it was cool. Now being professional, being able to take care of my body, have time to learn the playbook, being able to just focus on football is a lot of fun. I really enjoy it.

Recruiting

GVX has an interesting interview with Tennessee commit Greg Emerson that includes an explanation of how he got injured at The Opening.

Other Vols news

Other news

Nashville is making a push to host SEC Media Days in the future.

Programming set for Tennessee Takeover Day on the SEC Network

The schedule for Tennessee Takeover Day on the SEC Network is set. The network will show nothing but Vols coverage for 24 hours straight beginning at 12:00 a.m. next Tuesday, July 18. The schedule features three football games (last year’s Florida and Georgia games, plus the 1998 national championship), last year’s win over Kentucky in basketball, a Tennessee-Vanderbilt baseball game, a Lady Vols-South Carolina hoops game, a volleyball game, a Tennessee-Florida softball game, a football National Signing Day special, and four VFL Films and SEC Storied specials about the Vols.

Here’s the entire programming schedule (all times ET):

  • 12:00 a.m.
    Football: Tennessee vs. Florida
  • 3:00 a.m.
    Football: Tennessee at Georgia
  • 6:00 a.m.
    Volleyball: Tennessee vs. Kentucky
  • 8:00 a.m.
    Men’s Hoops: Tennessee vs. Kentucky
  • 10:00 a.m.
    Women’s Hoops: Tennessee at South Carolina
  • 12:00 p.m.
    Softball: Tennessee vs. Florida
  • 2:00 p.m.
    Baseball: Tennessee at Vanderbilt
  • 4:00 p.m.
    VFL Films: Best of Tennessee
  • 5:00 p.m.
    Football: Signing Day 2017
  • 6:00 p.m.
    VFL Films: Declaration Day 2017
  • 7:00 p.m.
    SEC Storied: The Color Orange
  • 8:00 p.m.
    SEC Storied: Pat XO
  • 9:00 p.m.
    Football: 1998 National Championship

It seems like they could have found better time slots for the football games, but that’s why we have DVRs. Just make sure there’s room on that sucker before Tuesday rolls around.

The Tri Cities wins the 2017 Big Orange Caravan

A record crowd of 1,011 attended the Big Orange Caravan during its final stop at the Kingsport Farmers Market in the Tri Cities last night. The new “family-friendly” spin on the event was a great idea, although the execution could use a bit of tweaking. It was hot, the lines were long, there were not enough seats, and much of the fun stuff was out in the hot sun, but overall, it was fun, and Tri Cities Vols Fans showed out.

https://twitter.com/vol_sports/status/884953678880354305

Butch Jones, who had spent the previous day in Birmingham for SEC Media Days and Nashville for its Big Orange Caravan, burned a day of his rare vacation to sign autographs, talk to Vols fans, and stop at Pal’s for a burger and a shake. Because you can’t come to the Tri Cities without stopping at Pal’s. Jones said he texted a picture of his meal to head basketball coach Rick Barnes, who didn’t attend, just to make him jealous.

A couple of stories I hadn’t heard from Jones included (1) him telling Josh Dobbs to do whatever Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown told him to do, and (2) a joke about how Sterl the Pearl, who wore #16 before Peyton Manning did, goes around telling people that his jersey is retired.

And by the way, I would listen to Sterl the Pearl read the roster ten times in a row. Dude’s got energy.

Sterl the Pearl

The nice lady beside him on the Macbook, maybe not so much. She needs less Coke and Dasani and more Sterl.

Jones did get into some newsy stuff, including touting the Vols academic turnaround and insisting that he wants players with the right attitudes even if people mock him for it now. Also talking to fans were director of track and field and cross country Beth Alford-Sullivan, tennis coaches Alison Ojeda and Chris Woodruff, Bob Kesling, and John Currie. They also got local favorite and The Rock painter Peyton Miller on stage for some appreciation.

It was a fun evening. I appreciate Bobby Rader and WXSM for having me on again to talk about Butch Jones’ positive leadership. Apologies to anyone for any sudden change in topics. It was loud, and Bobby was talking into my deaf ear, so I really had no idea what he was asking. If I sounded like a politician checking off his talking points and ignoring the question, well now you know the rest of the story.

And this post would not be complete without mentioning that somebody showed up with a lawnmower for Butch to sign.

Your move, Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis.

 

Why Butch Jones’ refusal to use the word “disappointment” is a good thing

It will come as no surprise to most, but folks are still weighing in on Butch Jones’ response to a question at SEC Media Days yesterday about whether he viewed the 2016 season as a disappointment. Today’s headlines say that Jones did not view the 2016 season as a disappointment. That led to a lot of fans wondering why it is so difficult for Jones to use that particular word to describe that particular situation. After all, Vols defensive tackle Kendal Vickers admitted that 2016 was a disappointment, so why can’t his coach?

For the record, here is Jones’ entire response to the question:

“I don’t view it as a disappointment. The way I view it is we didn’t accomplish everything we set ourselves out to. And, again, our goal every year is to win a championship and compete to win a championship.

“So, was it a disappointment? No. Did we not accomplish some of the things we set out to do? Absolutely. We have to learn from the things that went wrong that we could have done better.

“But I think all you have to do is look at it’s difficult to win and it’s difficult to win championships. And I think this league really exemplifies that. But I’m still proud of the way our team responded. And I told our football team this. The lessons you learned from last year, the resolve, the resiliency, are going to serve you for many years down the road in life.

“And that football team went through a lot of things. I know we started off 5-0, and I believe our first five opponents were divisional champions. And I made a comment going towards the tail end of our season that the back half of our season would be much more challenging than the front half of our season.
Everyone kind of looked at me like, what are you talking about? But I knew where we are at as a program, and we were still needing that competitive depth across the board, and we have some position groups where we couldn’t afford to have injuries.

“But, again, this is a results-oriented business and we fell short of our goals. But I don’t like to use the term “disappointment,” because when you still look at it, it’s hard to win in this conference. And only three teams have won nine games, and the University of Tennessee is one of those.”

The entire quote is 1,624 characters, though, and would require 12 total Tweets, so it’s boiled down to the lead: “I don’t view it as a disappointment.”

But did he accomplish what he wanted? No. Did some things go wrong? Yes. Could they have done better? Yes. Did they fall short of their goals? Yes.

But are there any positives to take from last season? Yes.

And that’s why we aren’t going to hear Jones label the whole thing as a disappointment. He’s bent toward the positive. He believes in the Power of Positive Leadership.

Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples says that Jones should talk like he thinks, that he shouldn’t be “deathly afraid of admitting what any person would feel in his situation.”

What Jones fails to understand is that those fans just want to know he feels the way they feel. They’re disappointed about last season. They would rather have an East championship than a Life championship. They would rather their team sign five-star players instead of five-star hearts. If he were willing to show them he feels the same way—except more passionately, because this is his livelihood we’re talking about—then they might be more understanding if the rebuild takes a little longer than expected.

Fans want to win, Jones believes a positive attitude is the way

Staples is right that many fans want to know that Jones feels the way they feel, but what they want more is to win. My theory is that Jones believes that a positive attitude is the only path to victory and he is absolutely unwilling to deviate from that belief even if it makes some fans and media uncomfortable in the short term. He believes that this is the only way to give fans what they truly want in the end instead of what they’re asking for right now. Jones’ predecessor tried embracing the negativity, and his orange pants are burnt to a crisp in the dumpster. Sure, we fans want a coach to feel the same way we do, but we also want one who will do what it takes to win, and if the coach believes that those two things are in-congruent, he’d better choose the latter.

Butch Jones obviously believes that positive leadership is required to win, and so he views everything from that perspective. It’s what causes him to couch everything in positive terms, including negative outcomes.

And it’s what causes him to see both positives and negatives in a season that had both and boldly proclaim that the only thing it means is that we’re not there yet.

Reading between the lines at SEC Media Days: Butch Jones and competitive depth

There’s been some manufactured controversy about Tennessee Vols head coach Butch Jones saying at SEC Media Days that he didn’t think last season was a disappointment while Jashon Robertson was saying that it was. A couple of notes on that first before I get to my main point. First, it’s not like these guys were sitting in the same room arguing with each other. Jones was asked in one room and Robertson was asked in another.

Second, Jones really only said that he didn’t like the word “disappointment.” He said in the same sentence that they didn’t accomplish everything they’d set out to do, that they needed to learn from the things that went wrong, and that they could have done better. He then said that he was proud of how the team responded and that the lessons they’d learned would serve them well in the future, and then he said again that they fell short of their goals. He just doesn’t like the term “disapointment,” probably because of that book he’s apparently been reading and recommending to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

What everyone can hopefully agree on is that there are lessons to be learned from last year, and the more important issue is exactly what lessons have been learned.

One guy (high five to The Sporting News) actually asked that question mostly in that form, and Jones’ answer sheds some light on the main thing that he thinks went wrong last year and what he’s doing about it this offseason.

“You can never have enough depth,” said Jones. “Everything is about competitive depth.”

That wasn’t the only time Jones used the phrase “competitive depth,” either. He used the same phrase when someone else asked him what he needed to do to take the proverbial next step:

“I think a lot of times, too, when you’re building a football program, your program goes through evolutions or different stages from being able to compete to having competitive depth.”

Depth was definitely on Jones’ mind. He even mentioned it in response to the question about last year being a disappointment, saying that he knew depth was going to be a challenge in the back half of the season even before it became the problem that it was.

The difference between “depth” and “competitive depth” is presumably the difference between having backups and having backups who are actually ready to play. So, a “competitive depth” problem is a combination of injuries to starters and backups who aren’t quite ready to fill in.

One of the most interesting things I heard out of Jones’ mouth today was his subtly-offered opinion that having to rely on true freshmen more than normal could have been a factor in the rash of injuries last year, that maybe they weren’t physically ready to play. I don’t know whether that’s actually true, but it’s an interesting question: Are younger guys more prone to injury? It has a certain logic to it.

Regardless, it seems that Jones thought his team’s primary problem last year was competitive depth. In other words, not just too many injuries to key guys, but not enough backups who were ready to play.

So if that’s the problem, how do you correct it?

Enter Rock Gullickson

The second most-repeated phrase of the day was this:

This has been the best offseason we’ve had.

I’m not attributing that quote to anyone in particular because I think everybody wearing orange must have said it. I heard it from Butch, and Twitter recorded it from Robertson.. I haven’t read or heard any interviews from Kendal Vickers or Emmanuel Moseley yet, but I’m fully expecting to see the same quote from them. Heck, it was probably a talking point on the plane.

It’s not uncommon for players and coaches to say something similar at media days, but again, reading between the lines provides some glimpse into why they’re saying it, and the why is important to the problem of competitive depth.

“Rock” and “Gullickson” were the first two words out of Jones’ mouth on the SEC Now program after he declared this their best offseason. (For anyone just now tuning in, Gullickson is Tennessee’s new strength and conditioning coach.) He was the first new hire that Jones mentioned in his opening remarks. Butch Jones thinks Rock Gullickson is important.

But important why? Jones mentioned several times that his players are bigger and stronger this year than last. He mentioned it on SEC Now when asked how his defensive line was going to stop the run this year. He specifically singled out Darrell Taylor as a guy who looks completely different now than he did last fall.

Reading between the lines at SEC Media Days today, then, it appears that Jones believes that the thing he needed to fix the most in the offseason was a lack of competitive depth, and that’s exactly what he’s been doing. He’s put former NFL strength coach Gullickson in charge of getting his guys healthier, bigger, and stronger, so that his team will be better.

And he says it’s been the best offseason they’ve had in five years.

We won’t know if that’s true or whether it matters until this fall, but it’s good to know that Jones has identified the issue and is well on the way to executing his plan to correct it.

What to expect from the Vols at SEC Media Days this afternoon

SEC Media Days kicks off today in Birmingham, Alabama. It’s like a much-needed little booster shot, giving college football fans just a little extra juice that you’ll need to make last through the start of fall camp.

The SEC Network will devote more than 30 hours of coverage to the event this week, primarily with its appropriately-named SEC Now: 2017 SEC Football Media Days television show from 12:30-5:30 each day.

Up first is Arkansas, LSU, and Good Ole Rocky Top. (The schedule the rest of the week is here.) Each team brings its coach and three player representatives to the event to sweat under the spotlight and heavy-breathing of about 1,000 sportswriters. In a season without stars, it’s hardly surprising that Tennessee went with seniority in tapping seniors Kendal Vickers, Jashon Robertson, and Emmanuel Moseley to say the right things in front of the microphones today. Generally, these guys are well-coached and will do exactly that, and they’re even getting advice from guys who’ve been there and done that like VFL Chris Walker:

“Engage the reporters,” Walker said. “Don’t get offended at questions that you get asked, because we always have to answer questions and sometimes answer tough ones. I think it’s one of those things where you enjoy the process and the opportunity you get to represent your university.”

If you are tempted to think that the reporters are especially prescient this week because their pre-event “X things to watch for at SEC Media Days,” just remember that they will be the ones asking the questions and thus directing the agenda. Mike Griffith did an especially good job with this, not only asking the questions, but also both predicting the answers and reading between the lines to interpret them. John Adams, though, makes you cock your head like a dog looking at a ceiling fan, wondering exactly what he’s doing. Is it snark? Good-natured humor? There’s enough truth in there to make you wonder about everything.

Anyway . . . by all means, expect these things to be addressed:

  • Lack of star power. As a couple of recent tweets from Bobby Rader pointed out that none of the preseason magazines have the same players on their covers, and even the SEC Media Guide punted on the issue and just showed an obscure group of faceless, numberless players. That could be a very good thing for team chemistry, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Expect the coaches and players to spin it positively. Also expect a few references to 1998, when Tee Martin took over after Peyton Manning was off to the NFL.
  • The quarterback battle. Will it be Quinten Dormady or Jarett Guarantano? Might it be both? When will they know? What criteria will they use to make the decision? Expect many words and no real information.
  • Update on injuries and what they’re doing to prevent this year what happened last year. Recently, Jones has downplayed the ability of a strength and conditioning coach and program to decrease injuries, and he’ll likely do that again. But he’ll also probably talk about the importance of gaining weight and strength and that they’ll be better in those areas this fall. He’ll also likely rattle off the players who have gained weight and make several references as to how Rock Gullickson is improving the program this summer.
  • How does everyone feel about Jones being identified by several news outlets as being on the hot seat? I may get this verbatim: “We have the best fans in the nation, and we like the expectations. It’s why you come to a place like Tennessee.” Points to anyone who can communicate that thought in a unique way, though. They may even get a blockquote from me this evening.
  • Further comments on Jones’ earlier “Champions of Life” comment. I wouldn’t expect Jones to walk this back very much but instead to clarify by adding more detail. It may lead to eye rolls from the cynical sports writers, but as several are beginning to point out, it’s much more important that the message resonates with players and their parents, and if Jones is saying these things to that audience and getting the results on the recruiting trail that he’s currently getting, then he’ll get no eye rolls from me.
  • The impact of the staff changes. These guys — Mike Canales, Walt Wells, Brady Hoke, Kevin Beard, Charlton Warren, and even Larry Scott, who is in a new role this fall — are all essentially the backup quarterback, someone you love because he hasn’t had the opportunity to make any mistakes yet. They’ll all get glowing reviews today.
  • The impact of the John Currie and Phillip Fulmer hires. How many times have you heard someone say bad things about their bosses in public? Right. (I actually think the nice things they’re saying about these hires are also true, for whatever that’s worth.)
  • The offensive line. I’ve said it many times, but I’ll say it again: these guys are as experienced, talented, and deep as they’ve been in a long time, and if they’re stronger and nastier to boot and can stay healthy, it’s going to go a long way toward having the Vols exceed muted expectations this fall.

We’ll be following along when the Vols step up to the plate, so stay tuned here and on Twitter.

 

Tennessee Takeover Day on the SEC Network is July 18

The SEC Network has announced that Tuesday, July 18 is Tennessee Takeover Day, a day for which the Vols “will exclusively program 24-hours of the network with classic games, films, ESPN original content and school-produced content.” During a two-week span, each of the 14 SEC schools gets to take the network hostage and use the platform for its own propaganda, and the 18th belongs to the Big Orange.

So what will the Vols choose to show the world with its own 24 hours? The only thing currently listed on the article announcing the Takeover schedule is the 2016 Tennessee-Florida game, which is certainly a great start. I’d expect the Georgia game as well. And maybe the Battle at Bristol or a nostalgic trip back to 2007, 2001, or 1998. Toss in a bit of recruiting news, add in a few sprinkles of Peyton name-dropping and an NFL Draft roundup, and we’d have a nice day. If we could manage the day without Paul Finebaum, that would be a nice cherry on top, but we won’t get greedy.

If you were in charge of programming for the day, what would you serve up?

Whatever the case, expect an awesome 24 hours of orange-tinted goodness. We’ll be watching for sure.

 

Tennessee Vols move into the top three in team recruiting rankings

The Tennessee Volunteers moved into the top three of 247Sports’ team recruiting rankings yesterday when they secured the commitment of defensive end Dorian Gerald and defensive end Adam Anderson decommitted from LSU. Gerald’s commitment moved Tennessee into the fourth spot, and Anderson’s decommittment put them into the top three behind Miami and Ohio State.

That puts the Vols first in the SEC, ahead of LSU (No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 12), Kentucky (No. 16), Vanderbilt (No. 28), South Carolina (No. 34), Mississippi State (No. 38), Arkansas (No. 41), and Ole Miss (No. 45) in the Top 50.

Tennessee currently has 17 commitments, including one 5-star, seven 4-stars, and nine 3-stars, which still gives them a blue-chip ratio of under .500. It will be interesting to see what they do with the rest of their class. As DylanVol said yesterday, they can now afford to be especially picky the rest of the way, and they’ll need to to hold off traditional recruiting rivals Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

Currently, Alabama has only six total commitments, including five 4-stars and one 3-star. Florida and Georgia each have seven total commitments, with the Gators having two 4-stars and five 3-stars and the Bulldogs having one 5-star, one 4-star, and four 3-stars.

It’s, of course, extremely early, and National Signing Day is still seven months away, so a lot will happen between now and then. Alabama has a remarkable ability to finish the recruiting season with the best player available at each position, and Georgia and Florida usually do extremely well, too. Things are going to tighten up.

Currently, Tennessee and Georgia are the only SEC teams to have commitments from 5-star players. There are 25 5-star players in this year’s class (at this time), and 15 of them are uncommitted. There are another 337 4-star players.

Although it’s early and we expect a lot of shifting in the standings over the next seven months, there is no doubt that the Vols are in great position right now. They can hold that ground if they indeed are picky with the rest of their commitments and fill out the class with more blue-chippers.

 

Gameday Today: Well-wishes for Emerson, listening to Dad, and asking unanswerable questions

Gameday Today wishes Greg Emerson a speedy recovery, ignores Mom and listens to Dad, and asks unanswerable questions. This and more in today’s Vols link roundup.

Recruiting

As we posted last night, defensive tackle target Greg Emerson suffered an injury at The Opening Finals. Initial reports were gloomy, but later reports cited a source as saying Emerson would be out only 4-6 weeks. Now we have it from the horse’s mouth:

https://twitter.com/sneakerhad_greg/status/881672962071420928

Good news. GoVols247 has a compilation of well-wishes from Tennessee guys and others.

Football

“Their friends and family haven’t seen them for a while, so then they go home and they say, ‘holy smokes, what have you been doing,’” Gullickson said. “But I tell them that your mom is always going to say you look good, but if your dad or your uncle says you look good, you are probably doing it right.”

All moms are liars. 🙂

Hoops

  • Guard Chris Darrington is apparently really, really fast. Also, Rick Barnes says that everybody has gotten better. I know that’s what you want and expect and isn’t really news, but his emphasis is on “everybody,” which could very well be news. Also, hoops commit Davonte Gaines just received a 4-star rating from 247Sports.
  • Tennessee basketball hired Aubin Goporo as Director of Player Development.

VFLs

Loved this quote from VFL Jalen Reeves-Maybin about Butch Jones being on the hot seat this fall:

“It’s the SEC, and everybody is on the hot seat. There might be two or three guys in the SEC who are not on the hot seat, and the rest of them are. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to win. If you meet the expectations in five straight games and then don’t in one, then you’re on the hot seat. Everybody is on it.”

Other Vols news

Tennessee golfer Lorenzo Scalise finished second after 72 holes of stroke play and a five-hole playoff in the 2017 European Amateur Championship.