Author Archives: Joel Hollingsworth

Vols cornerback Cameron Sutton goes 94th overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2017 NFL Draft (with highlights)

Add Cam Sutton to the list of Vols taken in the first three rounds of this year’s NFL Draft. Sutton was the third Tennessee player taken when he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 94th overall pick. 

It became obvious with this pick that as the draft progresses, the information that the analysts have on the guys gets increasingly suspect. It’s not that they had Sutton wrong, it’s just that one of the first things out of their mouths was a question about durability because he played in only seven games last year. Missing half of the most recent season sounds like a big deal until you dig a little deeper and discover that Sutton started every single game in his entire Tennessee career up until his first injury last season.

Sutton leaves Tennessee as the school’s all-time leader in passes defended with 30, and he had seven interceptions over the course of his career despite teams generally trying to avoid his side of the field. He also returned 45 punts, three of them for touchdowns. The guy will be missed. 

Vols running back Alvin Kamara goes 67th overall to the New Orleans Saints in 2017 NFL Draft (with highlights)

VFL Alvin Kamara was the second Tennessee player to hear his name called at the 2017 NFL Draft. Kamara was just selected by New Orleans with the draft’s 67th overall pick. As we said earlier, he and Barnett were the first Tennessee players to be selected in the draft since Ja’Wuan James, Zach Fulton, and Daniel McCullers were taken back in 2014. 

Kamara spent two terrific years at Tennessee, mostly as the “second” back in a system that featured Jalen Hurd until he quit the team midseason last fall. Kamara, who had always been versatile and utilized in a variety of productive ways by the offensive playcallers, picked up the slack after Hurd departed and finished the season with 596 rushing yards and 392 receiving yards. All told, he tallied nearly 1,300 yards rushing, nearly 700 yards receiving, and 24 touchdowns, including one on a punt return. The guy was a key cog in the machine even as second fiddle when he probably should have been the starter.

We are so happy for Kamara. We’ll miss him in orange, but we’ll be happy to watch him have great success on Sundays. 

Vols defensive end Derek Barnett goes 14th overall to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 NFL Draft (with highlights)

VFL Derek Barnett was the first Tennessee player to hear his name called at the 2017 NFL Draft. In front of a raucous home crowd, Barnett was just selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the draft’s 14th overall pick. He’s the first Tennessee player to be selected in the draft since Ja’Wuan James, Zach Fulton, and Daniel McCullers were taken back in 2014.  It’s been an embarrassing stretch in the desert, but it’s over now.

Barnett left Rocky Top early for the NFL on the heels of a three-year Tennessee career during which he set a new all-time career sack record with 33, overtaking Reggie White’s previous mark of 32. Barnett needed only three years to do it, getting 10 as a true freshman in 2014, another 10 the following year, and 13 this past season. He’s also had 52 tackles for loss in his career.

Barnett had more sacks (13) this year than Myles Garrett (8.5), who was this year’s first overall pick, and he also had more in his career (33) than Garrett had in his (32.5). I don’t point that out to discredit Garrett at all. He’s fantastic. It’s just that Barnett is just as good. The only reason Barnett went later in the draft than Garrett is because of stupid Combine and Pro-Day scores that measure things that defensive linemen don’t have to do. As I said earlier, it ain’t 40 yards to the quarterback, y’all. And he’s not straight up in the air, either.

Barnett and head coach Butch Jones were at the draft to enjoy the moment. 

Congrats to Barnett and his family. He’s made us Vols fans proud for three years now, and we’re happy to see him reap his rewards.

 

 

Vols to get instant help at cornerback from graduate transfer Shaq Wiggins

The Tennessee Vols just got great news in the form of former Louisville cornerback Shaq Wiggins announcing that he is coming to Tennessee as a graduate transfer and will be available to play immediately this fall. Wiggins earned an All-ACC honorable mention in 2015, a season in which he started all 13 games and returned two interceptions for 52 yards. He also had 13 passes defended and 11 pass breakups.

Last season, Wiggins played in only eight games and started one due to injuries, and he sat out the 2014 season after transferring to Louisville from Georgia when former Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham left for the Cardinals. Wiggins started eight games as a freshman in Athens.

A former Under Armour All-American in high school, Wiggins looks to mix things up in the secondary for the Vols this fall camp. He’ll compete with Emmanuel Moseley, Justin Martin, and the other cornerbacks on the roster for a starting spot.

Gameday Today: Vols in the NFL Draft, Orange and White Game debriefings, and recruiting offers

NFL Draft

Will at Rocky Top Talk is celebrating Derek Barnett by reliving some of his best moments at Tennessee. Barnett didn’t just rack up the sack totals; he picked it up at the right time.
 
The Josh Dobbs bandwagon is getting quite cozy with another ESPN analyst suddenly realizing that Dobbs is better than everybody thinks. What’s fueling the bandwagon? Work ethic, attitude, and intelligence, says Mel Kiper. I don’t know, maybe he’s just now seeing that NCAA Student Athlete PSA.
 
And don’t forget Josh Malone, who Kiper says could go in the third round, which would be good news to his grandma, who told me in the Ingles parking lot the other day that she’d wanted him to stay in school. Oh, but the brain lasts longer than the body. 
 
Can you remember the last Vol who was taken in the NFL Draft? Me, neither. Answer at the bottom of the post.

Football

The Orange and White Game debriefing is nearly complete. So what have we learned?
 
The running back depth is a serious issue that I will not joke about until the new recruits arrive on campus this summer.
 
Defensive back Justin Martin is a new man.
 
And a whole bunch of guys got a whole bunch of reps due to a whole bunch of injuries, including receiver Marquez Callaway, who apparently had more reps than anyone else on the team during spring.

Recruiting

Tennessee’s made a bunch of offers to 2019 prospects in the wake of the Orange and White Game, including one each to top-50 wide receivers Arjei Henderson and Trejan Bridges and one to defensive tackle DeWayne Carter.
 

By my count, that’s 21 offers already by Tennessee, all spent on two guys. I don’t know who the recruiting coordinator over there is, but he sounds like a spendthrift. 
 

Answer to the NFL Draft question

Yeah, I couldn’t remember the last Vol drafted, either. It was apparently Daniel McCullers.

How to watch Tennessee’s Orange and White Game today at 4:00

It’s Gameday. Tennessee will hold its annual Orange and White Game today at 4:00 p.m.  You can catch video coverage of the game on the SEC Network or WatchESPN, and you can listen to the Vol Network on your radio or through your computer or phone.

It’s not going to be an actual scrimmage, but more of an open practice. You will be able to see players compete in the Circle of Life drill, one-on-one situations (wide receivers vs. defensive backs, offensive linemen vs. defensive linemen), and in quarterback and kicking challenges.

It’s also Fan Appreciation Day (from 1:30 – 2:30), so you can get autographs from players and Butch Jones or pictures with Smokey and/or the Tennessee cheer and dance team.

https://twitter.com/UTCoachJones/status/855497617282936832