Author Archives: Joel Hollingsworth

Worth reading 7.13.18: Vols commits rise in rankings

If you read only one thing about the Vols today . . .

. . . make it this, from Ryan Callahan:

Other Vols stuff worth reading today

  1. Tennessee Vols football recruiting: Brian Maurer makes ‘biggest jump’ among Elite 11 QBs, via 247Sports
  2. Former Tennessee football DB Jonathan Hefney recovering after freak injury, via 247Sports
  3. Tennessee Volunteers football: Simmons likes Pruitt’s “approach” in recruiting, via 247Sports
  4. Questions for Jeremy Pruitt: What’s the latest on Trey Smith?, via the Times Free Press
  5. Second-Year Surge: Tennessee DE/LB Ryan Thaxton, via 247Sports
  6. 2019 Football Team Rankings, via 247Sports. Vols are No. 18, behind SEC East foes Georgia and South Carolina.
  7. Tennessee Vols recruiting: Offensive line commitment Chris Akporoghene on ‘mission’ at IMG Academy, via 247Sports
  8. VOL FOOTBALL SINGLE GAME & MINI-PLAN TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW – University of Tennessee, via UTSports
  9. The NCAA, not Ed O’Bannon, killed college sports video games, via SB Nation
  10. Meet the people who keep NCAA Football video game alive, via ESPN
  11. SEC Hype Meter 2018: Which teams are overrated and underrated every offseason?, via CBS Sports. Looking for the cause of that nauseating feeling in the pit of your stomach? Here it is.

Behind the paywalls

  • War Room 7-13-18, via VolQuest
  • Scouting the Opponent: Florida, via VolQuest
  • Tennessee Vols football recruiting: Four-star WR Khafre Brown still high on Vols after ‘great experience’ at camp, via 247Sports
  • Cameron Smith will at least visit South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia after making a commitment, via 247Sports

Worth watching 7.12.18: Award-winning “Feed the Floor”

There’s a short ad at the beginning of this one, but after that is the Feed the Floor video that recently won an award.

Good story here about new commit Akporoghene. Not sure why he’s getting so much more post-commitment publicity. Maybe because he’s good at it.

Lots of short video snippets from the official school Twitter accounts yesterday. Here are some:


And still more VOLeaders:

Worth reading 7.12.18: Vols’ chemistry in 2018

If you read only one thing about the Vols today . . .

. . . make it this, from Will:

Other Vols stuff worth reading today

  1. Tennessee Vols football recruiting: Tennessee’s newest Class of 2019 football targets, via 247Sports
  2. Phillips, Callaway & Wolf to Represent Vols at SEC Media Days – University of Tennessee Athletics, via UTSports
  3. When will SEC divisional power shift? When the great coaches do, via 247Sports
  4. Second-Year Surge: Tennessee OL Trey Smith, via 247Sports
  5. The 15 most important assistant coaching hires of the 2018 season – No. 7: Tyson Helton, Tennessee – FootballScoop, via Football Scoop
  6. Basketball’s “Feed the Floor” Promo Earns National Marketing Award – University of Tennessee, via UTSports
  7. Preview 2018: Ranking The SEC Coaches, via College Football News. Pruitt comes in at No. 9.
  8. Meet the leadership guru trusted by Dabo Swinney, Doc…, via The Athletic. This baby will not be thrown out with the bath water.
  9. How Jeremy Pruitt can solidify reputation at SEC Football Media Days, via KnoxNews
  10. Tennessee football: 10 critical questions the Vols must answer in 2018, via Saturday Down South
  11. 2018 SEC Football Media Days attendees announced, via SEC Sports. This is a list of every school’s representatives.

Behind the paywalls

  • Tennessee Vols football recruiting: Former Michigan State commit Jordan Huff planning to visit Vols again, via 247Sports

Worth watching 7.11.18: Manning on campus

Always good to see Peyton Manning on Rocky Top:

These guys are LIVING LIKE KINGS!


I’ll say it again, I’m so glad that these student-athletes are getting this experience:

Worth reading 7.11.18: 2018 blueprint for success

If you read only one thing about the Vols today . . .

. . . make it this blueprint for success, from Patrick Brown:

Other Vols stuff worth reading today

  1. Second-Year Surge: Tennessee LB Shanon Reid, via 247Sports
  2. Jimmy’s blog: How does UT offense compare to best of the East the past 4 years?, via WNML
  3. Preview 2018: Top 30 Offensive Guards & Centers, via College Football News. Vols lineman Trey Smith is No. 9.
  4. College Football’s Top 50 Wide Receivers for 2018, via Athlon Sports. Jauan Jennings comes in at No. 42.
  5. SEC Wild Card Players in 2018, via Athlon Sports. The two picks for the Vols are Jennings and Shy Tuttle.
  6. ‘NCAA Football’: Why video game series hasn’t returned five years after last release, via Sporting News
  7. 10 highest rated Volunteers in Madden NFL 19, via 247Sports
  8. Friday Five: The biggest Heisman Trophy snubs in college football history, via CBS Sports. FARCE! Manning’s not on this list.
  9. Peyton Manning, Todd Helton visit Jeremy Pruitt, Vols, via 247Sports

Note the inclusion of the inside joke on the far right-side column of this tweet:

Behind the paywalls

  • The twin pillars of Rick Barnes’ rebuilding job? Consistency and intensity, via VolQuest
  • Tennessee Vols football recruiting: Three things I know, three things I think, via 247Sports
  • Scouting the Opponent: ETSU, via VolQuest

Worth watching/listening 7.10.18: Phil Steele with Bobby Rader

First up this morning, an audio interview from friend of the blog Bobby Rader with Phil Steele:


Liking this guy a lot already:


Hoops hype!


Cool interview with Grant Williams:


And here’s the first segment of the always-good Sports Source from John Pennington and his guests:

 

Worth reading 7.10.18: Akporoghene’s journey from Nigeria to the SEC

If you read only one thing about the Vols today . . .

. . . make it this, from Jesse Simonton:

Other Vols stuff worth reading today

  1. 10 Questions for 2018: Wide Receiver Depth, via Gameday on Rocky Top
  2. Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee Vols football continue rebuilding line of scrimmage in recruiting, via 247Sports
  3. UT Vols have limited track record of playing two QBs in opener, via KnoxNews
  4. Tennessee Vols football’s 2018 opponents at a glance: Charlotte 49ers, via 247Sports
  5. Second-Year Surge: Tennessee CB Shawn Shamburger, via 247Sports
  6. College Football’s Top 50 Underrated Players for 2018, via Athlon Sports. Tennessee’s Nigel Warrior made the list.
  7. The chaos and consequences of the BCS era, 20 years later, via Sports Illustrated

Behind the paywalls

New Vols commit Akporoghene’s highlight video is full of LOLs

Three-star offensive tackle Chris Akporoghene announced this afternoon on Twitter that he is All Vol:

The Nigeria native and former Knoxville-area resident played at The King’s Academy in Seymour, Tennessee before transferring to IMG Academy earlier this year. According to 247Sports, Akporoghene is the No. 72 offensive tackle in this year’s class, and he chose the Vols over an impressive list of other offering schools that included Texas, Miami, Auburn, Washington, Florida, Oregon, and South Carolina.

Akporoghene gives Tennessee its 13th commitment, and he joins Wanya Morris and Jackson Lampley as the offensive linemen of the Class of 2019.  The Vols currently rank 19th in the nation, but are ahead of seven higher-ranked teams in score-per-commitment.

The 3-star lineman puts UT under the coveted 50% blue-chip ratio, but he’s a really important guy to get, in part because he’s from national powerhouse IMG Academy in Florida, which is attracting blue-chip talent from all over the country. If he has any influence on his teammates, it could be a relationship that opens even more doors for the Big Orange.

Akporoghene, who moved to the Knoxville area three years ago to chase his football dreams, plans to enroll early in January to get a head start as a Vol.

Have a look at the guy’s Hudl video, which is full of LOLs.

Worth watching 7.9.18: Prospects at The Opening

Football hype:


Wanya Morris at The Opening:

Darnell Wright at The Opening

More good stuff from the VOLeaders:


Stumbled across this gem from Dan Mullen’s days as a QB coach at Utah. I’m assuming the principles are evergreen: