Author Archives: Joel Hollingsworth

Gameday Today: Vols hoops defense travels, recruiting heats up

Hoops

Tennessee did its part in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge/Showdown/Clash/Contest, throttling Iowa State 68-45 on Saturday. To be fair, the Cyclones did some throttling of their own early, but Tennessee was the first and only team to find its offense, finding the right combination in bench guards James Daniel III (JD3, anyone?) and Lamonte Turner. The Cyclones never found their offense, and 45 points was the lowest total for the team since 2009. Defense, yo. It’s what’s for dinner.

If you missed it . . . well, first, stop that . . . but also watch the highlights:

As that highlight package shows, JD3 was key in the game, and he was just as impressive in his post-game interview with Bob and Bert. The Vols are now 7-3 away from home overall, 5-7 in true road games and 2-3 in neutral-site games.

Also noteworthy is Turner, who’s not only been casually tossing daggers into the hearts of opponents most of the season but also playing professional keepaway:

Which of course means he’ll now throw it right to a defender on the first possession against LSU Wednesday, but that tweet will still live forever.

The Lady Vols? Uh, having a bit of trouble lately, most recently having lost on the road to LSU, 70-59.

Recruiting

If you’re looking for all of the latest developments over this past weekend on the recruiting front, 247Sports has a premium post with all of the particulars ($$$).

The Vols appear to have missed on defensive tackle Coynis Miller, but are still in the running for some highly-touted guys.

For a national perspective, check out this post from SB Nation, which includes a nod to Vols receiver commit Jordan Young’s highlight tape.

Other fun stuff

SEC Country predicts a 6-6 or 7-5 regular season record for the Vols next season (notably with a win over Florida, though, so there’s that), which sounds better when you remember that Kirby Smart went 8-5 with a bowl win in his first season with Georgia. We’ll take that first year if we can have the second, too, please.

And finally, GETTING TOO CLOSE TO BRUCE PEARL DURING BASKETBALL GAMES IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH:

Gameday Today: Jauan Jennings’ list and the Smokey Grey uniforms

Football

While everyone else is just reporting the fact that Jauan Jennings has a list of things to accomplish (including anger management) before he can get back in the good graces of the team, Celina Summers drives home the most important part of all of it:

Whatever is on that list, Jauan, just do it. Not for us. Not for Tennessee or the team or the fans. Do it for yourself, for your future, for your family. Give yourself the opportunity to continue to develop as a football player on Rocky Top. Go to your classes. Learn to control your impulses. Don’t just slog through that list either, like it’s a bunch of chores you have to do because you got grounded. The knowledge you’ll gain by completing those tasks is so much more than football.

Go read the whole thing.

AD Phillip Fulmer seems to have the right take on Tennessee’s Smokey Grey uniforms, affirming the importance of tradition while also granting the authority to coach Pruitt to use shiny new objects to lure 5-star players to Rocky Top:

“I talked to Jeremy about our traditions here in a lot of things,” Fulmer said. “In the end, that will be his choice, but we have talked about it. I think he’s pretty much a traditionalist, but I can’t sit here and tell you what his plans are about the grey uniforms. That’s a recruiting thing as much as it is anything.
“I don’t think you would call me old-fashioned, but as much a traditionalist as I am, that has to be his call, because he’s the one that’s out there working and trying to get great football players here.”

The Papa may be in denial about being old-fashioned, but isn’t that one of the many things we love about him?

Also, Tennessee is guaranteed to earn at least a cool $2.5 million for its neutral-site season-opener against West Virginia in Charlotte, North Carolina this fall. Are buyouts like debts? Can you pay them off early and save money?

Hoops

As part of this weekend’s SEC/Big 12 Challenge, Tennessee travels to Aimes, Iowa to take on the Iowa State Cyclones. The game tips at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, and it’s televised on ESPNU. Will has the only game preview you need. ESPN likes the Vols, 74-71.

Here’s more on the weekend slate from the SEC Network, which includes some love for Grant Williams toward the end:

We’re inching closer to March Madness, which is from March 13 to April 2 this year, and so it’s probably time to start learning the new language of quadrants:


Tennessee’s probably in good shape in that department.

Also, the Lady Vols beat Ole Miss, 75-66 yesterday. Highlights:

Football Recruiting

We’re now 12 days out from National Signing Day, and the Vols are hosting five highly-ranked prospects this weekend ($$$). Among them are three defensive tackles, including 4-star Miami commit Nesta Silvera.

Tennessee has made the final cut for 4-star running back Jashaun Corbin, who has set his official visit to Tennessee for next weekend.

The school is having three NSD Celebrations on February 7 and 8. They’ll be held in Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis, and you can get tickets here.

SEC Country has a full update on this year’s class as it now stands.

Other fun stuff

Do you love Chris Lofton? Of course you love Chris Lofton. And you’ll love this article about him, especially the part where Bruce Pearl says he was hoping Lofton was pregnant.

This is why defensive tackles don’t kick field goals:

Hey, he’s been told “LOW MAN WINS” his entire career, what did you expect?

ALVINNNNN!

Florida has hired former Vols offensive coordinator Larry Scott to coach their tight ends this season.

 

Gameday Today: High praise for Pruitt, and players adore The Papa

Time to light this fire

For any still wary of getting too excited about Tennessee football under Jeremy Pruitt, we have two things that should help this morning.

First, Albert Haynesworth says that the worst is over, and if you disagree with Albert Haynesworth, you will most certainly die a sudden, painful, and humiliating death. It’s the law in Tennessee. Seriously though, go read Haynesworth’s Players Tribune post. It will make you feel better, and the line about Haynesworth’s mother may even make you laugh.

Second, according to Gridiron Now, some anonymous SEC coach has a nose tackle-sized mancrush on Jeremy Pruitt, saying that Pruitt’s better at defense than both Kirby Smart and Nick Saban. If you haven’t noticed, Nick Saban is pretty good at defense, so that’s a doozy of a compliment.

Said unnamed source also said this:

“Tennessee will play better defense with whoever they have (now) than they’ve played in the last 10 years,” he said. “The second year, I could see some real [FULMERIZED] happening at Tennessee.”

Well that sounds fun. Let’s do it.

Everybody Loves The Papa

Speaking of The Papa, make some time to listen to this entire interview with Phillip Fulmer on the Erik Ainge Show two days ago:

And I haven’t yet listened to his interview on the Swain Event this morning, but here it is:


One thing that really sticks out when you listen is just how much The Papa’s former players absolutely adore him (it’s evident just from Swain’s introduction). And it’s that that makes you a believer when Fulmer says that one of his main priorities is restoring trust, warmth, and a culture of caring about each other to Tennessee athletics.

Hoops

The Vols beat Vandy last night, 67-62, in a Woo! Wait! Whew! game. If you’re wondering what makes these guys tick, Will has figured it out.

If you missed it, here’s a video recap of the game, along with a bunch of post-game interviews:

Grant Williams is shouldering the blame for letting Vandy back into the game last night, as he was matched up against Riley LaChance at the time the dude caught fire.

Also, Jordan Bowden is feeling much better, thank you, after awakening himself from his mini-slump, and is going to keep shooting. This is a good thing for a shooting guard to say.

Football Recruiting

National Signing Day is a mere two weeks away, and the Vols currently have the nation’s No. 17 class. If you’re wondering who to keep an eye on, here’s a list of 18 guys we think are priorities for coach Pruitt and his staff.

SEC Country takes a closer look at the defensive tackle prospects here, and 247Sports notes that Pruitt and two assistants visited 3-star cornerback Eddie Smith last night. Tennessee appears to be a slight favorite to land him.

The News Sentinel has an article on the importance of the right coaching staff footprint ($$$) that’s worth reading as well. Based on where the guys on Tennessee’s staff have gained most of their experience, expect the Vols to be major players in the key states of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi.

Other fun stuff

Woo for Tennessee’s Pro Bowlers:


And finally, Monday Night Football is desperately seeking a student of the game with personality named Peyton Manning to take over for Jon Gruden.

Vols nearly coast into a ditch, but recover to beat Vandy, 67-62

Tennessee raced out to a huge early and sleepy 20-point lead before nearly coasting over the shoulder against Vanderbilt tonight. Fortunately, the rumble strip jarred them awake just in time to finally seal the deal, 67-62 over the Commodores.

It really wasn’t close at all for much of the game, as the Vols’ tenacious defense stifled Vandy and held them to a woeful 15 first half points. It was just more of the same to being the second, with Tennessee extending the lead to 41-21 with 14:28 left in the game.

Cue Riley LaChance.

After a teammate’s layup and a couple of free throws, Vandy’s LaChance found his three-point range. After going 0-3 from the arc in the first half, he hit 4-6 in the second, and scored 15 straight points for Vanderbilt over a three-minute stretch. At that point, Tennessee started sprinting at him when and wherever he had the ball, which opened up huge lanes leading directly to the basket and multiple opportunities for assists to open teammates. By the time the clock hit 7:06, the ‘Dores had cut the Vols lead from 20 to 4.

Cue the rumble strip.

Admiral Schofield shook everyone awake and hit two free throws, but then everyone on both teams went cold and clunky for a time. Vandy resorted to hack-a-Shaq on Grant Williams, and Williams mostly made them pay. Still, the lead was down to only two points with 1:19 left after a Jeff Roberson free throw.

Cue the woo. And the whew.

On the next possession, Schofield drove to the basket, drew a double team, and passed outside to Lamonte Turner, who hit a clutch three and extended the Vols lead to 63-58. LaChance missed a well-defended three-point attempt, and Schofield and Jordan Bowden raced to the other end for a layup and a 7-point lead. From there, the foul fest was on, and Tennessee eased into the garage safe and sound at 67-62.

Bowden silenced talk of any shooting slump and led the team with 19 points on 6-10 shooting (5-7 from three), and Williams was just behind him with 18. Other than that, it was a team effort, although you shouldn’t be surprised if Derrick Walker starts to see more minutes, as he’s becoming more and more reliable and effective near the basket.

The Vols move to 14-5 overall and 5-3 in the SEC. Next up is a trip to Iowa State on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.

Go Vols.

 

 

 

 

Gameday Today: Loving the Tennessee Chameleons, Saban copies Butch Jones, and more

Hoops

Coming off a big road win against South Carolina, Rick Barnes and his guys return home to host Vanderbilt tonight at 7 p.m. Vandy, of course, will be devoting a great deal of attention to Grant Williams, who went off for 37 points against the Commodores in Nashville earlier this season. Will Williams will himself to another scoring feast or will he merely divert the attention and free up space for another big night for Lamonte Turner or another teammate? Nobody knows, as this team’s identity this season may best be described as chameleony. Or maybe shapeshiftery. Tune in to ESPNU tonight at 7 p.m. to see what shape we become for this game.

Rick Barnes met with the press yesterday and said stuff that was caught on all manner of recording devices. Here he is caught in the act of talking about his team:

Notably: Defense. He likes defense. It apparently gives birth to offense or something like that.

And yes, it’s okay to start joking around and having fun and enjoying something again. The mourning period for the 2017 football season is over. Remove your sackcloth, take a shower, and get on with your sports life. I know you are wary of falling back in love with Vols’ sports teams. I can relate.

But this basketball team isn’t going to hurt you:


Sure, they will likely lose in the end, but it’s a tournament sport, and every team but one suffers that fate. Enjoy the ride.

Football

If you’re wondering where we’re at as we inch closer to National Signing Day, GoVols247 has you covered with a Recruiting Stock Report ($$$). One particularly interesting note on this side of the paywall is that coach Pruitt and two other Vols coaches met with 5-star cornerback Olaijah Griffin last night. He’s the nation’s No. 3 cornerback and No. 25 overall prospect in this year’s class, and while USC may have the crystal ball advantage, Pruitt is setting his stun gun on Woo.


See that mysterious black bag that Pruitt is holding? It’s full of magic and hope.

The Papa speaks, imploring us first to hold our horses on Jauan Jennings because he’s not officially back on the team yet and is going to screw it up unless he changes, and second, setting realistic expectations for how the teams may have to play as careful underdogs for a while until we put the finishing touches on this thing.

It appears Fulmer was serious, though, when saying he was going to build something to compete with Alabama, because he’s continuing to build an army of coaching support staff, adding an assistant director of football operations and an assistant strength coach.

Other fun stuff

Nick Saban is reportedly hiring Mike Locksley to replace Brian Daboll as his new offensive coordinator. Why is this fun? See if this reminds you of anything:

Alabama coach Nick Saban has reportedly settled on the replacement for former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, and all he had to do was walk down the hall.

Ding, ding, ding! Yes, that’s how Butch Jones found Larry Scott. We need an offensive coordinator, and he was, like, right there, so we hired him!

Okay, so just because it exploded into a thousand death shards here doesn’t mean it will happen there, but a guy can dream, can’t he?

Also, this piece from Dari Nowkhah about the struggle to keep his fandom from showing while covering the Rose Bowl is well done. I wonder when someone is finally going to challenge the idea that old-school professional sports journalists must continue to labor under a pretense of objectivity. It really doesn’t have to be that way. You can be a fan and still be fair and professional, and it will likely result in a lot more fun and a corresponding increase in ratings as well.

And finally, have you ever wondered how the players in the Super Bowl were rated as high school recruits? SB Nation has the info.

 

Gameday Today: Tennessee football, basketball, and VFLs

Hoops

Tennessee found yet another way to win in beating South Carolina 70-63 Saturday night, namely having its bench outscore its starters. If you were for some reason unable to watch, do yourself a favor and watch these highlights of the game. Be prepared to hear the names Lamonte Turner and Derrick Walker a lot:

Unfortunately, the Lady Vols did not fare as well this weekend, falling to #6 Mississippi State, 71-52 at home.

Football

Tennessee appears to be in the mix to land Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst, who’s on the graduate transfer market. Chryst was the third-best pro-style QB in the Class of 2014. He redshirted as a freshman and then played four games (0 starts) as a sophomore, 12 (6-0 as the starter) as a junior, and 7 (all starts) this past season before giving way to KJ Costello after a 5-2 start.

SB Nation has identified Tennessee as the greatest underachiever of the 2017 season as measured by the disparity between talent (8th in recruiting) and S&P+ (107th). Woo. The bright side of that, of course, is that there still appears to be talent on the roster, and presumably, the problem of not having anyone to develop that talent into its true potential has been fixed. Right?

Don’t ever just form opinions on the headlines, folks. Sure, an early tweet made it it look like Vol Shaq Wiggins was recruiting against the team that he played for, but in a subsequent tweet, Wiggins clarified that he didn’t know who the recruit was and that he was merely praising a beloved former coach.

ICYMI: It looks like VFL Montario Hardesty will be joining Jeremy Pruitt’s staff as a quality control assistant. Oh, and it’s looking like Jauan Jennings is going to be given a chance to walk the straight and narrow on this year’s team.

VFLs

Derek Barnett had a huge play in the Eagles’ big win over the Vikings last night:

Christian Coleman set a new world record in the 60 meter dash.

Tennys Sandgren, having already beaten the No. 9 seed in the Australian Open, followed it up by beating the No. 5 seed, Dominic Thiem in a five-set thriller.

Quinten Dormady to transfer from Tennessee

Tennessee quarterback Quinten Dormady announced via his Twitter account today that he will finish his degree this spring and transfer somewhere else to play his final season.

Dormady started the first five games last season before giving way to Jarrett Guarantano and undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. As a graduate transfer, he’ll be eligible to play immediately next season should he complete his shoulder rehab.

Dormady played sparingly as Josh Dobbs’ backup in both the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Last year, he won the starting spot in fall camp and ended up completing 76 of 137 passes for 925 yards and 6 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. His final start came in the 41-0 loss to Georgia, a game during which he was benched after completing only five passes and throwing two interceptions. Guarantano took over after that game, and after a brief appearance in the South Carolina game, Dormady decided to undergo surgery on his shoulder, thus ending his season.

With Dormady gone, Tennessee’s quarterback roster consists of Guarantano and Will McBride as his backup. Also on the roster but without any playing experience are Zac Jancek and Seth Washington. Class of 2018 pro-style quarterback JT Shrout has signed his letter of intent, so he’ll be on campus next fall as well, but as of right now there are no other quarterbacks committed to Tennessee.

Best of luck to Dormady.

Gameday Today: Hoops continues to build steam

Hoops

If you haven’t ever watched a Rick Barnes press conference, you really should take the time to do it. He’s super casual, funny, insightful, and refreshingly open and honest about everything. Here’s a taste:

Speaking of refreshing, check out Admiral Schofield’s interview with the SEC Network after the A&M game Saturday night:

Dude looks like he could absolutely wreck you physically and sounds like he could dominate you at debate club. Love this guy.

Not to be outdone, Grant Williams made this list of performances of the week thanks to his 37 points against Vandy:

And the #6 Lady Vols beat #9 South Carolina 86-70 thanks in part to a double-double from senior Mercedes Russell.

Football

Lots of visitors on campus this weekend, but no real news on any commits resulting from it just yet.

Former Tennessee commit Matthew Flint recently explained his earlier decommitment saying that he “never quit” on Tennessee. Sounds like a victim of coaching change.

One of the few bright spots of the 2017 football season, offensive lineman Trey Smith got some love at the basketball game on Saturday:

And hey, Alabama is not only looking for a new defensive coordinator to replace Jeremy Pruitt, they are now also looking for a new offensive coordinator to replace Brian Daboll, who took a job with the NFL’s Bills after only one season with Nick Saban. If you’re thinking they’re going to have any trouble finding two awesome coordinators, you’re probably wrong. Sigh.

Oh, and Georgia looks like they’re going to be trouble for at least another couple of years. Sigh again.

All-around effort leads Vols to 75-62 win over Texas A&M

Coming off a 37-point dominating performance in a 92-84 win over Vanderbilt earlier this week, Grant Williams this evening instead served as the “inside” to Tennessee’s inside-out game against a tall Texas A&M squad en route to a 75-62 win over the Aggies.

Williams was credited with only two actual assists on the night, but he was often the trigger man for a series of quick passes out of the post and then around the perimeter before a wide open shot went down. Every starter on the roster scored in double figures except Williams, who still finished with 9, and the team outdid the Aggies on the offensive boards 14-6 as well.

A&M entered Thompson-Boling Arena on a four-game skid after starting 11-1, but this would be their first game back at full strength. The game was tight early, but the Vols began to pull away about halfway through the first half. Heading into the locker room for the break, Tennessee was ahead 36-28.

The Aggies seemed just barely shy of theatening most of the rest of the way, but never really put it together. They made one final push with about six minutes remaining and the Vols stuck on 65, cutting the lead down to 6 points with 3:41 to go. Grant Williams put an end to that out of a timeout, though, with a sweet jump hook for 2 in the middle of the lane, and the Vols mostly coasted home from there.

Jordan Bowden led the way with 15 points, and Kyle Alexander, Admiral Schofield, and Jordan Bone had 14, 12, and 10. Scofield led the team on the boards with 8.

The Vols move to 12-4 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, 1.5 games behind 4-0 Auburn. They are currently 13th in RPI and 14th in KenPom. Up next is Missouri, Wednesday at 9:00.

Go Vols!

Todd Kelly hospitalized for minor injuries after fall

Early this morning, reports surfaced that Tennessee senior safety Todd Kelly Jr. had been hospitalized for some unspecified injury. The injuries were reportedly not serious.

Kelly posted this tweet at 10:18 this morning:

Later in the day, Jimmy Hyams reported that, according to a UT police report, Kelly’s hospitalization was due to an apparent suicide attempt. The short version of the story is that Kelly and his girlfriend, both of whom had been drinking, got into an argument, he threatened to hurt himself, and then fell off a 30-foot retaining wall, at which point he was taken to UT Medical Center for treatment and evaluation.

Kelly now has posted another tweet:

Whatever happened, prayers for Kelly, his family, and his friends.