A good question came out of this week’s return of the Gameday on Rocky Top Podcast: when did you have the bigger wait-and-see mentality, right now or five years ago? It’s no sin to say you need to see it to believe it with Jeremy Pruitt; after the last ten […]

We learned quite a bit about Derek Dooley and, even in one year, Lane Kiffin. But I’m not sure we learned a whole lot from them. Kiffin wasn’t here long enough for that, and even three years for a hire like Dooley tends to play out in a predictable pattern: this probably […]

Practice starts today. The quarterbacks will be the lead story, and the offensive line is moving from weakness to strength. My biggest on-the-field concern for 2018 is at corner. It’s the one place where playing a true freshman seems like the option with the highest ceiling. And while it’s exciting […]

It was Tennessee’s turn in Bill Connelly’s 130-team previews yesterday, and it included this terrifying statistic: You still need a quarterback who a) does his part and b) stays upright. Sophomore Jarrett Guarantano took an incredible 26 sacks on just 165 pass attempts… We thought the line would be question […]

I don’t know what you think the lowest moment of the last ten years is; maybe it’s the loss to Kentucky in 2011, maybe getting blown out by Georgia last year, or maybe it’s just everything from the South Carolina game in 2016 onward. But I’m a firm believer that […]

Jesse Simonton’s piece at VolQuest this week produced a familiar answer to a fun late-July question. What’s Tennessee’s most important game? It’s Florida. It’s almost always Florida. There are quotes Tennessee fans will like in Jesse’s piece, offering some behind-the-scenes insight on how Jeremy Pruitt’s staff seems to understand the […]

Tennessee takes the stage in Atlanta today, and the media will unveil their picks for the 2018 SEC standings before the week is out. Georgia should be the overwhelming favorite in the SEC East coming off a near-miss in the national championship game and the number one recruiting class of […]

We tend to overestimate the importance of a previous coach’s weakness. Butch Jones got elite talent to Knoxville, but struggled to keep it there. Potential difference makers from Preston Williams to Venzell Boulware left the program before their time was up, and actual difference makers like Jalen Hurd did the […]

The best highlights of 2016 belonged to Jauan Jennings, and the best highlights of 2017 belonged to Marquez Callaway. When building the case for Tennessee’s success in 2018, they’re a great place to start. Who’s next? #7: Wide Receiver Depth The Butch Jones offense threw the ball to the running back […]

We’ve learned not to assume a promising coordinator will make a smooth transition. When Butch Jones fired John Jancek and hired Bob Shoop, we thought it was the good-to-great move that could push Tennessee to a championship. Instead, through a combination of bad fit and injuries, the Vols finished 78th […]