Category Archives: Football

Gameday Today: Is Butch Jones immune to the legion of the miserable?

Butch Jones stiff arms the negative talk and keeps building an awesome class, a bunch of Tennessee baseball players get drafted, and VFLs just keep making us proud, all in today’s Vols link roundup.

Football

This headline from Gridiron Now makes a really interesting point: 

Tennessee recruiting booms despite Butch Jones speculation

You’d think that recruiting would be even more difficult when rumors begin to swirl about your imminent demise, but Jones is instead putting together one of his best classes. Chest bump to Jones for that. Maybe players just understand that relentless optimism better than fans do.

And yet Jones seems to be learning to season that optimism with a pinch of reality when talking to fans through the media. He’s “proud of [his] players, but not yet satisfied.” He says in one breath that Tennessee-Alabama is a “great, great rivalry,” but in the next that “we were very disappointed when we played them last year.” Basically, he’s still being himself but also learning to keep his foot out of his mouth.

There’s little danger in this statement, though, in which Jones says that he is pleased that his veterans are leading and his freshman are following.

Mike Griffith has an excellent feature on incoming running back Ty Chandler that you should go read now. Speaking of Mike, here he is saying interesting things on the SEC Network:

And again, GoVols247 entices you to bear the indignities of a 16-click slideshow by promising Vols football’s best moments against the Georgia Bulldogs. Yes, it’s a pain, but this one’s worth it. (You can also see the whole thing on one page if you are a subscriber.) 

Recruiting

Offensive line coach Walt Wells is up to No. 5 on 247Sports‘ recruiter rankings after landing the commitment of 4-star D’Andre Litaker. He’s third among SEC assistant coaches, and largely responsible for Tennessee’s 2018 class, which is currently ranked in the Top 10 and heading into Orange Carpet Day.

Speaking of which, GoVols247 has a list of five guys to watch this weekend ($$$).

New offers:

Baseball

The Atlanta Braves drafted Tennessee third baseman Jordan Rodgers in the sixth round on Tuesday. Pitchers Kyle Serrano (10th round, by the Houston Astros), Zach Warren (14th round, by the Philadelphia Phillies), and Hunter Martin (20th round, by Houston), and infielder Jeff Moberg (30th round, by the Colorado Rockies) were also drafted. Serrano, however, told Jimmy Hyams that he’s inclined to return to Tennessee rather than heading to the big leagues.

If you’re interested, SEC Sports has a list of all 75 players taken in the 2017 MLB Draft. Actually, they still have it even if you’re not interested, but you know what I mean.

The baseball Vols have also hired Frank Anderson as pitching coach.

Hoops

Five of the first six picks in the Pilot Rocky Top League draft were Vols. Guard Chris Darrington went No. 1 overall. Jordan Bowden went second, and Admiral Schofield went third. Grant Williams and Jordan Bone were fifth and sixth. Play begins Monday night at 6:00 at Knoxville Catholic High School. 

VFLs

Cam Sutton has signed his contract with the Steelers, and according to Spotrac, it’s worth $3,236,714. Love to see these guys so richly rewarded for their hard work.

Peyton Manning offered Lamar Jackson this advice after he won the Heisman Trophy:

“Peyton Manning told me that if you’re not having fun with it, always talk with your guys. Talk to the people around the program who can help you with stuff like that. You’ve got to always have a smile on your face. People are always watching.”

Eric Berry said that he has a very good reason to regularly give hungry people food:

“I don’t do it for the attention,” Berry said. “I don’t do none of this for the attention. I do it to better myself and give back. That’s what you should do it for.”

Other fun stuff

Another sports book has set the over/under for the Vols this fall at 7.5 games. So the money-where-your-mouth-is people are banking on 7-8 wins for Tennessee. 

The USTFCCCA, which wins the award for laziest acronym, named Vols junior Christian Coleman its National Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year. Assistant coach Tim Hall earned National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year.

Golfer Hunter Wolcott is tied for 13th after the first round of the Southeastern Amateur at the Country Club of Columbus.

The 2017 Tennessee offensive line is one of the most experienced in the SEC

You often hear from coaches and commentators that football is a “line of scrimmage” game and that the SEC, in particular, is a “line of scrimmage” league. What they mean, of course, is that the game is largely decided on which team’s offensive and defensive lines win their respective battles.

We know this intuitively to be true. Taken to its logical extreme, if the offensive line could magically make the entire defensive line disappear on every play, that offense would have an advantage even with mediocre players at quarterback, running back, and receiver. And conversely, if the defensive line just rolls right through the offensive line, no amount of Heisman Trophy contenders in the backfield are going to save the day.

The coaches and commentators are not saying that the skill players aren’t important. They’re just reminding everyone that the players no one talks about are at least as important, and perhaps even more important, to the success of the team.

So if that’s true, why is it that the offensive line doesn’t get more attention?

Evaluating offensive lineman is time-consuming and difficult

Offensive linemen get less attention from casual fans and pundits because, frankly, there’s just not much for them to talk about. Most folks in the stands and in front of their televisions watch football by watching the football. After the center snaps the ball, all eyes are first on the quarterback, and then on either the running back or the receiver. The eyes follow the ball on Saturdays and the stats on Sundays, but even most of the stats follow the ball. So it’s easy for fans to talk about skill players because there are numbers at the ready to measure their performance.

Not so for offensive linemen. There are few easy stats adequately measuring their contributions that fans can toss back and forth in conversation. The explanation for the lack of such stats is that the real contributions of the offensive line are difficult to measure. Their value comes not from actually moving the ball but from creating opportunities for the skill guys by creating space or time.

So if offensive linemen don’t get noticed because they rarely touch the ball and therefore rarely end up in the box score, how do you evaluate them apart from actively studying their individual efforts on video or relying on the experts who do?

One way is to use the decisions of the coaching staff as a proxy. They are studying film, closely evaluating each player, and presumably, the best guys are earning the most playing time. So the number of games a player starts and the number of games in which he played should be a pretty good indication of how a staff values an offensive lineman. More games and more starts means more experience, and experience matters in football, especially along the offensive line. We’ll talk about the degree to which experience matters later, but first, let’s look at the relative experience of the offensive lines in the SEC.

Phil Steel’s SEC offensive line experience list

Yesterday, Phil Steele posted his compilation of offensive line experience, which is a ranking of teams by most career starts on the line. Here are the SEC teams:

So, according to that table, Tennessee has a pretty significant experience advantage over most of its SEC East rivals, with only South Carolina and Kentucky really coming close.

Gameday on Rocky Top’s SEC offensive line experience list

In compiling the Gameday on Rocky Top All-SEC team for our magazine, we, too, compiled a list of offensive line experience for the SEC teams. Ours included both starts and games played, and in that list Kentucky edged Tennessee for first place by a small margin. So our numbers are in general agreement with Phil Steele and show that Tennessee’s offensive line is in good shape this fall from an experience standpoint.

[ess_grid alias=”grt-2017-promo-grid”][/ess_grid]

 

Conclusion

The Vols’ offensive linemen for 2017 have played and started a lot of games in their careers. Being pressed into action early in their careers undoubtedly gives them experience, and experience presumably makes them better. At the very least, they should be better than they were before they gained the experience.

Of course, being the best on your team and the unit being better than it was last year says little about how good you are relative to other teams. For that, we’ll need to look at other factors, which we will get to in a later post.

For now, though, one thing is crystal clear: The 2017 Tennessee Volunteers have one of the most experienced offensive lines in the SEC.

Gameday Today: East Tennessee loves West Tennessee

The Big Orange Caravan shows some love to West Tennessee, a few of Butch Jones’ favorite things, a raise for an assistant coach, and a relief for a player, all in today’s Vols link roundup.

Football

The Big Orange Caravan hit Memphis yesterday, and more than 900 Vols fans showed up.

Butch Jones took the opportunity to reiterate that West Tennessee is important to the University of Tennessee:

“It’s very, very important,” Jones said. “This is the state of Tennessee. We’ve really made a concentrated effort to get into the Memphis area, and I think that shows in our recent recruiting. Then you look at our players from the Memphis area, they’re having great success right now, with Drew Richmond and obviously Trey Smith from Jackson.

“We’re very, very excited about this area. We’ve made a great commitment to recruit here and be very visible here, as well.”

Jones is also excited about his receiving corps this year, looking forward to Peyton Manning visiting campus sometime this week to spend some time with Quinten Dormady, Jarrett Guarantano, and Will McBride, and managing expectations about the Shy Tuttle’s return from injury (there’s “no timetable,” but Jones does expect him to be back by the season opener, which is great news.) Oh, and Jones has a picture of Jajuan Jennings’ “I-just-burned-Jalen-Tabor” touchdown against the Gators last season on the wall in his office.

Not sure why this is news, really, but athletic director John Currie says that he’s not talked with Butch Jones about his contract. He’s in the middle of it, and I’m not a huge fan of regular re-negotiations anyway, although I know it’s the way of the world these days.

Running backs coach Robert Gillespie got a $35,000 raise, and his now-$510,000 annual salary makes him the highest-paid non-coordinator assistant on the Vols staff. Related: ESPN put Tennessee running back John Kelly on a list of potential 1,000-yard rushers for this fall.

Not only have all criminal charges against Josh Smith been dropped, the threat of civil liability has been dropped as well. Good news. I don’t know the story, and we’ll probably never know, but the whole thing just looked like a molehill.

[ess_grid alias=”grt-2017-promo-grid”][/ess_grid]

 

Recruiting

Latest offers:

 

 

Gameday Today: Bob Shoop’s covfefe, cocky wide receivers, and recovering former QBs

Bob Shoop’s covfefe oops, cocky wide receivers, and recovering former quarterbacks, all in today’s Vols link roundup.

Football

Tennessee defensive coordinator has apparently out-covfefe’d Donald Trump. I vote ei.

New Vols wide receivers coach likes his receivers to be cocky and knows how to handle ’em that way:

“I love ‘em cocky,’’ Beard said. “I love ‘em. Why? That’s who you are. That’s all the great receivers.

“It’s not about, `Oh, you can’t handle those guys because they’re cocky.’ No, you’ve got to explain to them when and when not to exercise those actions. Once you learn how to cultivate them and coach them up on when should and shouldn’t, you’ve got a great football player. So I like them cocky.’’

One of his other quirky qualifications is “juice,” meaning a guy whose actions prove that he just loves to play.

And Tennessee coaches are pleased that the offensive line is taking on a leadership role this year. It’s important, says offensive coordinator Larry Scott:

“You always want your guys up front to set the tone, no matter how experience or how skilled you are everywhere else,” he said. “Football games are won, especially in the SEC, up front. It’s a line-of-scrimmage league. With that being said, you always want that to kind of be the strength, even though they may be young or whatever. 

“It’s the mentality and the mindset that you’ve got to have from those guys up front that’s more important than anything else.”

Vince Ferrara ranks the SEC’s toughest stretches in the 2017 schedule. The Vols’ schedule ranks 12th, from October 14-28, which is South Carolina, at Alabama, and at Kentucky. That really doesn’t sound all that bad, as far as gauntlets go.

VFLs

It’s a shame that former quarterback Jonathan Crompton does not look back at his Tennessee days fondly. I don’t blame him, as too many folks were too ugly during that tough time and, as the quarterback, he was often the target.

What would have happened if Peyton Manning had left Tennessee early for the NFL? Surprisingly, the answer is not, “The world would have come to a screeching halt.” Maybe there would be fewer folks named “Peyton” or “Payton” in East Tennessee right now. Or maybe not.

Baseball

Get to know new baseball coach Tony Vitello a little bit:

If five minutes isn’t enough and you’d rather have 40, here’s the entire presser:

Hoops

Three players — James Daniel III, Lamonte Turner, and John Fulkerson — are not playing in the Rocky Top League, which holds its draft this Wednesday.

Recruiting

New offers:

 

 

Gameday Today: Eric Berry makes everything better

The legend of VFL Eric Berry continues to grow, a prospect turns the table on Tennessee, and we’re beginning to feel better about the secondary, all in today’s Vols link roundup.

Eric Berry just keeps leveling up in Awesome

My favorite NFL team – Eric Berry – is apparently still engaged in the continuous improvement of his Awesome game, getting to-go food at a Knoxville restaurant while he was in town for the purpose of giving it to some homeless people on his way out. He also reportedly stopped and prayed with them. All of this without any cameras or public relations folks following him around. It’s just Eric Berry living his life, and no one but the people involved would have known if it hadn’t been captured by a random Facebooker:

Recruiting

As Brad posted yesterday, the Vols landed a commitment from top-shelf Class of 2020 running back Miles Friday. The 247Sports follow-up article includes a quote from Friday that makes it sound like he was recruiting Tennessee:

“It’s always been a school that I’ve really looked into and could see myself going to at a young age,” said Friday, who’s expected to be one of the top prospects from Georgia in the 2020 class. “It was a few schools I was basically waiting for — them, LSU — but Tennessee was really just the one I really, really wanted. And when I got it, I was ecstatic.

“They looked at me for a while, since my eighth-grade year. But they were like, ‘You’re too young,’ and stuff. And I just kept pushing. I kept going over there, and every time I’d see the coaches, I would just push for them.

“And when they finally did it, I was just like, ‘It’s time.’”

There were more offers yesterday, too:

Football

Brad also weighed in on his projections for the Tennessee secondary yesterday. And we’re adding this bit from 247Sports to our list of reasons to be excited for this season:

The quartet of seniors Todd Kelly Jr. and Evan Berry, junior Micah Abernathy and sophomore Nigel Warrior recorded a combined 25 starts last season alone, and there’s talent to go along with their experience, as all four are former four-star prospects according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

I’ll keep saying it: Folks are under-appreciating the talent that will take the field for the Vols this fall.

Hey, Tennessee offensive coordinator Larry Scott, how do you keep quarterbacks happy? Teach them about process and patience.

Hey, Lane Kiffin, what do you think about Butch Jones? 

“I think Coach [Butch Jones] has done a great job there,” Kiffin told Saturday Down South. “They really have had some tough breaks down the stretch. They started out really fast with some big wins and it seems like they are right there and need one break to get it done. … Injuries take their toll, especially as the season keeps going on. It’s a tough sport and that’s why it’s one of the hardest sports to maintain winning because of that factor and so many variables.”

Odds and Ends

Grant Williams!

https://twitter.com/Vol_Hoops/status/872904997670973441

UTSports has a roundup of what people who matter are saying about new baseball coach Tony Vitello.

Eight members of the Tennessee women’s golf program will play in 18 different tournaments over the summer.

 

 

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Defensive Backs

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee defensive backs depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the defensive backs.

Tennessee Defensive Backs

A season ago, Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and defensive backs coach Willie Martinez didn’t see eye to eye on scheme or philosophy. Fast-forward a year later, and Shoop is getting used to a new DBs coach in former North Carolina assistant Charlton Warren, who hopes to take all that talent the Vols have accumulated on the back end and mold it into something much better than it’s been the past couple of seasons.

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Teaching the defensive backs to turn their heads around and actually look for the ball would be a start. Outside of Cameron Sutton, finding actual, impressive development among UT’s defensive backs during the Martinez era is difficult. The Vols simply struggled at cornerback and safety despite recruiting fairly well at the position.

Now, Warren must try to help those guys regain their form they displayed as top recruits, especially with Sutton now in camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let’s take a look at what UT has on the third level.

Cornerbacks

The post-Sutton era may be a bit rocky, but it certainly doesn’t have to be, especially considering the Vols got a very big boost with a graduate transfer who should step right in and not only help right away but start. That would be Shaq Wiggins, who will be playing for his third program after starting his career with Georgia before leaving Athens for Louisville along with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.

Though Grantham and defensive backs coach Terrell Buckley tried to get Wiggins to follow them to Mississippi State, he elected to finish his career in Knoxville, where he has some friends, including former UT running back Alvin Kamara, who helped recruit Wiggins to UT. He’ll have every opportunity to win one of the starting corner jobs, and the Vols are thrilled to have a player with his talent and experience to insert into a rotation needing an alpha. In three seasons, Wiggins has 57 tackles, including 4.5 for a loss and four interceptions. The 5’10”, 172-pound senior needs a big year for Warren on Rocky Top.

Also at cornerback, the Vols have a pair of rising seniors who’ve experienced up-and-down careers at UT and need to finish on a high note. Both are talented enough to, but neither have been very dependable as of yet. I’m talking about Emmanuel Moseley and Justin Martin.

The latter of the two came in with huge fan fare as a 4-star prospect who was recruited by virtually everybody in the Southeast and seemed set to go to LSU before John Chavis left for Texas A&M. As it turned out, the former Overton High School standout came back from his Oklahoma JUCO to Tennessee, and the Vols thought they were getting a stud in Martin. Throughout his first two years, it hasn’t panned out that way. However, he admittedly has grown up a lot. He told GoVols247’s Wes Rucker this spring that the arrival of Warren really helped with a fresh start.

“In particular, I think what made everything click was, really, this is my last year, and I knew I could do it,” he said. “I knew I was talented and capable enough to do it, but just getting a fresh start with the new coaching staff, that was pretty much it. Coach Warren is a real good coach. I appreciate him.”

After a spring where he balled out and was not only one of the best defensive backs but one of the best players on the team, Martin looks poised for a big senior year. It would be big news for UT if he lived up to the athleticism that once had him as an NFL prospect.

As for Moseley, he started his career at UT in just the opposite way. He was a 2-star player committed to Charlotte when the Vols flipped him, and though he wound up a 3-star, he was largely overlooked as a skinny defender. However, Moseley added weight quickly, stepped right in and started some games as a true freshman. It looked like his career was ready to take off. But he sort of plateaued, and he’s never really gotten over the hump. In 2016, he had 57 tackles and 3.5 tackles for a loss but had no interceptions. He’s the poster boy for not getting his head around, and teams have picked on him because of it. If he can get his mechanics down, Moseley could end in good fashion. He’s definitely proven he has the talent to.

Those are the big three at cornerback and the guys who should get the most reps for the Vols if everything falls the way they think. But there’s talent behind them. First, I’m excited to see sophomore Baylen Buchanan develop. He was forced into action too early a season ago, but the son of Ray Buchanan has a lot of talent, and he should get better under Warren’s tutelage. Senior former JUCO transfer D.J. Henderson looks like he’s more of a special teams player, but he could possibly play in a pinch.

At nickelback, the Vols simply must stay healthy and get better play than they had a season ago. Rashaan Gaulden, a 6’1″, 185-pound redshirt junior, has immense potential and was one of UT’s best defenders a season ago with 68 tackles and six tackles for a loss. But he needs more difference-making, game-changing plays. Actually, UT needs that from everybody on the back end, but Gaulden should be a leader who steps up and provides that. Behind him, Marquill Osborne enters his sophomore year with a chance to get on the field and make a difference. He has the versatility to play cornerback or nickel, and Osborne is too talented not to be in the rotation. In a pinch, Micah Abernathy has proven he can play nickelback as well, though the Vols would love for him to stay at safety.

UT wound up with three cornerbacks in the 2017 recruiting class, and though none of the signees were higher than 3-star players, they had huge offer sheets, and the Vols had to fend off big programs to keep them in the fold. It all starts with Louisiana product Cheyenne Labruzza, who was wanted by home-state LSU as well as Florida, but he committed to UT early and stuck through the Vols even when they got rid of Martinez. He has the potential to be an immediate-impact player if some of the upperclassmen falter. Then, there’s little-recruited Shawn Shamburger, who fans gave a collective “WHO?” when he committed. Toward the end of the recruiting process, however, in-state Georgia and Kirby Smart tried to get him to visit Athens and steal him late in the process. He also stayed true to his pledge. Terrell Bailey is another Louisiana product who was coveted by Notre Dame late in the process but came to UT.

The Vols love their cornerbacks class, and those guys are going to have the opportunity to come in and fit in.

“I really am excited to watch these guys,” Shoop said at the Big Orange Caravan stop in Chattanooga recently, according to GoVols247’s Patrick Brown. “I haven’t seen them do anything athletically, I have to say, but Labruzza makes such a positive first impression. We’re talking about a 4.0 student, high character, smart, tough, unselfish. I feel the same way about Sham and Terrell. All three of those guys, they know they’re in a position to compete.”

Safeties

At safety, the Vols should be able to go four deep with a pretty strong unit if they’d play up to their potential, and a pair of youngsters could help as well.

Senior Todd Kelly Jr. needs to have a big year. The 5’11”, 208-pound enforcer has eight interceptions in his career, but he needs to get a step quicker and make a difference on the back end more consistently than he has in the past. Kelly is a sure tackler who had 71 a season ago, and he has the potential to be an elite player on the back end. He just needs to take the next step. He’s more of a linebacker on the third level, and he needs to anticipate plays a little quicker than he has. Still, that’s nitpicking considering TK has been UT’s biggest playmaker besides Sutton throughout his career. He’s a leader and a solid contributor who you can write in ink as a starter. 

He needs to will UT’s secondary to a better season with his play and his leadership.

The guy everybody wants to see is sophomore Nigel Warrior, who took a huge leap this past spring after a freshman year where he struggled to stay on the field due to his inability to get lined up and grasp the scheme quickly. Now, with a year in the system, it appeared a light came on for Warrior during these 15 film sessions. He’s easily the most talented player in Tennessee’s secondary, and if he can click the way many expect he will, he’s a guy who could develop into an All-SEC player in a hurry. There’s a reason why Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, LSU and everybody else wanted him. But Warrior is Dale Carter’s son, and the Vols legend’s legacy seemed destined to wind up in Knoxville. Now, it’s time for him to dominate.

The duo of quality backups should be Micah Abernathy, who started a lot of games a season ago, and special teams monster Evan Berry, who spent most of 2016 injured. Abernathy is a quality player who very easily could be a starter as a junior, and he’ll probably be in the lineup in his fair share of games. The 6’0″, 195-pound junior started 10 games a season ago and finished with 69 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two interceptions. Warrior may well be too talented to keep out of the starting lineup, but don’t expect Abernathy to give it up easily. It’s excellent to have a player of his ilk back there, even if he’s a versatile guy who provides quality snaps off the bench.

Then there’s Berry, who is one of the best kick returners in the nation. In the bowl game two years ago, it looked like a light was coming on for him at safety where he was playing fast and furious. Last year, it just never came together. He played in nine games, starting three at free safety. He needs to be a lot more consistent on defense, but if he can be, his elite athleticism will help with key reps.

That leaves the two freshmen, including LaVergne’s Maleik Gray, who is one of the prize recruits of this past cycle. The 4-star player chose UT over tons of offers, and the Vols came on and swept him away from Florida State and USC, his early favorites. He could grow into a linebacker, but the Vols want him to stay at safety, where they expect him to be a playmaker soon. He’ll at least help on special teams this year and has the potential to crack the rotation. Then there’s Theo Jackson, who is also from the Midstate. While he probably needs a year in the weight room and a redshirt, he’s a guy the Vols love, and he could be a steal. Jackson is a player who could start a lot of games down the road.

Conclusion

If you look across this list, you’re probably pretty excited, right? After all, the names above are a lot of guys many of us were excited about when they committed and signed. Names like Warrior, Gray, Abernathy, Kelly, etc., were huge recruiting wins.

It’s time for them to be difference-makers on Saturday.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a lot of fans who were thrilled with Martinez’s coaching the past couple of years, and now that he’s gone, a lot is expected of Warren. He was a good hire by most accounts, and he’s got a lot of talent with which to work. If that sounds familiar, the same was said for Shoop a season ago, and we all know how that worked out.

It’s time for a lot of these kids to play like they deserve scholarships, and it’s time for the coaches to coach like they deserve their salary. Above, you see a lot of big names and some decent statistics, but the Vols need game-breaking, drive-killing plays from their secondary. Those have been missing throughout the past couple of seasons, and UT needs to get back to that. This is the unit that has the potential to carry the defense.

It needs to do it.

Prediction

CB — Shaq Wiggins, Emmanuel Moseley, Baylen Buchanan
CB — Justin Martin, Emmanuel Moseley, Cheyenne Labruzza
NB — Rashaan Gaulden, Marquill Osborne, Micah Abernathy
S — Todd Kelly Jr., Micah Abernathy, Maleik Gray
S — Nigel Warrior, Micah Abernathy, Evan Berry

Gameday Today: A new record, a new coach, and a new assignment for you

 

Christian Coleman sets a new record, Tennessee baseball hires a new coach, and the football program begins summer workouts and apparently expects you to help. This and more in Gameday Today.

Christian Coleman

Breaking news: Tennessee track and field star Christian Coleman is FAST. Coleman set a collegiate record in the 100 meter with a time of 9.82.

https://twitter.com/Vol_Track/status/872653353385205760

Baseball

Tennessee has hired Tony Vitello as its new head baseball coach. The job offer apparently came shortly after a 1:45 a.m. phone call from John Currie to Vitello, who was consoling himself by watching Tombstone after the Arkansas team of which he was an assistant coach had lost in the NCAA Tournament:

“I don’t know how good I am in a formal interview,” Vitello said, “but at 1:45 in the morning you throw everything out the window. It was just chatting about the job and … that turned into a teleconference the next morning and that turned into meeting some place (Tuesday) night.”

If you’re interested in a 12-click slideshow (or have a subscription), GoVols247 has a list of the MLB players Vitello has coached.

Tennessee Football commences summer workouts

Do you remember that old public service announcement about forest fires? We’re introduced to Smokey the Bear, who somberly says that, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Okay, hold that in your mind a second.

Now, do you remember comedian Steven Wright and his joke about seeing that Smokey the Bear PSA as a kid? You know, this one:

Yeah, that’s the feeling I had at the tail end of UT Football’s latest video showing the players starting the summer strength and conditioning program:

https://twitter.com/vol_football/status/872585221891268609

It’s my turn? Oh, no. Where does one buy a medicine ball?

Other Football

The SEC Network has a video of Cole Cubelic opining on the SEC’s Top 5 offensive lines. His list is Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Florida, and then a bunch of others grouped together, including Tennessee. I still think the Vols’ o-line is being underrated and undervalued.

Great quote from offensive coordinator Larry Scott:

“I would never sacrifice recruiting. Never,” he said at the Big Orange Caravan stop in Chattanooga on Saturday. “You can be as good a coach as you want to be, but if you ain’t coaching good players and good people, good luck.”

VFLs

This is a great story about how Cam Sutton blew the Pittsburgh Steelers away with his knowledge of the game:

“We hold a dinner for all the NFL head coaches and general managers the night before our NFL Pro Day, when they come to our campus and they test our players,” Jones said. “Mike Tomlin, who’s a great friend of mine, and Kevin Colbert, the GM of the Pittsburgh Steelers, come in and take Cameron Sutton into our defensive back meeting room. Mike Tomlin says to Cam Sutton, ‘OK, pick a game, and I want you to talk about it. You’re gonna tell me your assignment.’ Cam says, ‘I want to watch the App State game, so they put the App State game in, and Cam is telling ‘em the front, the coverage, the defensive line’s responsibilities, the linebackers, the entire secondary.

“Then Kevin Colbert steps in and says, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. You’re playing us. We don’t go for that game. You’ve rehearsed this. Take that game out. I want the second quarter of the Nebraska game.’ So they put the second quarter of the Nebraska game in, and Cam Sutton does the same thing, saying everyone’s assignment.

“Mike Tomlin comes out and says, ‘Butch, I need to see you.’ I said, ‘What’s up?’ He goes, ‘In all my years of coaching, I’ve never been through an interview like that. He could tell us everything.’

Woo for Cam.

Peyton Manning is becoming a strategic advisor to helmet-maker Riddell.

Recruiting

There were a whole bunch of new offers extended by the Vols’ coaching staff over the past couple of days:

 

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Linebackers

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee linebackers depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the linebackers.

Tennessee Linebackers

As if you didn’t have enough heartburn after reading about the defensive ends, we now turn our attention to the second level of the defense, where it’s Darrin Kirkland Jr. and a whole lot of unproven players.

All is not lost, however. There is plenty of talent, even if it’s unproven talent. And this is a position where the Vols absolutely must be leaps and bounds better than they were in 2016, which hit the ditch after Jalen Reeves-Maybin was lost for the season following a fluke special-teams injury and Kirkland failed to ever return to form after suffering a high ankle sprain in the Battle at Bristol.

While all the injuries and lack of depth on the defensive interior were a huge factor to UT’s defensive decline, the setbacks at linebacker hurt, too. Those things combined are why Tennessee wound up with the worst rush defense in school history and also ranked No. 95 in the country in total defense (449.2 ypg) and No. 78 in yards per play (5.84).

Those are numbers defensive coordinator Bob Shoop knows must turn around.

“I think I might have built some unrealistic expectations, and when we got guys injured, maybe the guy calling the shots was a little bit stubborn,” Shoop told VolQuest’s Jesse Simonton. “I think I really wanted to force a fit, that, ‘This is my style of defense.’ I probably didn’t do a great job at times of tailoring things.”

That all starts with Kirkland’s progression.

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The Veterans

As the defense’s quarterback, his hand prints are going to be all over this unit. The rising junior middle linebacker burst onto the scene with a memorable freshman year that had many UT fans thinking he would be an All-SEC player at the very least. Following the injury last year, he was mediocre at best. But he also struggled to get lined up and line up others in Shoop’s defense. After a season learning the system and a full offseason of health and weight-room training, the Indianapolis native should return to form. It’s vital that he flies all around the field making tackles, especially now that tackle gobbler JRM is out of the equation.

Kirkland’s expected mate in what generally is a nickel defense with just two ‘backers on the field at once is senior Cortez McDowell, who had an up-and-down year in ’16 but may well have wound up Tennessee’s best linebacker throughout the year, at least from a consistency standpoint. The 6’0″, 235-pound linebacker from Locust Grove, Georgia, needs to have a big year teaming with Kirkland to give UT a formidable duo.

After those two, the Vols still have a bunch of depth and talent. Thanks to the injuries, there are a few guys with experience, too. Former walk-on Colton Jumper isn’t going to thrill a lot of Vols fans with his athleticism, but he’s a steady player who is rarely out of position, even if he isn’t the best guy to have on the field in passing situations. The 6’2″, 224-pound redshirt junior led all second-level players with 61 tackles and added an interception in ’16. Whether you like him or not, he’s a good player who is going to be a great guy to have on the team for the next two years, providing depth, stability and defensive knowledge.

On the Cusp [And Others]

At outside linebacker, there are two talented Georgia boys who are returning from injury and could be depended on heavily. That would be speedy Quart’e Sapp, who suffered a knee injury a season ago that cost him the year. After showing out on special teams as a freshman, the Vols are happy to have him back for three years, and if he can return at full-speed (which he should) he has the chance to be a dynamic player who can get sideline-to-sideline and get after the quarterback from the edge, too.

The other guy is Austin Smith, a 6’3″, 236-pound versatile linebacker who can line up at strong-side in traditional 4-3 sets or even put his hand down at defensive end with the Vols short on depth there. Smith is a guy who was wanted by teams like Florida and Georgia out of high school, and he’s never truly been completely healthy. It’ll be fun to see him now that he is.

An exciting player with a lot of upside is 6’3″, 235-pound sophomore Daniel Bituli, who looked terrific this spring, is really in shape and should provide a lot of depth and talent behind Kirkland in the middle of the defense. If he emerges, he could enable Jumper to shift outside and help out there. Bituli is too talented to keep off the field for a Vols team needing difference-makers on the second level. He’s one of the players I’m most excited to see in 2017.

Though senior Elliott Berry wasn’t expected to make much of an impact in his career as the less-heralded of the two Berry twins, he helped a ton in ’16, lending an able body and playing 13 games while starting four, finishing with 34 tackles and 3.5 for a loss. He’s not an explosive player, but at 5’11”, 222 pounds and with three years under his belt, he can provide much-needed experienced depth and quality snaps.

Still, despite the experience brought by Jumper and Berry, the Vols can put more talented guys on the field. That’s not a knock on those two, but the guys who shone a season ago were on a bad unit that was often shredded by the opponent, even Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Missouri. It also remains to be seen if UT is ever going to get anything out of former 4-star recruit, legacy and heavily recruited outside linebacker Dillon Bates. Also, redshirt freshman Ja’Quain Blakely could wind up being in the equation somewhere, but he’s yet to carve out a firm position in the depth chart.

That’s why the Vols brought in three talented linebackers, and it isn’t out of the question that one or more of them could see the field. 

Youngsters

It starts with mid-term enrollee Shanon Reid of South Florida, who was coveted by LSU, Florida and others. He chose the Vols, and after going through a spring practice, he may be able to provide some help at least on special teams and maybe on the outside in a pinch. He’s 6’0″, 205 pounds, but while he isn’t the biggest guy, he is fast and makes plays.

Tennessee also won a battle with LSU, Auburn and others to sign New Market, Alabama, linebacker Will Ignont, who, at one time, was one of the most heavily recruited ‘backers in the country. That was during his junior year, but he put on some bad weight, left for IMG Academy in Florida and then came back home to Buckhorn High School, where he played for a mediocre team. However, after shedding the bad weight and getting back to his old self, several schools turned up the heat recruiting him again. The Vols stayed on him through all that, and he developed a great relationship with position coach Tommy Thigpen which ultimately helped UT land him. Now, the Vols think they’ve got a steal, and he projects to play in the middle with Kirkland and Bituli.

Finally, nobody heard much about Solon Page III during the recruiting process. He was one of UT’s earliest commitments, was firm the whole way and never was heavily recruited by major schools because of it. Though he was a low 3-star player who didn’t get much love from the services, all he did was go out and win Class AAAAA defensive player of the year and first-team all-state honors in Georgia. He was also a Parade All-American, despite not being ranked highly by any of the services. Though he’s just 6’2″, 205 pounds, UT thinks it got a steal out of Page. He will be able to redshirt this season unless he helps on special teams, and the future is very bright for him.

The Vols have no shortage of bodies at linebacker, and considering they normally only have two on the field at once, you’d think they should be able to find two difference-makers who can make things happen and accumulate the tackles that were missed a season ago. If not, it’s an indictment to their recruiting because on paper it sure looks like they’ve got some players with bright futures.

Prediction

MLB – Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Colton Jumper, Will Ignont
WLB – Cortez McDowell, Quart’e Sapp, Colton Jumper, Elliott Berry, Shanon Reid
SLB (when needed) – Austin Smith, Colton Jumper, Elliott Berry

Gameday Today: CBS thinks the Vols are a good (over/under) bet in 2017

All’s fair in love and officials, CBSSports thinks Tennessee is a good bet, and Derek Barnett’s got good bend. This and more in today’s Vols link roundup.

Hoops

Tennessee basketball leads off today because Rick Barnes is apparently a stickler for honesty — except when it comes to officials. So I guess we can trust him when he tells us fans that power forward Derrick Walker arrived on campus in “better shape than we thought he would be.”

Football

CBSSports’ Tom Fornelli thinks that Tennessee is the best over/under value play for 2017.

Class of 2018 3-star cornerback Jaylon Reed has decommitted from the Vols. 247Sports has a list of Tennessee’s best remaining options at the position. Bob Shoop is excited about his new batch of recruits for this year, at least.

Tennessee has offered a scholarship to Class of 2020 defensive end Samuel Anaele, from Miami, Florida.

Saturday Down South asks whether Tennessee’s passing game could be better in 2017. I’m pretty tired this morning — I’m catching #Predneck fever — so I didn’t actually see an answer, but I do like the question.

All for Tennessee waters the seed, saying that Tennessee’s defensive line is better than people think. The best evidence for this opinion is a junior class that includes Shy Tuttle, Jonathan Kongbo, Kahlil McKenzie, and Kyle Phillips.

And John Adams says that Tennessee shouldn’t have to play Alabama every year. He actually makes some valid points, namely that it makes things much more difficult for Tennessee, but you don’t chuck a 100+-year tradition because of one bad decade.

 

VFLs

Eagles defensive coordinator is loving Derek Barnett’s bend. So what you’re saying is that being able to maintain your balance around a tight corner is maybe more important for a defensive end than a 40-time or a vertical leap? Huh. Who knew?

The Detroit Free Press has a nice feature on VFL Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who’s happy to be injury-free and back on the field.

Miscellaneous fun stuff

Breaking: Lane Kiffin speaks non-inflammatory words, saying there was no reason not to let Tennessee coaches come to his camp.

The headline says that former players (plural) are complaining about the way Tennessee treats them, but the article focuses on a single tweet by a single player. Maybe it’s overblown, but if Penn State does something better than Tennessee, we should fix that, stat.

Tennessee golfers Nolan Ray and Hunter Wolcott qualified for the 111th Southern Amateur Championship, while former Vol AJ Newell tied for fourth place by shooting a six-under 207 through three rounds of the Symetra Tour’s Fuccillo Kia Classic this weekend. 

Tennessee track and field is sending 14 athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championship from June 7-10 in Eugene, Oregon.

Gameday Today: Sensible quotes on Rocky Top, but no plans for Dubai

Gameday Today is awestruck at all of the sensible things said on Rocky Top over the weekend and disappointed at news the Vols will not be playing in Dubai anytime soon. This and more in today’s Vols link roundup.

Football

So the Vols hire a public relations expert and suddenly everybody’s saying all of the right things.

Bob Shoop falls on his sword, taking responsibility first:

“[M]aybe [I] was a little bit stubborn right there . . . I really wanted to force-fit, this is my style of defense or whatever. I probably didn’t do a great job at times of tailoring things.”

But ending on a positive note:

“The bowl game was the one game we really put together that looked like my vision for the defense.”

And then he’s making music when talking about the linebacker position as well:

“Kirkland had a good spring,” Shoop said before Saturday’s Big Orange Caravan Stop at Chattanooga’s First Tennessee Pavilion. “He’s hopefully the Derek Barnett, the alpha male of the defense. He’s vocal. He’s a good leader. He’s good high football intelligence. He’s smart, tough, unselfish and he wants it. I think he’s a little bit like Kongbo and myself.

“I mean, I don’t think 2016 went the way Darrin Kirkland, Jonathan Kongbo and Bob Shoop wanted. We talk about that all the time, and Darrin’s got a chip on his shoulder and he’s really determined.”

Offensive coordinator Larry Scott also gets in on the action with this sensible tone-setter for the incoming guys:

“Let’s start by being on time and being where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there, and then making sure that when you’re there, you’re 100 percent locked in and you’ve giving the very best effort you have.”

Even new athletic director John Currie managed to deftly walk the narrow ledge in voicing his opinion about Butch Jones:

“I believe you look at what has been accomplished and where we stand today versus where we were four years ago,” Currie told GoVols247. “We’ve made incredible progress in our program — academically, athletically, talent, engagement. There’s no measure where we’re not better than we were four years ago.

“We want to win every single game. There are going to be some years, eventually, where we do win every single game. But we have to make sure that the fundamentals that are in place to continue to build towards those championships that we all want to win, we have to make sure that those fundamentals continue.

. . . .

“I’m very impressed with recruiting organization. I’m impressed with the energy. I’m impressed with creativity and thought.”

And coach Jones, well, he answered questions about the quarterback battle by saying nothing and keeping his feet far away from his mouth. One interesting note in that article is that Quinten Dormady is practicing with NFL quarterback Jeff Christensen and Jarrett Guarantano is practicing with George Whitfield Jr.

More good news

The defensive line is healing up quite nicely, thank you.

Shoop thinks that the late addition of graduate transfer Shaq Wiggins is going to make a big difference, and he’s excited about all of his options at linebacker.

Tennessee will be getting its new QBs (and its secondary) a little extra practice by allowing some 7-on-7 drills this summer.

Breaking news

The Vols will not be playing in Dubai.

Hoops

Rick Barnes thinks SEC basketball is ” probably in the best shape it’s been since back in the early 2000s.” John Fulkerson, though, is not yet back from injury.

Miscellaneous fun stuff

We’ve already been over oddsmaker Danny Sheridan saying that he thought Kentucky would beat Tennessee this fall, but this article from 247Sports orders the guy’s quotes in a way I found amusing. Paraphrased: “I was wrong last year. I can confidently say what’s going to happen this year.”

Class of 2020 Receiver Leonard Manuel has committed to Tennessee. Yeah, he’ll be a sophomore in high school this year.

There were nearly 1,000 people at the Big Orange Caravan in Chattanooga Saturday.

VFLs  Chad Clifton, Willie Gault, Haskel Stanback, Graham Vowell, and Al Wilson were all enshrined into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Saturday.

Here’s a look at the new-look Big Orange Caravan: