Category Archives: Football

Gameday Today: Butch Jones, “classic over-explainer”

Gameday Today nods its head at the suggestion that Butch Jones is a “classic over-explainer,” loves new punters and old defensive ends, and wonders how many coaches will carry bullhorns on the sidelines this fall.

Butch Jones, Pitchforks, and Kum Ba Yah: An epilogue

Another national columnist weighs in, as USA Today’s Dan Wolken discusses Jones and his somewhat fragile relationship with a portion of the Tennessee fan base. Particularly interesting is Wolken’s suggestion that “you’re losing if you’re explaining, no matter how much you’re winning,” and his description of Jones as a “classic over-explainer.” It would seem that one of new athletic director John Currie’s main priorities is going to be managing “the disconnect between the real progress Tennessee has made under Jones and the toxic assessment of him that swirls around the social media sphere.” Well, that and deciding how best to undo the Lady Vols brand mess.

Local guy Mike Griffith says in a bit of a throwaway comment that UT is actively limiting access to Jones and encouraging less discussion about football, presumably as part of a strategy to give Jones the time he needs this fall to let his performance speak for itself.

In not unrelated news, Jones and his staff will be in Chattanooga this Saturday to attend the Big Orange Caravan, which has been remade into a “low-cost, family-friendly deal, where if your kid runs around a little bit, you don’t have to keep them quiet the whole time.” That sounds like more of a tailgate party than a star chamber for the head coach, and I’m all for it. As long as they actually make it to the Tri Cities.

Recruiting

Tennessee got a commitment yesterday from the nation’s top-ranked punter, Skyler DeLong. Tennessee’s class currently ranks ninth in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Congrats to Tennessee quarterback commit Adrian Martinez, who was recently named an Under Armour All-American.

Tennessee extended several new offers to recruits yesterday, including linebacker Caleb Kelly, defensive end/linebacker Andrew Johnson, Top 50 defensive end Nathan Pickering, and offensive lineman Harry Miller. 

VFLs

Congratulations to VFL Derek Barnett for signing a four-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. No word on the details yet, but Spotrac had projected it to be nearly $13M.

Miscellaneous fun stuff

SEC head of football officials Steve Shaw has apparently said (via quote on Twitter, thus the crazy grammar) that “coaches coming onto the field to argue calls will get automatic 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty.” Who’s your pick for the first coach to start carrying a bullhorn on the sideline?

Tennessee barely snuck in to the Sporting News’ Preseason Top 25, at the 25th spot. SEC East teams ahead of them are Georgia (No. 10) and Florida (No. 15). So, Tennessee just has to beat them, and they’ll be in the Top 10, no problem.

RTT suggests that the mere presence of Chip Kelly is going to give athletic directors all over the country itchy trigger fingers this fall. That’s probably right.

If you can’t wait for the new roster to be updated, 247Sports has a 28-click list of jersey numbers for the Vols’ newcomers.

Gameday Today: Kum ba yah, giving Butch Jones the benefit of the doubt

Swords are beaten back into plowshares as people start to give irrepressible optimist Butch Jones the benefit of the doubt, John Adams remains confused, and Tennessee goes all in with Nike and experiments with parking passes. All that, plus hoops news and speedster Christian Coleman in Gameday Today.

And then everyone puts down their pitchforks

So yesterday, it was all outrage all the time, but today, everyone seems to have taken their happy pills. CBS’ Dennis Dodd makes the case that can only be made by an outsider, that Butch Jones is actually underrated. If you read only one thing today, read that.

But wait! There’s more! All for Tennessee says that Jones was actually right when he said that the Vols have competed for championships. And even Dave Hooker has come to the conclusion that Jones is just an irrepressible optimist, and isn’t that what you want in a head coach anyway, even if it makes fans roll their eyes?

Football

In other football news, Brad makes his projections for the Tennessee offensive line this fall. I’m with him mostly, but I think Coleman Thomas will start at center and that Jashon Robertson will go back to left guard, meaning the tackle spots are a three-way competition between Brett Kendrick, Drew Richmond, and Trey Smith. If I’m right, Brad’s shaving his head.

John Adams is confused about Tennessee’s preseason rankings. He has valid points, but it’s pretty easy pickings. They are preseason rankings, and nobody knows anything, so inconsistencies aren’t exactly smoking guns.

Dave Hart apparently extended (and improved, they say) Tennessee’s contract with Nike before he left. So the Vols will be with the swoosh through the end of the 2025-26 season. I’ve typed three things here and am settling on, “No comment.”

And Tennessee is experimenting with a new way for season ticket holders to get their parking passes and assignments. Haven’t tried it yet, myself, but okay. What they really need to do is figure out how to teleport me from the Tri Cities into section XX5 with a short stop at Strawberry Plains, because that would be lovely.

Basketball

New hoops players Zach Kent and Derrick Walker have arrived on campus, and Chris Darrington and James Daniel III plan to get here this week still. Yves Pons won’t show up until later, as he’s playing for France in the FIBA national team tournament.

Also, the SEC has announced conference opponents for the upcoming season. The Vols will play Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt both home and away. In addition, they’ll play Auburn, Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M at home and Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Missouri away.

The TFP has an interesting article on former Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin, who did a good job of honestly answering questions about his time at Tennessee while also being diplomatic about it. 

Miscellaneous other fun stuff

Vols track and field phenom Christian Coleman has been named the SEC Outdoor Runner of the Year. Not surprising for a guy who hasn’t lost a race yet this season. And be sure not to miss Mike Griffith’s excellent extended feature on Coleman at SEC Country.

Uh-oh. Peyton Manning is playing golf with Urban Meyer. Your pitchfork is leaning up against the wall in the corner.

Behind the paywalls

Looking for a reason to splurge for a subscription to 247 Sports? Here are two:

 

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Offensive Line

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee offensive line 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 offensive line

OFFENSIVE LINE

The addition of Walt Wells inserted into the coaching equation for the Vols replacing Don Mahoney already has paid massive dividends on the recruiting trail. But just how far the offensive line can take Tennessee may wind up being the difference in how long this coaching regime lasts in Knoxville.

It’s that big of a deal.

Everybody wants to talk about the quarterback battle — and rightfully so — but the bottom line is UT must have MUCH better offensive line play than it has experienced in the Butch Jones era in order to be successful offensively in the post-Joshua Dobbs era. After all, the former UT dual-threat quarterback oftentimes made up for mistakes up front. That won’t be the case if Quinten Dormady wins the job because he’s more of a traditional drop-back passer, and it may not happen if Jarrett Guarantano and his inexperience win the job, either.

That’s why the Tennessee offensive line, which jokes about spending life in the shadows on social media, needs to step onto center stage in 2017.

This spring showed glimpses of reasons to be excited as UT blends a ton of talent with a wealth of experience. It may not even be out of the realm of possibility to see an upperclassman redshirt to provide depth down the road. Tennessee’s potential up front is that strong. But potential and production, as 2016 proved in every area of the Vols, are two different things. UT has a stable of versatile linemen, so where they wind up is anybody’s guess. But where’s the fun in that? Let’s take a guess at where they’ll fall when everything sorts itself out.

Left tackle

Starting at the all-important left tackle position, the job is redshirt sophomore Drew Richmond’s to lose. The former highly touted recruit suffered an up-and-down season in ’16, but he did show some signs of being the player everybody expected coming out of high school in Memphis. With an offseason in Rock Gullickson’s strength & conditioning program, Richmond could take the next step forward. Richmond has a bright future, and he seems poised to take a big step forward after a strong spring. Look for him to beat out redshirt senior Brett Kendrick for the starting job, but Kendrick is a Swiss Army knife type of player who can (and will) help at a variety of positions. If Richmond falters for any reason, Kendrick should step right in, and it would be unwise to count out the fifth-year senior. Again, he’s a guy the Vols would love to have for another season, so his last year on Rocky Top could be spent helping out everywhere. Still, this looks like Richmond’s job to lose after this spring. Don’t sleep on Marcus Tatum getting a shot at this job if Richmond falters and Kendrick is entrenched at the other tackle spot. But it would be great to get Tatum a redshirt season.

Left guard

At left guard, Kendrick could definitely find a home there, and it would be a viable option for Tennessee if the Vols viewed him as one of the five best linemen, which he certainly was during the spring. This is a position that is as up-in-the-air as any on the team, and that’s not a bad thing. With Jashon Robertson working mostly at center this spring (and looking great doing it) Kendrick may be the guy who slots in here. But I’m going with a bit of a surprise and going with the spring stud, true freshman Trey Smith. The former 5-star prospect and ESPN.com’s top-ranked overall player in the country is almost certainly going to start somewhere. He’s that good. While he’ll get all kinds of looks at right tackle, it may be best for him to start out on the interior where mistakes may not be quite so glaring. Smith is going to be a monster and a Vol great — it’s evident he has the chops to do it — and while his long-term projection is at tackle, he may work his way into the rotation right away at guard.

Center

For the past two years, UT has played Coleman Thomas most of the time at center, but after a rough junior season and an emergency appendectomy this spring, it left the door open for somebody to take over. In a bit of a surprise, veteran Jashon Robertson was that guy, stepping in and looking like a natural. It may be the position where Robertson plays on the next level, and if the Vols and Wells are truly going to go with the five best players, it’s going to be impossible to keep him off the field. The senior from Montgomery Bell Academy will be a starter either at one of the guard spots or at center. The guess here is he slots inside snapping the ball, and UT either plays Thomas behind him or tries to get a redshirt year out of the senior so he can be the man at the position next year once Robertson leaves. That’s a pie-in-the-sky situation that probably won’t come to fruition. But Thomas would easily be the sixth offensive lineman in this scenario, and he’d play a lot regardless. 

Right guard

At right guard, this looks like a two-man battle between junior Jack Jones and redshirt sophomore Venzell Boulware. Both of those guys are going to start for the Vols in the future, and one of them will win the battle this year. Boulware may be the most talented interior lineman UT has (with the exception of Smith, who is best-suited for tackle). But Jones is a technician with a mean streak and tons of strength. Rather than go home for mini-term, he stuck in Knoxville to get some extra reps with Gullickson, sensing this may be his year to make a major move. Look for it to pay major dividends for the Vols and for himself as he beats Boulware out for the gig. But Venzell is uber-talented, and he’ll start at least a couple of games somewhere this year. That’s the good thing about UT’s offensive line: there are a lot of players who can play a lot of spots and play them well.

Right tackle

Finally, at right tackle, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll step in. But if we’re going to play Smith on the inside, that means Kendrick will fit in here as the starter. Why? Because Kendrick has played the position before, and he’s a veteran with a ton of experience. So, you put him there where he’s comfortable and play Smith on the inside right away. Of course, the Vols may decide Smith has to play tackle, in which case, Kendrick could play at guard where he’s worked in practice during his career but never in a game. In case you haven’t noticed by now, the options UT has are limitless.

The depth

So, that leaves the other guys, and there is no shortage of talent. First, there’s Chance Hall, who simply hasn’t been able to stay fully healthy since a promising freshman season. If Hall regains the talent, strength and consistency that made him a young force, he’s a guy who could bust the starting lineup wide-open. There’s no reason to give up on a talent like him yet, and Hall has a lot of football left to be played in Knoxville. Surely, some of that is going to be in the starting rotation. Another viable option who could really benefit from a redshirt year after playing as a true freshman a season ago is Marcus Tatum. The Florida product in no way looked out-of-place as a fill-in tackle a season ago despite being woefully undersized. If the Vols can get away with redshirting him this season, he may wind up being a multi-year starter in the future. He’s a guy a lot of top-notch teams wanted in the recruiting process, and he’s a high-upside player who essentially wasted a season a year ago that he needs to get back.

Others who can work their way into the rotation but are currently on the outside looking in for playing time are redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson from Brentwood who is 6’6″, 275 pounds and looks like a prototypical tackle prospect in the future. Of course, that means he probably will play guard. Tennessee doesn’t always play guys where they’re expected to go, and with so many tackle bodies on the exterior of the line, Johnson may have a quicker path to playing time inside. Nathan Niehaus filled out his thin frame nicely during his redshirt year, putting on some 40 pounds, and he’s now 6’6″, 295 pounds. The great thing about the Cincinnati tackle prospect is the Vols can bring him along slowly because they don’t need him right now. He’s somebody who could get some seasoning, strength and work his way into the rotation this year or next. Devante Brooks moved over from tight end after two bad knee injuries kept him from having the athleticism necessary to catch balls in the SEC, and though he’s currently just 255 pounds, he’s an intriguing prospect who may wind up being a worthwhile project as a tackle. Finally, freshman Riley Locklear was the staff’s top-rated center prospect in the 2017 recruiting class, and the Vols are thrilled to have the West Virginia product in the fray. He’s a guy who could take over snapping the ball once Robertson and Thomas are gone.

Prediction

LT – Drew Richmond, Brett Kendrick, Marcus Tatum, Nathan Niehaus
LG – Trey Smith, Jashon Robertson, Ryan Johnson
C – Jashon Robertson, Coleman Thomas, Riley Locklear
RG – Jack Jones, Venzell Boulware, Ryan Johnson
RT – Brett Kendrick, Chance Hall, Trey Smith, Devante Brooks

** NOTE: Coleman Thomas can play guard or tackle, too.

Gameday Today: ALL THE OUTRAGE OF THE DAY IN A SINGLE POST

Gameday Today rounds up the outrage of the day, including Butch Jones believing he’s making progress, Josh Dobbs wearing the colors of his new home, Vegas believing in Kentucky, and declining to cut off our South Florida nose to spite Lane Kiffin’s face.

Outrageous!

The SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida are underway, and so reporters are asking questions and coaches are opening their mouths and saying stuff that makes people MAD ONLINE:

“It’s a journey and it’s a process,” Butch Jones told reporters Tuesday. “I’m very, very grateful to all the players and staff that have really brought Tennessee football back. We still have so much to do, and it’s all about winning championships. But the first element that goes into winning championships is contending to win championships on a consistent basis, and our program has done that.”

The man said that we’ve taken a step, and OH THE HORROR AND OUTRAGE OF AGGRIEVED TWITTERERS! 

And the fire’s just beginning to burn. Because lo, Josh Dobbs is wearing a Penguins jersey! And the Tennessee-Kentucky line is a pick ’em! (This according to a motel in Vegas that apparently can’t afford a PDF scanner.) And Butch Jones has the audacity to believe that attending a Lane Kiffin satellite camp in South Florida isn’t awkward! I could spit!

I am OUTRAGED! INCENSED! MORTIFIED BY WORDS AND LAUNDRY AND STUFF! Mike Griffith, sir, why aren’t you mad? Do you hate America?

Football

Twenty-one members of the 2017 class reported to campus yesterday. With the five guys who enrolled in the spring and graduate transfer Shaq Wiggins also on campus and set to enroll Thursday, that leaves only receivers Jacquez Jones and Jordan Murphy on a delayed schedule. The team meets today and starts work with strength and conditioning coach Rock Gullickson tomorrow. Power up, boys!

Josh Smith and Todd Kelly Jr are having a workout party at D1 Sports Training and YOU’RE INVITED! You’ll have to have one of those Instagram thingies, though, because that article doesn’t say when or where, and you’ll have to track Smith and Kelly down by stalking them online.

Class of 2019 4-star receiver Kendrell Scurry has de-committed from Tennessee, and as far as I can tell, no one has used the word “scurry” to describe it, which is a terrible shame and a dereliction of duty for journalists and bloggers everywhere.

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Miscellaneous fun stuff

Tennessee athletic director John Currie will continue to explore neutral-site games. I’ve loved those games against Oklahoma and Virginia Tech, but I do wonder whether ramping up your non-conference slate might somehow be making it more difficult to win the SEC East. 

Butch Jones is hinting that there are some shenanigans going on behind the curtain when it comes to graduate transfers. He’s all for letting graduates transfer with eligibility remaining, but thinks the NCAA and the conferences need to be careful about how they go about allowing it. That sounds reasonable, but I’m sure that we can find something outrageous if we look long enough.

CBS has ranked the SEC by difficulty of schedule and slotted Tennessee as having the third-easiest slate of the entire conference. Hey, I’m on record as loving where the bye week is this year, but it hardly makes up for drawing both Alabama and LSU from the West.

Tennessee-Florida is set for 3:30 p.m. on CBS, as it should be.

We’re no fans of slideshows, but we’re such fans of great moments against the Florida Gators that we will gladly click ten times for all the feels on this one.

 

Gameday Today: Settlement agreements, 71% off! Today only!

Gameday Today leads off with an offer nobody wants, but at a bigly discount. Also, talking about the season, Larry Scott’s contract, softball, and who is this Travis Kelce guy?

Football

Tennessee receiver Josh Smith’s roommate, Kennedy Foster, wants to file a $3M lawsuit against Smith for allegedly beating him up, but he’s reportedly offering a 71% discount if he can pay, like, today, man. Hurry! Offer expires soon! (Yes, this smells like the backseat of the Grumpy Old Men car to me.)

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You know it’s the summer doldrums when sites start asking questions like What if basketball was football? Lay it on me, I’m famished. (And the answer, of course, without having to wear out your mouse button clicking through the morsels, is that Tennessee would beat Iowa State on the football field.)

Wes Rucker identifies the two most important swing games for Tennessee’s 2017 season. Hint: They rhyme with Skullfrogs and Waiters. 

Tennessee offensive coordinator Larry Scott got a $280k salary increase and a contract extension when he was promoted from his position as tight ends coach. He’ll be making $650k for the next two years, and his contract runs out at the end of February, 2019. Typing that out makes me wonder. When was the last time a college coach’s contract simply expired at the end of its term?

Tight end commitment Jacob Warren recently told The Swain Event that he wants to model his game after Travis Kelce. Who is this Travis Kelce, you ask? He’s a tight end (duh, I know) for the Kansas City Chiefs and was first-team All-Pro last season. But what’s the connection? Kelce played for Butch Jones at Cincinnati from 2010-12, and he was a third-round draft pick in 2013. So that’s why Jones has been whispering his name into Warren’s ear. Me, I’d shout “JASON WITTEN!”, but I don’t know either of them personally, so volume and brand awareness is all I have.

Softball

Tennessee lost its last two games against Texas A&M and came up just one win shy of making the Women’s College World Series. Mike Griffith puts it all in perspective, saying the team overachieved this season and is poised for something special in the immediate future.

 

 

Gameday Today: Vols Tight Ends and the Ninja Persuader Dad Power

Football

Who knew that promoting your tight ends coach to offensive coordinator would ignite a sudden interest in the tight end position? Seriously, I go on vacation for a week and suddenly everyone’s talking about tight ends. The current roster is looking pretty good, as is the incoming crop of tight end recruits, including local guy Jacob Warren, who sounds like a mature young man who’s made a careful and considered choice to follow in his father’s footsteps by playing at Tennessee, all without any undue pressure from his father. More likely, his dad has unlocked the Ninja Persuader Dad Power that steers your kids in the right direction without them knowing it. Dad High Five.
 
Speaking of new recruits, the 2018 class, which is already looking good in May, could begin to look outstanding in June. And SEC Country has an interesting theory on how Tennessee has refined its recruiting pitch to in-state prospects, asking them to consider life back home after they’ve played for a rival out-of-state.
 
One of the guys who’s buying in is kicker Brent Cimaglia, the nation’s No. 4 kicker in the 2017 class from Franklin, Tennessee, who’s ready to go, like right now.
 
We said this a lot in our magazine, but we’ll keep saying it because it’s true: Tennessee’s offensive line is experienced, deep, and talented. 
 
There is no easing in to the 2017 season, with Tennessee  a meager three-point favorite over Georgia Tech. I’ll take “meager favorite” over “underdog” any day, but three points is making for a nervous summer.
 
Butch Jones is extolling the virtues and early results of his new strength and conditioning coach Rock Gullickson while simultaneously playing the expectations game by telling us all not to expect the hire to reduce injuries this fall. Last year’s injuries, he says, were all in the “freak” category, and there was no pattern suggesting any correlation between the injuries and last year’s strength and conditioning program. Which, of course, begs the question: Why the change then, coach? Expect someone at the upcoming Big Orange Caravan to ask. And then expect to hear Jones say the exact same thing with no new information. But there’ll be food.

Softball

The No. 8 Tennessee softball team beat No. 9 Texas A&M last night 8-1 and is one win away from advancing to the Women’s College World Series. They can clinch their spot with another win against the Aggies tonight at 5:00. ESPN2 has the broadcast.
 

Basketball

Rocky Top Talk looks at the incoming class of basketball recruits and predicts that they’re going to be a fun group to watch.

Miscellaneous fun stuff

 
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The Vols 2018 Class is looking good, and could get even better in June

As June rapidly approaches, the Vols are in a situation not seen since the 2014 class that featured early commitments from studs like Todd Kelly Jr and Jalen Hurd: A highly-ranked class featuring not just a large collection of commitments, but a commitment list jampacked with studs from top to bottom AND two bigtime QB commits to boot.  And while the Vols have dominated instate recruiting so far, there are still more than a half-dozen instate prospects who the Vols are pushing hard and are in good position for (more on that below).

And with all of the momentum the Vols have on the trail right now, the relatively newly important month of June holds the promise of more message board booms.  In back-to-back-to-back weeks, June will feature two instate satellite camps, one in Nashville in one in Memphis, as well as the featured event of the offseason, Orange Carpet Day in Knoxville. It’s no secret that the MIdstate has and continues to be a growing area in terms of high level football talent, and Memphis (and nearby Mississippi) appears to be getting more attention from this staff of late with the 2018-2020 classes.  And Orange Carpet Day has been a source of summertime commitments every year since Butch created it.  Obviously last year was an anomaly in terms of the sheer volume of commitments (not to mention the fact that the majority of those didn’t end up signing with UT in the end), but it’s reasonable to expect some action that weekend.

While we haven’t seen attendee lists for the two camps, below are uncommitted prospects with Vol offers in the respective areas.  The sheer number boggles the mind for those who have followed instate recruiting for more than 3-4 years:

June 4th Satellite Camp – Nashville

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2018

  • RB Master Teague
  • DL D’Andre Litaker
  • OL Taylor Antonutti
  • WR Camron Johnson
  • CB Jaylon King

2019

  • OL Jackson Lampley
  • DL Joe Anderson
  • DL Ani Izuchukwu
  • WR Lance Wilhoitte
  • WR Trey Knox
  • DB Wesley Walker
  • DB Jashon Watkins

2020

  • DL Tyler Baron

June 11th Satellite Camp – Memphis

2018

  • DL Greg Emerson
  • LB Cam Jones
  • OL Jerome Carvin
  • DB Rayshad Williams
  • ATH Kundarrius Taylor
  • DL Jordan Davis (Bama commit)
  • WR CJ Bolar (MS)
  • DB Jeshaun Jones (MS)

2019

  • DL Kristian Williams
  • DL Trevis Hopper

2020

  • WR Darrin Turner

June 17th Orange Carpet Day

While the attendee list for Orange Carpet Day is similarly unclear at this point, based on history and the high volume of instate prospects who have UT high on their lists, one can expect a very impressive number of blue-chip prospects to be there.  Staying with the instate theme, the Vols have a real chance to build momentum with a bunch of kids heading into Orange Carpet Day at the camps held the prior two weeks and then potentially seal the deal with some of them when they are in Knoxville.

So far, commits Adrian Martinez and Jatavious Harris have said they will be there, along with CB prospects Rayshad Williams and Jaycee Horn.  I wouldn’t be shocked if most of the rest of the current commitments are also there.  Again, I don’t expect the kind of fireworks we saw at last year’s event, as not only is this class already at 10 high-level commitments but also the staff has shown at least so far this cycle they are willing to be pickier about who they take.  That said, a commitment or two that day wouldn’t be surprising in the least.

Finally, the staff will be holding camps on campus throughout the month and will likely bring in many more offered prospects for those while at the same time identifying others to offer. Happens every year.

In addition to what one could reasonably assume to be some guys pulling the trigger based on these camps and the Orange Carpet Day event, there are a handful of prospects that UT appears to lead for who have indicated that June commitments could be coming, including the aforementioned Litaker as well as Knoxville area TE Jacob Warren.  So while a Vols fan has to be feeling incredibly good about where the Class of 2018 sits heading into the last week of May, chances are things will be much better when the month of June closes.

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Tight Ends

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee tight ends 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 Tight Ends.

TIGHT ENDS

Back when Butch Jones took over at Tennessee, one thing that we all expected from the jump was that the tight end would be a huge part of the offense. In my mind, I saw an NFL-style scheme with players catching the football, blocking the edge and the offense centering around dynamic mismatches like Jones had with Travis Kelce at Cincinnati.

His tenure thus far at Tennessee has been anything but.

That’s why this group enters 2017 with so much untapped potential — and that includes senior Ethan Wolf, who looks like the ultimate player at the position but has yet to live up to the expectations many heaped on him four years ago when he stepped in at UT and got starting reps immediately. The tight end position was under-utilized with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback and Mike DeBord calling plays. Hopefully, all that changes with Larry Scott.

You’d think it would. After all, Scott was UT’s tight ends coach, and he understands the value in using the big man on the edge as a target for your quarterback. Either Quinten Dormady or Jarrett Guarantano would benefit from Wolf [or somebody else] emerging at the position.

It all starts with Wolf, a 6’6″ senior from Minster, Ohio, who was a huge coup for Jones four years ago, choosing the Vols over a bunch of impressive offers. After UT got him to commit, Alabama and others came calling, but Wolf stayed strong. While he’s enjoyed a stellar career, there haven’t been any glimpses of his idol, Jason Witten, in his play, and that’s what a lot of us hoped for when we saw him get immediate playing time.

In three years, he’s totaled 67 catches for 752 yards and just four touchdowns. That’s not even averaging two catches per game. It’s hard to say that’s disappointing, but it isn’t up to Wolf’s capability. For UT’s offense to be better, he must be better. The promotion of Scott gave Wolf visions of what his role potentially could be in his final season on Rocky Top.

“I shot him a text to say congrats on the promotion and made a little joke about (getting) 10 targets a game or something like that,” Wolf told then-Chattanooga Times-Free Press and current GoVols247 reporter Patrick Brown during spring practice. “I was extremely happy for him, because he’s a guy that wants to succeed in everything that he does. He wants to get to the absolute pinnacle he can of his job

“He turned down the head coaching job at Miami to come here, and for him to be able to take that step up to the offensive coordinator, I think he’s going to succeed tremendously at it. We’re going to have a very explosive year this year offensively.”

If that’s going to happen, UT needs Wolf to be an all-around force at tight end, catching and blocking. Beyond him, it’s anybody’s guess who’ll fill the role for the Vols. Teams need more than one tight end, and if the Vols are to be multiple with different sets, they need able bodies. Last year, Jason Croom moved from wide receiver and did OK, but he’s gone to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills on a free agent contract. Now, the Vols have a handful of unproven commodities.

Starting with the other senior on the list, Jakob Johnson bounced around from linebacker to defensive end to tight end in his career, and the latter position seems to suit him OK. Though Johnson is never going to be a dynamic target, he is a good, physical blocker on the edge and could carve himself a role, especially in short-yardage situations.

After Devante Brooks moved over from tight end to offensive tackle, the Vols still have talent at receiving tight ends. Redshirt sophomore Eli Wolf is a walk-on brother of Ethan who could have a good year for UT, and redshirt freshman Austin Pope is a local product who had a lot of good offers out of Christian Academy of Knoxville. If he gets more physical this year, he could be the breakout player of the position. This spring, the younger Wolf got a lot of reps, and he will be a guy who gets on the field and makes some plays for the Vols in 2017. 

The biggest upside guys, though, are the youngsters. Pope is 6’4″, 230 pounds and extremely athletic, but he isn’t as physical as he needs to be yet to play the position. With an offseason in Rock Gullickson’s strength & conditioning program, he could really see his career take off. Though he won’t start the year as the second tight end, he’s a strong bet to seize that role as the season progresses.

UT also went out and signed two tight ends in the 2017 recruiting class that flew a bit under-the-radar. That starts with instate talent LaTrell Bumphus, a 6’4″, 240-pound athlete from Hardin County who was offered by schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Georgia as a weak-side defensive end. Though he may wind up playing on that side of the ball for the Vols, UT told him it would give him his first crack at tight end. If Bumphus could stick there, he’ll be an extremely impressive weapon for Scott to mold. The other player in the ’17 class taken by the Vols is James Brown, a 6’3″, 221-pound tight end from Jones High School in Orlando who had very few offers when UT pulled the trigger. His only other decent offers came from South Florida and Marshall, so if he hits, he’ll definitely be a diamond find for Robert Gillespie. The former high school quarterback is only now transitioning to the position and dealt with offseason labrum surgery.

According to VolQuest’s Jesse Simonton, Brown’s position switch led to a flurry of interest, however.

“[Brown] switched from quarterback to tight end midway through his senior season. He played just a handful of games at the position, recording 10 catches for 176 yards and four touchdowns. Following the release of a mini-highlight tape, Brown immediately heard from several SEC schools, including Tennessee, which ultimately offered him a scholarship late one Sunday night. About half an hour later, Brown called Scott back and committed on the spot.”

Also in that Brown article by Simonton, the player stressed Scott told him the Vols were going to use the tight end in the passing game, and he saw evidence of that in the spring game with a scoring strike to Wolf. “Before we got there, (Scott) kept on stressing to me, ‘We throw it to them. We throw it to the tight ends,’” Brown said. “Then when we got to the spring game, the tight ends caught touchdowns, so I was like, ‘Let’s go.’ I know how to catch. They’re not blocking. They’re receivers. They’re catching the football.”

The Vols need a lot of that when the season starts.

Prediction

First team: Ethan Wolf, Second Team: Eli Wolf, Third Team: Austin Pope. Jakob Johnson, LaTrell Bumphus, James Brown

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Wide Receivers

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee wide receivers 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 Wide Receivers.

WIDE RECEIVERS

When you think of Tennessee wide receivers, the first thing that may come to your mind is a lanky, sleek route-runner who is graceful with the football. All that is nice, but when I think of building my perfect receiver, I can just point in the direction of Tennessee’s No. 15.

Jauan Jennings.

Yep. He may not be the fastest wide receiver on the team, but UT’s 6’3″, 205-pound junior pass-catcher is plenty big, he’s uber-tough and he’s an alpha dog. He’s the type of guy who’ll go up for a football, and he’d rather slit your throat than let you come down with his football. He wants to gain yards; he wants to score touchdowns; and nobody works harder doing it. If Tennessee’s offense is going to reach its pinnacle in 2017, it needs to get Jennings the football.

You know Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano know that. Jennings is good, and he’s mean. His new coach, Kevin Beard, knows just how good he is, too, telling former Chattanooga Times Free Press [and current GoVols247] reporter Patrick Brown:

“I’m trying to get him to understand that we’re going to do big things,” Beard said. “I’m excited to work with him and just working on him being a leader and working on being the leader that we need him to be. He is a championship football player, and he can help bring the whole team to that level just by walking and talking. Then when he gets out there to play, it takes care of itself.

“I’m just trying to get him to understand that this team is going to go as far as he’s going to take us.”

Those are heavy words, but, in essence, they’re true. Behind John Kelly, Jennings is the most irreplaceable player on UT’s offense. The Vols must have him playing at his absolute highest, most-freakish level to win big in ’17. You can go ahead and write his name in Sharpie in the starting lineup.

Plus, Jennings will always be know for catching the Dobbs-nail boot Hail Mary to beat Georgia. Oh, and this against Jalen “Teez” Tabor to help UT beat Florida.

https://twitter.com/AndrewHamrick16/status/781111055405625344

Oh, and after that catch against Georgia, when asked where it ranked, Jennings said, “Probably second, behind burning Tabor.”

Savage.

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

Who’s after Jennings?

But the Vols need more than just Jennings in 2017. There’s a lot of talent, but there simply aren’t a lot of proven playmakers. Though it would have benefited both UT and Josh Malone for him to return for his senior season, it’s hard to fault the Nashville native, who was picked by Cincinnati in the fourth round of the NFL draft and just signed a four-year deal worth $3 million. With him gone, Tennessee needs to find some guys for the quarterbacks to bombard.

Also, kind of a forgotten man who’d really help Tennessee this year but transferred to Colorado State instead is Preston Williams, a former 5-star receiver who didn’t mesh well with former Vols receivers coach Zach Azzanni and transferred early in the season a year ago. The Vols really could have used him in 2017. But the cupboard isn’t bare.

It’s time for senior Josh Smith to finally be consistent. After a horrendous freshman year, it appeared that his sophomore season would be a breakout campaign before he got hurt and missed the rest of the year. The past two years have been underwhelming, and as a junior in ’16, he wound up with just 13 catches for 97 yards. Is he even a starter? He’s certainly capable, but Smith must do better than that, and he’s shown no consistency in a career that’s been halted by injuries, too.

The better bets for UT’s breakout, complimentary receivers could come in the form of a quartet of second-year players. Sophomore Marquez Callaway certainly looks the part. At 6’2″, 190 pounds, the Warner Robins, Georgia, native is smooth and sturdy, and he looked super-athletic during a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown last year against Tennessee Tech. He never really got worked into the receiver rotation, but he wound up with a solid spring, and the Vols are going to depend on him this year. 

Tyler Byrd’s best position may well be cornerback, and while it’s puzzling UT isn’t playing him there, the sophomore has the ability to be a quality receiver, too. He was raw in 2016, but the playing time he earned could be invaluable. The 6’0″, 195-pound athlete caught 15 passes for 209 yards, and Tennessee tried to get him loose in space. It didn’t happen often, but Byrd has the wiggle you want for a slot receiver. He also had 63 rushing yards and averaged more than 26 yards per kickoff return. If he could somehow get to 500 receiving yards as a sophomore, it probably means the Vols passing game is just fine.

The third of the quartet is a wild card, but he sure is a blazing fast one. Late in the 2016 recruiting class, the Vols snagged a surprise commitment in speedy receiver Latrell Williams, getting him to flip from Miami on national signing day. Williams redshirted in ’16 after battling some nagging injuries, and he looked like a potential electrifying athlete this spring who really could help the Vols. He, too, is far from a finished product, but the ability is there.

“…[T]he one thing he’s learning is how to control that speed,” Beard told Wes Rucker of GoVols247. “A lot of times, fast guys, they try to do everything fast. But they’re out of control, ultimately. So he’s learning how to control his speed and keep his toes under his shoulders. He’s coming along really good.”

Finally, keeping the Florida trend of UT receivers recruited by Larry Scott is Brandon Johnson, the nephew of former Cincinnati Bengals great Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson. The 6’2″, 180-pound sophomore had seven catches for 93 yards a season ago, and he hit a bit of a wall. But he also showed ability, and he’s a great route-runner who could wind up really helping UT.

Senior Jeff George could be a red-zone weapon with his 6’6″ height, and though he never really lived up to the initial strong spring he had, it’s not too late for him to be a jump-ball guy inside the 20. Let’s face it: Last year, when the Vols needed touchdowns, there was no better weapon on the roster than Dobbs on a keeper with his magnificent freelancing ability. Also, they changed it up some and gave Alvin Kamara a lot of bubble screens that he took to the goal line as well. 

This year, those options aren’t around. So, George could find himself on the field with Jennings in scoring situations.

What about the new guys?

The Vols also did a quality job recruiting receivers, and though Oak Ridge’s Tee Higgins [who committed to Clemson] could have pushed UT’s class over the edge, the guys the Vols did bring in will help if they can just get them on campus. Probably the best of the bunch, Mississippi pass-catcher Jordan Murphy, has yet to qualify, and he’s really the only one in the class who could have a hard time getting in. There’s still a good chance he’ll make it to Knoxville, but he isn’t a guarantee as of yet. If he makes it, he’s got the opportunity to step right in and get reps.

Perhaps the most under-the-radar player who has the opportunity for an excellent freshman campaign is Florida freshman Josh Palmer, who came down to the Sunshine State from his native Ontario, Canada, to get noticed. It worked. He was committed to Syracuse until late in the game when the Vols, Michigan, Florida and others offered. He chose UT, and he could be one of the biggest coups of the class. “Air Canada” is 6’2″, 200 pounds and is extremely fast. He is a difference-maker who’ll score some touchdowns for UT in ’17. Finally, another Florida product [the UT receiving corps is full of them] is fast freshman Jacquez Jones, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of impact he makes as a freshman.

So, if you’re scoring at home, there are two trends here.

  1. The Vols have an absolute ton of players from Florida, and new offensive coordinator Larry Scott recruited a lot of them, so he’s familiar with them and, hopefully for UT, he’ll know how to use them.
  2. The vast majority of the guys are freshmen or sophomores who have little or no experience. That doesn’t bode well for UT, but who knows what these guys are going to do when given an opportunity? They have the ability to shine, and some guys need to emerge for the young quarterbacks.

Prediction

WR1: Jauan Jennings, Jeff George, Jordan Murphy
Slot: Tyler Byrd, Josh Smith, Latrell Williams, Jacquez Jones
WR3: Marquez Callaway, Brandon Johnson, Josh Palmer

Prior posts in this series

Post-Spring Projections: Running Backs

Post-Spring Projections: Quarterbacks

What to expect from Bob Shoop’s defense in 2017

Earlier today, we looked at the numbers and concluded that Bob Shoop’s defense in 2016 was not as bad as Sal Sunseri’s 2012 defense. That’s not to say that it wasn’t bad, though. It was. Bad enough to put Butch Jones on the Screaming Pundits’ 2017 Hot Seat Watch List, and bad enough to spur Jones into shaking up his coaching staff in the offseason.

But what is a realistic expectation of improvement for a defense that . . . struggled . . . last season, bless its heart?

To answer that, we went to the spreadsheets to determine what happened, if anything, between Sunseri’s 2012 defense and the 2013 defense fielded by Jones’ first defensive coordinator, John Jancek.

John Jancek’s improvement in 2013 over Sal Sunseri’s 2012

What did we find when we compared 2012 to 2013? A bag full of mixed nuts, some of them tasty, honey-roasted and sea-salted almonds, and some of them lone and wrinkled peanuts retrieved from the men’s room floor.

You’ll recall from our earlier post that Sunseri’s 2012 defense was “not good” in three defensive categories (48-56), “bad” in four other categories (85-86), and “terrible” in five more (98-115). That’s what Jancek inherited. Welcome to Rocky Top, coach!

How did Jancek do in his first season? He somehow made a miracle turnaround in Red Zone Defense, improving to No. 11 from No. 115. He also dramatically improved the team’s pass defense. Under Sunseri, the team ranked No. 111 in Passing Yards Allowed and No. 86 in Passing Efficiency Defense, and Jancek improved those rankings to No. 27 and No. 58, respectively. The team was also much better in defending on first downs and better in Scoring and Total Defense.

Those are the almonds.

Unfortunately, Jancek’s 2013 defense was still “terrible” in five categories (90-117), “bad” in two more (78-83), and “not good” in three others (40-58). Jancek made little to no improvement with regard to sacks and rushing defense, and the defense actually got worse against the run, in TFLs, and on third and fourth downs.


Click here to view full spreadsheet

 

What gets measured, gets managed

(Or, fixing things without breaking others)
Gameday on Rocky Top 2017
Pre-order Gameday on Rocky Top 2017 now!

The most interesting thing about all of this, though, is that Jancek fixed what was broken and broke what wasn’t. He improved in 2013 the worst things about 2012, some of them dramatically so. (See the Red Zone and Pass Defense discussed above.)

At the same time, though, other areas got worse. TFLs went from No. 48 to No. 90, and Third Down Conversion Pct Defense went from No. 50 to No. 91.

Overall, though, one could say that Jancek was able to make some degree of improvement over Sunseri’s historically bad defense. What he focused on got better, but those gains were somewhat diminished by other areas getting worse.

What to expect from Bob Shoop’s defense this fall

So what does all of this mean for Team 121 and Bob Shoop’s defense this season? It’s reasonable to expect Shoop to fix what was wrong last year. The real test is what happens to the rest of the defense while he’s focused on the warts.

The biggest areas of concern from last season are first downs, rushing defense, and the defense of long pass plays. Expect Shoop and his new position coaches to focus first on those areas, and expect the team to be better at those things.

But they need to make sure they don’t break something else in the process. They need to focus on first downs without losing their edge on third and fourth downs. They need to focus on improving their ability to stop the run without absolutely falling apart in pass defense. Basically, they need a tweaker who will shift the proper amount of focus to areas of need without completely diverting attention from things they already do well. And if, as many of us suspect, most of the problem last year was attributable to injuries, then just keeping everyone healthy could make a dramatic difference.

Bottom line, it’s reasonable to expect that Bob Shoop’s defense will improve in 2017. If he does it especially well, he could even improve it significantly by fixing last year’s problems without creating new ones this year.