Category Archives: Today on Gameday

Gameday Today: Vols-Gators roundup, Fulmer and Finebaum rubber-neck the last decade

Vols-Gators

It wasn’t especially pretty for much of the game, but Tennessee beat the Florida Gators last night 62-57, restoring confidence in the team and its best player.

Grant Williams, having been publicly called out by his coach earlier in the week, responded by refinding himself and putting up 23 points, much of it a beautiful exception to the “wasn’t especially pretty” opener up there.

Jordan Bone, too, responded to Rick Barnes’ pleading for him to be more aggressive by doing just that.

Highlights:

Highlights with commentary from the SEC Network:

Barnes’ surprising post-game press conference. Why surprising? Because he actually spends some time praising his team. Really. Proof:

Grant Williams in the hot seat:

And here’s a link to Grant Williams on the post-game radio show (sorry, it’s not embeddable) with Bob and Bert talking about losing at Catan.

Phillip Fulmer on Paul Finebaum

Paul Finebaum had The Papa on his radio show to discuss Jeremy Pruitt and to further rubber-neck the wreckage of the last decade on Rocky Top. Here’s what Fulmer had to say about the latter:

“It’s just a series of bad decisions that ended up being the issue. We had four presidents in six years. There was no continuity on campus. And all of a sudden, instead of everybody communicating and everybody trusting each other and everybody working together to an end like you see at the programs at the highest level now, it became a program struggle. And then a coach would come in. Kiffin left quick, and Dooley didn’t stay very long. And it was just a constant flow of change.

“You really have to understand the culture of any place that you go, and I don’t think the people that came in for the most part [did]. Butch Jones tried to, but to be at the championship level, you’ve got to communicate, you’ve got to trust each other, and everybody has got to work together. And we didn’t have that for seven, eight or nine years around here. It’s better now. It’s much better now.”

And what did Fulmer say about Pruitt? Video:

Other tidbits

We already knew that Tennessee had hired Chris Weinke as its new running backs coach, but now it’s official.

The Lady Vols travel to Florida tonight to take on the Gators at 7:00 p.m. The game’s on SECN+, meaning online only.

Vince Ferrara’s done a ton of great compilation work on the talent on Tennessee’s 2018 roster.

Gameday Today: Vols-Gators, tournament percentages, and Montario’s spin move

Hoops

Tennessee basketball hosts the Florida Gators at 9:00 tonight at Thompson-Boling Arena. It will be the Vols’ last regular season game against a tournament-bound team, and the result will likely determine whether we turn our attention back to seeding or continue searching for the cause of that wailing and gnashing sensation.

What’s caused the minor funk recently?

Kyle Alexander says the team is still adjusting to being an “opportunity” for other teams at this time of year, meaning everybody wants their pelt and the team isn’t quite used to that yet.

Rick Barnes, though, is focused more on the tangible, saying the difference in his team the past three games is shooting percentage, rebounding, and unforced turnovers. He also is pulling his hair out while wondering why Jordan Bone won’t push the ball in transition.

All that said, a prediction machine has run 50,000 simulations and concluded that Tennessee is the projected 4+ seed with the best chance to make the Final Four. So, best-looking Cinderella? Or do 4-seeds not qualify for Cinderella status? Regardless, their chances to reach the second round, Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four, title game, and the championship podium are, according to this thing, 84%, 53.4%, 26.5%, 12.2%, 3%, and .9% respectively. So, over 50% chance to make it past the first week and a decent shot to go a bit further. Sounds about right.

Football

SEC Country says to expect a few more football commitments over the summer this year due to a new rule that allows rising seniors to take official visits during that time.

Jeremy Pruitt is making Memphis a priority in recruiting and also bringing in the big guns (Peyton Manning, Phillip Fulmer, and David Cutcliffe) for his first coaching clinic as a Vol.

Baseball

Freshman Zach Daniels’ grand slam in the third inning last night against Lipscomb helped the Vols to an 8-5 win.

VFLs

Who else is glad to see Montario Hardesty back on campus? That spin move against South Carolina in the pumpkin uni is still the best I’ve ever seen.

Gameday Today: (H)oops looking to get its groove back

(H)oops!

Tennessee men’s basketball had another rough night Saturday, losing to Georgia, 73-62. That makes two losses in three games on the heels of a six-game winning streak and talk of a possible 1-seed.

Coach Barnes (who, by the way, is a national coach of the year candidate according to SI.com), reacted to the significant free throw disparity Saturday night by putting the blame on his team, not the officials. Georgia made 27 of 38 freebies, while the Vols only had 15 total trips to the charity stripe. Fan may call that bad officiating or home court advantage or whatever, but Barnes says it means the team “didn’t play very smart,” suggesting they were too content to shoot over defenders instead of taking hard to the basket.

The loss to the Bulldogs may (or may not) be the worst on the season resume, but regardless, Wes Rucker’s right that losing right now could pay off when it counts. A coach can tell his guys that they can get beat by anyone anytime if they don’t play well, and they can even believe it, but actually having it happen and feeling it is another matter entirely.

Let’s hope they rediscover their groove at the right time and remember the lessons learned along the way. For his part, Barnes is mashing buttons like crazy and sparing no one, not even Grant Williams, the team’s best and most consistent player who’s nevertheless been in a bit of a funk recently. Barnes is not only not coddling Williams, he’s trained a giant spotlight on him in the midst of his struggles, saying that he “has to quit talking about it and do it.”

Other tidbits

The Lady Vols basketball team also lost this weekend, to No. 13 Mizzouri, 77-73.

The softball team, though, beat Marshall 5-4 on a late hit by Meghan Gregg with the bases loaded.

The baseball team split a doubleheader Sunday with Maryland, losing 10-4 in Game 1 and winning 13-6 in Game 2.

VFL Christian Coleman broke the world record in the 60-meter dash yesterday:

And finally, Peyton Manning may not be able to sell you these products, but he is able to maintain his sense of humor even while driving the pace car at the Daytona 500:

Gameday Today: regular season hoops homestretch, more football details emerge

Hoops

If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out Will’s latest post on Tennessee basketball, which analyzes what, specifically, makes the team hum. Spoiler alert:

. . . Tennessee’s best basketball is a balanced effort from Williams, Schofield, Bowden from the arc, and getting just enough (but not too much) from its three guards.

The post is full of great information, so go read the whole thing.

Assuming they continue to do what they do, the Vols are in good shape to finish second in the SEC regular season race.

Also, there’s this fun fact about guard Jordan Bone:

Football

The Vols are not especially happy about losing punter Trevor Daniel, but they are excited about incoming punter Paxton Brooks, even if he is shaped like a chopstick.

They also love incoming defensive lineman John Mincey, the “Country Killer” who doesn’t have the time or inclination to waste on “Twitter, Snapchat, and all that stuff.” Old men everywhere, rejoice.

But while Jeremy Pruitt and his staff love these guys, he is actively discouraging any unrealistic expectations for them, warning that some of the positions they recruited this cycle are “developmental” positions that take time. What is this “development” wizardry you speak of?

By the way, Pruitt has also apparently told the media that his starters are supposed to be available for two special teams units and that non-starters are supposed to be available for three to four.

And even though the Vols might be in the market for a grad transfer or two at quarterback and/or offensive line, don’t expect anything to happen for a month or two on that front.

Tidbits

The No. 11 Lady Vols lost to Alabama 72-63 in Thompson-Boling last night. That’s the first time Alabama has won in Knoxville. Ever.

Tennessee baseball gets underway today against Maryland. The first pitch has been postponed until 6:00 due to weather.

ESPN and FOX are both after Peyton Manning for the broadcasting booth.

Gameday Today: additions to the football staff, opinions, and game times

Football Staff

Tennessee reportedly made two hires yesterday: former Heisman-winner and Alabama offensive analyst Chris Weinke will coach the running backs and JUCO offensive mastermind Joe Osovet will be an offensive analyst.

And in case you only read the headline saying that Robert Gillespie “didn’t like” being fired, here’s the whole quote from Phillip Fulmer:

“This is a big boy’s business,” Fulmer said, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. “He understood. He was very professional. We talked yesterday. It was simply a matter of Coach Pruitt doing what he thought was right for his program and Robert.

“Robert was fine. Robert is OK. He didn’t like it, I’m not saying that. But he’s OK. He understood. It’s a big boy business.”

Everybody’s got one

With news being pretty scarce, everybody’s starting in with their opinions:

Here are the Vols signees who will make an immediate impact this fall, according to SEC Country.

And here are the three top targets for Pruitt in next year’s recruiting class, according to Gridiron Now, and the top four needs for that class ($$$), according to Rivals.

Pruitt himself has opinions, too, and one of them is that 3-star defensive lineman signee Kurott Garland is going to be a “really good football player.”

According to Tennessee safeties coach Charles Kelly, here are the three characteristics every safety needs to possess.

And just to keep this particular fire burning, CBS also thinks that Tennessee is still one of the most talented teams in the nation.

Other fun stuff

The No. 11 Lady Vols host Alabama this evening at 6:30.

The Vols baseball season begins tomorrow as the team opens with a three-game series against Maryland at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

 

 

Gameday Today: Separate ways for Gillespie and Tennessee, Pruitt’s spring practice plan

Tennessee and Robert Gillespie part ways

News broke yesterday that Vols running backs coach Robert Gillespie is leaving Tennessee. This was a surprising move, as Gillespie was the one guy from Butch Jones’ coaching staff that had not been dismissed, so it seemed like he would be around for the long term or at least through the end of the last year of his contract. But instead, he’s gone.

Most reports are that this was a mutual decision, although John Brice added this juicy bit to his post on the subject:

Per sources, Gillespie did not mesh with Pruitt and the Vols’ new staff. In part of his culture change identified as necessary to push Tennessee forward, Pruitt found what sources said were “stale” mindsets.

I have to say that I did notice some palpable awkwardness at the Knoxville post signing day event when Gillespie and Jeremy Pruitt were both asked about Gillespie staying on. They said the right things, but there was no expected mutual gushing.

The initial reports are that former Florida State quarterback and Alabama analyst Chris Weinke is the guy to watch to replace Gillespie.

Oh, and player personnel director Bob Welton, who’s been on Tennessee’s staff since 2013, is also leaving. But FSU defensive quality control coach Bert Biffani is arriving. I know that we fans generally have no clue about the guys in these kinds of support positions, but I’m becoming more and more convinved that they matter — a lot — after seeing Alabama’s press box filled with an army of clipboard-carrying dudes nobody’s ever heard of. I’m glad to see Tennessee getting into the arms race.

Other Football

Coach Pruitt has outlined his plan for spring practice, and it’s a bit different than it has been in the past. The team will be practicing three days per week over a five week period, which will give the players a day in between practices to internalize the new things they’re being taught. They’re also going to sort of double up and continue to lift like it’s the offseason even during spring practice. Spring practice begins on March 20 and ends with the Orange and White Game on April 21.

Pruit is super high on 3-star defensive back Trevon Flowers, calling him the “steal of this class.” Flowers didn’t play football at all in high school until his senior year and yet has the skill set to play any of the six defensive back positions.

NFL Draft analyst Chris Landry identifies VFL John Kelly as a potential sleeper, one who “has a chance to be a better pro than he was in college.” He also says that Kelly was criminally underused, so there’s that.

VFL Johnny Majors is going to receive the Doak Walker Legends Award this week in Dallas.

And finally, former athletic director John Currie told agent Jimmy Sexton that Lane Kiffin “will never be the head coach as long as I’m the athletics director here.” He was right about that, he just didn’t know that he’d only be athletic director for a couple more weeks.

 

 

 

Gameday Today: Basketball turns the page to South Carolina

Hoops

If you care to hear Rick Barnes talk about all of the things that went wrong against Alabama Saturday night, you can do that here:

If you prefer, you can just skim the transcript. Paraphrase: We didn’t follow the scouting report, nobody did anything right, and bus rides are never fun.

Seriously, though, there’s this: “I hope you’re never who you are.” It was a toss-away line, but I absolutely love the philosophy it evidences, that everyone always needs to and can improve.

The team gets a chance to rinse out that nasty aftertaste of sulphur and sweat tonight at home against South Carolina, which is on a five-game losing streak. The game tips at 9:00 and will be televised on ESPNU.

And besides, apart from the misery of the weekend, the Vols still have a terrific resume. They have some really good wins against really good teams, and in addition, their only losses have come to good teams as well:


In fact, in ESPN’s latest power rankings, the Vols are still No. 13, just behind Duke, Kansas, and North Carolina, which is pretty good company, assuming you’re talking basketball.

Football

Now that both National Signing Days are behind us, it’s time for everyone to start taking a closer look at what we have on campus.

The coaching staff is loving 4-star offensive lineman Jerome Carvin.

The Vols are expecting great things from new wide receivers Alontae Taylor and Cedric Tillman.

Dominick Wood-Anderson is reportedly the “prototypical NFL tight end.”

If you need another reason to root for incoming JUCO linebacker Jordan Allen, check out this great story from 247Sports.

Incoming running back Jeremy Banks probably signals a shift to recruiting bigger backs.

Running backs coach Robert Gillespie says he wants to “own” the city of Memphis.

Safeties coach and special teams coordinator Charles Kelly is calling Jeremy Pruitt the “most talented coach” he’s worked with in 26 years.

And hey, here’s that same glimmer of hope: The Vols are still talented, even after going 0-8 in the conference last year and finishing this recruiting season with only a Top 20 class. ESPN even puts them on their list of teams with enough talent to get to the College Football Playoff. Coaches matter, so let’s hope we have the right ones.

And speaking of coaches, don’t miss this hilarious look at the Tennessee coaching staff from Spencer.

Other notes

Tennessee basketball is working on a redshirt for freshman forward Zach Kent.

Four-time All-American Chamique Holdsclaw and former assistant coach Mickie DeMoss are two of the seven-person class to be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

Gameday Today: Hungover Vols hoops team still pretty to the NCAA

Hoops

It was a rough night for the Tennessee basketball team Saturday at Alabama, as they were beaten mercilessly in every way and lost 78-50 to the Tide.

Will wants to burn the film, but not before we learn the most important lesson: When Tennessee struggles, they struggle defending elite guard play.

More specific to Saturday night, the Vols couldn’t keep Alabama’s elite guards (or anyone else for that matter) out of the paint. Wes Rucker of GoVols247 put it this way:  There was a party in Tennessee’s paint, and everyone from Alabama was invited.

Rick Barnes’ list of grievances was longer, but did include the paint problem. He also said this: “I don’t think I thought we could be that bad.”

The good news is that not only do road losses generally not count against you very much when seeding time comes, margin of defeat apparently doesn’t matter much at all. The NCAA Selection Committee released its top 16 seeds yesterday and not only did Tennessee still come in at No. 13, the committee chair explicitly said that the Vols getting run over at Alabama didn’t hurt Tennessee in the eyes of the committee:

(The discussion about the Vols begins at around the 3:45 mark.)

NFL Draft

Somebody’s mocking John Kelly. What? Oh, I see. A mock draft has Jon Gruden and the Raiders selecting John Kelly in the fourth round. Okay, then.

All aboard! A draft analyst is shoveling coal into the Rashaan Gaulden hype train, saying that he’s a top 50 pick. The thing also says that Gaulden has “discipline issues,” which surprised me. I know that picture of him giving the double bird to Alabama fans is still circulating the internet and that Kirk Herbstreit didn’t like it (but also loved Baker Mayfield, go figure), but honestly, having lived through it vicariously myself, I’m inclined to extend a little grace for a short outburst in the heat of the moment in the middle of last season. Is there something more that I’m missing?

Lady Vols

The Lady Vols softball team beat nationally-ranked Utah in Tempe 6-5 on a walkoff, bases-clearing double courtesy of Abby Lockman:

Meanwhile, the No. 11 Lady Vols basketball team beat No. 18 Georgia 62-46, and Mercedes Russell became only the sixth Lady Vol to reach 1,000 rebounds. Highlights:

And the Lady Vols tennis team got a big 4-3 win against Indiana this weekend, giving the Hoosiers their first loss of the season. The tennis team has won its first nine games this season, which is its longest winning streak since 2001.

Gameday Today: Pruitt solves a mystery, stiff-arms gimmicks, and knows the best PR

Vols Football News

Mystery Solved. Pruitt has already diagnosed Tennessee’s injury problems of the past two seasons: We’re too small. He also doesn’t like players on the ground in practice and thinks you can teach a guy how to tackle well by learning how to “thud.”

The pendulum swings again. Number one, Pruitt ain’t gone do no gimmick uniforms:

“Well, I’m going to tell you this: When I grew up, when I associated Tennessee, I associated orange and white,” Pruitt said during the post-National Signing Day event at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful at all. But, to me, when you go play a football game, what color your uniforms (are) don’t really matter. So, when I think of Tennessee, I think of orange and white. I don’t think you need no gimmicks.”

And number two, he’s figured out something rather important:

“But, you know, probably the best PR we got is winning football games in the fall. I can come here, and these folks can like me, and we can talk and all that, but if we ain’t winning this fall or next fall, it don’t matter how many times I come over here. So I probably need to spend most of my time on the things that’s gonna help us win football games.”

 

We’re Bad, We’re Nationwide. Jeremy Pruitt says that recruiting locally (defined not only as the State of Tennessee but also as a five- to six-hour radius from Knoxville) is important, but that they also need to capitalize on the national recognition of the Tennessee brand.

Obi Wan San. Pruitt makes a great point in stating that it’s not about how much a coaching staff knows, it’s how much they can teach the players:

“The thing is,” Pruitt added, “it’s not about what we know about the opponent, it’s what they players know. To me, whether it’s 11-personnel runs or a defensive back having to give a wide receiver report, or what’s the opponent running in their stacks and bunches, you’re trying to figure it out.
“It’s good to hear the guys communicate it back. I think the great ones take pride in it.”
Wait, what? New strength and conditioning coach Craig Fitzgerald is the only guy on Pruitt’s staff with whom Pruitt “had no prior relations.” This is where you make your own jokes, because I’ve already deleted three.
Nobody’s perfect, but for some there’s proof. Pruitt says the whole Jauan Jennings thing is “one day at a time.” He seems to understand both that kids make mistakes and that there are consequences for those mistakes:
“One of the first things when I got to Tennessee, Coach Fulmer, he filled me in on the situation,” Pruitt answered. “The way I look at it is this: There ain’t no perfect folks in this room. There ain’t no perfect coaches. There ain’t no perfect players. And if they had Instagram and all that stuff back when we were all growing up, some of us might not be in this room.
“I’ll say this: Jauan knows he made a mistake. He’s embarrassed by it, and I think we’re going to give him an opportunity in-house to find his way back on the team. But — and there’s always a but with it, right? — he’s got to do that. There ain’t going to be nothing given to him and he knows that. It’s a long ways to go and we’ll see. Hopefully he can do that.”

Football Coaching Staff

Tennessee finally and officially announced its football coaching staff yesterday and boasted of their collective achievements:

They also released the staff’s salaries, if you’re interested.

Recruiting

DylanVol takes a closer look at the linebackers in the Class of 2018.

Tennessee secured the commitment of 4-star offensive tackle Jackson Lampley of Montgomery Bell Academy.

Hoops

More rat poison, saying that Tennessee basketball is the best team in the conference:


Mmm. I love the taste of rat poison in the morning.

Lamonte Turner, who carried the Vols in the first half win over Kentucky, got a little winded and so prodded Jordan Bowden to take the torch for a little while. Bowden scored 11 points in the second half.

Admiral Schofield is a man with his head screwed on right:

“One of the biggest things we talked about, Kentucky was 17-6 and people were questioning their team — and we’re 17-5 and people are saying that’s the best they’ve seen here in a while,” Schofield said. “Why is that OK? We want more. We have to keep playing like men.”

Right on.

Other fun stuff

The No. 11 Lady Vols beat Arkansas 90-85 on the strength of a career-high 33 points and 14 rebounds from Rennia Davis. Highlights:

And the Lady Vols softball team, which is ranked No. 11, beat No. 19 Arizona State, 7-4.

Gameday Today: Vols’ National Signing Day recap

The general consensus on National Signing Day for the Vols is that although the day was a bit of a clunker, Tennessee still ended up with a good class, especially along the defensive line.

Here are the guys the Vols signed yesterday:

The Vols were in the running for several others but just couldn’t reel them in. Here’s a list of everybody who was on Tennessee’s board yesterday morning and where they ended up.

If you want to risk it, we also have a Twitter timeline of just the guys who were on the board yesterday so you can see what they’re saying this morning.

If you haven’t yet watched the Vols’ National Signing Day event, you should. It’s not just an opportunity to hear more about the new guys in the Class of 2018, it’s an opportunity to get to know the almost entirely new coaching staff. You’ll be glad you did.

Hoops

Jimmy Dykes mentions the phrase “1-seed” when asked about the Vols:

And VFL Josh Richardson had a career night: