Category Archives: Today on Gameday

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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Gameday Today: Decommits have the worst, only-mostly-dead phones

Recruiting

So yeah, 3-star running back Jashaun Corbin decommitted from Tennessee. I have just two pieces of advice for you, young man, after seeing this:
 Corbin
Charge your phone and switch to Verizon.
But seriously, what do you do after a guy like that decommits? You figure out who else is on the board. And then you remind everyone about the 4-star quarterback we just got and how he could help woo a bunch of other players in his neck of the woods. And you also don’t give up on him.

Football

I roll my eyes every time I read a quote from Butch Jones with the phrase “talk about” in it. Dude loves to talk about talking about stuff. But I digress.
Jones is now talking about talking about team chemistry, which he believes they have now, and about his decision to promote Larry Scott to offensive coordinator:
“But in terms of the promotion, that was kind of a very, very easy choice. I was able to evaluate him for a full year and what he brought to the offensive staff in terms of the dynamics of really managing personalities, being part of his staff and also his input on game day, his input throughout the course of the week and his relationship with the players.”
That there’s pretty good spin. “I hired him after a grueling, year-long interview process” sounds much better than, “Well, he was standing right there when Mike left.”
(This is a joke. I’m digging Larry Scott.)

Big Orange Caravan

The BOC must be all vamped out, because Tennessee is revamping the thing this summer. It’s apparently going to supplement the “look and feel” of the “traditional caravan” (dust and camel dung?) with some “new, fan-friendly elements.”
Hmm. What could those fan-friendly elements be, you ask? Music. A prize wheel, whatever that is. Smokey will be there (the mascot costume, I’m guessing). A photo booth with a Neyland Stadium backdrop, cornhole, a social media station, free popcorn, face painting, and more. I’m hoping the “and more” includes funnel cake, because they’re only one step away from a full-on carnival, and who doesn’t love the carnival? The Big Orange Carnival. Somebody get the USPTO on the phone.
The first stop is at the First Tennessee Pavilion in Chattanooga on Saturday, June 3 from 12:30-2:30 Eastern Time. They then go to the Expo Center at Agricenter International/West Pavilion (most awkward name ever?) in Memphis on Sunday, June 11 from 6:00-8:00 Central Time. Then it’s off to Nashville, where they’ll take over The Barn at Sycamore Farms on Monday, July 10, also from 6:00-8:00 Central.
They are actually planning something for the Tri Cities, but they don’t have the details yet because we’re the black sheep of the state, apparently. They’ll probably decide to set up a card table in a Pal’s parking lot or something. Which, as long as Pal’s is within walking distance, I’m good.

Miscellaneous fun stuff

The Football Writers Association of America has awarded Tennessee’s athletic media relations staff the “Super 11” tag as one of the best FBS sports information departments last year. High five to them.
Our friends at GoVols247 are running an awesome special, and if you’re going to pay for Vols content, get Gameday on Rocky Top 2017 first, and then go save $100 on a year’s worth of GoVols247.

Gameday Today: Vols not resisting the sweat-talk

Football

 
Breaking News Flash: Butch Jones inherited an “absolute total mess” at Tennessee. Seriously, though, this is VFL Phillip Fulmer speaking truth, but doing so publicly, going on the record with his opinion that he thinks Jones is doing fine.
 
Vols’ defensive tackle Kendal Vickers is not making excuses for the defensive line this season, tight end Jakob Johnson is not taking his degree for granted, and new cornerback Terrell Bailey is not resisting his transition from sweet-talk to sweat-talk.
 
And finally, new quarterbacks coach Mike Canales is winning hearts and minds, giving up his seat on a flight so a mom could get home to see her kid play in his baseball game. The kid even hit a home run. So did Canales.
 
The new guy at Rocky Top Talk has made a list of the five defensive guys that are the most indispensable (and one for the offense as well), which looks quite reasonable.
 

Recruiting

 
Tennessee is in the running for Harold Joiner, the No. 3 running back in the Class of 2018, and Owen Pappoe, the No. 1 outside linebacker and No. 4 prospect overall in the Class of 2019. These would be big gets for a program on a bit of a roll lately.
 

Baseball

 
Sigh. Tennessee baseball got swept by Kentucky, moving the team to 26-22 overall and 7-18 in the SEC, which even hurts to type.
 

Miscellaneous fun stuff

 
Vols’ sprinter Christian Coleman won the 100-meter dash with one shoe untied behind his back. Or something like that. And Vols wide receiver commit Jatavious Harris won three Georgia state titles this weekend.

Gameday today: It’s all a super-revealing mind game, man

Football

It’s all a mind game, man. When defensive back Rashaan Gaulden had to sit out most of the spring due to injury, new position coach Charlton Warren told him that he could look at it one of two ways: Either he wasn’t getting any reps, or he was going to get all of them (mentally). The happy ending: Gaulden chose to get every rep.
 
Oh my goodness, the headline: “Tennessee QB Jarrett Guarantano’s Twitter account revealing.” What’s the big reveal? Is it naked Jim McElwain on a shark? Another mooning incident from a Volunteers quarterback, this time with pictures? Does it unearth psychopathic tendencies of a guy on our roster? What? It “reveals” that Guarantano is a team player? Oh, well that’s good. Boring, but good. Begrudging high-five for the headline, Mike.
 
So some folks are in an uproar about the Vols spending $40,000 on bowl and Battle of Bristol rings. Pffffftt. That’s like two parking passes, man. They can handle it.
 
One small squat for man, one giant squat for Marquez Bembry, who is “maybe 60 percent” recovered from a torn ACL suffered last August. Godspeed, young man.
 
“Pretty boring guy” Kendal Vickers is graduating despite an early stiff arm to the whole academics thing. Congratulations, from one boring guy staying home on Friday nights to another. Represent!
 
I don’t know what’s behind the paywall for this link promising an analysis of the Vols football scholarship distribution, but it sounds fun.
 
The 2017 Lott IMPACT Trophy folks have added Vols’ senior defensive back Todd Kelly Jr. to their watch list for the season. The criteria for the award isn’t limited to athletic performance, but also considers the player’s character, which is awesome. Kelly is one of 42 guys on the list, which is a lot of guys to watch, so I’m just going to watch Kelly and declare him the winner when the time rolls around.
 

Basketball

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee has recommended several rules changes, including implementation of a centralized replay system in basketball games. What’s a “centralized replay system,” you ask? Think replay for college football. You know, where they stop the game and get on the horn to some poorly-compensated virtual assistants in the Philippines to see what they think. Or maybe it’s the guys sitting in the SEC offices in Birmingham; I always get those two groups confused. Anyway, I guess it’s better than watching the stripey guys hunched over the monitor that belongs to the broadcast crew like they’re showing each other their latest Instagrams.
 

Baseball

The baseball Vols dug themselves a hole early and couldn’t climb out, falling to Kentucky 15-5 last night in Lexington. That moves Tennessee to 26-20 and a woeful 7-16 in the SEC.
 

Miscellaneous fun stuff

Remember Ron Slay? He’s graduating, and he’s going to wear a headband on his mortar board. Also, the Indianapolis Colts have waived VFL Curt Maggitt. Boo.

Gameday Today: Not a fan of Will Muschamp edition

Football

 
Tennessee freshman offensive tackle K’Rojhn Calbert is not a fan of the Muschamp culture at South Carolina. Sort of confirms most of what you thought a Muschamp locker room would be like, doesn’t it? Muschamp, though, does outrank Butch Jones in CBS’ list of the best coaches in college football. No. 52 doesn’t sound bad for Jones, but being ranked lower than Muschamp has to add a little salt to the sting. That’s what you get when you haven’t ever beaten the guy. Let’s fix that this fall, shall we?
 
And speaking of things to fix . . . Dave Hooker says that Vols defensive coordinator Bob Shoop needs to rebound this year. Yeah.
 
Things that don’t need fixing? Josh Dobbs, who is still winning hearts, participating in graduation activities and throwing his first pass for the Pittsburgh Steelers all within the same 24-hour span. 

Recruiting

The Twitter profile of 4-star defensive tackle Jaquaze Sorrells makes him look like a pretty solid commit to the Florida Gators, but that didn’t stop Tennessee from throwing their hat in the ring.
 

 

 Hoops

Little late to this party due to the magazine deadline, but . . . Vols guard Shembari Phillips is transferring. The Vols have also lost Kwe Parker, but they have signed JUCO All-American Chris Darrington and are trying to land James Daniel, a grad transfer from Howard. 

Baseball

 
Tennessee baseball . . . has a really good APR.
 
 
 
 

Gameday Today: Vols in the NFL Draft, Orange and White Game debriefings, and recruiting offers

NFL Draft

Will at Rocky Top Talk is celebrating Derek Barnett by reliving some of his best moments at Tennessee. Barnett didn’t just rack up the sack totals; he picked it up at the right time.
 
The Josh Dobbs bandwagon is getting quite cozy with another ESPN analyst suddenly realizing that Dobbs is better than everybody thinks. What’s fueling the bandwagon? Work ethic, attitude, and intelligence, says Mel Kiper. I don’t know, maybe he’s just now seeing that NCAA Student Athlete PSA.
 
And don’t forget Josh Malone, who Kiper says could go in the third round, which would be good news to his grandma, who told me in the Ingles parking lot the other day that she’d wanted him to stay in school. Oh, but the brain lasts longer than the body. 
 
Can you remember the last Vol who was taken in the NFL Draft? Me, neither. Answer at the bottom of the post.

Football

The Orange and White Game debriefing is nearly complete. So what have we learned?
 
The running back depth is a serious issue that I will not joke about until the new recruits arrive on campus this summer.
 
Defensive back Justin Martin is a new man.
 
And a whole bunch of guys got a whole bunch of reps due to a whole bunch of injuries, including receiver Marquez Callaway, who apparently had more reps than anyone else on the team during spring.

Recruiting

Tennessee’s made a bunch of offers to 2019 prospects in the wake of the Orange and White Game, including one each to top-50 wide receivers Arjei Henderson and Trejan Bridges and one to defensive tackle DeWayne Carter.
 

By my count, that’s 21 offers already by Tennessee, all spent on two guys. I don’t know who the recruiting coordinator over there is, but he sounds like a spendthrift. 
 

Answer to the NFL Draft question

Yeah, I couldn’t remember the last Vol drafted, either. It was apparently Daniel McCullers.

Gameday Today: Injury situation “not so hotsy-totsy,” but at least nerds are in charge of the spring game

Except for the Orange and White “Game,” spring practice is in the books for Tennessee. So how did it go?
 
Well, defensive end Deandre Johnson is having a really good spring, according to defensive coordinator Bob Shoop. His opinion counts,  you know. And he thinks that cornerback Justin Martin has “really stepped up” and that safety Nigel Warrior had a “good spring overall, no question.” On his “Not Favorite Things” list? The injury situation plaguing his defensive unit, which he says is “not so hotsy-totsy.”
 
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, new quarterbacks coach Mike Canales has for some reason decided to strike fear into the hearts of Vols fans everywhere with three seemingly benign but totally frightening words: “Sure. Why not.” That came in response to a question asked about the possibility of running a two-quarterback system.
 
So practice officially concludes with the Orange and White “Game” tomorrow, and they must have granted some nerds access to the network passwords or something because someone’s posted an article with all of the rules for scoring points, points that don’t matter and that nobody cares about. You think I’m joking, but first on the list is this:
 
  • Get D+D objective: 1 point

See? You think that’s “down and distance,” but it’s actually Dungeons and Dragons.

So what’s everyone hoping to see tomorrow besides clouds moving on and sunshine poking through? Dave Hooker at Gridiron Now has a list of six mostly hipster defensive players to watch plus a bonus Prilosec ad smack in the middle of the content that is HUGE and making me concerned about that BBQ I ate for lunch. Will at Rocky Top Talk is looking for the second receiver, and second (and maybe third) linebacker, and whether Butch Jones will be naming captains again this year. On the captains question, I wonder whether doing so last year during spring practice had anything to do with the Jalen Hurd drama that manifested itself to fans later that fall, and without any actual knowledge whatsoever, I’m guessing it did and that Jones won’t do it again. But I’m basing that on absolutely nothing. Huh! War!

 
And finally, Jimmy Hyams has an interesting piece reporting the details of Tennessee’s non-conference game contracts. There’s some good information in there, but my favorite bit, just because I found it amusing, is that Peach Bowl, Inc. (a party to the agreement relating to the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Georgia Tech) “strongly urges both schools to begin ticket sales for this game as early as possible in 2017, but absolutely no later than March 1” and conclude sales by June 14. In response to that watertight language, Tennessee has announced plans to put tickets on sale to donors on May 16 and will open it up to everyone else in July. Resistance, not all that futile after all, at least in response to mere strong urgings.

Gameday Today: On players becoming bullies and Caravans becoming Corollas

Football

That quarterback competition between Quinten Dormady and Jarrett Guarantano? It’s still a competition and probably will be for much longer than you want it to be. Meanwhile, Trey Smith is looking like he’s well on his way to becoming only the fifth true freshman to start a season opener on the Tennessee offensive line, which by the way, is intentionally conditioning itself to be a bully this season. I am generally anti-bullying thanks to a guy named Brad Smith (maybe not his real name) who will forever be an extremely huge and mean sixth-grader in my mind, but I like my offensive linemen to push people around, and if a little attitude helps them in that task, I am all for it.
 
Oh, look. The Big Orange Caravan is apparently downsizing to a couple of Corollas with car magnets and car flags road tripping to Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga with an old school foldable paper map. Tri Cities, y’all are out of luck, and they don’t care how much money you spend at the Strawberry Plains exit every Football Saturday.
 
A bit of good news, that game that Tennessee is supposed to play against Georgia Tech at the new Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta to open the season? It’s going to be held at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. And the odds of the retractable roof just outright falling off and squishing both teams in the middle of the second quarter diminishes just a little more every day!
 

NFL Draft

Yeah, Jon Gruden says that Josh Dobbs is a “great sleeper” in this year’s NFL Draft. I don’t think he means that he has great sleep technique, which is something Derek Dooley might have meant. And speaking of Dobbs, Todd McShay thinks he could even sneak into the first round of the NFL Draft. That thing I said about McShay over-thinking things? Never mind. Oh, and Tennessee defensive end Darrell Taylor is getting all crunk just watching all of the attention Derek Barnett is getting.
 

Recruiting

Two of Tennessee’s commitments for the 2018 recruiting class are in the ESPN 300: 4-star offensive tackle Cade Mays and 4-star receiver Alontae Taylor. And in hoops recruiting, wing Yves Pons and power forward Derrick Walker both got bumps in the final Top 247 rankings for the Class of 2017.
 
And finally, the Vols have offered 4-star defensive end Cameron Latu from Salt Lake City.

Gameday Today: Everybody’s becoming something, and somebody somewhere is (maybe?) throwing shade

FOOTBALL

Nigel Warrior is apparently turning into the player coaches (and everybody else) thought he could be. Meanwhile, Darrin Kirkland Jr. is apparently becoming Jalen Reeves-Maybin, and injured receiver Brandon Johnson is becoming so bored that he’s sneaking into practice reps. And the nickel is becoming the 4-3: Word is that Tennessee is playing around with more standard 4-3 defensive alignments instead of the mostly nickel packages they ran last year. So who’s in line for that third LB spot? It’s looking like Austin Smith, Colton Jumper, and Quart’e Sapp. 
 
And finally, the Orange and White Game: Where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.

NFL DRAFT

Another NFL draft analyst has VFL Derek Barnett going to the Baltimore Ravens as the 16th pick in this year’s draft. Most of the rest of that article talks about how that’s in contrast to Barnett’s somewhat disappointing metrics from the NFL Combine and Pro Day. Aren’t the numbers supposed to help you predict what you don’t know? And isn’t what someone actually did better evidence than an educated guess at what you think they might do in the future? But what do I know?
 

RECRUITING

BONUS

The headline for this piece says that Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder has thrown shade at new Tennessee athletic director John Currie. Listen, Snyder is even older than I am, and he has no idea what “throw shade” means, and anyway, since when does singing faint praise for your incoming boss necessarily indicate an insult at your old boss?

Gameday Today: Easter greetings run the gambit as Tennessee chases big guys

A few recruiting tidbits this morning: Georgia legacy Tommy Tremble recently visited Tennessee and called it his “best visit.” ($) Tennessee is also chasing offensive lineman Cooper Mays ($). And the Vols have offered defensive tackle Kristian Williams, who now plans to visit.

The Easter greetings from the official Twitter accounts of SEC schools ranged from Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze boldly going straight S.M. Lockridge to Tennessee’s, which might as well contain the caption, “This Easter holiday brought to you by Nike.” (They appear to have changed that, if you look at the tweet now, but the screen cap below is from the one originally embedded in the post from Gridiron Now.)

Happy Easter