With the Vols on a Recent Tear, Who Could Be Next?

After landing RB Jaylen Wright, WR Walker Merrill and WR/ATH Roc Taylor in between March 30th and April 10th,  the Tennessee Volunteers have shot to the edge of the Top 10 nationally with its current 11-man 2021 class.  During this time the Vols have also worked their way into multiple top schools lists and have also firmly established themselves as real players for an unprecedented number of elite prospects.  Other than Ohio State, one could easily make the argument that Coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff have done more to advance their 2021 class than anyone in the country during the shutdown. 

So with that momentum, and with the possibility that the restrictions on campus visits and in-person recruiting could extend for even longer, the question is who could be next to pop for Tennessee? Below we look at fiven(+1) who could like the most likely:

WR Julian Nixon

This one is obvious.  Nixon has been almost over the top with his love for the Vols on Twitter over the last couple of weeks, and has even declared Tennessee to be his leader.  While there is talk that some close to him are trying to get him to slow down – likely due to some pro-Auburn sentiment in his camp – there are a few reasons why that might not work.  For one, like everyone, Nixon is in limbo due to COVID-19, so he may decide that since it’s impossible to know when he’s going to be able to take other visits he might as well just go with what feels right.  Secondly, and more importantly, he might feel a little bit of a sense of urgency in terms of spot availability.  As strange as it sounds considering Nixon is a unique talent due to his size/speed/skillset combination, Tennessee might not have a spot for him forever.  With Taylor’s commitment following Merrill’s, the Vols now have commitments from three pass catchers including Jordan Mosley.  Tennessee ideally would like 3-4 WRs and 2 TEs in this class, and they’re highly prioritizing instate stud TE Hudson Wolfe, who’ll have one of those TE spots as long as he wants it.  The Vols are also quite possibly at the top for TEs Miles Campbell and Trinity Bell, both of whom profile more as pass-catching TEs – the position at which the 6’3, 230 pound Nixon could ultimately profile along the lines of 2020 signee Dee Beckwith.  So what happens if Campbell (who, funny enough, is listed ten pounds lighter than Nixon) or the 6’7 Bell want in?  Does the fact that Roc Taylor is in the same mold factor in at all?  What happens if the Vols make a move with a stud true WR like Deion Colzie or Donte Thornton?  Who knows, but if Nixon truly loves the Vols as much as it appears he might be wise to secure his spot

LB Junior Colson

Colson has set a tentative commitment time for sometime in May, which makes his inclusion on this list fairly easy.  The Midstate stud is near the top of the Vols’ LB board and profiles as an everydown ILB in Tennessee’s 3-4 scheme with the ability to use his speed against the run and in coverage.   With offers from Michigan, LSU, Auburn and Oregon to go with his Tennessee offer, Colson – a consensus  4-star prospect – is clearly an elite talent and the kind of prospect the Vols must keep at home.  So far they’ve done an excellent job in his recruitment, getting him on campus for multiple game visits and junior days and ensuring he knows he’s a high priority for them.  Michigan, where he has some family ties, appears to be Tennessee’s chief competition at the moment, which should give Vol fans some comfort given the fact that Pruitt has dominated Jim Harbaugh in head to head recruitments highlighted by Quarvaris Crouch and Eric Gray (a onetime Wolverine commitment).  That and the fact that Colson is very close friends with Merrill.  A commitment from Colson would give the Vols two bigtime gets in the Midstate and also potentially give Pruitt and DC Derrick Ansley the heir apparent to Henry To’oto’to as the next great Tennessee LB

OL William Parker (used to be Griffin)

Although Parker has his share of bigtime suitors such as Alabama and Ohio State, one gets the sense that the Midstate standout likes the Vols a great deal.  With three visits to Knoxville in the last 6 months –both the South Carolina and Vanderbilt games as well as the February 1st Junior Day – he’s easily most familiar with UT’s campus and vibe.  With what we’ve seen nationwide in terms of prospects choosing to select instate schools or schools close to home during this time, Parker would make sense.  Coaches Chaney and Friend are certainly selling him on being the first OL commitment in the class who would not only be the foundation of Tennessee’s this cycle’s big uglies but also another bigtime instate prospect to (hopefully, along with Colson) choose the Vols, and that pitch could resonate during this prolonged shutdown

OT Colby Smith

While Parker could play Offensive Tackle, he’s probably better suited as a road grader inside.  And after the Vols signed three interior OL in the 2020 class and no true OTs, Tackle is a high priority in the 2021 class.  Enter Smith, a 6’7, 295 pound true tackle from Reidsville, NC.  A 4-star prospect with offers from the instate schools UNC and NCSU, the Vols jumped to the top of Smith’s list after a late January offer and subsequent campus visit and have continued to press hard for him since then.  Notably, that February 1 visit to Knoxville was Smith’s final campus visit before the virus-imposed shutdown. Along with OL Coach Will Friend and NC recruiter extraordinaire Jay Graham, Pruitt himself seems to be heading up this recruitment, which has not gone unnoticed by Smith.  While the Vols are trying hard for 5-star OT Nolan Rucci and have local developmental tackle J’Marion Gooch as well as rising prospect Diego Pounds on the OT board, landing Smith – who looks like he could play in the SEC in year two or three –  would go a long way to ensuring that Tennessee meets it needs at the position

RB Cody Brown OR RB Tiyon Evans

Tennessee will be looking to add at least two RBs in this class and already has one commitment in the aforementioned Wright, a speedster with sneaky size and ability between the tackles.  But while Wright is absolutely a bigtime prospect given his world class speed, the Vols would like to pair him with a truly elite back, something that so far Pruitt has not yet been able to sign in his time at Tennessee.  Brown, a 4-star RB from the Atlanta suburbs, is that, with offers from Georgia, Auburn and other schools like Florida to prove it.  Much more of a bruiser than Wright (or Evans), Brown is also an excellent track and field (shot put, discuss) athlete and showcases that functional athleticism with incredible strength and balance when he runs.  He’s not a burner (again, more Wright and potentially Evans’s department) but he rarely is caught from behind in his film and fits the big back profile that Pruitt so famously loves.  In terms of his recruitment, Brown came to Knoxville for a game last season and then again for the February 1 Junior Day and is also a priority for Auburn but perhaps less so for Georgia.  The homestate Bulldogs recently picked up a RB commitment and assuming they do want to sign two they seem to have a couple of other RBs ahead of Brown.  With the Vols also only having one spot left but having Brown higher on their board, he has an opportunity to jump in Tennessee’s class that might be too good to pass up. 

Evans might play into Brown’s calculus as well.  The JUCO product from Hutchinson C.C. by way of Hartsville, SC, Evans is a high priority for the homestate Gamecocks and the consensus is that after South Carolina offered Evans in late March that he is destined to spend his college career (in mediocrity) in Columbia.  That said, the Vols, who offered Evans almost two months earlier, are also recruiting Evans incredibly hard.  People certainly think that Evans is a Gamecock lean, and he’s never been to Knoxville, but Tennessee RB Coach Jay Graham has a longstanding relationship with him along with deep ties in the state from his stint on the South Carolina staff, so the Vols are in deeper than some might expect and the Vols are pushing hard here. 

In theory the Vols would take whoever wants to commit first, and in theory there is only one RB spot left.  That could cause one of them to go ahead and make a move in the coming months.

With the momentum Tennessee has on the recruiting trail it seems inevitable that the Vols land another commitment in the coming weeks. Who do YOU think it will be?

Stories of the Decade: Are You Sure the Referees Have Left the Field?

The last three weeks we’ve looked back at some of Tennessee’s most rewatchable games: the dramatic, the dominant, and the best performances. It doesn’t take long to realize anything related to most rewatchable for the Vols is going to lean heavy into the past.

But even with fewer happy moments to choose from, I’ve found myself wanting to talk about more recent events as well. Like a lot of places, we put out some decade retrospective stuff in December, focusing on our favorite things from the last ten years. For this summer’s Gameday on Rocky Top Magazine – which we believe will still be a thing – I wrote a piece on the most important stories of the decade and put them in chronological order.

But even before sports were postponed, I found myself thinking about expanded versions of the stories in that list – some good, some bad, some weird – and trying to rank them in order of importance. Of everything that happened to Tennessee football in the 2010’s, which moments ended up having the biggest impact?

Like you, I’m hopeful we’ll get to tell stories about the present and future of Tennessee football really soon. Until then, here’s a look back at the more recent past and how it impacts the present. Starting today, with two games we might’ve thought would be the most difficult losses of the decade at the time they happened. Turns out, they barely made the list.

10. Are you sure the referees have left the field?

Here’s the argument for Derek Dooley heading into year zero one:

  • Not Lane Kiffin
  • Said “britches” in his introductory press conference
  • Mom was entertaining
  • Not Lane Kiffin

But man, points one and four were strong. We wanted this dude to work, especially for those reasons.

Before Kiffin’s departure (which we’ll get to in this list), we were talking ourselves into the Vols as a dark horse SEC East candidate in 2010. The 2009 Vols finished just 7-6, but were 24th in SP+. Aside from big wins over Georgia and South Carolina, Tennessee was competitive with Florida, should’ve beaten Alabama, and ran into one of Virginia Tech’s most dangerous teams in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Eric Berry would go pro and the Vols would need a new quarterback. But the talent level within the program still felt high enough to dream. (2010 was the right year for dreams to come true in the SEC East, as it turned out: South Carolina would win their first and only division title at only 5-3.)

Kiffin’s departure didn’t take down a solid recruiting class right away. And Dooley’s Vols came out feisty: a 13-3 lead on Oregon in the second quarter in Knoxville, and still down just seven late in the third quarter before a pick six opened all the floodgates. The Gators, coming off a two-year tear, won by just 14 against Dooley’s first squad. The reality check could’ve come the next week against UAB, but the Vols survived in overtime.

And then, #12 LSU in Baton Rouge.

Jordan Jefferson – remember when LSU couldn’t find a quarterback who could throw? – ran 83 yards for a touchdown on the game’s first play. And you figure, okay, maybe this is the comeuppance. Maybe this is the reality, we’re going to be bad for a while, and we’ll just take a whipping here.

But LSU’s next two drives ended with an interception and a missed field goal. The Vols tied it up. More turnovers, more missed field goals, and suddenly it’s still 7-7 going to the fourth quarter. LSU added a field goal in the first minute to make it 10-7.

And then, manna from heaven. Two big plays – a 37-yard completion to freshman Justin Hunter on 3rd-and-3, a 20-yard run from Tauren Poole on 3rd-and-6 – and the Vols had the lead. LSU got a 47-yard completion to first and goal at the nine yard line, so the joy didn’t seem built to last. But LaMarcus Thompson made a fantastic end zone interception on the very next play, LSU’s fourth turnover.

The Vols had 4th-and-1 at the LSU 31 with 5:41 to play, went for it, and didn’t get it. And so began a 16-play drive for the Tigers.

We know the ending, but along the way you forget, or at least I did, that on this drive LSU converted 3rd-and-13 and 4th-and-14.

And then, the ending.

I remember one of my friends calling me as soon as Dooley and the Vols came barreling onto the field in celebration, and having about a 20-second conversation about how the Vols – despite being out-gained by like 200 yards – deserved to win because Les Miles deserved to lose a game like this every once in a while. And then I remember hanging up the phone real fast.

I laughed when I went back and read what we wrote at Rocky Top Talk in the immediate postgame: what if those sixty seconds (when we thought we won) are as good as it gets this year?

But then, a month later, enter Tyler Bray. And suddenly, it got better.

Bray rewrote Tennessee’s freshman passing record book, but did so against 1-11 Memphis, 4-8 Ole Miss, 2-10 Vanderbilt, then 6-6 Kentucky. The four-game winning streak on his shoulders built all kinds of optimism for 2011 and beyond under Dooley, with a nice year zero prize: a first (and, we hoped, maybe only) trip to Nashville for the Music City Bowl. North Carolina would serve as a nice Level 2 for Bray, helping us understand more of what we should expect from him in the future.

A fairly compelling football game broke out. Trailing 10-7, Bray hit fellow freshman Da’Rick Rogers for a 45 yard score with 90 seconds left in the first half. That was enough for Carolina to answer, taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room. That score held until the final five minutes, when Bray hit Hunter from eight yards out to give the Vols a 20-17 lead…because the Vols missed the extra point. Dun dun dun.

Carolina turned it over on downs, but the Vols couldn’t run out the clock. UNC took over at their 20 yard line with 31 seconds left and no timeouts. That part, too – all this in just 31 seconds – I’d forgotten.

The clock stops first because Janzen Jackson gets a 15-yard personal foul for…I believe launching is the technical term, though I’m not sure I can recall it being flagged before or since. That’s at the end of a 28-yard completion, so now Carolina has it at the Vol 37. They pick up 12 more yards on the next play, then spike the ball with 16 seconds left. It would’ve been a 42-yard field goal to tie from here.

And then they run a draw play to get a little closer, I guess. It’s a ridiculous idea. But you know what happens next.

Ten years later, it’s still a question worth asking: which loss hurt more? For me, it’s this one: takes away from your momentum at the end of the year, and it’s much less your fault. Plenty of stuff the Vols could’ve done differently, in regulation or the two overtimes to come. But also, the referee is supposed to stand over the ball while Carolina is running half their personnel on and off the field as those final seconds tick down, and prevent T.J. Yates from (wisely) spiking the ball anyway with one second left (followed by the head referee infamously saying, “The game is over.”) These days we have a rule against that. But not in 2010.

In an alternate universe, the Vols and Tar Heels started a home-and-home series the following year, plenty of chances for revenge and all that.

Instead, we got the peak of the Derek Dooley era, fittingly, by beating Butch Jones and Cincinnati in week two of 2011. And some of the steps to that peak came from the build-up of this argument: the Vols went 6-7 in 2010, but were 8-5 when the game ended the first time. I think the 2010 Vols are still overachievers, especially considering the three coaches in three years bit, the way they fought against Oregon and Florida early, and didn’t quit late.

From what I believe was our fourth Music City Bowl recap piece:

It just twists the knife deeper to know that the Vols were beat twice, in a way, because the other team was so insane, it accidentally worked to their advantage.  Both LSU and UNC tried to substitute with far, far too little time left on the clock.  In Baton Rouge, the Vols responded to that insanity in kind, and it cost us.  In Nashville, I’m not sure the umpire ever even saw it…because the thought that they would go ahead and try to kick instead of spiking it on third down really was that crazy.

On January 1, 2011, those two games seemed like they would definitely be both the hardest and craziest losses we took this decade. But just you wait.

Vols Add Roc Taylor to 2021 Class

Tennessee picked up its third commitment of the COVID Shutdown Period on Good Friday when 3-star ATH Roc Taylor tweeted out his commitment to the Vols.  Taylor is a Jumbo ATH at 6-3/4, and ~215 pounds who profiles as a Dee Beckwith/Kyle Pitts-type TE/WR hybrid.  He was incredibly productive last season for Oxford HS in Oxford, AL, with 71 catches for over 1,300 yards and 17 TDs. 

What Taylor is, simply put, is big and athletic, and that functional athleticism is showcased on the hardwood with some nasty dunks as well as on the gridiron where he uses his physicality and frame to box out defenders on jump balls and somewhat shocking speed for that size when beating defensive backs deep.  While he doesn’t currently hold offers from either of instate Alabama or Auburn (who appeared to be close), Taylor does have them from the likes of Florida, South Carolina, Georgia Tech and others.  Given his production, size, and speed, he’s likely a prospect who would have picked up more offers if there had been more campus visits and camps allowed this spring, but after getting him on campus right before the shutdown the Vols took advantage.

How he fits in this class is obviously very interesting.  Is he one of likely two TEs that Tennessee is likely to take, or is he the 3rd WR in this class along with 4-star Jordan Moseley (another AL prospect) and Walker Merrill?  Or, does the staff like him so much regardless of what position he ultimately ends up that they felt like they had to pounce when he wanted to commit?  Size wise he obviously looks a lot like 4-star Julian Nixon, for whom Tennessee presumably has a big lead, so how does he impact Nixon’s spot?  The guess here is that the Vols would still take Nixon at WR but the staff feels like they’re not close enough with top WR prospects like Deion Colzie and Donte Thornton to turn Taylor down; AND that they’d still take a TE like Hudson Wolfe but perhaps a pass-catching TE like Miles Campbell or Trinity Bell might no longer have a spot.  There’s also always the possibility that a guy like Taylor could project as a LB down the line and just be an ATH in this class.  Time will tell of course, but it appears that the Vols landed a bigtime athlete and put another stake in the ground in Alabama, where they’re still chasing hard after Yellowhammer studs like Dylan Brooks, Jeremiah Williams, Anquin Barnes, and the aforementioned Bell.

Our Most Rewatchable Performances

In this series we’ve looked at most rewatchable games and most rewatchable beat downs. What about the most rewatchable individual and team performances?

A few of Tennessee’s most memorable individual performances became part of Tennessee’s most rewatchable games. We’ve already covered Josh Dobbs at South Carolina in 2014, Travis Stephens at Florida in 2001, Tony Thompson at Mississippi State in 1990, and Erik Ainge at Kentucky in 2007, among others. There are also some record-breaking performances that simply get overshadowed by the outcome: Al Wilson’s three forced fumbles against Florida in 1998 is a school record, but just one piece of that grand narrative.

For this list, I tried to look at games that were particularly defined by what the individual or team did. A huge, huge thanks to the folks who put Tennessee’s football media guide together, which was incredibly helpful in building this list.

10. 1991: Carl Pickens at Louisville

In the first ever ESPN Thursday night game, the season opener saw the #11 Vols, two-time defending SEC Champions, head to Louisville to face current Purdue coach Jeff Brohm (who breaks his ankle in this game). Other than Peyton Manning, I’m not sure any Vol had as much Heisman hype in Week 1 than Carl Pickens. Eric Berry was a more unique story as a defensive player, though Pickens played both ways his freshman season. Heath Shuler would eventually finish second. But Pickens was a two-year standout coming into the ’91 campaign, with Andy Kelly back for his senior year to throw bombs. In this game, Pickens catches a 75-yard touchdown pass and returns a punt 67 yards for another score, the longest combination of two touchdowns by two different means in school history.

9. 1995: Peyton Manning & Joey Kent at Arkansas

Overshadowed immediately because the Vols beat Alabama for the first time in ten years the next week in the number one game on our beat down list. But in the moment, a Top 20 clash between the #10 Vols and #18 Arkansas, who went on to win the SEC West in 1995. The Razorbacks scored 31 points on what became a really good Vol defense. But this was Peyton Manning’s national coming out party: 384 yards through the air, at the time his career high (which he’d go on to top four more times). And Joey Kent tied a school record with 13 receptions (with Pickens from the 1990 Notre Dame game, maybe the most rewatchable game the Vols lost). Tennessee won 49-31, with Manning and Kent both on their way to rewriting the Vol record books.

8. 1999: Tennessee Defense vs Wyoming

There’s a lot of nostalgia here: the season opener after winning the national championship the year before. A great Neyland Stadium moment when Jamal Lewis gets 21 yards on the first play from scrimmage in returning from his ACL tear. For me, this was my first game in the student section as a freshmen at UT. But the school record here belongs to the defense: a ludicrous 13 sacks against the Cowboys. You watch some of these old games and it just wasn’t a fair fight, this one certainly among them.

7. 1998: Tee Martin at South Carolina

This one you probably know: Tee Martin completes his first 23 passes against the Gamecocks, setting an NCAA record. An incredible accomplishment considering he started the year struggling through the air against Syracuse and Florida. Another game time capsule game for the 1998 season.

6. 2011: Tyler Bray, Da’Rick Rogers & Justin Hunter vs Cincinnati

We go back and talk about this game a fair amount, and not for the Derek Dooley vs Butch Jones weirdness. Other than anything from 2016, I think you walked out of this game feeling like the Vols were closer to being “back” than any other point in the last decade. Tyler Bray set a school record for completion percentage among QBs with more than 40 attempts, going 34-of-41 (82.9%) for 405 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. And Da’Rick Rogers and Justin Hunter turned in the only dual 10+ catch/100+ yard game in school history, both getting 10 catches with Hunter gaining 156 yards and Rogers an even 100. Injuries derailed all this momentum the next few weeks, but in the moment, life was good. And it remains one of the best passing/receiving performances in school history.

5. 2019: Jarrett Guarantano, Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway & Josh Palmer at Missouri

What’s the most rewatchable game from last season? Kentucky and the Gator Bowl have the best endings. South Carolina is most enjoyable from a beat down perspective. And if you’re looking for the one that provides the most hope, it might actually be Alabama. The Vols beat Missouri 24-20; doesn’t seem like a lot to shout about. But behind a couple of blocked field goals, a Mizzou trick play touchdown, and a fumble in Tiger territory, Tennessee dominated. The Vols outgained Missouri by 246 yards, their largest margin vs FBS competition in five years. Jarrett Guarantano threw for 415 yards, joining Manning and Bray as the only Vols to hit that number. And for the first time in school history, Tennessee had three receivers break the 100-yard barrier: 6 for 124 for Josh Palmer, 5 for 115 for Jauan Jennings, 6 for 110 for Marquez Callaway.

4. 1989: Chuck Webb vs Ole Miss

With Reggie Cobb’s Tennessee career over at midseason, the CobbWebb became simply the Chuck Webb show. And no one has ever been better than Webb on this day: 294 yards on the ground against what became an 8-4 Ole Miss team. It’s a ridiculous performance, one of two from his late season flurry that deserves your attention…

3. 1989: Chuck Webb vs Arkansas

Three years before they joined the SEC, #10 Arkansas met the #8 Vols in the January 1, 1990 Cotton Bowl. And Webb was at it again, running for 250 yards, still the second-most in school history. It’s a better opponent in what became a really good football game: the Vols won 31-27, capping off an 11-1 SEC Championship season.

2. 2001: Kelley Washington vs LSU

In Tennessee’s first game post-9/11, #7 Tennessee hosted #14 LSU on Saturday night in Knoxville. We know what happened in the rematch and all that, though you’ll get less bad vibes watching the first encounter because Rohan Davey doesn’t get hurt. But the story here became Kelley Washington: 11 catches for a school-record 256 yards. I’ve never been at a game where everyone in the building knew what was going to happen, and then it happened anyway like this. Casey Clausen was going to #15. And Nick Saban’s defense simply could not stop it.

1. 1997: Peyton Manning vs Kentucky

The Couch/Manning graphic at the start of this broadcast is nice for storytelling purposes, but there simply was no “Manning vs _________” for any other college quarterback by this point. Couch, the #1 pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, was good: 476 yards, three touchdowns, 31 points for Kentucky. Manning was Manning: 523 yards, still a school record vs power five competition, five touchdowns, 59 points for the Vols. Peyton had bigger wins and more crucial performances, specifically two weeks later against Auburn in the SEC title game. But if you want the poetry of the individual performance, this is Manning’s masterpiece.

Vols Staff Doing Work During Shutdown

Having built Tennessee’s roster to the point that some are talking about the Vols as a darkhorse in the SEC East in 2020, it’s clear that Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt has done an outstanding job recruiting since taking over just weeks before the inaugural Early Signing Period in the 2018 recruiting cycle.  Now that he’s accomplished that task, the next step, as we’ve spoken often of, is for Tennessee to step up its success in landing more and more elite players.  To refresh, we’ve (arbitrarily) defined elite players as those with offers from at least one of the following programs: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Penn State.  These programs have at least one College Football Playoff appearance and/or at least one NY6 bowl game AND multiple recent recruiting classes that consistently land in the Top 5-10 nationally. 

As we all know, the NCAA’s ban on in-person (i.e., on campus) recruiting – at first through April 15th and since extended to at least May 31st – has thrown the entire college football recruiting world for a loop.  Prospects who planned to tour multiple college campuses can no longer do so, schools who planned to host prospects for spring practices and/or spring games can no longer do so either.  Therefore, schools have been limited to phone calls and electronic communication via texting, video chats, and Twitter messaging and graphics.  As almost all of that is done in private and very little of it is announced by prospects, any traction that schools have gained (or lost) with particular players is somewhat unknown to the general public.

That said, over the last week or so there have been quite a few prospects putting out lists of their top schools, as well as other intel that various recruiting services have been able to gather.  And the upshot for Tennessee is that Pruitt and his staff seem to have made quite a bit of headway with a relatively large number of players, most of whom fall into that “elite” category and some of whom haven’t even yet made it to Knoxville for a visit. 

As we noted back in late February, new Tennessee Tight End Coach Joe Osovet has gotten the Vols involved with an inordinate amount of high level prospects in general and particularly in the DMV region along with PA and NY.   And although the Vols (at least temporarily) lost out to Maryland for the commitment of bigtime Pass Rusher Demoiun Robinson, Tennessee just this past week made the latest round of cuts for four(!) players from Maryland, including Robinson’s high school teammate 4-star DL Marcus Bradley (Top 6: Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, OSU, USC and Maryland), as well as three teammates at Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy (where newly signed Vol DL Dominic Bailey just graduated from) in four star ILB Aaron Willis (Top 7: Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Texas, Michigan, Maryland and Arizona State); four-star defensive tackle Katron Evans (Top 8: Tennessee, Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, TCU, and USC), and 4-star OLB Jamon Dumas-Johnson (Top 10: Tennessee, Auburn, Ole Miss, Michigan, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, Penn State, Texas A&M and Arizona State).  Few notable things from all of those lists are that Maryland is so far of doing a good job of staying involved with the massive amount of top-tier talent in its state thanks to the recruiting prowess of Head Coach Mike Locksley and that Texas A&M and LSU are going to be the out of state programs against whom the Vols will be battling for this region’s talent. 

Another longer-term target for the Vols from Baltimore who Osovet got the Vols involved with when he was an off-the-field coach, WR Donte Thornton, released a Top 12, which in and of itself is rather meaningless.  But the scuttle continues to be that Tennessee is a big player in this recruitment.  Thornton, along with top-shelf WRs like Deion Colzie, Julian Nixon – who named the Vols his leader over the weekend- and perhaps longtime instate target Adonai Mitchell are the types of talent that the Vols likely could not turn away despite having less of a need at WR this cycle and with the recent commitment of instate star Walker Merrill giving Tennessee two commits at the position already. 

Incidentally, Merrill’s commitment can do nothing but help with his good friend and fellow instate bigtimer, 4-star LB Junior Colson.  The Vols have made a big move for Colson during this time period and now that he’s moved up his commitment timeline to May it feels like good news is coming for the Vols.  Michigan, in particular, won’t go down without a fight for him.  But between having ace recruiter Brian Niedermeyer in charge of his recruitment as well as his position coach as well as the instate pull and location being particularly important to him, the Vols seem like they’ll be in a good spot whenever this dead period end.

At the QB position, one where logic says programs should take at least one every cycle, the Vols find themselves in the top groupings for two high-end talents.  Top 100 overall player Kaidon Salter released a Top 11, with the chatter being that the Vols are right at the top of his list along with Auburn.  Longtime target Christian Veilleux (another Osovet guy!), who has been to Knoxville multiple times, released a Top 4 of Tennessee, Clemson, Penn State and Duke.  The Vols probably could have had Veilleux’s commitment had they pushed in the January/February time period, but since then Clemson has come through with an offer after a campus visit and PSU and The Fightin’ Cuts have also made their moves.  There is an ongoing debate as to whether Tennessee should eschew signing a QB in 2021 and instead go 100% balls to the wall for instate 2022 phenom Ty Simpson, leaving themselves the opportunity to go get a graduate transfer QB for 2021 should the need exist.  That’s a subject for another time, but it does seem like the Vols would take Salter right now and at the same time that they continue to evaluate Veilleux and hope that his timeline is such that they have an opportunity to push before he makes a decision.

The Vols have also made themselves very big factors for two(!) 5-star players from the Sunshine State.  ILB Terrence Lewis released a Top 6 that included the Vols along with Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama, Penn State and Nebraska.  Importantly, the Florida native doesn’t have any of the Big 3 homestate schools, including Florida where he used to be committed.  The thought is that Texas A&M is his leader at the moment, but at the same time the Vols are believed to be nipping at the heels for the elite defender.  Although Florida is thought to be the leader for fellow 5-star Leonard Taylor, 247 Sports named Tennessee as “a darkhorse of sorts” in the DL’s recruitment, with UGA is a factor as well.  Considering Taylor has yet to visit Knoxville, in contrast to a game visit along with a spring trip to Gainesville, the fact that a) he hasn’t committed to UF yet, and b) the Vols are so deeply involved speaks volumes.  Landing either of these superstar prospects out of Florida would be a major coup for the Vols, an step up even from landing 4-star OLB Morven Joseph over the Gators and Florida State in the 2020 class. 

With the March commitment of RB Jaylen Wright from Durham, NC, the Vols still have a desire to land one more RB in the class.  And while the Vols are very much in it for bigtime RBs like Cody Brown and Lovasea Carroll, Tennessee has made a big recent move for Tiyon Evans, the #1 JUCO RB in the country.  Originally from Hartsville, SC, Evans is thought by some (mainly Gamecock fans) to be a shoe-in to land in Columbia now that he has an offer from his hometown school.  However, new Tennessee RB Coach Jay Graham has the Vols very much in play here.  With relationships in Carolina after a stint as the RB Coach for Steve Spurrier in Columbia as well as his overall reputation as a recruiter, Graham has developed a close bond with Evans that will have the Vols in play until the end.  Oh, guess who else is helping tag team with Graham in this recruitment…none other than Joe Osovet, who’s using his experience as a former JUCO Head Coach to relate to Evans.

Lastly, a random note to tuck away: Although many consider Penn State (where he’s a legacy) and Clemson to be the favorites for 5-star OL Nolan Rucci, the Vols made a huge impression when he visited Knoxville in March.  Importantly, along with being a first round NFL draft pick, etc, Rucci wants to be an aerospace engineer.  Vols fans of course know the story and career of all time great QB Josh Dobbs and his success in Tennessee’s aerospace engineering program.  As we made the case over a year ago for Rick Barnes’s program, it seems like a no-brainer to leverage Dobbs’ experience as the highest profile athlete on campus who also excelled in this very specific program that Rucci would be a part of.  Hopefully that’s a massive part of the sell for Pruitt and Tennessee and hopefully it resonates with the kind of franchise OT that not only would be a cornerstone for the Vols’ 2021 class but also the next generation of future NFL OL that Pruitt and OL Coach Will Friend have brought into the program.

The Case for Fabien Lovett

Whether one wants to believe that it was simply due to Coach Mike Leach’s in-poor-taste tweet or not, Mississippi State Defensive Tackle Fabian Lovett decided to enter the NCAA’s Transfer Portal this past weekend.  According to his father, Tennessee has been among the teams to immediately contact Lovett and his family, and the Vols were joined by programs like FSU, fellow instate school Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, and Oregon.  Importantly, Lovett’s father also told the Clarion Ledger that Tennessee and FSU have stood out (editor’s note: very) early in the process.  FSU’s tie is new head coach Mike Norvell, who recruited Lovett while the coach at Memphis, just over the MS/TN border from Lovett’s hometown of Olive Branch.  Oregon also has a tie in that former Mississippi State Head Coach Joe Moorhead is now the OC in Eugene.

First, the player: As a recruit, Lovett took official visits to instate Ole Miss and Florida along with Mississippi State and also had firm offers from the likes of Alabama and then Tennessee once Jeremy Pruitt took the Vols head coaching job after having offered him while the Defensive Coordinator at Alabama.  Near the end of the recruiting process, new Florida Head Coach Dan Mullen and Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham heavily pursued their former commitment after leaving one pit (Starkville) for another (Gainesville) and nearly pulled off the flip before Lovett ultimately decided to stick with the Bulldogs and stay closer to home.  After competing in the Alabama-Mississippi All Star Game and showing his fit in a 3-4 defense by controlling the line of scrimmage during the week of practices, he got a bump to a 4-star prospect by 247 Sports.  Lovett redshirted during the 2018 season after playing in two games, and then as a Redshirt Freshman he started in all 13 games, making 19 tackles while recording 2.5 TFLs and 1 sack.  He made steady progress throughout the season while holding down a Bulldog DL that was decimated by suspensions and injuries that led to a resulting youth movement.  He was 100% expected to be a starter once again for Mississippi State in 2020 and be one of State’s best players on defense.

Tennessee has two scholarship situations that are considerations when it comes to taking Lovett.  For one, the roster is right near the overall 85 limit (actual numbers are not 100% known outside of the program due to the opaque nature of things like offering walkons scholarships, academic scholarships, etc).  That concern could and likely will be mitigated when inevitably at least one more player decides to transfer out of the program, whether it’s a QB, a RB, or someone else who doesn’t see a path to playing time.  Secondly, after signing 23 high school players in the class of 2020 and then taking two transfers in OL Cade Mays and WR Velus Jones, any further additions to the roster would likely have to come at the expense of numbers from the class of 2021.  And with the Vols involved in a very strong number of elite players, that’s a real thing to consider.  Ultimately, Pruitt and Derrick Ansley will have to decide if they think Lovett is worth possibly having to turn away a high quality 2021 prospect – or even a different transfer player after the 2020 season. 

There are a number of reasons why, in this writer’s opinion, Lovett is 100% worth taking:

  1. He’s got a great pedigree, and since high school he’s become a proven SEC defensive lineman with double digit starts under his belt
  2. Having redshirted in 2018, Lovett still has three full seasons of eligibility remaining.  Even were he to have to sit out in 2020, he’d still have two years to play at Tennessee, effectively making him a Junior College-type prospect, except one with at that point one season as a starter in the SEC and two others in an SEC program lifting weights, etc
  3. Either from a potential blanket waiver given to transfers from the NCAA during this offseason or what is likely a slam dunk “hardship” case from Lovett, there is a strong chance he will be granted immediate eligibility and further bolster what should be a deep and talented interior DL corps and give him three full years on the field for the Vols

Fine, one might say, but Tennessee has upwards of 14(!) interior DL on the roster for the upcoming 2020 season, what do they need another for?  Well, for one, as the old adages go, “The SEC is a line of scrimmage league,” and “You can never have enough defensive linemen.”  And Lovett is both big and talented enough to push hard for significant rotation or even starter level snaps.  Secondly, were Lovett to become immediately eligible it would greatly increase the chances that Tennessee could redshirt incoming DL Omari Thomas, Dominic Bailey, Tyler Baron, and Reggie Perry, while also giving the staff the flexibility to redshirt one of the veteran DL who still have that available, such as John Mincey.  And finally, and perhaps most importantly, of those 14 DL scheduled to be on Tennessee’s roster in 2020, fully half of them will be out of eligibility after this season, leaving the need for 2021 one of the biggest on the future roster. 

The bottom line is that it’s very hard to pass on adding an starting SEC caliber DL, even more difficult if he has three seasons of eligibility remaining.  Adding Lovett would at worst immediately mitigate some of the future depth concerns on Tennessee’s DL and at best do that AND significantly strengthen the Vols’ DL in 2020.  As many elite players as the Vols are in on in the 2021 class, it’s hard to see Pruitt and Co. adding multiple DL who are both definitively more talented than Lovett has already proven himself to be and also are more likely to contribute immediately in 2021.  And since he’s not just a one or even two year rental , the dreaded “robbing Peter to pay Paul” potential that so many transfers bring to a roster barely exists.  Here’s hoping he lands in Knoxville.

Our 10 Most Rewatchable Beat Downs

Last week we shared our picks for the most rewatchable Tennessee games of the last 30 years. They lean toward the dramatic, with plenty of offense from both sides.

But maybe you love seeing Tennessee’s defense do its thing? Or maybe, in these strange days, you’re in the mood for pure dominance?

Here are our picks for Tennessee’s most rewatchable beatdowns:

10. 1989: Tennessee 24 UCLA 6

The birth of the “Decade” of Dominance. The Vols started 0-6 in 1988, then won their last five games, a story told in full on the latest Host of Volunteers podcast. The 1989 Vols barely beat Colorado State in the opener. And then they went to #6 UCLA in a west coast night game, and rolled. A filthy coming out party for the CobbWebb – you’ll see all kinds of triple option fun in this game with those two and Sterling Henton.

9. 1990: Tennessee 40 Mississippi State 7

After an 11-1 SEC Championship season in 1989, Chuck Webb blew his knee out in the second game of the 1990 season. Enter Tony Thompson, who ran for 248 yards at Mississippi State in his first start. Bonus points for the fumblerooski in this one.

8. 1997: Tennessee 38 Georgia 13

There are lots of great Peyton Manning choices for this list, but none of them combine such a great rushing performance against a quality opponent. Georgia was undefeated and ranked 13th. The Vols made a change at running back, and this became the “Give the Ball to Jamal” game: 343 yards through the air for Manning, 232 on the ground for Jamal Lewis, and one of the best beatdowns of a good team in the last 30 years.

7. 1993: Tennessee 55 South Carolina 3

The Steve Tanneyhill revenge tour. After the long-haired South Carolina quarterback led an upset the previous year – the Gamecocks’ first in the SEC, which also cost Johnny Majors his job – he came to Knoxville for round two. If you’d like to see why SP+ rates the ’93 Vols as the decade’s best, this blowout is a great example. Also rewatchable: the 1995 edition, where a senior Tanneyhill drove the Gamecocks to the one yard line on the opening drive. He was helicoptered on a goal line hit, couldn’t get in on second or third down, and the Vols blocked the field goal and ran it back for a touchdown to kick off a 56-21 beat down.

6. 2001: Tennessee 45 Michigan 17

Heartbroken after losing to LSU in the SEC Championship Game, this was a terrific epilogue on the 2001 season. The first and only meeting between these two programs, and the first after the Manning/Woodson Heisman drama four years earlier. And yep, it’s a beatdown. Jason Witten outrunning their secondary is the most memorable highlight, but far from the only one.

5. 2007: Tennessee 35 Georgia 14

One of the clearest crossroad games of the last 30 years: lose, and Fulmer’s job is in serious trouble. Win, and you’re in first place in the SEC East. And Tennessee outright dominated a team that would finish the year ranked second in the nation.

4. 2006: Tennessee 35 California 18

One of the most joyfully surprising evenings I’ve ever seen at Neyland. I think it’s how equally surprising the struggles of 2005 were, that made you doubt if the Vols could bounce back for the first time in 15+ years. And then they bounced back with a vengeance in this one. My favorite blowout that didn’t involve our biggest rivals.

3. 1992: Tennessee 31 Florida 14

The downpour. Heath Shuler and the Vols won a thrilling 34-31 contest at Georgia the week before in Phillip Fulmer’s interim stint. This one, in front of the rain-soaked masses in Knoxville, was even more surprising and brilliant.

2. 1990: Tennessee 45 Florida 3

If you want to skip to the second half, it’s cool. The Vols led 7-3 at the break, and Dale Carter probably should’ve let the second half kickoff bounce out of bounds. He did not. And the Vols never looked back. Easily the best single half of football of my lifetime in Steve Spurrier’s first trip to Knoxville as the Gator coach. Florida was ranked ninth. The Vols won by 42.

1. 1995: Tennessee 41 Alabama 14

Other than everything that happened in 1998, this is the best of the Phillip Fulmer era. No wins over the Tide since 1985. Peyton Manning and Joey Kent on play number one. Streaks are made to be broken; this one was obliterated.

What did we miss?

Vols Land Commitment from Instate WR Merrill

With today’s commitment of WR Walker Merrill from Brentwood HS in Nashville, Tennessee now has nine public commitments.  Merrill is the second of those from the Volunteer State along with ATH Elijah Howard, and is another elite talent in the Vols’ commitment column.  Our prior column understated both Merrill’s standing on Tennessee’s board as well as the idea that his offers from LSU and Auburn were committable, thereby now him in that elite tier.  Nevertheless, his commitment does highlight the broader point, which is that regardless of the early-cycle narrative that the state of Tennessee is perhaps down in talent compared to prior years the Vols will very much still have a chance to build the 2021 class around the bigtime talent that does exist within the state’s borders.

With Merrill now in the fold the Vols can turn their instate attention firmly to LB Junior Colson – who appears to be closing in on a decision and has the Vols firmly at the top of his list along with Michigan, LSU, and OU – OL William Griffin and Dietrick Pennington, TE Hudson Wolfe, and WRs Adonai Mitchell and Tray Curry – all of whom are elite prospects themselves. 

Were the Vols able to land those 5-6 players above to go with Howard and Merrill the 2021 class would have a bigtime base of instate talent to build around, and once the season gets started there will likely be more talent that emerges. As Coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff seek to add North Carolina to Georgia and Alabama in terms of its “Focus States,” they’ll also continue to be opportunistic in areas where individuals on the staff have ties, such as the DMV and Philadelphia area for TE Coach Joe Osovet and IMG Academy for QB Coach Chris Weinke, along with of course recruiting nationally for elite prospects that it can find itself involved with.

Merrill’s commitment also means the Vols will likely be incredibly choosy at WR as they now have two bigtime commitments in him and Jordan Moseley and a greater need for numbers at other positions after signing three studs in 2020 as well as adding walkon former 4-star Mykel Jones as a multi-year transfer.  The Vols are of course very much in the mix for the aforementioned instate WRs Mitchell and Curry, and are also bigtime contenders for Top 50 prospect Donte Thornton, recent Notre Dame decommitment Deion Colzie from Athens (same school as Len’neth Whitehead), as well as others like Christian Lewis, Chauncey Magwood and Malcolm Johnson.  After signing a bigtime WR class in 2020, 2021 is setting up to be the class in which Pruitt and his staff get the WR room to the level it needs to be to consistently compete for SEC titles.

Our 10 Most Rewatchable Tennessee Games

When I’m stressed, spent, or any other word you might use to describe what these days are taking from us, I find myself going back to happier childhood memories. I’ve been playing back through the Super Nintendo Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on my Switch for the past 10 days or so, and I’m almost sad that I’m coming close to the end. It was surreal to turn on ESPN Sunday night and find WrestleMania 30; we taught our son the Yes! movement a little too close to bedtime, as it turned out.

And if you’re reading this site, chances are you’ve tried to fill some of these hours with Tennessee highlights. The problem with highlights, however, is they only burn seconds, and you can blow through what feels like everything you know in a short amount of time.

In watching those old WrestleMania matches, and in talking to some of my friends on what they’ve been going back and watching, I started thinking of some of our old “best of” lists. We’ve spilled plenty of word count on bests and favorites and all that over the years. But what’s most helpful right now is rewatchability: what games am I most likely to sit down and watch all of, with the least temptation to fast forward?

As always with me, you get 1989-present, both as a nice starting point in Tennessee’s history and about as far back as my own memories go. Shout out to those who uploaded these onto YouTube long ago, so that they’re here like old friends today. Click each game to go to the broadcast.

With rewatchability, you value the whole thing. I often use 1998 Florida as the example: one of the most memorable and important wins in Tennessee football history…but not an overly great football game play-for-play. Today’s list focuses on excitement, and is thus a little heavy on offense. I tried to think of these games in terms of the most plays of consequences, fewest three-and-outs, etc. We’ll come back in a few days with a list of Tennessee’s most satisfying beatdowns, if you’re in the mood for something a little less dramatic. And I also leaned into some games that haven’t been in as heavy a rotation; I adore the 1997 win over Auburn in the SEC Championship Game, but they replay that all the time. I think the top four games on this list are unassailable; if I watched them today I’d still be interested in watching them again tomorrow. The rest are the games I think are most rewatchable for March of 2020, including for younger fans, representing some of the greatest hits of the last two decades.

Play-for-play, for the most exciting ways to spend 60+ minutes of gametime and 2-3 hours watching Tennessee football, these are my picks:

10. 2006: Tennessee 31 Air Force 30

This game carries the weight of Inky Johnson’s injury, someone whose positivity we could all use more of right about now. A week after blowing past #9 California, Tennessee needed all of David Cutcliffe’s high-powered offense against the Falcons and the triple-option. Total punts in this game: two. Total punts by Tennessee in this game: zero.

9. 2001: Tennessee 38 Kentucky 35

Two weeks before the December showdown at Florida, the #6 Vols fell behind 21-0 against Jared Lorenzen in Lexington. I was at this game, and it was terrifying; much less so when you know the outcome.

8. 2016: Tennessee 38 Florida 28

Four years later, this one still carries a tinge of grief for what this team didn’t ultimately become, which is why I have it lower than the next one on our list among games from the last decade. Still, there are so many meaningful plays in this game, even having memorized them all in the last few years.

7. 2014: Tennessee 45 South Carolina 42 (OT)

Hello, Josh Dobbs. The most rewatchable game of the 2010’s. All the things we wanted to believe about Dobbs that night really came true. An incredible football game even before the complete insanity of the last five minutes, and the performance of Tennessee’s pass rush in overtime. And the last word against Steve Spurrier.

6. 2006: Tennessee 51 Georgia 33

Another feather in the 2006 cap. If you’re too young, you might wonder what an 18-point win is doing in this group instead of being on the beat-down list. Just watch. Antonio Wardlow gets the cover of Sports Illustrated, and this might be the most complete fourth quarter in the history of Tennessee football.

5. 2007: Tennessee 52 Kentucky 50 (4OT)

All the other multi-overtime games at Tennessee really lack a compelling story for most of regulation. Not this one. And don’t forget, this was a really good Kentucky team: beat #1 LSU, ranked in the Top 10 two different times that year. No Tennessee win in the last 13 years has mattered more than this one.

4. 1991: Tennessee 35 Notre Dame 34

The Miracle at South Bend, and the best road unis the Vols have ever worn. If you’ve never watched this game from start to finish – including the entire first half just to appreciate how bad it was in digging a 31-7 hole – now’s the time.

3. 2004: Tennessee 30 Florida 28

The best play-for-play game I’ve ever seen at Neyland Stadium. Ainge and Schaeffer, Chris Leak, a 12-play 80-yard UT touchdown drive featuring all runs, a bananas touchdown pass from Ainge to Bret Smith, and the ballad of James Wilhoit. All in front of what will probably always be the largest crowd in Neyland Stadium history.

2. 2001: Tennessee 34 Florida 32

The best play-for-play game I’ve ever seen period. The stakes, the rivalry, everything on the line and winning anyway. It’s hard to believe this game turns 20 years old next fall.

1. 1998: Tennessee 28 Arkansas 24

I think those two Florida games are slightly better play-for-play. But they don’t carry the feel-goods of 1998, which will always push this one over the top.

On Getting the Last Word

We often talk of the similarities in Tennessee’s historical football and basketball DNA when it comes to our biggest rivals: no one has beaten Alabama football or Kentucky basketball more than the Vols. In nearly 30 years of divisional play, the Vols fell into a similar pattern with Florida in football: always within reach, grasped just enough to make you believe it can happen each time. (Apparently that’s true at Rupp Arena now too.)

I think I’ve always leaned into this idea because it somewhat mirrors the dynamic between Alcoa and Maryville in football. And those of us who double as Braves fans know much of the “good enough to believe you can win every year” DNA. You don’t win every year, of course. Being close means being invested, and being invested means losing hurts. But the payoffs, when they come, are incredible. And they happen just enough to make you believe it can happen again this time.

But there’s one other, much more enjoyable trait of being a Tennessee Vol: we tend to get the last word against our greatest villains.

Bear Bryant won 11 in a row against Tennessee from 1971-1981. The Vols broke that streak in Knoxville in 1982 with a 35-28 victory, in what became Bryant’s final season.

Steve Spurrier caused more pain for Tennessee football than any individual in my lifetime. But the Vols sent him out of The Swamp with a loss, 34-32 in December 2001, the greatest individual football game one of my teams has ever played in. Thirteen years later, Josh Dobbs rallied the Vols from down 14 with less than five minutes to play to win 45-42 in overtime, the last time Tennessee faced him at South Carolina.

Peyton Manning is our favorite hero, and his story was always best defined by its villains, including Spurrier. But the longest of those relationships belong to Tom Brady. And, in 2015, Manning got the last word in the AFC Championship Game.

So my first thought yesterday, even before trying to picture Brady in one of those creamsicle uniforms? If your Venn diagram, like mine, includes the Titans as well?

I’m sure Alabama and Florida and New England fans enjoyed all those wins; I know how little I enjoyed the losses.

But getting the last word? I enjoy that very much.