Tag Archives: Miles Friday

Gameday Today: Eric Berry makes everything better

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

Eric Berry just keeps leveling up in Awesome

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

Recruiting

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

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

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

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

There were more offers yesterday, too:

Football

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

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

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

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

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

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

Odds and Ends

Grant Williams!

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

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

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

 

 

Tennessee Recruiting: Friday Comes Early

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Not only is Tennessee’s new-look coaching staff off to a great start in the 2018 recruiting class, it’s also doing work for the future as well.

Earlier in the week, UT got a surprising commitment from Florida sophomore Leonard Manuel, who is one of the top playmakers in the 2020 class who had offers from the Big Three in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and many, many others. The Vols will have to work incredibly hard over the next three years to keep him in the fold, but he has a great relationship with Tennessee wide receivers coach Kevin Beard, so UT should have a strong chance to hang on.

Then on Thursday, the Vols went ahead and got another pledge from a top-shelf offensive star in that 2020 class. (That’s right, these kids are rising SOPHOMORES IN HIGH SCHOOL). That would be Georgia running back Miles Friday, of Peachtree Ridge High School outside of Atlanta. The 5’11”, 172-pound running back is an elite talent with great shiftiness who had offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and others.

https://twitter.com/sevenszn/status/872914722978398210

Friday noted a great relationship with UT RBs coach Robert Gillespie, and he could wind up being the same type of player as Alvin Kamara. Of course, there’s a looooooooooong way to go between now and National Signing Day 2020. Friday could turn into the nation’s top recruit or fall off the face of the recruiting world. The Vols could be defending national champion, or Butch Jones, Gillespie and crew could be coaching elsewhere. Heck, Jesus could come.

So, while it’s hard to get giddy about kids in the ’20 class, these are two very, VERY good prospects who are big gets for the Vols.

Not all the news this week has been great. After Mississippi defensive back Jaylon Reed decommitted from this year’s class, he now appears to be looking heavily at Alabama and Ole Miss, among others. He’s keeping Tennessee on his radar, but this smells a lot like the Jashaun Corbin situation, where the running back decommitted from UT and pledged to Florida State not long afterward.

Reed may not get out of the state of Mississippi where the Rebels and Bulldogs are on him, but that Alabama offer is one he likes a lot, too. Look for UT to move on.