John Kelly and Will Ignont cited for possession

Knoxville police cited star Tennessee Volunteer running back John Kelly and freshman linebacker Will Ignont last night for misdemeanor drug possession. Police pulled Kelly over at 10:46 p.m. on Cumberland Avenue because a headlight on the car he was driving was out and, upon smelling marijuana, searched the car with consent and found 4.6 grams of pot and a glass pipe. The players have to present themselves for booking at the Knox County Sheriff’s Office before November 7.

Tennessee’s director of football communications released a statement saying that they were aware of the situation and were looking into it. So far, there’s been no announcement concerning the players’ availability for this weekend’s game against Kentucky.

It’s hard to get too alarmed about a pot possession charge in this day and age, but it certainly comes at a bad time for Butch Jones and the Tennessee program. With Jones in a posture of not being able to do anything right and having every action he takes and word he utters subjected to exaggerated scrutiny, adding a no-win situation to the mix just complicates things even further. Should he suspend his team’s best player for what may be Jones’ most important game, or should he keep the punishment internal?

Everyone loves John Kelly, and a minor offense concerning a drug that’s legal in several states likely isn’t going to change that. He’s the undisputed leader of the team and the one guy who’s really doing his best to keep the team together in the midst of the storm. But having that guy be the one guy who gets his name in the paper for the wrong reason is disappointing even if you’re someone who thinks this particular violation is more of a rule than a moral failing.

I’m certain that Kelly will bounce back and put this behind him. I’ll be rooting for him to do so. What this means for a team teetering on the edge of a cliff, though, remains to be seen.

Post-Spring Projections: Tennessee Linebackers

Let’s continue the series with a look at the Tennessee linebackers depth chart exiting spring with a prediction of what to expect this September.

Spring practice — like most all the springs before of the Butch Jones era — didn’t tell us much. But after what we saw and read, we can make some prognostications about what we may see, or at least expect to see, once fall practice starts. So, over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to break down position-by-position what we saw, what we read and what I’ve heard about to project who’s gonna play where come opening weekend against Georgia Tech.

We’ll continue this series with our look at the linebackers.

Tennessee Linebackers

As if you didn’t have enough heartburn after reading about the defensive ends, we now turn our attention to the second level of the defense, where it’s Darrin Kirkland Jr. and a whole lot of unproven players.

All is not lost, however. There is plenty of talent, even if it’s unproven talent. And this is a position where the Vols absolutely must be leaps and bounds better than they were in 2016, which hit the ditch after Jalen Reeves-Maybin was lost for the season following a fluke special-teams injury and Kirkland failed to ever return to form after suffering a high ankle sprain in the Battle at Bristol.

While all the injuries and lack of depth on the defensive interior were a huge factor to UT’s defensive decline, the setbacks at linebacker hurt, too. Those things combined are why Tennessee wound up with the worst rush defense in school history and also ranked No. 95 in the country in total defense (449.2 ypg) and No. 78 in yards per play (5.84).

Those are numbers defensive coordinator Bob Shoop knows must turn around.

“I think I might have built some unrealistic expectations, and when we got guys injured, maybe the guy calling the shots was a little bit stubborn,” Shoop told VolQuest’s Jesse Simonton. “I think I really wanted to force a fit, that, ‘This is my style of defense.’ I probably didn’t do a great job at times of tailoring things.”

That all starts with Kirkland’s progression.

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The Veterans

As the defense’s quarterback, his hand prints are going to be all over this unit. The rising junior middle linebacker burst onto the scene with a memorable freshman year that had many UT fans thinking he would be an All-SEC player at the very least. Following the injury last year, he was mediocre at best. But he also struggled to get lined up and line up others in Shoop’s defense. After a season learning the system and a full offseason of health and weight-room training, the Indianapolis native should return to form. It’s vital that he flies all around the field making tackles, especially now that tackle gobbler JRM is out of the equation.

Kirkland’s expected mate in what generally is a nickel defense with just two ‘backers on the field at once is senior Cortez McDowell, who had an up-and-down year in ’16 but may well have wound up Tennessee’s best linebacker throughout the year, at least from a consistency standpoint. The 6’0″, 235-pound linebacker from Locust Grove, Georgia, needs to have a big year teaming with Kirkland to give UT a formidable duo.

After those two, the Vols still have a bunch of depth and talent. Thanks to the injuries, there are a few guys with experience, too. Former walk-on Colton Jumper isn’t going to thrill a lot of Vols fans with his athleticism, but he’s a steady player who is rarely out of position, even if he isn’t the best guy to have on the field in passing situations. The 6’2″, 224-pound redshirt junior led all second-level players with 61 tackles and added an interception in ’16. Whether you like him or not, he’s a good player who is going to be a great guy to have on the team for the next two years, providing depth, stability and defensive knowledge.

On the Cusp [And Others]

At outside linebacker, there are two talented Georgia boys who are returning from injury and could be depended on heavily. That would be speedy Quart’e Sapp, who suffered a knee injury a season ago that cost him the year. After showing out on special teams as a freshman, the Vols are happy to have him back for three years, and if he can return at full-speed (which he should) he has the chance to be a dynamic player who can get sideline-to-sideline and get after the quarterback from the edge, too.

The other guy is Austin Smith, a 6’3″, 236-pound versatile linebacker who can line up at strong-side in traditional 4-3 sets or even put his hand down at defensive end with the Vols short on depth there. Smith is a guy who was wanted by teams like Florida and Georgia out of high school, and he’s never truly been completely healthy. It’ll be fun to see him now that he is.

An exciting player with a lot of upside is 6’3″, 235-pound sophomore Daniel Bituli, who looked terrific this spring, is really in shape and should provide a lot of depth and talent behind Kirkland in the middle of the defense. If he emerges, he could enable Jumper to shift outside and help out there. Bituli is too talented to keep off the field for a Vols team needing difference-makers on the second level. He’s one of the players I’m most excited to see in 2017.

Though senior Elliott Berry wasn’t expected to make much of an impact in his career as the less-heralded of the two Berry twins, he helped a ton in ’16, lending an able body and playing 13 games while starting four, finishing with 34 tackles and 3.5 for a loss. He’s not an explosive player, but at 5’11”, 222 pounds and with three years under his belt, he can provide much-needed experienced depth and quality snaps.

Still, despite the experience brought by Jumper and Berry, the Vols can put more talented guys on the field. That’s not a knock on those two, but the guys who shone a season ago were on a bad unit that was often shredded by the opponent, even Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Missouri. It also remains to be seen if UT is ever going to get anything out of former 4-star recruit, legacy and heavily recruited outside linebacker Dillon Bates. Also, redshirt freshman Ja’Quain Blakely could wind up being in the equation somewhere, but he’s yet to carve out a firm position in the depth chart.

That’s why the Vols brought in three talented linebackers, and it isn’t out of the question that one or more of them could see the field. 

Youngsters

It starts with mid-term enrollee Shanon Reid of South Florida, who was coveted by LSU, Florida and others. He chose the Vols, and after going through a spring practice, he may be able to provide some help at least on special teams and maybe on the outside in a pinch. He’s 6’0″, 205 pounds, but while he isn’t the biggest guy, he is fast and makes plays.

Tennessee also won a battle with LSU, Auburn and others to sign New Market, Alabama, linebacker Will Ignont, who, at one time, was one of the most heavily recruited ‘backers in the country. That was during his junior year, but he put on some bad weight, left for IMG Academy in Florida and then came back home to Buckhorn High School, where he played for a mediocre team. However, after shedding the bad weight and getting back to his old self, several schools turned up the heat recruiting him again. The Vols stayed on him through all that, and he developed a great relationship with position coach Tommy Thigpen which ultimately helped UT land him. Now, the Vols think they’ve got a steal, and he projects to play in the middle with Kirkland and Bituli.

Finally, nobody heard much about Solon Page III during the recruiting process. He was one of UT’s earliest commitments, was firm the whole way and never was heavily recruited by major schools because of it. Though he was a low 3-star player who didn’t get much love from the services, all he did was go out and win Class AAAAA defensive player of the year and first-team all-state honors in Georgia. He was also a Parade All-American, despite not being ranked highly by any of the services. Though he’s just 6’2″, 205 pounds, UT thinks it got a steal out of Page. He will be able to redshirt this season unless he helps on special teams, and the future is very bright for him.

The Vols have no shortage of bodies at linebacker, and considering they normally only have two on the field at once, you’d think they should be able to find two difference-makers who can make things happen and accumulate the tackles that were missed a season ago. If not, it’s an indictment to their recruiting because on paper it sure looks like they’ve got some players with bright futures.

Prediction

MLB – Darrin Kirkland Jr., Daniel Bituli, Colton Jumper, Will Ignont
WLB – Cortez McDowell, Quart’e Sapp, Colton Jumper, Elliott Berry, Shanon Reid
SLB (when needed) – Austin Smith, Colton Jumper, Elliott Berry

Gameday Today: Public relations is apparently important on Rocky Top

Gameday Today welcomes a public relations expert to Rocky Top, weighs in on redshirts and graduate transfers, and marvels at what Derek Barnett can do with a cheap pen. All this and more in today’s Vols link roundup.

Football

Tennessee has hired Zach Stipe as Director of Football Communications, which I’m guessing is fancypants language for public relations specialist. Stipe will ” work closely with head coach Butch Jones to implement and execute communications strategies aimed at promoting and publicizing Volunteers football.” The jokes here sort of write themselves, but I’m going to refrain from making any of them because I think this is a great addition to the staff. Stipe, who spent three years on the Tennessee media relations staff from 2008-11, returns to Rocky Top off a stint at Florida State, where he had worked since 2010 and had supervised the promotion of Seminoles football since 2013. He also got promoted to Director of Football Communications in 2015, so he’s an up-and-comer. Tennessee hasn’t exactly been Champions of PR, but now they can at least compete. Okay, so I won’t refrain from every joke.

You have to love incoming linebacker Will Ignont’s confidence:  “I want to come in and not have a freshman mindset,” Ignont told GoVols247 this week. “I want to come in like I’m already a Tennessee Vol. Because I know I can play.” I like this guy already.

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Former Vols QB Sheriron Jones has decided on the community college route and will transfer to Independence Community College in Kansas. He’ll need to play there a year before returning to another FBS program, at which point he’ll have two more years to play. Best of luck, young man.

Oddsmaker Danny Sheridan is predicting that Tennessee will lose to Kentucky this year. I don’t know whether he’s putting pennies or dollars or kneecaps on the line, so I don’t really know what to make of this. The Wildcats are going to be better this year than they were last, but I still like the Vols in the matchup. 

247Sports is playing the What If Game, Josh Dobbs edition, asking what historical dominoes might have fallen if Dobbs had not changed his mind about Arizona State and come to Rocky Top. Just thinking of the last few years without Dobbs makes me pouty.

SEC coaches are apparently “positively inclined” toward allowing players to participate in up to four games without burning their redshirts. Currently, players lose their redshirt seasons with the first snap they take unless they are injured in the first four games of the season, in which case the medical redshirt rule kicks in to save the day. This proposed new rule would apply the same four-game rule to all players regardless of injury. It would allow coaches to get players experience while still preserving eligibility, and to the extent it matters (which is NONE), I am positively inclined to support the rule change as well.

I have a rule against allowing Paul Finebaum’s face on the TV at the store, but this is a good discussion of graduate transfers, and so we’ll hold our noses and wash our hands afterwards. Tennessee was in a bit of a dilemma here, as the proper stance was to support the relaxation of the rule so the SEC is on a level playing field with other conferences, but doing so right now (which is what they reportedly did yesterday) is likely going to result in former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire playing for the Florida Gators this fall. Boo. I like Florida teams without good quarterbacks.

Gridiron Now has ranked every conference by their respective wide receiving units. The SEC ranked second to the Pac-12, and the site put Tennessee’s Jajuan Jennings in the “2nd tier, now or potential” category The headliners of the conference are Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk, Alabama’s Calvin Ridley, Florida’s Antonio Callaway, South Carolina’s Deebo Samuel, and Missouri’s J’Mon Moore. Go get ’em, Jennings.

Hoops

Rick Barnes says that Tennessee has added confidence and competition to the roster with the transfers this season. Good news.

VFLs

NFL.com has ranked the best Tennessee draft picks since 2000 and put Jason Witten at the top of the list. Eric Berry is second. Peyton Manning was before 2000, in case you’re flipping out.

And Derek Barnett’s deal with the Philadelphia Eagles is officially official:

That is a man with a pen, right there. More specifically, it’s a man signing a piece of paper worth $12,850,772 with a ten cent Bic. Woo.