Butch Jones is bringing back the history lessons and trying to find the brake on the Trey Smith hype train. Plus hoops updates and more in today’s Vols link roundup.
Football
I’ll just leave this here:
https://twitter.com/vol_football/status/875442820676411393
And now that your pump is primed, let’s get on with the football news:
Butch Jones is bringing back the Tennessee Football history assignments this fall. Each player has to get up in front of the team and present a little lesson on the guys who have worn their numbers before them. I love this, no joke.
SEC Country has a great feature on Tennessee commit D’Andre Litaker. That dude has had a rough time of it lately and is somehow managing to keep his head above water.
More praise for the quiet monster on the offensive line, Trey Smith. Jones is doing his best to fight the urge to mash the accelerator instead of the brakes on the Trey Smith hype, but man do we have legit high hopes for this guy.
VFLs
Phillip Fulmer thinks that Jones has made some especially nice tweaks in the offseason:
“The coaching changes give him a great opportunity, and it’s not like this team is coming from nowhere, they had a pretty good season,” Fulmer said. “This can put him over the hump and that’s what everyone wants.
“That’s what Butch is trying to do, to take it to a championship level. The coaching experience he has hired around him is obvious, and it should project on the field.”
Hoops
The NCAA has instituted some new rules changes for the upcoming season, including extending the coach’s box from 28 feet to 38 feet, presumably to make it easier for them to communicate with their team. Except at Vandy, of course, where its insidious court configuration necessitates a satellite phone to reach your players if they’re on the opposite end. “HEAD THREE CLICKS WEST. OVER!”
Other rules changes affect the resetting of the shot clock and the locations of throw-ins.
Injury updates: Graduate-transfer James Daniel III should be back from injury in time for the team’s trip to Europe, and guard Lamonte Turner could also be back. Forward John Fulkerson probably won’t be by then, but Rick Barnes does expect him back in time for preseason practice in October.
Barnes is also excited to finally have the depth to be able to take the governor off the strength and conditioning coach without worrying whether he’ll wear his guys out before the season ends.
And in case you weren’t aware of this fact, Barnes is also a funny and entertaining guy. In discussing the Pilot Rocky Top League, he said:
“That league is so good defensively, I’m going to play,” the 62-year-old Barnes said Sunday.
Baseball
UTSports.com has a compilation of information about all five baseball Vols recently drafted.
Recruiting
Punter Skyler DeLong’s commitment to Tennessee lasted about as long as most high school relationships, as he’s now smitten with Alabama and has given his committed heart to the Evil Empire.
New offers:
- Class of 2019 running back Jordan Houston
- Class of 2020 athlete Reggie Grimes II. I say we call him Rick.
- Hoops Class of 2018 power forward Immanuel Bates
Odds and Ends
Athletic Director John Currie has written you a letter on the web, and it has actual links and stuff. Particularly impressive for what has traditionally been a real curmudgeon when it comes to new media.
And shoot, that man is going to totally wear himself out reaching for the prize(s):
“We’re not gonna relax until we win all the championships . . . .”
Currie’s also going to have Neyland Stadium painted over the course of three summers at the same time. I don’t really know why it takes three years, unless they just don’t know that they can rent a paint sprayer at Home Depot.
AND, Currie’s also going to upgrade the stadium’s curb appeal along the river. The man’s going to need a vacation after we win everything while painting.
Track and field star Christian Coleman is a finalist for The Bowerman Award, given to the top male collegiate track athlete.
Tennessee has golfers at the 17th Annual Tennessee Match Play Championship, and they’re apparently doing well.
That’s it for today. Happy Friday to y’all.