UltimateVolfan

I wonder if Richt saw the handwriting on the wall and was what lead to him jumping out of Miami so quickly? I know they were struggling a little down there but he had a good season the year before and seemed to be turning the corner when BAM he resigns

Tennessee football: Five biggest reasons for excitement over Vols 2020 offseason ALLFORTENNESSEE.COM There are many reasons for excitement over Tennessee football heading into 2020. Here are the five encouraging signs for the Volunteers' offseason. When yo...

A former long-time Tennessee assistant coach is returning to UT to help out his former head coach. Tennessee announced on Tuesday that Steve Caldwell will be UT’s new Assistant Director of Life Skills & Character Development. Caldwell’s new administrative role will see him “implementing and managing strategic development plans for incoming football student-athletes as they transition to campus life and high-level intercollegiate athletics.” Caldwell coached under current Athletics Director Phillip Fulmer at Tennessee for over a decade. He coached defensive ends at UT from 1995-2008 and served as the Vols’ special teams coordinator from 2000-05. He helped the Vols win the 1998 National Championship and a number of conference and division titles during his time as an assistant under Fulmer. Not only did Caldwell spend 14 years in Knoxville, but he’s also coached at many other schools and boasts more than 40 years of experience at the collegiate level. Caldwell also coached at Arkansas State (1978-80, 1985-89, 2013), Pacific (1991-93), Nevada (1994), Ole Miss (1994-95), Arkansas (2010-12, 2018-19) and Boise State (2014-17). He has two national titles, 10 conference titles, and 20 bowl games to his name as an assistant. “Steve played a key role during an era of extraordinary success for Tennessee football,” Fulmer said via a release. “He knows this community, this campus. and the history of this program. He understands the behind-the-scenes work that goes into winning at the highest level.

The one thing no matter where this guy is he can RECRUIT RECRUIT RECRUIT. I am just glad he is still on the staff. This is one guy I didn't want to see leaving.

Sounds like fun. I will be in

I hate the transfer portal. Coaches cannot plan for the team overall when all these folks have no consequences for transferring now.

Vandy is down in the 100's where they belong

They will play in the NIT but the chance of making the NCAA is only if they make a run in the SEC tourney

Nice get. Welcome back to the hill!

hmmm this seems like a switch for the same level and not an improvement. Still I will trust Pruitt to make the right calls on this

Looks like Tracy Rocker is leaving for South Carolina According to 247Sports, Tennessee defensive line coach Tracy Rocker is leaving UT to take a role on South Carolina’s staff. Rocker’s two-year contract at Tennessee expired on January 31st. Rocker parts with Tennessee following two years in Knoxville where UT’s defensive line mightily improved over the course of each season. In 2018, Rocker helped the Vols’ defensive line become one of the most improved units on the team. The Vols jumped up 74 spots in run defense with opponents rushing for nearly 100 yards less than in 2017. Tennessee’s defense also improved 45 spots nationally in third-down defense with opponents converting just 39 percent of their third downs compared to 45 percent in 2017. Tennessee also saw an uptick in sacks, tackles for loss, and quarterback hurries. Kyle Phillips had his best season as a Vol under Rocker as a senior, finishing second on the team in tackles for loss (8.0), second in sacks (5.0), and fourth in total tackles (56). This past season, Rocker took a group of defensive linemen who had never started at the FBS level and helped mold them into a cohesive unit by season’s end. The Vols were dealt a big blow in fall camp when projected starter Emmit Gooden suffered a season-ending injury before the season even began. But after a slow start, Tennessee’s defensive line performed well throughout the season. The Vols’ defense ranked 23rd nationally and sixth in the SEC in yards allowed per game in 2019. Tennessee again upped their sack totals and tackles for loss totals in 2019, and the Vols gave up just 140.5 yards per game on the ground in 2019, their lowest average since 2009. As a recruiter, Rocker was credited with landing four-star defensive lineman Dominic Bailey in Tennessee’s 2020 class. He was also listed as the secondary recruiter for four-stars Tyler Baron, Omari Thomas, and Jimmy Calloway along with three-star defensive lineman Reginald Perry. That's a big hit

No. 8 Mississippi State picked up its first win against a ranked foe as it knocked off Tennessee, 72-55. The Lady Vols (17-6 overall, 7-3 in the SEC) took care of the basketball early against the Bulldogs (21-3, 9-1) and held a slim 21-19 advantage after the first quarter. UT committed just three turnovers over the first 10 minutes of the contest. But as they have been all year, the miscues hurt Tennessee. The Lady Vols coughed the ball up 10 times in the second stanza and Mississippi State turned the 10 miscues into 13 points. And it was all downhill from there for the Lady Vols, who were without Rennia Davis Thursday night. Davis, Tennessee’s junior and lone returning starter from last year’s squad, could only watch from the bench as she was sidelined with the flu. Rae Burrell, the Lady Vols’ freshman who usually provides a spark off the bench, started in Davis’ absence and she was solid by scoring 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Tennessee, ranked 23rd nationally, also got 12 points and seven rebounds from Jordan Horston. Jazmine Massengill scored 11 points and also pulled down seven rebounds for Tennessee. The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures. This hurts since the Lady vols need to stay in the top 4 in the conference to get a bye in the first round of the SEC tourney. The Lady Vols have a tough road ahead. They will need Davis back quickly

Well here is what we got so far: Tennessee’s class of 2020 signing plans 4* Safety Keshawn Lawrence: Signing early 4* Defensive Tackle Omari Thomas: Signing early 4* Quarterback Harrison Bailey: Signing AND enrolling early 4* Defensive Tackle Dominic Bailey: Signing AND enrolling early 4* Athlete Jimmy Calloway: Signing in February 4* Linebacker Bryson Eason: Signing early 4* Center Cooper Mays: Signing AND enrolling early 4* Wide Receiver Jalin Hyatt: Signing early 4* Linebacker Martavius French: Signing early 3* Linebacker Tamarion McDonald: Signing early 3* Running Back Jabari Small: Signing early 3* Guard Javontez Spraggins: Signing early 3* Safety Doneiko Slaughter: Signing early 3* Guard James Robinson: Signing early 3* Athlete Darion Williamson: Signing in February 3* Running Back Tee Hodge: Signing early 3* Guard Kyree Miller: Signing early 2* Long Snapper Will Albright: Signing in February Remaining Tennessee targets to monitor Four-star defensive lineman Jay Hardy out of Chattanooga shocked the recruiting world by committing to Auburn over Tennessee. The Vols are still working on Hardy, though he initially planned on signing early. If Hardy doesn’t sign with the Tigers this week, that’s a big win for Tennessee. Four-star defensive end Tyler Baron will commit and sign on Wednesday. The crystal ball projections at 247Sports still point towards Tennessee as the favorite. Four-star pass rusher Morven Joseph is down to Tennessee or Florida. The Volunteers have had momentum here late. Four-star linebacker Len’Neth Whitehead will commit on Wednesday. This seems like a South Carolina-Tennessee battle. Three-star athlete Jimmy Holiday remains committed to TCU, but Tennessee is a strong flip candidate. Watch for that one early on Wednesday morning.

Found these comments on Rivals about Bailey. Interesting and I wouldn't be surprised if he is raised to a 5 star by the end of the recruiting period:

Good game. Like in the other thread though that center gives a whole new meaning to round mound of rebound. Barkley lost the title. 31 games home winning streak is pretty impressive. I don't think they will make it through this season unscathed but who knows. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee had no problem extending the longest active home winning streak in Division I. John Fulkerson scored 15 points and Olivier Nkamhoua had a double-double as the 21st-ranked Volunteers trounced winless Florida A&M 72-43 on Wednesday night for their 31st straight home victory. Tennessee (7-1) hasn’t lost at home since falling 94-84 to Auburn on Jan. 2, 2018. “It’s just a great feeling because you know your fans are going to be happy about that, for sure,” said Nkamhoua, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds. “Just playing at home and winning at home is one of the best feelings ever.” Tennessee has won its first five home games this season by an average margin of 22 points. The Vols will face a much greater challenge prolonging the streak when they return from exams to host No. 15 Memphis on Dec. 14. The Volunteers took control immediately with a 14-0 run that established a 16-3 lead. Tennessee stayed in front by double digits the rest of the way. Fulkerson’s 15-point performance came four days after the junior forward scored a career-high 17 in a 72-69 victory over VCU, which was ranked No. 20 at the time. Nkamhoua’s breakthrough was more surprising. The 6-foot-8 freshman hadn’t scored more than eight points or pulled down more than seven rebounds in any game before Wednesday. He had seven offensive boards alone against Florida A&M and helped Tennessee outscore the Rattlers 22-5 in second-chance points. “You haven’t seen yet what we know he can do,” Volunteers coach Rick Barnes said. “I don’t think he knows what he can do yet. I keep saying that to him.’’ Yves Pons scored 14 points and Lamonte’ Turner and Josiah-Jordan James each added 10 for Tennessee. Evins Desir had 11 for the Rattlers (0-7). Florida A&M shot just 35.6% (16 of 45) from the floor. Tennessee hasn’t allowed any of its first eight opponents to shoot better than 41.1%. “They’re committed to being a very good defensive team, and with so many of Rick’s teams, that’s where they hang their hats,” Florida A&M coach Robert McCullum said. “You play a Rick Barnes team, you know that you’ve got your work cut out for you.’’ BIG PICTURE Florida A&M: This game continued the early-season travels for Florida A&M, a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference program that won’t play its first home game until it hosts Morgan State on Jan. 11. The Rattlers are opening their season with 11 road games and two neutral-site contests. Florida A&M played this one just two nights after losing 76-58 at Kansas State. Tennessee: The Vols won easily despite not getting much scoring from Jordan Bowden, who entered averaging a team-high 15.4 points per game. Bowden scored just three and shot 1 of 7. Tennessee will need to play better to beat Memphis after the exam break. Tennessee had an equal number of turnovers and baskets (10) in the second half. BARNES APPROACHES MILESTONE The victory improved Barnes’ coaching record to 699-365 in 32 seasons at George Mason (1987-88), Providence (1988-94), Clemson (1994-98), Texas (1998-2015) and Tennessee (2015-present). Barnes will try to become the seventh active head coach to earn 700 career Division I wins when Tennessee hosts Memphis. The fraternity includes Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, West Virginia’s Bob Huggins, Coastal Carolina’s Cliff Ellis and Kentucky’s John Calipari. QUOTABLE “Defensively, we can get better,” Barnes said. “But I do think this: If our offense gets better, our defense will get better. I think we put so much pressure on our defense at times because of our silly turnovers and just trying to make great passes as opposed to just playing good basketball.” UP NEXT Florida A&M is at Portland on Dec. 16. Tennessee hosts Memphis on Dec. 14. More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25