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Episode 136: Vols' margin for error shrinking Nov 02, 2018

Show notes

Looking for an honest discussion on the impact of Tennessee’s disappointing loss at South Carolina, and where the Vols go from here?

There's a GoVols247 Podcast for that.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's tough, 27-24 loss to the Gamecocks last weekend at Williams-Brice Stadium, and the impact that loss could have on the Vols’ chances to secure bowl-eligibility under first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt — something few outside this state expected in Pruitt’s first season, but something that felt very possible after the team’s upset win at then-21st-ranked Auburn.

Tennessee took an early lead at South Carolina, scoring its first first-quarter offensive touchdown of the season in the process, and the Vols extended that lead to 21-9 in the third quarter before the Gamecocks reeled them in, overtook them and held them off in a game that came down to the final minutes — as practically every Vols-Gamecocks game seems to do.

How will the Vols rebound in this week’s homecoming game against Charlotte? Who actually knows anything about Charlotte? When did Charlotte football become a thing? Why are some Tennessee fans so seemingly convinced that Jarrett Guarantano needs to be replaced in favor of senior backup Keller Chryst? Why do some consider every backup a potential savior when any starter at any position is struggling?

What does this Tennessee team need to fix in order to become bowl-eligible, and how many of those things are reasonable to expect?

Now that Tennessee has just four games left in the regular season, should we expect to see any young players join the rotation while preserving their redshirt eligibility, thanks to the NCAA’s new rule?

Those and many other questions are discussed in this episode.

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Episode 135: Vols hope to regain momentum on road Oct 26, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's big road game at South Carolina on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Tennessee picked up serious momentum two weeks ago with its shocking upset win at then-21st-ranked Auburn, and it remains to be seen how much of that momentum the Vols lost in last week's lopsided setback against Third Saturday in October rival Alabama. That loss looks bad in a vacuum, but it doesn't look terrible when you look at what the Crimson Tide have done to anything and everything in their path this season.

South Carolina, on the other hand, was expected to compete for an SEC Eastern Division championship this season but has already lost three games to take itself out of the running. It remains to be seen whether the Gamecocks will be any more ready to play the Vols than Auburn was two weeks ago. The Tigers also had a disappointing start to their season, and Tennessee took advantage of that situation.

The Vols — already an injury-riddled group up front — now have to face South Carolina without arguably their best player at any position. Sophomore Trey Smith has been ruled out indefinitely following the return of blood clots in his lungs, and how the Vols physically and mentally respond to that challenge will be on full display this weekend.

It also remains to seen whether sophomore starter Jarrett Guarantano's injury or senior backup Keller Chryst's strong play off the bench against Alabama will have any impact on that position this weekend. Jeremy Pruitt has been characteristically mum on that topic this week, but early returns have pegged Guarantano as the likely starter against the Gamecocks. Whether that actually happens, though, remains to be seen.

Tennessee also hopes to get its running game going after struggling badly in that area against Auburn and Alabama, but Smith's absence could throw a big wrench into those plans.

Anything and everything related to this season's Vols-Gamecocks game is discussed in detail in this episode — an episode that ends with questions from listeners, GoVols247 subscribers and social-media followers, with the pick of the litter winning the Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week Award.

Episode 134: Trey Smith 'indefinitely' sidelined again Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down some tough news for arguably Tennessee's best football player.

Tennessee confirmed Thursday that star sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith would again be sidelined "indefinitely" after doctors discovered Wednesday that blood clots had returned in his lungs.

Smith was a touted five-star prospect who enrolled at Tennessee in Summer 2017 with outrageous expectations, and he met those expectations by emerging as one of the SEC's best offensive linemen as a true freshman. The West Tennessee native was considered by some as one of the nation's best O-linemen heading into his sophomore season, but serious health concerns have gotten in the way.

The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Smith approached Tennessee's medical staff after struggling to get through a couple of February workouts, and doctors found blood clots in his lungs. He was immediately taken off the field and started treatment with anticoagulant medication, which eased the blood-clotting issue but forced him to stay away from physical contact. He was able to workout but not face contact on the field until midway through preseason camp, when (after consultation with UT doctors and specialists from around the country) he was weened off the anticoagulants and cleared for contact.

Smith's family and Tennessee coaches and staffers handled the situation very carefully and made sure to give the player all the information he'd need to make a decision regarding his future, and Smith — whose mother passed away a few years ago with heart issues at age 51 — was adamant in his desire to return to football if doctors would allow it.

Tennessee hasn't offered anything other than its Thursday statement on Smith's situation, and no one on the GoVols247 staff is a medical expert, so we spend this podcast breaking down the fallout from this news and its potential impact on the Vols in the short-term and longterm future.

As much as as everyone likes Smith as a person, the fact is the show must go on, starting with Saturday's game at South Carolina, and Smith would be the first to admit that. We spend this podcast discussing Tennessee's options to replace the best performer on an already-struggling offensive line.

Episode 133: Vols improve SEC winning streak to one Oct 19, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's win — yes, win — at then-21st-ranked Auburn last weekend and discuss the Vols' upcoming showdown with top-ranked Alabama at Neyland Stadium.

An program-record, 11-game SEC losing streak was stopped before reaching the dirty-dozen level, and Jeremy Pruitt became the fastest coach in SEC history to win a road game against a ranked team. It was just his sixth game on the sideline with the Vols.

Much of the national discussion after the Tennessee-Auburn game focused on the Tigers, and understandably so, given the fact that they were considered legitimate national-championship contenders heading into the season and have now fallen out of the polls. But the talk around this state has centered on the stunning achievement for Pruitt and his Vols, who were stuffed all day on the ground at Auburn but scorched the Tigers' secondary through the air.

Sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had the best day of his career on The Plains, winning several national and SEC player of the week honors after completing a career-high 21 of 32 passes for a career-high 328 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Senior defensive lineman Kyle Phillips also was honored by the SEC after arguably the best game of his career, finishing with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one forced fumble that was recovered by freshman cornerback Alontae Taylor for a touchdown that proved to be the difference between the two teams.

Here's are the questions now for Tennessee: Was the Auburn game an aberration, or have these Vols truly turned a corner and made themselves competitive in the SEC? Are these Vols now a contender to win six games and become bowl-eligible? Is Guarantano ready to be the man? Can this defense continue to hold up?

Regardless, this weekend's game will be an even bigger test, even though it comes at Neyland Stadium — the site of Saturday's game against top-ranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide have been a force on defense throughout the Nick Saban era and are still really good on that side of the ball this season, but sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has made them even tougher on offense. They're leading the nation in scoring at 53.6 points per game, and Tagovailoa hasn't attempted a single pass in the fourth quarter all season.

Before diving into what's expected to be a long weekend against Bama, though, we spend plenty of time discussing a huge win that Tennessee players, coaches, administrators and fans needed for several reasons.

That — along with some injury updates, general tomfoolery and the announcement of the new Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week — is the main focus of this episode.

Episode 132: Vols hoping to avoid Dirty Dozen Oct 11, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the state of Tennessee football heading into Saturday's game at 21st-ranked Auburn.

Tennessee had an open date after its Sept. 29 loss at second-ranked Georgia, giving the Vols an extra week of work to sort of some of their own issues and get a head start on Auburn's unique offense — something that SEC West teams have gotten used to seeing in recent years, and something Tennessee's current staff has seen a lot, but something that Tennessee's current players haven't seen.

First-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt said his Vols took advantage of the open date, but how much can you really change schematically in one week? You can't reinvent the wheel in that amount of time, but you can tweak some things, and that's certainly something Tennessee has done.

What changes could the Vols make, though? Will they try some drastically different things, or just add a few different things while refining the same basic formula? And what should we expect to see from Tennessee against an Auburn team that was expected to compete for championships but has already lost two games, including last week at Mississippi State? And is it possible to think Tennessee could win this game and avoid extending its program-program-record SEC losing streak to a dirty dozen games?

That — along with some injury updates, general tomfoolery and the announcement of the new Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week — is the main focus of this episode.

Episode 131: Vols hoops hits the (practice) court Oct 05, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down anything and everything from Tennessee basketball media day.

Rick Barnes' reigning-SEC-champion Vols have sky-high expectations heading into the season, and understandably so, given the amount of experience and firepower on their roster.

The Vols snuck up on the college basketball world last season, but that won't be the case now. They've been in the top-10 nationally in practically every preseason projection and power poll, and many have them ranked in the top-five.

Can this team — a team with the reigning SEC player of the year in Grant Williams, the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year in Lamonte Turner, another legitimate conference player of the year candidate in Admiral Schofield and the reigning SEC Coach of the Year — repeat or even surpass its performance from last season? It sounds so simple on paper, considering Tennessee brings back its entire starting lineup and all but one of its top bench performers from last season, but things in sports rarely prove to be so simple.

What changes should we expect from the Vols this season? Which players have improved, and in what areas? Whose roles could be increased this season? Will this team have the same great chemistry it enjoyed last season? Will touted freshman big man C.J. Burns get himself into the mix for a rotation spot? Those are some of the many questions discussed in this expansive look at Tennessee basketball.

Episode 130: Bye-week reassessment of Pruitt Year One Oct 03, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's loss at second-ranked Georgia over the weekend and look forward to things we can expect from the Vols following this week's open date.

A loss is a loss, and Tennessee's loss at Georgia was its third setback of the season by exactly 26 points, but the Vols looked better against the Bulldogs than they had in losses to West Virginia and Florida. Tennessee got a terrible break in the first quarter and got nothing from its offense until the third quarter, but the Vols rallied back into it and made things at least a bit interesting in the fourth quarter. It was a step forward for first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt's rebuilding program.

Pruitt was quick to say after Saturday's loss that he doesn't believe in moral victories, but he also showed some emotion and nearly got choked up while discussing the fight he's seeing from his players, and he didn't deny that they showed improvement in several areas Between the Hedges in Athens.

The Vols get a brief break this week, and it comes at a good time — right in the middle of their toughest stretch of the season. What they do with that break will go a long way toward determining whether they secure bowl eligibility this season.

What do the Vols need to be working on this week? Which areas of the team look OK, and which areas need serious work? And what can be done to shore up some of those struggling areas? Which specific players need to play better for this team to be more competitive? And which specific players could emerge and play much larger roles on this team in the second half of the season. Those and several other questions are the main points of orders in this first of two GoVols247 Podcast episodes this week.

The second GoVols247 Podcast Episode of the week — an episode featuring a look at the reigning SEC champion Tennessee basketball team — will be released Friday.

Episode 137: To the Pit of Misery Sep 28, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's SEC-opening, 47-20 loss to Florida and the Vols' Saturday trip to Georgia for a game against the second-ranked Bulldogs.

Florida, another proud program in rebuilding mode, was considered one of the more winnable games on this season's SEC schedule, but ... welp. The Vols turned the ball over six times and lost a game that probably will make it tough for Tennessee to secure bowl-eligibility in Jeremy Pruitt's first season.

Saturday's game at Georgia marks the beginning of the nastiest part of Tennessee's schedule. After facing the Bulldogs — who came agonizingly close to winning the national championship last season — they'll play at 10th-ranked Auburn, at home against top-ranked Alabama and then go back on the road to face a South Carolina team that opened the season in the polls and might be back in the polls at that point.

Things get a little more manageable after that, but it's tough to see another SEC game this season where Tennessee will open as the favorite in Las Vegas.

First thing's first, though: Georgia.

We take a look back at the Florida game in this episode, but we pivot — PIVOT! — back to Georgia pretty quickly, and then we discuss the reasons things might get better and the reasons things might not get better this season.

At this point, what's fair to expect from this team this season? We don't dance around it. We discuss the good, bad, the ugly and fugly.

Episode 136: Vols. Gators. SEC play is here. Sep 21, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's annual SEC opener against Eastern Division nemesis Florida.

This isn't a classic Tennessee-Florida game on paper, but it's nonetheless an intriguing game, and an important game for first-year head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Dan Mullen. A rivalry win is always nice, and in this case, it will be a win that could go a long way toward determining postseason eligibility.

Both the Vols and Gators already have a loss this season, and neither wants a second loss before the final week of September. Not with the schedules both of these teams have ahead of them.

Is Tennessee ready for the start of SEC play? What matchups in this game look good for Tennessee, and which ones don't? How much would a win in this game mean? And just how many touted prospects will be in the stands on official and unofficial visits? Those are some of the many topics discussed in this episode.

Episode 135: Vols add five-star point guard Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a huge development for the Tennessee basketball program.

Five-star point guard prospect Josiah James stunned the hoops world Wednesday morning by committing to Tennessee. The nation's No. 14 overall prospect in the 2019 industry-generated 247Sports Composite is a Michigan State legacy from Charleston, S.C., but he turned down Michigan State, Duke and practically every other program in the country and chose Rick Barnes' Vols.

The 6-foot-6, 200-pound James is an impressive southpaw specimen who can play practically anywhere on the floor but was recruited by Tennessee as a point guard, and the Vols believe he has the physicality and maturity to be an instant-impact player. Recruiting analysts obviously share that assessment, considering his ranking.

How did Barnes and Co. finally close the deal on a five-star prospect after coming so painfully close and falling short on a few others? There were several reasons, and those reasons are the primary focus of this episode.

A couple of other basketball notes — former Tennessee star Josh Richardson's impressive ranking on CBSSports.com's list of the NBA's top 100 players, and some preseason-ranking top-five for the defending SEC-champion Vols — are discussed in this episode, but insight into James' commitment and his future in Knoxville are the main topics.

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