GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Grant went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to break down some recent buzz about the Tennessee football program heading into its second season under coach Jeremy Pruitt.

It’s not uncommon for fans of any team to let expectations rise throughout the offseason, but some regional and national media types are starting to get more bullish on the Vols heading into preseason camp.

Some of the predictions have come from pure hard computer data (ESPN’s Football Power Index), while others have come from classic preseason predictors (Phil Steele), but the bottom line is that Tennessee seems to be trending upward from a few months ago — which is interesting, because the Vols still have the exact same questions to answer as they did at that point.

Are people getting ahead of themselves regarding Pruitt’s rebuild in Knoxville? Or is 2019 going to be a genuinely large step forward? Or is the truth somewhere in between those two things? Those are the major questions discussed in this episode, as well as a look at some storylines to follow heading into next week’s annual SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss some candidates for breakout-performer status on the 2019 Tennessee team.

All three of us selected one player on each side of the ball for discussion on the topic. Newcomers and veterans were available for selection, and some of the selections might surprising you.

There’s no question that Jeremy Pruitt and his staff need several players to step up in order to help the Vols climb back up the SEC pecking order, and some of those potential players are discussed in detail in this episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from the Fort Rucker Sun Room, rather than the Fort Rucker Studio) and Ryan Callahan (from Casa de Callahan) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss Tennessee’s Friday commitment from local running back Tee Hodge.

The 6-foot, 230-pound Hodge — a star at Knoxville-area powerhouse Maryville High School — has long been a prospect on Tennessee’s radar, and he became a Vols commitment on Friday.

What kind of player is Hodge? How well is he moving despite fracturing his leg last year and recently adding 30 pounds of muscle? Is this more like the size Jeremy Pruitt and his staff want from the running back position? And what’s the latest on big-time Texas quarterback prospect Haynes King, who seems to be focusing on the Vols and Texas A&M?

Answers to all those questions are included in this episode.

Looking for a recap of a torrid two weeks of Tennessee football recruiting?

There's a GoVols247 Podcast for that.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to break down a big couple of weeks that has has featured multiple 2020 and 2021 commitments to the Tennessee football team.

Those hoping for Tennessee to handle its in-state business in a year with so much in-state talent can breathe easier than they did a couple of weeks ago — assuming all the commitments stick … which … yeah, who ever knows these days?

Regardless, it’s been a productive month for Tennessee on the recruiting trail, and most of the newest additions have been in-state prospects, so there’s plenty to discuss. And most of it is good news.

Could things get even better for the Vols in the near future, though? Yes, they absolutely could. One of the nation’s top quarterback prospects could announce his commitment soon, and Tennessee is very much in the mix there.

There’s plenty of recruiting to discuss at the moment, and this episode discusses plenty of it.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss the latest on a very newsy week for Tennessee basketball in June.

Tennessee on Thursday had three players selected in the NBA Draft — something the program had never done since the draft was trimmed to two rounds in 1989. All-American and two-time reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams went to the Boston Celtics with the No. 22 overall pick, while All-SEC wing Admiral Schofield and All-SEC point guard Jordan Bone were selected in the second round and will be traded to the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons once the summer market officially opens early next month.

It had to feel bittersweet for Tennessee fans, but Thursday was a huge night for the program, and it’s something Vols coach Rick Barnes and his staff can sell on the recruiting trail. All three of their drafted players were three-star prospects coming out of high school, cementing the status of Barnes and Co. as elite identifies and developers of under-the-radar talent. Beyond that, getting three players selected in any NBA Draft — which has just 60 picks — is a really big deal.

Williams, as a first-round pick, gets a guaranteed contract from the Celtics, but Schofield and Bone will have to earn their way. Discussion on their futures is a big part of this podcast, as well.

Lastly, Tennessee remains a big player in the sweepstakes to land Kerry Blackshear Jr., the Virginia Tech big man who remains the biggest prize in this year’s transfer market. The Vols’ chances of landing Blackshear and his potential impact on the Tennessee program also are big parts of this episode. 

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Ryan Callahan went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss a recent injury to Tennessee senior wide receiver Jauan Jennings and the recent contract extension (and raise) signed by Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello.

Just when it seemed like Jennings was over the injuries that bothered him the past two years, he suffered another knee injury and will be out for at least a bit — though there’s hope that one of Tennessee’s most emotional leaders will be fine for the start of preseason camp.

Still, though, Jennings was just starting to be really healthy again, so it’ll be interesting to see how he handles this latest setback. There’s plenty to discuss there.

Good news also occurred in the past week for Tennessee, though. Baseball coach Tony Vitello — one of the game’s rising stars — signed a contract extension (with a raise) after leading the Vols back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years. The recent contract extension and raise handed to basketball coach Rick Barnes wasn’t the smoothest process, obviously, but everything with Vitello’s situation seemed pretty straightforward and streamlined, which hasn’t been a given with the Tennessee athletic department throughout the past decade and change.

Vitello’s new deal also gets plenty of discussion in this episode.

This week’s second GoVols247 Podcast — an episode focusing on a historic NBA Draft for the Tennessee basketball program — will be released later this weekend.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss some interesting developments in Tennessee’s efforts to put together a much different basketball roster heading into next season.

Despite losing a pair of non-seniors — junior stars Grant Williams and Jordan Bone — to the NBA Draft, Tennessee did plenty of late work in the spring signing period and transfer market and is now back at the NCAA’s maximum allotment of 13 scholarship players on the active roster.

Interestingly, though, the Vols are still very active in the 2019 recruiting market.

One 2019 prospect — 6-foot-11 France native Josaphat Bilau — took an official visit to Tennessee earlier this week, and the biggest star on this year’s grad-transfer market is set to visit Knoxville on Friday.

Kerry Blackshear Jr. — a 6-foot-10 forward who averaged 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game last season at Virginia Tech — has opted to spend his senior season at a new program, and he’s seriously considering Tennessee as that new program. And he’s visiting Knoxville on Friday.

Of course, programs across the nation are pushing hard for Blackshear, and Tennessee’s biggest rival — perennial national power Kentucky — also is getting a visit from Blackshear.

Blackshear has already visited Florida and Arkansas, and he’s visiting Kentucky after his trip to Knoxville, and several other programs — including Memphis and Gonzaga — are reportedly pushing for him, as well.

What would it mean for Tennessee to land Blackshear — or Bilau, for that matter? What would that mean for the Vols next season? And how would they make those scholarship numbers work? There are plenty of questions to discuss, and they’re discussed in detail in this episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to have the Great Booze Debate promised last week.

The SEC recently changed its policy to allow programs to decide for themselves whether they’d like alcohol to be served to the masses (not just those in luxury suites) as football stadiums. Some programs have already come out and said they won’t serve it. At least one (Texas A&M) has said it will serve it, and everyone expects LSU to do the same.

What about Tennessee, though? Tennessee is a wildcard in that discussion for several reasons.

The pros, cons and everything in between regarding booze are discussed in this episode, but not at the beginning.

It was announced this week that Tennessee freshman offensive lineman Melvin McBride — who only recently arrived on campus — is retiring from the game because of a medical issue. More than one handful of Tennessee O-linemen have had to retire from the game because of medical issues the past few years. That phenomenon and its effects are discussed in this episode. 

Good news has happened this week, two. The Vols picked up two commitments over the weekend, and they added another on Wednesday just after this podcast was recorded. As always, there’s plenty of recruiting discussion in this episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss Tennessee’s 2019 football schedule.

We took a few big questions — some from readers, some from ourselves — and tried to answer them.

- Is Tennessee more likely to go 6-0 in its “tossup” games or find a way to beat either Alabama, Georgia or Florida?

- Which should-be win on Tennessee’s schedule is the scariest?

- Which should-be loss on Tennessee’s schedule is the most winnable?

- Did Tennessee’s two open dates come at a great time, a terrible time or somewhere in between?

A couple of non-football topics — a recap of Tennessee baseball’s return to the NCAA Tournament under new (and hopefully still) coach Tony Vitello, and the Tennessee basketball team’s addition of transfer guard Victor Bailey Jr. from Oregon — also emerged in this episode.

Bailey’s decision will be the centerpiece of a hoops podcast next week, but a brief discussion of him was included in this episode, as well.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss a newsy offseason week for the Tennessee basketball program.

As expected, junior All-SEC point guard Jordan Bone became the second Tennessee player to forgo his final season of eligibility and remain in the NBA Draft. All-American and two-time reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams did the same thing last week, meaning the Vols have now lost five contributors (including four starters) from last season’s roster.

Bone’s loss was expected, but that won’t make one of the college basketball’s fastest players any easier to replace. But … Tennessee still has some quality, battled-tested backcourt players, and five-star point guard signee Josiah-Jordan James is already on campus, so perhaps this loss isn’t a dealbreaker for the Vols heading into next season. Regardless, it’ll be a challenge, and it’s a challenge discussed in detail on this episode.

It wasn’t just tough news this week for Tennessee, though.

Uroš Plavšic, a 7-foot-1 Serbia native who finished his high school career in Chattanooga, Tenn., transferred to Tennessee after redshirting in his first and only season at Arizona State. Plavšic has a chance to earn an immediate-eligibility waiver from the NCAA and play next season, and Tennessee’s staff believes there’s a good chance that will happen. Plavšic’s arrival and the impact he could have is discussed in this episode.

This episode was recorded before the Vols added another transfer — Oregon guard Victor Bailey Jr., a native of Austin, Texas, who certainly has a connection to Tennessee (and former longtime Texas) coach Rick Barnes. We have a special show planned to discuss Bailey in the very near future.