GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio in Knoxville) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247's Blount County satellite office in Maryville) break down another week that was and more weeks that will be for the 19th-ranked Tennessee basketball team. The Vols have had another interesting week, falling on the road at Georgia over the weekend but the bouncing back for a 62-57 win over Florida on Wednesday that gave Tennessee a two-game cushion for the No. 2 spot in the SEC standings. The Vols almost certainly won't catch league-leading Auburn with just three games left in the regular season, but Wednesday's win did give Tennessee some breathing room ahead of the incredible six-way tie for third place in the standings — and those spots are really important in a league that gives double-byes to the top four seeds in the conference tournament. As big as Wednesday was for the Vols, though, there are still plenty of reasons for concern heading into the last leg of the regular season. We discuss reasons for optimism, cause for pause and everything in between in this episode.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to look at a big-picture topic — and a really important topic — for fans wanting to know what to expect with a new sheriff in town. Rather than look only at Tennessee in a vacuum, though, this episode takes a close look at every current SEC coach who has been with his current program at least two seasons. We look at the situations those coaches walked into, and what they did with their programs in their first two seasons on the job. Why does that matter to Tennessee? If nothing else, that look at eight of the Vols’ SEC peers should offer some insight into what the Vols could look like the next couple of seasons under new head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down another interesting week — is there ever a boring week? — for the Tennessee football program. New Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff have (mostly) put the finishing touches on their first signing class in Knoxville, and that group currently ranks No. 20 nationally and No. 8 in the SEC. While a finish in that area wouldn't be good enough most years for a program like Tennessee, this was hardly an ordinary recruiting cycle. Considering the disappointing 2017 season on the field and the circus of a coaching (and athletic director) search that followed it, is it possible to grade Pruitt's first class on a curve? And that was hardly the only interesting news in the Tennessee program in recent days. How surprising was Pruitt's decision to part ways with popular running backs coach Robert Gillespie and replace him with Chris Weinke? How will that move be received by Tennessee's fan base? And how should it be received? Those are the main topics in this episode.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker studio to break down anything and everything from the past week for the 18th-ranked Tennessee basketball team. The Vols were one of the nation's hottest teams heading into last weekend's game at Alabama, but the Crimson Tide boat-raced them in a big way. Tennessee's 28-point loss in Tuscaloosa was nearly a wider margin of defeat than the Vols accumulated in their first five losses put together. It was a terrible, no good, very bad day. But the Vols rebounded three days later, holding off feisty South Carolina in a 70-67 win at Thompson-Boling Arena. Are the Vols back on track, or is the recent dip in guard play still a major concern heading into the stretch run? What happened in the final few minutes against the Gamecocks? Why did Tennessee revert back to its early-season tendency to fall apart late in games? What should the Vols expect this weekend against a Georgia team that's struggled much of the season but stunned Florida in Gainesville earlier this week? All of those topics and much more are included in this episode — an episode that ends, as usual, with questions from GoVols247 subscribers, social media followers and podcast listeners.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down all things Tennessee basketball — and most of those things are good things at the moment. The 15th-ranked Vols beat Kentucky on Tuesday at Rupp Arena to complete a season sweep of the Wildcats for the first time since 1999. Tennessee's first win at Rupp since 2006 has given the surging Vols a sixth consecutive win this season, and there's growing speculation that they could play their way into a No. 2 or even No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Rick Barnes and his staff have built a deep, versatile, unselfish team that looks poised to compete for an SEC championship and a deep run in March, and in this episode we break down several of the reasons for this team’s success.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker sat down with new Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer for an exclusive, wide-ranging interview on several topics. Fulmer, a Hall of Famer who finished with a 152-52 record, two SEC championships and one national title as the Vols' head coach, has given nearly four decades of service to a place he proudly calls "my school." And now he's entering the final act of his Tennessee service, and there's plenty to discuss regarding the department he inherited and the department he wants to build moving forward. There's plenty of discussion on new Vols football Jeremy Pruitt, including some insight from the one-on-one interview process between Fulmer and Pruitt — a process that made Fulmer more and more comfortable with the then-Alabama defensive coordinator. Pruitt and the football program dominate the course of this interview, but Fulmer's fondness for Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes and the future of a potential contract extension for Barnes are broached, as well. Fulmer also discusses his football-and-beyond priorities now that he's leading the charge to make Tennessee ... well ... Tennessee again.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247's Blount County satellite office in Maryville) break down anything and everything about a Tennessee basketball team that keeps getting better and better. The Vols have rolled to big wins at Iowa State and LSU in the past week, and they're up to No. 18 nationally in both major polls, No. 9 nationally in stat guru Ken Pomeroy's rankings and No. 14 in the NCAA's official RPI standings, and they've overcome a sluggish start to SEC play to rise up to second in the league standings heading into Saturday's game against Ole Miss in Knoxville. Tennessee continues to prove itself as one of the nation's deepest teams, with different players stepping up seemingly every game to compliment star forwards Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield. Speaking of Williams, he gave Tennessee fans a scare in the LSU game when he crumped to the floor with an early-game injury, and it was revealed afterward that he'd been battling a back/hip issue all season. Is that a concern going forward? That and several other topics — including a story about Barnes giving an assistant coach a raise out of his own pocket, as well as Barnes' desire to avoid talking about his own potential contract extension until after the season — are discussed in this episode. Questions from listeners, as always, are included, as well.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down all things Tennessee football and recruiting after another newsy week in and around Knoxville. New Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff remain full speed ahead in their efforts to salvage a solid recruiting class heading into next week's traditional National Signing Day. A class that had been ranked as low as No. 56 nationally is up to No. 19, but Tennessee remains in play with several prospects who could cause that number to rise even more. The performance of Pruitt and Co. on the recruiting trail is the main topic of this episode, but it's far from the only topic. GoVols247's first annual State of the Vols address is unveiled in this episode — an episode that, as always, ends with questions from GoVols247 subscribers and other listeners.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Danny Parker went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest on all things Tennessee football for the weekly Friday morning podcast. What's the latest on Jauan Jennings' potential return to the program? Will new coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff keep Tennessee climbing up the recruiting rankings? How did the Vols find Jordan Young, an Atlanta-area wide receiver who emerged from relative obscurity to Top247 status and a Tennessee commitment in the span of a couple of weeks? What's the future have in store for Smokey Grey uniforms and neutral-site non-conference games? Those are the main topics in this episode — and episode that, like always, ends with questions from GoVols247 subscribers and social-media followers.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247's Blount County satellite office in Maryville) break down the week that was in Vols hoops — and it was a good week, with a tough road loss at Mizzou followed by a really good win at South Carolina and a hey-it's-a-win win over Vanderbilt to complete a regular-season sweep of the in-state-rival Commodores. The 22nd-ranked Vols continue to be a bit erratic, but they're finding ways to win despite not playing their best, which obviously beats the alternative. Coach Rick Barnes continues to tweak the rotation, and he made big changes to it in the past week. Have those tweaks helped or hurt? What's the best combination for this team moving forward? And what kind of opponent should Tennessee expect in this weekend's Big 12/SEC Challenge game at Iowa State. Those — plus questions from listeners — are the main topics in this week's basketball episode.