GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown and the newest member of CBS Sports’ University of Tennessee coverage, Danny Parker, went into the Fort Rucker Studio to break down all things Tennessee football heading into the No. 23 Vols' Saturday showdown at No. 24 Florida in The Swamp. Has Tennessee's defensive line really been lining up that far off the ball? How will the Vols get linebacker Daniel Bituli and defensive back Rashaan Gaulden on the field at the same time? Why hasn't defensive end Jonathan Kongbo gotten off to a fast start? What's going on with the quarterbacks? Has Hurricane Irma changed anything about this weekend's trip to Gainesville? All of that and more is discussed in this episode, which thanks to Danny now has an even more distinctive Southern accent.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown went into a temporary mobile studio in a coach’s booth at Neyland Stadium to break down the Vols’ 42-7 win over the Sycamores on Saturday in Knoxville. Saturday’s game was expected to be a bit of a breather for Tennessee, and it was, and there probably were more positives than negatives in the game.

Those clamoring for a glimpse of redshirt freshman quarterback Jarrett Guarantano got to see him play nearly half the game in relief of junior starter Quinten Dormady, and we break down the latest in that “competition” — if it’s still a competition at this point.

Vols coach Butch Jones hoped to get more young players involved against the Sycamores, and that happened, at least to a certain extent. What did we see from some of the younger Vols? We discuss the good, the bad and the ugly from those performances.

One could argue that Tennessee could have played its role players a bit more in Saturday’s game, though, given the obvious fact that Indiana State never presented a clear and present danger to the Vols. Junior running back John Kelly’s 23 touches were particularly interesting, considering that next week’s game at Florida will be the Vols’ 13th in three days — something Jones has said several times the past few months.

A look at Tennessee’s injury report following the Indiana State game is also discussed, as well as a look at players who should be made available for the Florida game.

Saturday’s bounce-back effort from Tennessee’s defense also gets tossed around the room for conversation. The Vols shutout Indiana State — 0-for-11 — on third downs, and that performance was a much-needed confidence booster for a group that allowed a program-record 535 rushing yards in the season-opening win over Georgia Tech.

Last but not least, the GoVols247 crew discusses Tennessee’s new third-down “anthem” at home games this season. The new anthem debuted to mixed reviews, and that’s perhaps the most polite way to put it, but we discuss it nonetheless.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown went into the Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's woeful defensive start to the 2017 season and what it means (or doesn't mean) going forward. The Vols allowed a program-record 535 rushing yards in Monday's season-opening, double-overtime win over Georgia Tech, but there's some optimism inside the program that games against more-conventional offenses won't look nearly that bad. How many of Tennessee's problems came from Georgia Tech's unique offense, and how many came from issues that would have been problematic about any offense? Those are tough-but-fair questions that deserve answers, and some of those potential answers are discussed in detail in this episode.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown are back in the friendly confines of the Fort Rucker Studio to break down the future for a Tennessee offense that won't have junior wide receiver Jauan Jennings for an indefinite — but not brief — period of time. The Vols rallied without their leading wide receiver to beat Georgia Tech in a season-opening thriller, but what about the longterm health of the offense without Jennings? How many adjustments need to be made? Does this change things only for the passing game, or do things go deeper than that? The future of Tennessee's offense is discussed in detail.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey head into the mobile studio (at 3:45 a.m.) to break down Tennessee's wild, come-from-behind, 42-41 win over Georgia Tech on Monday night in Atlanta. The 25th-ranked Vols never led in regulation and surrendered a program-record 535 rushing yards but found a way to rally late in regulation to force overtime and then stun the Yellow Jackets in a wild game that won't be forgotten anytime soon. Attempting to unpack and dissect exactly how Tennessee won that game is a tall task, but why not give it a shot?

Danny Parker — the newest member of CBS Sports' coverage team in Knoxville — sat down for an exclusive, one-on-one interview with Tennessee sophomore offensive tackle Marcus Tatum heading into the first start of his college career. An injury and a suspension caused some tweaks to Tennessee's first-team O-line heading the opener against Georgia Tech, and the talented Tatum looks to be in line for the starting spot at right tackle. Tatum sat down with Danny to discuss his massive weight and strength gains in the past year, his lessons learned from getting tossed into the fire last season, his relationships with teammates and new position coach Walt Wells and much, much more.

GoVols247's full staff — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown — go into the Fort Rucker Studio to break down some of the biggest storylines and matchups heading into Tennessee football's Monday night opener against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The 25th-ranked Vols and Yellow Jackets are such an interesting matchup for so many reasons, not the least of which being their completely opposite styles of offense. Tennessee has plenty of talent heading into the 2017 season, but the Vols are also very inexperienced in some key areas. How concerned should Tennessee be against an almost-always-solid Georgia Tech program? Anything and everything about the Vols' opener is dissected, and there's also a recap of another strong week on the recruiting trail for the Vols, who are building one of the nation's strongest classes.

GoVols247's full staff — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown — go into the Fort Rucker Studio to break down a lot of Tennessee football roster news heading into a season-opening game against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Vols will be without at least two more projected starters in the wake of one significant injury and one suspension, but they might get a couple of major contributors back from injury in time to face the Yellow Jackets. And then there's the obvious question at quarterback. Will it be Quinten Dormady or Jarrett Guarantano? Or will it be both. There's a lot to discuss, and all of it gets discussed.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey went into the Fort Rucker Studio for an interesting countdown. Since there are 10 days left until it's Football Time in Tennessee, GoVols247 listed 10 reasons to feel optimistic about the team this season. Journalists are often accused of being a bit cynical, and there's probably some truth in that. The longer you're around a program, the easier it is to see potential weaknesses and diminish potential strengths. So let's let some sunshine in and look at 10 things that could me major strengths for this team heading into this season. We also have updates on Tennessee basketball as well as some big news on the football recruiting trail.

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey go into the friendly confines of Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's injury situation in the aftermath of a long-term injury to a veteran player. Senior wide receiver Josh Smith's collarbone injury isn't expected to be a season-ender, but he'll probably be out for a while, and he's not the first Vol to go down in 2017. Another veteran and a couple of true freshmen have already been ruled out for this season, and some vets are battling nicks and bruises. Football is a contact sport, and injuries are inevitable, but what is Tennessee's injury situation heading into a 2017 season that's scheduled to start in 12 days? Let's discuss it.