GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Ryan Callahan (from his house across town) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss Tennessee’s two football commitments from this weekend.

Saturday was a big day for Jeremy Pruitt and his Vols, who added commitments from Alabama safety Edwin White and North Carolina defensive lineman Isaac Washington.

Both of Saturday’s commits have been on Tennessee’s radar for a long time. White was offered within Pruitt’s first week on the job in Knoxville, and Washington has had an offer for a long time and re-committed to the program after de-committing following the departure of former defensive line coach Tracy Rocker. Washington apparently learned all he needed to learn about new defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh, and he quickly put himself back in the fold.

Discussion on White and Washington dominates this episode. What kind of prospects are they? Who else offered them? How much upside do they have? What do 247Sports’ analysts think about them? How did White always find himself around the football as a turnover machine last season? Those are some of the topics discussed in this episode.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released by Monday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point. Tennessee’s spring camp is scheduled to start Tuesday afternoon.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey convened just outside Rupp Arena to discuss Tennessee’s stunning, come-from-behind win at sixth-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

The Vols trailed by 17 points with less than 17 minutes left but stormed back to silence Rupp with an 81-73 win that pumped some much-needed life back into the program at the business end of the regular season.

How did Tennessee pull off Tuesday’s win? What’s gotten into John Fulkerson and Josiah-Jordan James? What does this mean for the Vols moving forward? Those are the primary discussion points of an episode that also features interviews with Vols coach Rick Barnes, Kentucky coach John Calipari and three Tennessee players — Fulkerson, James and junior guard Jalen Johnson.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released by Monday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio), Patrick Brown (from his house at an undisclosed location across town) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247’s Blount County Satellite Office in Maryville) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss the latest on a Tennessee football spring camp that’s about to start and a Tennessee basketball season that’s nearing win-or-go-home time.

After a brief discussion on the hot start of Tony Vitello and his unbeaten, 16th-ranked Tennessee basketball team, football takes center stage for the first segment of this episode. It’s been mostly — not fully, but mostly — a good offseason for Jeremy Pruitt’s Vols, who take the field next to start spring camp. A bulk of the first segment is answers to questions from GoVols247’s CheckerBoard about spring ball. Some non-football questions worked their way into the mix, as well, just for funsies.

Rick Barnes and his Tennessee basketball team are the focus of the second segment. The Vols held off Florida for a much-needed win over the weekend in Knoxville, and they close the regular season with their toughest week — a Tuesday trip to sixth-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena, and a regular-season finale against 17th-ranked Auburn on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena. All things Vols hoops are discussed in the second segment. Topics include the breakout season of John Fulkerson, the return to form of Josiah-Jordan James and what needs to happen for Tennessee to get itself into the postseason.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released by Thursday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Grant Ramey (from the GoVols247 Blount County Satellite Office in Maryville) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss Tennessee football, basketball and even some baseball.

After giving a quick shoutout to the unbeaten, 19th-ranked Tennessee baseball team’s hot start to the season, the focus turns to Vols football for the first segment. It’s a huge week for several former Vols at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. A trio of former Tennessee pass catchers — wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway, and tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson — went through drills Thursday night, and results were decidedly mixed for all three of them. All three performed really well in some areas but underwhelmed in others and will look to improve on those areas before Pro Timing Day in Knoxville during spring camp.

Two more former Vols — inside linebacker Daniel Bituli and edge rusher Darrell Taylor — are also in Indianapolis, and a breakdown of their upcoming performances will be included in a later episode.

Focus shifts to Tennessee basketball for the second segment of this episode, and obviously that’s a much rougher situation at the moment. Rick Barnes’ Vols are heading the wrong way at the wrong time of the season, and it remains to be seen whether Tennessee’s postseason will even extend beyond the upcoming SEC Tournament in Nashville. Such is the nature of the current college hoops universe and Tennessee’s schedule that things could change drastically down the stretch, though. The Vols have just three games left in the regular season, and they’re against arguably the league’s best three teams — Florida, Kentucky and Auburn. Tennessee still has at least a small chance to play its way into the NCAA Tournament or out of the postseason altogether unless it wins the SEC Tournament, but there’s no question things are trending the wrong way at the moment in this sandwich transition season full of injuries and other frustrations. A discussion on all things Tennessee basketball dominates the second segment of this episode. 

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released by Monday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey convened at the GoVols247 Mobile Studio — a hotel across the street from Coleman Coliseum, in this case — to discuss Tennessee’s wild, come-from-behind, 69-68 win at Alabama and interview Barnes and several of his players.

The first segment of this episode features a quick breakdown of Tuesday’s game — a game in which the Vols trailed by 15 points late in the first half — and interviews with Barnes, junior guard Yves Pons, junior forward John Fulkerson, senior guard Jordan Bowden and freshman guard Davonte Gaines. All four of those Vols played a big role in Tuesday’s win and had plenty to say afterward.

The second segment of this episode features a more thorough dissection of Tuesday’s game — the highs, the lows and everything in between — and a discussion on how badly the Vols needed that win. What does that win mean? How does it change things heading into Saturday’s showdown with Kentucky? Is Fulkerson a legitimate go-to guy now? Has Gaines earned a rotation role even after star freshman Josiah-Jordan James returns from his hip injury, and when will James return from that injury? What does Gaines’ performance mean for Jalen Johnson’s role moving forward? How important was it for Bowden to stay confident despite a rough perimeter shooting performance and find other ways to score and help Tennessee win? What’s the immediate future hold for Uros Plavsic? Those are just some of the topics discussed in the second segment of this episode.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released Thursday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Ryan Callahan (from his house across town) convened through the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to preview Tennessee football’s National Signing Day.

The traditional National Signing Day has definitely changed since the Early Signing Period came into play, but Tennessee still has multiple spots to fill and a few of the country’s top unsigned prospects firmly in the mix to fill those spots.

The first segment of this episode features a brief breakdown of the lay of the land heading into Wednesday. How much have things changed in this post-Early Signing Period era? How much have they changed for players, coaches and even for fans?

The second segment of this episode is a more thorough discussion on the handful of players still in the mix for Tennessee heading into National Signing Day — including a trio of the nation’s top uncommitted prospects.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released Wednesday, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker convened courtside at Mississippi State’s Humphrey Coliseum to discuss the ugly second half that led to Tennessee’s 86-73 loss to the Bulldogs and where the Vols go from here.

The first segment of this episode is a quick breakdown of Saturday’s game and then a trio of interviews with Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, Tennessee freshman point guard Santiago Vescovi and Tennessee redshirt freshman forward Uros Plavsic. Vescovi and Plavsic scored 16 points apiece for the Vols in Plavsic’s first career start, but obviously more went wrong than right for the visitors on Saturday.

The second segment of this episode is a more thorough breakdown of Saturday’s game.

How did things change so drastically in the second half? Are these Vols physically overmatched or just not tough enough, or is it both? How long will James be out after re-tweaking the hip injury that cost him most of preseason camp? What were the pluses and minuses from Plavsic in his first career start? Is there anything these Vols can do to prevent teams from punishing them in the paint? Is this a blip or has this season gone into a rough place for good? Those are the primary points of discussion in this episode.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released in the coming days, unless major breaking news occurs before that point. With football National Signing Day and two big basketball games on the docket, it should be a busy week for the pod.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Patrick Brown (from his house across town) convened via the magic of Al Gore’d Internets to discuss the return of Jay Graham to Tennessee and some major rankings upgrades for players in the Vols’ 2020 signing class.

The first segment of this episode is primarily a discussion on the return of Graham, a former star running back at Tennessee who began his coaching career in Knoxville after finishing his playing career in the NFL. Graham then worked his way up through the lower levels of college as a full-time coach before getting to the SEC at South Carolina in 2009. He then came to Tennessee for one season in 2012 before going to work with Jimbo Fisher at Florida State and then going with Fisher to Texas A&M in 2018. Graham — who has worked with Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt and Vols offensive coordinator Jim Chaney — was hired to replace David Johnson and will coach Tennessee’s running backs, but his title beyond that remains uncertain. Graham was also a co-offensive coordinator at A&M. Regardless, Tennessee certainly is happy to have Graham back home, and a discussion on his return is the primary focus of the first segment.

The second segment of this episode is a discussion on some things Tennessee might to do replace Kevin Sherrer, a trusted lieutenant of Pruitt’s who served as his defensive coordinator in 2018 and his special teams coordinator in 2019 while coaching the inside linebackers both seasons. A discussion on that situation and on the significant ratings bumps for some of Tennessee’s signees is the focus of the second segment.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released by Monday morning, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey convened at the GoVols247 Mobile Studio — Thompson-Boling Arena, in this case — to discuss Tennessee’s shocking 63-58 loss to Texas A&M and where the Vols go from here.

The first segment of this episode is a brief rundown of the game and a trio of interviews with Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes, Tennessee junior forward John Fulkerson and Tennessee senior guard Jordan Bowden.

The second segment of this episode is a more thorough discussion of Tuesday’s game. How did that happen? Why wasn’t Tennessee locked in? Why did the Vols get bludgeoned so badly on the glass? What in the world was veteran referee Mike Nance doing when he bumped Barnes and then acted like Barnes started a confrontation with him down the stretch? Did anything good happen in Tuesday’s game? How can things better before an upcoming stretch of games at Mississippi State and Alabama? Those are the primary discussion points in the second segment.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode — an episode focusing on Tennessee football — will be released Thursday morning, unless major breaking news occurs before that point.