GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio), Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan (from their homes across town) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss a Tennessee football team that will take a five-game winning streak into its first bowl appearance in three years.

The first segment of this episode is a recap of last weekend’s regular-season-ending, 28-10 over Vanderbilt — a badly needed win for the pride of the Tennessee program — and some discussion on potential bowl destinations and opponents for the Vols. That’s an interesting discussion, because projections for this bowl season are all over the map. A few bowls are the most discussed possibilities for a reason, though, and we discuss the reasons for that.

The second segment of this episode features two main discussion points. The first is a discussion on the decisions of three players — veteran offensive linemen Ryan Johnson and Marcus Tatum, and freshman wide receiver/cornerback Jerrod Means — to enter the NCAA transfer portal and likely leave the Tennessee program. The second is a discussing on where things stand for the 2020 Tennessee recruiting class heading into the final two weeks before the opening of the early signing period. Tennessee’s class isn’t rated as high as fans would like at this point in the cycle, but there are still plenty of big possibilities out there for the Vols, and Jeremy Pruitt and Co. showed last season that they’re capable of adding some big names late in the process. Can they do that again this season? We discuss that and much more in that segment.

The third segment of this episode is a Thursday-morning-pod staple — answers to questions submitted by members of GoVols247’s CheckerBoard. As always, there were some interesting football questions and some bizarre questions about hand-to-hand combat in the mix.

The next GoVols247 Podcast episode — an episode with Wes Rucker, Grant Ramey and Rick Barnes talking Tennessee basketball — will be released Friday morning.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker went to Anderson Training Center to sit down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with Tennessee senior inside linebacker Daniel Bituli — an impressive football player with an even-more-impressive story off the field.

Bituli and his family have have a remarkable couple of decades. Just 20 years ago, the Bituli’s had to flee their native Congo as refugees from the war-torn African region, and they spent time at a refugee camp in Cameroon before successfully petitioning their way to the United States of America. They didn’t speak the native language and lived in a tent and then a small apartment before getting their first American home with help from Habitat for Humanity. To say the least, it was a humbling transition for a family led by a father who’d been a mechanical engineer and a mother who also had a stable job as a secretary. 

Just 20 years after that, the Bituli children are thriving. Their oldest son, Randy, is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University who serves as an active member of the U.S. Navy and is stationed in California. Their middle son, Roland, is a University of Tennessee graduate who works as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch. Their youngest son, Daniel, is a soon-to-be University of Tennessee graduate who has become one of college football’s best inside linebackers and almost certainly will be an NFL player in a few months. Their two youngest children, a pair of daughters, also have bright futures ahead of them — even though Daniel says with a grin that his youngest sister, the only Bituli child born in the U.S., has always been a little “spoiled.”

Bituli’s life before he arrived at the University of Tennessee was fascinating — remember, this is a young man who admittedly looks at the ceiling every night before falling asleep and considers himself blessed to have a roof over his head — but his life at the University of Tennessee has had its own intrigue. Bituli has dealt with coaching changes, injuries and more losses than he ever imagined, but he’s emerged from all of that a better player and person, and he’s dragged plenty of his teammates along with him.

In other words, Bituli is someone worth listening to when he decides to speak. His teammates certainly listen to him, and it’s easy to understand their reasons for doing that. He’s a maniac on the field, but he’s a soft-spoken, bespectacled, introspective person when he’s not wearing shoulder pads. And he can speak to you in three languages, too. So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

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

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown convened at Anderson Training Center and then Wes went solo at Fort Rucker Studio to discuss the Tennessee football team and basketball team that are playing well at the moment.

The first segment of this episode is a general preview of this weekend’s Tennessee-Vandy game at Neyland Stadium, albeit with a few specific themes. Tennessee’s senior class, the matchups to watch in Saturday’s game and few other topics are discussed.

The second segment of this podcast is a Thursday-morning-pod staple — answers to questions submitted by members of GoVols247’s CheckerBoard. There were good football and basketball questions submitted this week, as usual, and also some of the hand-to-hand combat questions we’ve been getting for weeks now. Wes went solo for this segment, and it lasted a big longer than expected, but … that just means more Vols talk, right?

Hoops takes center stage in the third segment of this episode. The 17th-ranked Vols will head down to Florida to participate in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville. An interview with Barnes before Wednesday's morning practice is included in the segment.

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

GoVols247’s full staff — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker Studio and Thompson-Boling Arena to discuss all things Tennessee football and basketball.

The Tennessee football team spent the weekend at Missouri — a place it usually struggles — and left Columbia with a 24-20 win over the Tigers. The Vols’ fourth consecutive win also made them bowl-eligible, and that could be a January bowl game in Florida if they take care of Vanderbilt as expected on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

It was wilder than it needed to be at Mizzou, but the Vols found a way to hold on and win a game they comprehensively controlled from a yards-from-scrimmage standpoint.

The first segment of this episode is a quick recap and discussion of the good, bad and ugly of the Tennessee-Mizzou game, with an emphasis placed on the good, because these Vols won only one of their first four games and are now back above .500. How has this team managed to get its head back above water? That’s the main talking point in the first segment — a segment with Wes, Patrick and Ryan.

Hoops takes center stage in the second segment of this episode, with Wes and Grant courtside at Thompson-Boling Arena breaking down the 17th-ranked Vols’ win over Chattanooga on Tuesday night, plus some major basketball recruiting news. The Vols had a rough night offensively against the Mocs, but Tennessee’s defense stifled Chattanooga and made the game a mostly comfortable one. But what in the world happened to Tennessee’s offense? That’s discussed in detail in a segment that ends with some information on Uruguay native Santiago Vescovi’s commitment to the Vols. An already-star-studded Tennessee recruiting class that was ranked No. 3 nationally got another big boost from Vescovi, who’s currently playing at the NBA Global Academy in Australia and could enroll at Tennessee in January and be eligible to play this season and give the Vols some help at the point guard spot. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Vescovi is the No. 74 overall prospect in the 247Sports rankings, and the newest film on him is really impressive, but can he provide help this season? That’s also discussed in the second segment.

Focus shifts back to football in the third segment, with Wes and Pat at Fort Rucker Studio breaking down the recently improved performance of Tennessee junior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and some possible bowl destination for the Vols.

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

GoVols247’s full staff — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — convened at Fort Rucker Studio (except one segment at Thompson-Boling Arena) to discuss a Tennessee football team and basketball team that are … well … winning at the moment.

The first segment of this episode is a general preview of this weekend’s Tennessee-Missouri game in Columbia, albeit with a few specific themes. Tennessee’s quarterback situation (of course), the nature of this evolving border-battle with the Tigers and some thoughts on how difficult this game is to predict are the main points.

Following a quick injury update, the second segment of this podcast is a Thursday-morning pod staple — answers to questions submitted by members of GoVols247’s CheckerBoard. There were good football and basketball questions submitted this week, as usual, and also some of the hand-to-hand combat questions we’ve been getting for weeks now.

Hoops takes center stage in the third segment of this episode. The 20th-ranked Vols had a business line, blowout win over Alabama State on Wednesday night at Thompson-Boling, with senior guards Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden fittingly reaching the 1,000-career-point mark on the same night.

Much of the Tennessee basketball news at the moment is rose-colored, but not all of it. The wait for an answer from the NCAA regarding the eligibility of talented 7-foot-1 forward Uros Plavsic continues, and news emerged Wednesday night that sophomore big man Zach Kent (another 7-footer) has “stepped away” from the program for non-disciplinary reasons, and it’s unclear whether he’ll return. Discussion of the Kent situation and its impact on the Vols’ frontcourt is also included in the third segment.

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

GoVols247’s full staff — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — convened from their various Knoxville-area homes via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss Tennessee football and basketball.

Second-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt and his Tennessee football team had their final open date of the regular season last week, and now the stretch run begins for the Vols, who need to beat either Missouri on the road or Vanderbilt at home the next two weekends in order to secure bowl-eligibility for the first time in three years.

Obviously the Vols hope to win both of their final two regular-season games, though, and there’s probably a big carrot on the end of that stick if they accomplish that task. The way things are shaking out, it looks like two wins could perhaps get the Vols to a January bowl game in Florida.

But Tennessee was at this exact same point after 10 games last season, and we all know how that ended, don’t we?

Will this team be any different? Why or why not? That’s the primary discussion point in the first segment of this episode, though there’s also recap from around the SEC, particularly Missouri’s loss to Florida over the weekend in Columbia.

Hoops takes center stage in the second segment of this episode, with Grant joining the podcast shortly after he arrived back in the U.S. and got back to the Blount County Satellite Office in Maryville.

Grant was in Toronto over the weekend to discuss Tennessee basketball’s 75-62 win over 20th-ranked Washington in the James Naismith Classic.

It was a big weekend for Rick Barnes and his Vols, and there’s plenty of good news to discuss on that front. But there are still some questions to answer, and those concerns are discussed, as well.

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

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker full crew — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — convened to discuss some big news for the Tennessee football and basketball programs.

Wes, Pat and Ryan convened at Fort Rucker Studio for the first two segments of this episode.

The first segment is a recap of Tennessee football’s plans for this final open-date week in the regular-season schedule. Where do the Vols stand at the moment? What’s OK? What needs to improve? What should they do with the quarterback position moving forward? Those are the main discussion points in the first segment.

As (almost) always, answers to questions submitted on GoVols247’s CheckerBoard are answered in the Thursday morning podcast episode. Those answers usually come in the third segment of the episode, but they got bumped up to the second segment this week.

Hoops takes center stage in segment three of this episode, with Grant joining in from GoVols247’s Blount County Satellite Office in Maryville to discuss Tennessee basketball. There’s a general recap — featuring the good, bad and ugly — of Tennessee’s come-from-behind win over Murray State, and then the discussion shifts toward recruiting. The Vols have the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class, and three of the nation’s top 36 prospects signed with Tennessee on Wednesday, and the Vols might add to that already-ridiculous trio, so there’s tons of good news to discuss on that front.

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

GoVols247’s full staff — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — convened from their own homes throughout the Greater Knoxville Area to discuss another huge win for Tennessee football and a huge week for Tennessee basketball.

Tennessee’s 17-13 win at Kentucky was hardly a thing of beautify, and it times it was excruciating, but a goal-line stand and a clutch performance from one-handed quarterback Jarrett Guarantano helped the Vols defeat their Beer Barrel rivals to the North for the 33rd time in the past 35 years.

What should we make of Tennessee’s performance in Lexington? So much of the game went so badly, and the Vols made more than a half-dozen awful mistakes that could have lost them the game, but they hung tough and found a way to win it. How should the good be weighed with the bad?

There’s plenty of credit to go around for Tennessee in the toughness department, and a few players had outstanding performances, but overall it must be said that the Vols didn’t play well at all. But … a thin team found a way to win for the fourth time in five games, and a team that was 1-4 is now 5-5 and has a precious open date to get some guys some badly-needed rest.

All things Vols-Cats and this week’s open date are discussed for most of the first two segments of this episode, but some time is carved out for recruiting to end the second segment for a big reason. The Vols on Sunday night got a commitment from Nate Evans, a 2021 athlete from Virginia Beach, Va., who’s really high on their big board.

Football remains the main topic for the first part of the third segment, including descriptions from Grant, who was stood at field level for the goal-line stand that essentially ended the game.

Conversation then shifts toward the Tennessee basketball program, though, because the Vols have a big week on the court and the recruiting trail. The Vols have two games this week — a Tuesday game against reigning Round of 32 NCAA Tournament team Murray State, and a Saturday game against Washington in Toronto — and in between they’re scheduled to sign one of the most touted recruiting classes in program history. And they’re probably not done with that ridiculous class, either. So there’s plenty of hoops to discuss, as well.

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

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Ryan Callahan (from across town at his house) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss Jimari Butler’s commitment to Tennessee.

Butler, a 6-foot-5, 218-pound edge rusher from Mobile, Ala., didn’t play football until his senior season at Murphy High School, but the former basketball player emerged as a fast learner and a fast-rising prospect on the field. He’s had a really big senior season, drawing interest from several Power-5 programs, and Tennessee finally took the plunge and offered him last month.

Edge rusher is a serious need for Tennessee in the 2020 class, and Jeremy Pruitt and Co. absolutely love Butler’s upside at a premium position.

Tennessee’s staff is full of coaches with close ties to the Mobile area, and those coaches obviously saw and heard enough about Butler to put him so high on the board. What did they see in Butler? How high is his upside? How long will he need to develop before being SEC-ready? And what’s next for Tennessee at edge rusher in this class? Those are the primary talking points of this breaking-news episode.

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

GoVols247’s full staff — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey —convened at Fort Rucker Studio and then Tennessee’s Anderson Training Center for all the latest from another busy week for Vols football and basketball.

Football-basketball crossover season always features tons of news, so this episode features four segments rather than the usual three.

All things Beer Barrel take center stage in the first segment. Tennessee plays at longtime rival Kentucky on Saturday night in Lexington, and there’s plenty to discuss heading into that big game. Both the Vols and Wildcats have quarterback conundrums heading into the game, adding another level of intrigue to a game that’s already really important for both teams.

Tennessee football recruiting is the primary discussion point in the second segment of this episode. It’s been an interesting week for the Vols on that front, leaving some good news (the commitment of 370-pound Texas offensive lineman Kyree Miller) and some bad news (top-100 defensive line prospect Jay Hardy shocking the Vols and everyone else by committing to Auburn) to discuss. Where did things go wrong with Hardy? Is there any way for Tennessee to flip him? Where do the Vols go from here to address a position of serious need in the 2020 class? Those are the primary talking points of the second segment.

As usual, answers to questions submitted on GoVols247’s CheckerBoard are featured in the third segment of the Thursday morning episode.

Vols hoops joins the party in the fourth segment of this episode, and there’s a ton to discuss on that front, as well. Tennessee’s comfortable season-opening win over UNC Asheville on Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena offered plenty of promise and plenty of questions, as expected for a team that lost four players to the NBA after last season. A discussion on all things Tennessee basketball — including an update on the ongoing eligibility battle for 7-foot-1 forward Uros Plavsic — takes over in the fourth segment.

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