GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker Studio to wrap up discussion from Tennessee’s unforgettably bad season opener and then shift the focus to Saturday’s game against BYU.

No one in orange wants to relive the Georgia State debacle, but the fact is Tennessee needs to take lessons from that in order to prevent an already-bad situation from getting worse. Does anything about that game make any more sense now that everyone has had a couple of more days to digest it? That’s a discussion point in this episode.

It’s been another fluid week for Tennessee’s roster, with a couple of players (junior wide receiver Jordan Murphy and sophomore cornerback Terrell Bailey) opting to leave the program, a couple of injured players (including senior linebacker Daniel Bituli) starting to look healthier and some players (including junior running back Tim Jordan, AKA Buff Hamster) nursing new injuries. Some young players also are practicing in new positions this week. There’s a ton to discuss on those topics, and that’s another talking point in this episode.

The leadership from senior wide receiver Jauan Jennings also is discussed in detail in this episode.

Much of this episode also focuses on Saturday’s opponent — the BYU Cougars, a dangerous team licking its wounds after a tough season-opening loss to in-state rival Utah in The Holy War.

As (almost) always with Thursday morning episodes, there’s also a listener mailbag attached at the tail end of this episode.

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker Studio to discuss Tennessee’s shocking, 38-30 loss to Georgia State last weekend at Neyland Stadium.

How in the world did that happen? It wasn’t one thing, obviously. It was a large collection of mistakes that culminated in one of the worst days in the history of one of college football’s winningest programs. Those mistakes are discussed in detail in this episode.

Can this situation be fixed in the short term? And how? That also is discussed in detail in this episode.

Recruiting news, as always, also is discussed in the week’s first episode. Tennessee had several prospects in town over the weekend, and it seems the game’s result didn’t have much of a devastating effect on them. The reasons for that also are discussed in this episode.

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

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a big week full of news heading into Tennessee’s season opening game against Georgia State on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

It’s been a really newsy week for the Vols. Some of that news has been of the pleasant variety. Some of it hasn’t.

Regardless, Tennessee is now just a couple of days away from opening the 2019 season, and there’s plenty to discuss. And this episode discusses all of it.

A segment of answers to questions submitted to GoVols247’s CheckerBoard is included in this episode, as well.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to breakdown Wednesday’s news that Tennessee star offensive lineman Trey Smith has been cleared to play in Saturday’s season-opening game against Georgia State.

Smith, a former five-star prospect and Freshman All-American, has twice been sidelined in the past two years with serious blood-clotting issues, but Smith has now fought back twice to get back on the field.

A discussion on Smith’s return and its impact on the Vols is the full focus of this quick, breaking-news episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from the Fort Rucker Studio) and Patrick Brown (from the other side of town) convened through the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss Tuesday’s breaking news that Michigan defensive line transfer Aubrey Solomon was ruled eligible to play this season at Tennessee.

Solomon — the nation’s No. 23 overall prospect in the 2017 industry-generated 247Sports Composite — made headlines in January after his surprise decision to transfer from Michigan to Tennessee, and the Vols hoped the Georgia native would be ruled eligible to play this season.

It took longer than Tennessee hoped, but the Vols ultimately got the news they wanted. Solomon is likely a starter in Saturday’s season opener against Georgia State.

Solomon’s eligibility ruling and its impact on Tennessee’s 2019 season is the sole focus of quick breaking-news episode.

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan from (rebuilt) Fort Rucker Studio, and Ramey from the GoVols247 Blount County Satellite Office in Maryville — convened to break down a weekend of news so wild we had to push this week’s first full episode back a day.

The absence of star sophomore cornerback Bryce Thompson following an unfortunate weekend incident means the Vols might head into the season opener against Georgia State without the best players at all three levels of their defense. GSU isn’t a stout season-opening opponent, but that’s still slightly concerning for a Tennessee team looking to build momentum following a wretched finish to the 2018 season.

Week One in any season always (unless you’re Jim Harbaugh) includes the season’s first official depth chart. Rather comically, though, Tennessee’s depth chart was beyond ambiguous, with nearly as many ‘or’s as players. The Vols do have a freshman walk-on named Fred Orr, but he wasn’t able to crack the Week One depth chart. Many of his teammates were with him in spirit, though. Just without the extra consonant there at the end.

Regardless, we did learn some things from that depth chart, and the things we know — Trey Smith being a game-time decision, for starters — coupled with the things we don’t know made for an interesting segment in this episode.

Another Tennessee player — third-year sophomore wide receiver Maleik Gray — has left the program, transferring down to the junior-college level in hopes of kick-starting his once-promising career.

Plenty more football nuggets made their way into this episode, but let’s not forget about Tennessee basketball.

Ramey couldn’t make it to Fort Rucker Studio during Monday’s recording of this episode, but we caught up with him via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets, and we had plenty to discuss following Ramey’s weekend visit with several of Tennessee’s players — including five-star freshman point guard Josiah-Jordan James — as well as Vols coach Rick Barnes.

GoVols247 Podcast episodes occasionally run long, but this one needed to be that way. There was a lot to discuss — including some hate for the host of the GoVols247 Podcast from the lovely wife of one of his coworkers.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the indefinite suspension of Tennessee star sophomore cornerback Bryce Thompson, who was arrested after a dispute with his girlfriend over the weekend.

Thompson — a pivotal figure on Tennessee’s defense — was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault after the confrontation. An incident report from the Knoxville Police Department indicated there was no evidence of physical contact, but charges were made in accordance with state law because the woman felt threatened and Thompson threatened to “slap the (expletive)” out of her and said he was going to “shoot up the school.”

Property damage — specifically a small metal gate ripped out of it hinges and damaged sheetrock — also was noted in the report, and Thompson admitted he was involved in that. He told reporters he didn’t touch the woman during the confrontation, though, and multiple witnesses told officers they hadn’t seen any physical contact between the two.

The weekend’s unfortunate incident and its effect on the Vols is the main topic of this quick, breaking-news episode.

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan from Fort Rucker, and Ramey from the GoVols247 Blount County Satellite Office in Maryville — convened to discuss plenty of Tennessee football and some Tennessee basketball, as well.

Second-year Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt turned some heads earlier this week when saying he thought the Vols could play eight to ten offensive linemen this season. If Pruitt meant what he said — and he almost always does — that certainly would be a non-linear way of handling a position that prides itself on the chemistry of the unit. Plenty of discussion on that topic is included in this episode.

That’s hardly the only interesting news to surface this week. One of the Vols’ young defensive linemen (Kurott Garland) returned to the program after tap-dancing in the NCAA portal for a few weeks, and one of the Vols’ talented true freshmen (Aaron Beasley) practiced in a new spot. Several other players spent time with other position groups in drills this week, too, but discussion on why that isn’t a big deal also is included in this episode.

It’s been a big week for Tennessee on the recruiting trail, too. The Vols have had a productive few weeks on that front, and touted D.C. safety prospect Mordecai McDaniel on Wednesday became the latest 2020 prospect to pick the Vols. McDaniel was the sole focus of a breaking-news podcast episode Wednesday, but there’s more discussion on him in this episode, as well.

And let’s not forget Tennessee basketball, either. Rick Barnes and his staff are building a juggernaut of a 2020 class, and that class became even more imposing this week, when in-state guard commit Keon Johnson became a consensus five-star player. Tennessee commit Corey Walker — a high-four-star prospect from Florida — also had a big jump in 247Sports’ newest rankings update, rising 10 spots to No. 37 overall. And as we discuss in detail in this episode, other really big names could join the class at some point.

It’s a busy time of year, and there’s plenty to discuss. Plenty of talking points were hit in this hour-long episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from the Fort Rucker Sun Room Alternate Studio) and Ryan Callahan (from somewhere else) convened through the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss Washington D.C. safety prospect Mordecai McDaniel’s commitment to Tennessee on Wednesday.

McDaniel — the nation’s No. 410 overall prospect in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, and the nation’s No. 385 overall prospect according to 247Sports analysts — had a long, impressive offer list and ultimately chose the Vols over SEC Eastern Division rival Florida and Penn State.

It’s been a busy and productive stretch for Tennessee on the recruiting trail, and the 6-foot-1, 195-pound McDaniel is another major addition to the 2020 class. His combination of speed and power and his impressive film against quality competition makes him a big for Jeremy Pruitt and his staff.

Why has Tennessee been so productive in the Beltway/DMV area in this recruiting cycle? What kind of prospect in McDaniel? Is he an instant-impact player? What does his commitment mean for the Vols’ 2020 priorities moving forward? Those are the main talking points in this breaking-news episode.

GoVols247’s full staff — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — convened in the Fort Rucker Alternate Sun Room Studio because one unnamed staffer forgot to purchase extra chairs for the renovated Fort Rucker Studio, and there was plenty of Tennessee football to discuss to start your work week.

Tennessee had its second major preseason camp scrimmage on Saturday at Neyland Stadium, and some familiar faces and newcomers did plenty to help their cause heading into the season opener against Georgia State in less than two weeks. The Vols are nearing the point where they’ll flip the script from camp mode to season mode, which made Saturday’s scrimmage even more important for the players still fighting for positioning in the depth chart — which means practically everyone on the roster, according to second-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

Speaking of Tennessee’s depth chart, what’s going on with the offensive line and defensive line? How much concern is there at those two critical positions?

How did Tennessee fight off several SEC rivals in the past 18 months and land elite Atlanta-area edge defender BJ Ojulari, who committed to the Vols over LSU and others last week? And what’s next for Tennessee on the trail, with at least two of its top targets set to make decisions this week?

And … how excited should Atlanta Braves fans be after a great weekend against the dominant Los Angeles Dodgers? And will the National League Central have a champion, or just a one-eyed king in a land of the blind? And what’s it like to eat cardboard for a week?

Obviously there’s a lot to discuss, and this episode discusses a lot.