GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from the Fort Rucker Sun Room Alternate Studio) and Ryan Callahan (from the road in Georgia) contended via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to break down Tennessee’s newest commitment — elite edge defender BJ Ojulari from Marietta High School in Marietta, Ga.

Ojulari — the latest in a growing pipeline of prospects flowing from star-studded Marietta High School to Tennessee — is the nation’s No. 157 overall prospect and No. 10 weakside defensive end prospect in the 2020 industry-generated 247Sports Composite. Many thought LSU was the favorite to land Ojulari, but Tennessee doggedly pursued the prospect for nearly two years and ultimately secured his commitment in another major recruiting win for reigning 247Sports National Recruiter of the Year Brian Niedermeyer.

What kind of prospect is Ojulari? Does he have the tools that translate to an immediate impact at the SEC level? Does this help Tennessee’s chances of getting even more players from a talent-rich high school? What does this mean for Tennessee’s 2020 class at the critical edge-defender spot? And will this slow the panic from some outside the program worrying about the Vols’ class? Those are the main discussion points in this breaking-news, instant-analysis podcast episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan convened in the Fort Rucker Sun Room Alternate Studio — the Fort Rucker Studio has been reconstructed but is lacking the final accouterments — to give a detailed status update on the Vols’ second preseason camp under head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

What happened in the Vols’ first major scrimmage? What needs to happen in the second major scrimmage? How serious are the longterm losses of senior cornerback Baylen Buchanan and junior outside linebacker Jordan Allen? Those questions are the primary talking points of this episode.  

Questions from readers of GoVols247 and followers of GoVols247 on social media also were answered in this episode. That feature shouldn’t have gone away, but it did for a bit. But now it’s been back for a couple of weeks now. So … we’re sorry, and you’re welcome.

GoVols247’s full staff convened Friday night at the Fort Rucker Sun Room Alternate Studio to break down the first week of Tennessee’s preseason camp.

It’s been an interesting camp to this point for the Vols, with some good news and and some bad news.

Losses on both sides of the line of scrimmage — senior defensive lineman Emmit Gooden with a season-ending ACL tear, and junior offensive lineman Nathan Niehaus with a medical retirement — certainly haven’t been good news for the Vols, but there have been some really positive developments, too. Several newcomers look impressive, and several veterans look like bigger, better versions of themselves.

What should we make of the first week of camp? Who has stood out? What has looked good, and what hasn’t? Those questions — and some questions from GoVols247 subscribers — are the main topics on this episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room Alternate Studio on Wednesday night to break down the loss of Tennessee senior defensive lineman Emmit Gooden, who will miss the entire 2019 season after suffering a torn ACL.

Tennessee knew it would have to replace its entire first-team defensive line from last season, as well as another key contributor from that group, but now it also has to replace Gooden, a big, powerful player who produced as much as some of last season’s starters despite playing significantly fewer reps.

What does Gooden’s loss mean for the Vols? Do they have what it takes to replace him? Who needs to step up now? How much more critical does this make the pending eligibility status of Michigan transfer Aubrey Solomon? Those are the key discussion points of this breaking-news episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from the Fort Rucker Sun Room Alternate Studio) and Grant Ramey (from the GoVols247 Blount County Satellite Office in Maryville) convened through the majesty of Al Gore’s Internets to break down a huge day for the Tennessee basketball program.

Elite shooting guard Keon Johnson from The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tenn., announced his commitment to the Vols, giving Rick Barnes and his staff a second elite commitment in what’s shaping up to be a blockbuster 2020 class.

Johnson — the nation’s No. 31 overall prospect in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, and the nation’s No. 27 overall prospect according to 247Sports analysts — ultimately chose Tennessee over Ohio State but could have gone anywhere in the country. He’s been on the national radar for years and his stock has continued to rise, especially after a dominant performance at a recent Team USA event.

Tennessee now has two elite prospects in the 2020 class — a class Barnes and his staff pegged as potentially a special one not long after they arrived in Knoxville. Versatile Florida wing Corey Walker — the nation’s No. 34 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite — committed to the Vols on March 3, and Tennessee is still in on some of the nation’s biggest prospects in that class.

What does the Johnson commitment — and the 2020 class in general — mean to Barnes and Vols? That’s the main subject of this breaking-news pod.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss the first preseason camp practice of Jeremy Pruitt’s second season with the Vols.

It wasn’t a shocking first day — which isn’t a bad thing, by the way — but there were plenty of interesting things to note.

The Vols’ offseason strength and conditioning training combined with another full recruiting class has made them a bigger, stronger, more physically imposing team, which was one of Pruitt’s first objectives when he arrived in Knoxville. Playing stronger is more important than looking stronger, obviously, but Tennessee is miles ahead of where it was last season from a physical standpoint, and that’s a start.

Plenty of other interesting things emerged Friday, as well. There were some injury updates, some position switches, some new jersey numbers (some of which mean something) and plenty of other things to discuss.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from the Fort Rucker Sun Room Alternate Studio) and Ryan Callanhan (from Casa de Callahan) convened online through the majesty of Al Gore’s Internets to break down Tennessee’s newest 2020 commitment — big guard James Robinson from Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala.

The 6-foot-4, 323-pound Robinson — another addition from Jeremy Pruitt’s native Alabama — has had a Tennessee offer since March and has been a big priority for the Vols the past several months. His status has consistently risen during that time, and he ultimately chose Tennessee over Auburn, Texas A&M and several other SEC programs.

What kind of prospect is Robinson? Should people overlook his three-star ranking (which is common for guards) and focus more on his list of offers? What does the addition of Robinson mean for the rest of Tennessee’s class, specifically up front? Those are the primary discussion points of this quick, breaking-news episode.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker (from the Fort Rucker Sun Room Makeshift Studio) and Ryan Callahan (from the Casa de Callahan) convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss some breaking news — in-state athlete Darion Williamson’s commitment to Tennessee.

Williamson — a versatile, 6-foot-3, 190-pound wide receiver and defensive back from Haywood High School in Brownsville, Tenn. — committed to the Vols on Wednesday, giving them a 12th public pledge to their 2020 class.

A breakdown of Williamson as a prospect, the story of his commitment and discussion on what it means are the short-and-sweet elements of this episode.

A brief discussion on elite Texas quarterback prospect Haynes King choosing Texas A&M over the Vols (and what that means) is included, as well.

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan convened at Radio Row at the Wynfrey Hotel — the classic home of SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala. — to break down Tennessee’s annual appearance at the league’s annual mediasplosion.

Tuesday’s appearance from second-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt and three player representatives — junior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and senior linebackers Darrell Taylor and Daniel Bituli — showed perhaps a bit more optimism than expected, at least from Pruitt.

Pruitt raved about the work ethic of this Tennessee team, saying it’s gotten him as excited as he’s ever been heading into a season with any team he’s coached — and it’s worth nothing that few head coaches, assistant coaches or players have as many national championship rings as Pruitt. Like many Nick Saban proteges, Pruitt is a process-oriented guy, and it seems Tennessee’s players have a much better understanding of that process heading into Year Two of the Pruitt era.

Tons of news and notes emerged Tuesday, as well. Updates on Trey Smith’s health, the ongoing NCAA immediate-eligibility waiver requests from Michigan defensive line transfer Aubrey Solomon and Georgia defensive back/athlete transfer Deangelo Gibbs, rumblings from offseason workouts, updates on the competition on both sides of the line of scrimmage and much, much more.

Plenty of news and notes emerged from interviews with Guarantano, Taylor and Bituli, and Guarantano in particular was a comfortable, confident young man strolling through the halls of the biggest preseason media gathering in the game. Highlights from extensive interviews with Pruitt and all three of his player representatives are included in this episode.