Episode 157: No. 1 Vols still chasing history
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a week that featured double-digit wins over Missouri and Florida and the challenging stretch run coming in the next few weeks. Saturday’s 73-61 win over Florida extended Tennessee’s program-record winning streak to 18 games, and the Vols controlled most of the game — as they did in Tuesday’s win over former Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin and his Missouri Tigers. There’s plenty of Tennessee basketball to discuss at the moment, and this episode hits on several of those important topics: Yves Pons’ injury...
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Episode 156: Vols surge on National Signing Day
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a big National Signing Day and provide thoughts on Tennessee’s full class — a class that looks a lot better now than it did Tuesday night. Tennessee had a decent class heading into National Signing Day, but the Vols closed with a bang, landing five-star West Virginia offensive lineman Darnell Wright and four-star California linebacker Henry To’oto’o, the nation’s top two uncommitted prospects heading into the day. A big finish helped the Vols surge to the No. 12 spot in the 247Sports...
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Episode 155: Top-ranked Tennessee flexing muscles again
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a Tennessee basketball team that suddenly looks more comfortable with the top spot in the polls and everything that comes with it. After looking a bit uneasy at times in their past three games, the Vols went to South Carolina and controlled the Gamecocks — and a hostile, sellout crowd — in a 92-70 win that had just a few moments of shakiness early in the second half. Junior guard Jordan Bowden missed Tuesday’s game with a sore knee that started bothering him during that morning’s shoot-around, but the...
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Episode 154: Recruiting cycle winding down, heating up
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down all things Tennessee football heading into the final stages of the 2019 recruiting cycle. There aren’t many spots left in Tennessee’s class, but there are several elite prospects still showing significant interest in the Vols, and this episode ends with a detailed discussion with Callahan on some of those prospects. Actual team news hasn’t been tough to spot in the past week, either. Tennessee safeties Charles Kelly accepted a position on Nick Saban’s Alabama staff, meaning the Vols are...
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Episode 153: Vols not satisfied despite No. 1 ranking
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a historic week for the Tennessee basketball program. The Vols overcame a dreadful second half to outlast rival Alabama over the weekend at Thompson-Boling Arena, and that coupled with losses by Duke and Michigan took Tennessee from the No. 3 spot to the No. 1 spot in both major polls for just the second time in program history. A special group of players took their lumps early in the Rick Barnes era, and now they’re rolling under future Hall of Fame coach Rick Barnes — who became just the sixth coach in...
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Episode 152: Red-hot Vols seeking Crimson Tide revenge
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee’s wild, come-from-behind win at Florida over the weekend and the Vols’ 106-87 thumping or Arkansas on Tuesday night at Thompson-Boling Arena. A healthy Lamonte Turner has teamed up with fellow junior guard Jordan Bowden to give the Vols a heck of a powerful punch off the bench, and now a deep and dangerous Tennessee team is starting to look even deeper and more dangerous. The Vols are now ranked second nationally in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted offensive efficiency ranking, behind only Gonzaga...
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Episode 151: Welcome home, Tee Martin
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a newsy week for Tennessee football highlighted by the return of Tee Martin to Knoxville. Martin, the starting quarterback on Tennessee’s 1998 national championship team, has flirted a few times with the idea of returning to his alma mater, but second-year Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt was the man who finally got him to pull the trigger and do it. Known as one of the top recruiters in the college football world, Martin most recently served at USC’s offensive coordinator but became available...
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Episode 150: Vols steamrolling early SEC foes
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down third-ranked Tennessee’s torrid start to SEC play and talk about this weekend’s usually-tough test at Florida. Virtually every team in virtually every sport virtually every season has to overcome adversity and play through some rough spells, but things at the moment are looking smooth for the Vols, who entered SEC play looking like the league favorites and have done nothing but enhance that status, winning at home against Georgia and then at Missouri by a combined 70 points. Mizzou actually held a nine-point...
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Episode 149: Welcome back, Jim Chaney
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's offensive coordinator coup. Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt’s 44-day search for an offensive coordinator took longer than most on the outside expected, but it ended in style. Pruitt plucked Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, who coordinated some explosive offenses at Tennessee from 2009-12 but wasn’t retained by Butch Jones. Chaney’s track record of producing explosive offenses and sending several players to the NFL continued during his time at Arkansas, Pittsburgh and...
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Episode 148: No. 3 Vols begin SEC play
GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and the Knoxville News Sentinel’s Mike Wilson (pinch-hitting for Grant Ramey) went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down all things Tennessee basketball heading into the start of SEC play this weekend. Tennessee will begin its conference-title-defense tour with a Saturday home game against Georgia, and there are several interesting topics to discuss heading into SEC play. Is this Tennessee team as good as it looks, or are there potential problems lurking in the weeds? When will Lamonte Turner return? If Turner doesn’t return soon, do Rick Barnes and his staff need to...
info_outlineGoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a hectic week full of highs and lows for Jeremy Pruitt's rebuilding Tennessee football program.
Just days after ending their regular season with a tough loss at in-state rival Vanderbilt that removed them from bowl contention and learning that offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tyson Helton, Pruitt changed the narrative by securing a commitment from Atlanta-area native Harrison Bailey, the nation's No. 59 overall prospect and No. 3 pro-style quarterback prospect in the 2020 industry-generated 247Sports Composite.
Adding a commitment from an elite quarterback prospect when you don't have an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach is a stunning achievement, and it's something Pruitt needed to flip the script after Tennessee ended the season with rough performances against Missouri and Vanderbilt.
This podcast episode begins with a quick look back at the Vanderbilt loss and the 2018 season before flipping forward to things currently on Tennessee's radar — the impact of Bailey's commitment and the ongoing search to replace Helton.
A few prominent names have ben mentioned in connection with Tennessee's OC vacancy, and the strengths and potential snags with some of those candidates are discussed in this episode.
This episode also touches briefly on sophomore quarterback Will McBride's decision to leave the Tennessee program in search of more playing time. McBride always kind of seemed to be the player squeezed the hardest by Tennessee's new offensive scheme, and him being passed by freshman JT Shrout in the pecking order late this season left little doubt regarding McBride's future with the program.
It's been a busy week at Tennessee, and this episode touches on much of that news.