GoVols247 Podcast
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey discuss anything and everything related to University of Tennessee athletics ... and other things.
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Episode 157: No. 1 Vols still chasing history
02/10/2019
Episode 157: No. 1 Vols still chasing history
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 and the timetable for his return, the strong play of junior guards Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden, Tennessee’s businesslike mentality, the Vols’ room for growth, Tennessee’s improving defense and the Vols’ tough four-week schedule to end the regular season. As well as Tennessee has played so far this season, Kentucky and LSU are still only one game behind the Vols in the standings. And Tennessee still has three games against those two teams, with two coming on the road. The Vols also road trips to face Auburn and previously-ranked Ole Miss, and a previously-ranked Mississippi State visits Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee’s best basketball is still ahead of it, according to coach Rick Barnes, and the Vols probably need to take things up a notch in order to secure a second consecutive SEC championships. But how important is the SEC championship when you’re also firmly in the mix for an national title? That’s an interesting question, and it’s also tossed around in this episode
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Episode 156: Vols surge on National Signing Day
02/07/2019
Episode 156: Vols surge on National Signing Day
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 Team Recruiting Rankings, and they were mere percentage points from cracking the top 10. Unfortunately for the Vols, though, having the nation’s No. 12 class meant having the No. 7 class in the recruiting-mad SEC, meaning Jeremy Pruitt and his staff still have plenty of coaching to do in order to bring Tennessee back toward its customary place in college football’s pecking order. The 2019 cycle wasn’t unkind to the Vols, though. They signed some of their most coveted targets, and their class was much better than any other program that didn’t play in a bowl game last season. A new recruiting star has emerged for Tennessee, too. Vols tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer — who had never been a full-time assistant coach until leaving a quality-control position at Alabama and following Pruitt to Tennessee — had a huge year on the trail, and he was named 247Sports’ National Recruiter of the Year. Niedermeyer, an Alaska native, was the point man for several of Tennessee’s top signees, including Wright and To’oto’o. He’s the lowest-paid member of Pruitt’s staff at the moment, but that probably won’t be the case for long, especially considering the fact that he’s already turned down multiple opportunities to leave Tennessee for other major programs. Tennessee’s 2019 recruiting class is the sole focus of this episode, and more than a hour was spent discussing the strengths, weaknesses and uncertainties in the Vols’ latest prospect haul. Every member of GoVols247’s staff aside from Grant Ramey — who was in West Virginia on Wednesday to cover Wright’s commitment ceremony — selected a 2019 signee outside the Top247 who could have a big college career, and some special attention was given to a member of this class with world-class cult-hero potential.
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Episode 155: Top-ranked Tennessee flexing muscles again
02/01/2019
Episode 155: Top-ranked Tennessee flexing muscles again
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 Vols didn’t need the red-hot Knoxville native to take care of the Gamecocks. Bowden’s status — which doesn’t seem serious, but is nonetheless an issue — is discussed in this episode. Several more topics — senior wing Admiral Schofield’s bounce-back performance, senior forward Kyle Alexander’s sudden foul-trouble issues, junior point guard Jordan Bone’s strong season, Saturday opponent Texas A&M and much more — also are discussed in this episode.
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Episode 154: Recruiting cycle winding down, heating up
01/25/2019
Episode 154: Recruiting cycle winding down, heating up
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 back to maximum capacity (they were overcapacity) in the full-time staff department. Kelly wasn’t someone Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt was happy to lose, but the fact is at least one person will go, and for now, that means the Vols are back to 10. They’ve lost two full-time staffers and hired two more so far in the offseason. More chances could come in the future, but as of now it looks like there’s at least a decent chance that Pruitt has his staff in place moving forward. Which positions those coaches will coach, though, remains to be seen. Will the Vols use six full-time assistants on offense and use just four (plus Pruitt) on the defensive side of the ball? Or will they even things up a bit? We also discuss that in this episode. Another Tennessee player — senior-to-be linebacker Austin Smith — has gone into the NCAA transfer portal. That doesn’t mean Smith is definitely joining the list of players who’ve opted to leave the program, but it means he’s definitely joined the list of those potentially leaving the program sometime before or after spring practice. Tennessee’s roster management moving forward also is discussed in this episode. This is the week’s football podcast, but we had to discuss the top-ranked Tennessee basketball team’s overtime win at Vanderbilt on Wednesday night in Nashville, and the first 14-or-so minutes of this episode were spent breaking down the latest Vols-Dores thriller. Our other coworker couldn’t make it to Fort Rucker to record this week’s football podcast. That coworker — we won’t mention his name, but his rhymes with Aunt Gramey — was ridiculed in absentia. Hint: He participates in a Bachelor fantasy league — or BachBracket, as it’s also called. So in lieu of this week’s Grant Gun Show Question of the Week, we decided to drop some knowledge that made everyone a winner.
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Episode 153: Vols not satisfied despite No. 1 ranking
01/23/2019
Episode 153: Vols not satisfied despite No. 1 ranking
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 college basketball history to take multiple programs to a No. 1 ranking. He turned the trick at Texas, and now he’s done at Tennessee. The Vols aren’t satisfied with a No. 1 ranking in January, though. Far from it. This Tennessee team has designs on hanging banners in Thompson-Boling, and it seems to have the tools to make that dream a reality. But Barnes said this team hasn’t come close to reaching its full potential despite a 16-1 record and a 5-0 start to SEC play. In fairness to Barnes, Tennessee’s past two second halves has been far from the Vols’ best. Tennessee coasted to a 106-87 win over Arkansas last week despite being outscored in the second half, and the Vols turned a double-digit halftime lead over Alabama into a two-score deficit before rallying to turn back the Tide. Did last week’s performances show cracks in the facade, or were they simply a couple of bad second-halves at the office? Will they prove to be the start of a trend, or will they ultimately be dismissed as outliers? Contrasting two polar-opposite topics — Tennessee’s rise to the No. 1 ranking, and Tennessee playing arguably its worst game of the season — isn’t a simple thing, but both of those (and several more) topics are discussed in this episode.
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Episode 152: Red-hot Vols seeking Crimson Tide revenge
01/18/2019
Episode 152: Red-hot Vols seeking Crimson Tide revenge
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 — a team Tennessee beat on a neutral site earlier this season. The Vols jumped all over Arkansas for much of Tuesday’s first half, but they dialed down their intensity on defense down the stretch and seemed to play the scoreboard more than the opponent, and that infuriated Coach Rick Barnes to the point that Thursday’s practice wasn’t a particularly enjoyable one. Friday will be a lighter day for the Vols, though, as they put in the final pieces of their game plan heading into Saturday’s 2 p.m. Eastern showdown against longtime border-state rival Alabama at Thompson-Boling. Barnes is just 1-3 against the Crimson Tide during his otherwise-successful time at Tennessee, and the Tide took it to the Vols last season in Tuscaloosa. Obviously Colin Sexton is gone, and the Vols will be heavy favorites heading into Saturday’s game, but they have a healthy respect for Avery Johnson and the program he’s built at Bama. What’s working well for the Vols at the moment? What’s working really well? What’s not working well enough? What, if any, are the major concerns at the moment? Has sophomore wing Yves Pons put himself in position to lose his spot in the starting lineup? Which lineup combinations are working best for the Vols in certain situations against certain opponents? Those are just some of the many topics discussed in this episode.
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Episode 151: Welcome home, Tee Martin
01/16/2019
Episode 151: Welcome home, Tee Martin
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 on the market after a disappointing 2018 season led to large turnover for the Trojans. Martin was never going to stay on market for long, though, and several programs tried to bring him on board, so him choosing the Vols is another coup for Pruitt, who just last week convinced offensive coordinator Jim Chaney to leave Georgia for a second tenure at Tennessee. Of course, now the Vols have one more full-time coach than allowed on their staff, so someone will have to go in order to make room for him. The departure candidates are discussed a bit in this episode. Martin is the biggest topic of conversation on this episode, but he’s far from the only one. Several Vols have now entered the NCAA’s transfer portal and seem likely to leave the program, and we discuss those players and their potential reasons for leaving. It was never a secret that Tennessee needed some players to leave the program in order to sign something resembling a full recruiting class but stay under the NCAA’s maximum allotment of 85 scholarships for next season, but now some more of those players have been identified, and we discuss their situations. We know one player who’s definitely staying with the program for next season, though. Senior-to-be wide receiver Jauan Jennings flirted with declaring for the NFL Draft but announced this week that he plans to return for his final season of eligibility. The impact of Jennings’ return is discussed in detail in this episode. It’s also been another busy week for Tennessee on the recruiting trail. The Vols are still major factors for some elite prospects, and some of those players are discussed in this episode.
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Episode 150: Vols steamrolling early SEC foes
01/11/2019
Episode 150: Vols steamrolling early SEC foes
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 lead over the Vols through 14 minutes of Tuesday’s game in Columbia, and Tennessee stars Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield started the game sluggishly, but none of that mattered. The Vols — thanks to a couple of timely 3-pointers from newly-returned junior guard Lamonte Turner — turned around the game with a 24-4 run, and they did most of that with Williams and Schofield on the bench. How has Tennessee reached this point? Why are things going so well for the Vols? What, if anything, could change that? How much does Turner’s return change things? What are the few things not going well at the moment? What, if anything, can rival Florida do this weekend in Gainesville to give Tennessee a tougher test? Those and several other topics are discussed in this episode.
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Episode 149: Welcome back, Jim Chaney
01/10/2019
Episode 149: Welcome back, Jim Chaney
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 Georgia, and bringing him back to Knoxville looks like a coup — an expensive coup, but a coup nonetheless. Hiring Chaney was a strong statement from Pruitt, but every situation comes with questions that must be answered: How did Tennessee convince Chaney to leave a strong situation at Georgia for a rebuilding situation in Knoxville? How much did Georgia fight to keep him? What kind of system will the versatile coordinator install at Tennessee? How will his football philosophy and personality mesh with Pruitt? And, perhaps most interestingly, what position will Chaney coach for the Vols? And what does that mean for those currently on Tennessee’s staff? Will there be more staff moves in the near future? Those and several other topics are discussed in details in this episode.
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Episode 148: No. 3 Vols begin SEC play
01/04/2019
Episode 148: No. 3 Vols begin SEC play
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 tweak the rotation and lengthen the bench to avoid over-burdening some of the team’s stars? Is this team’s defense really as problematic as Rick Barnes suggests, considering it’s ranked top-30 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency? What potential potholes sit on this team’s title-defense path? What would be a great, good or acceptable mark in SEC play? Does SEC really even matter, as long as this team is peaking at the right time heading into the postseason? Also, why does Mike Wilson have a Midwestern American accent despite being a Kiwi who was born in New Zealand, spent the first four years of his life in New Zealand and then three elementary-school years in Japan? Those and several other topics are discussed in details in this episode.
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Episode 147: No. 3 Vols hoops still rolling
12/28/2018
Episode 147: No. 3 Vols hoops still rolling
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to briefly touch on some of the week’s football news before diving into a discussion about the state of Vols hoops heading into 2019. Rick Barnes and his staff and players went their own separate ways for a few-day Christmas break, but the Vols are reassembled and preparing for Saturday’s game against Tennessee Tech — the final opponent before SEC play opens with a Jan. 5 game against Georgia. What looks good for the Vols at the moment? What needs some work? When will Lamonte Turner return? Was the team being leapfrogged by Michigan to stay in the No. 3 spot in this week’s Associated Press poll a snub, and did it matter, either way? Does Tennessee Tech pose any kind of a threat? Those and several other topics are discussed in details in this episode.
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Episode 146: Vols surging late in Early Signing Period
12/21/2018
Episode 146: Vols surging late in Early Signing Period
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a big week full of news for the Tennessee football and basketball programs. Tennessee didn’t have a blockbuster start to Early Signing Period of Wednesday, but that solid-yet-unspectacular start was just, in fact, a start. Thursday and Friday certainly turned things up a notch. Some big recruiting news actually broke in the middle of Friday’s podcast recording, which made for an interesting episode. What did Tennessee get? What did Tennessee not get? What does Tennessee need to do in the coming weeks? All of that is discussed in detail on this episode. It’s also been a huge week for Rick Barnes and his third-ranked Tennessee basketball team. The Vols went to Memphis last weekend and put on a show in a big win over the in-state-rival Tigers at FedExForum, but that game — exciting as it was — was merely the start of the week’s fireworks. First-year Memphis coach Penny Hardaway teed off on veteran Vols coach Rick Barnes and his program, and that incident also is discussed in detail on this episode. Plenty of other hoops topic are discussed, too, including Wednesday’s win over Samford, Saturday’s game against Wake Forest and some injury updates. A couple of strong contenders for Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week also are included in this episode.
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Episode 145: Vols still looking for OC as Early Signing Period nears
12/14/2018
Episode 145: Vols still looking for OC as Early Signing Period nears
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest on Tennessee's search for a new offensive coordinator and a bunch of new football football players. Tennessee's search for a replacement for the departed Tyson Helton is now well into its third week, but Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt doesn't seem to be panicking. Pruitt continues speaking with candidates and confidantes about the position, but it doesn't seem like a hire will be made before next Wednesday's start of the Early Signing Period. Sources close to Pruitt insist the head coach is confident in the process, but that hasn't done much to assuage at least a good-sized chunk of Tennessee's fan base. Is there reason for concern or at least cause for pause regarding this search? That's a main topic of conversation in this episode. It's not the only topic of conversation in this episode, though. The NCAA's Early Signing Period opens Wednesday, and so many things could happen for the Vols between now and then. Several Tennessee commitments are set to sign as soon as possible next week, but some could wait until February's traditional National Signing Day, and in this episode we discuss those players and their potential reasons for delaying the arrivals of their National Letters of Intent. Several top Tennessee targets are set to commit — to the Vols or elsewhere — in the next week, and this episode features a thorough discussion of several of those prospects. If Tennessee wants to sign anywhere near a full class of 25 players, though, basic math demands that several players on the current roster will have to leave the program before next season. The NCAA allows just 85 scholarship players at the NCAA Division I FBS level, and signing a full class would put the Vols well above that line. Just two non-seniors (quarterback Will McBride and cornerback Marquill Osborne) have announced plans to transfer, but several more players will have to join that list at some point. We don't mention specific names of any potential transfers, but we don't ignore the fact that others will be out the door at some point, and we discuss that, as well. This episode features a couple of strong contenders for Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week, too.
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Episode 144: Schofield pushes Vols past No. 1 Gonzaga
12/10/2018
Episode 144: Schofield pushes Vols past No. 1 Gonzaga
GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Grant Ramey (from Denver International Airport) conversed as if in the same room thanks to the miracle of Al Gore’s Internets, and there was plenty to discuss after Tennessee’s come-from-behind, 76-73 win over top-ranked Gonzaga in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. A performance for the ages from senior wing Admiral Schofield propelled Tennessee back from the brink against the Zags. With junior guard Lamonte Turner (the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year) still sidelined with a shoulder issue and star junior forward Grant Williams (the reigning SEC Player of the Year) sidelined for the final 2 minutes, 30 seconds after fouling out, the Vols needed something special from Schofield. And that’s exactly what they got. Schofield scored Tennessee’s final 11 points, including eight huge points after Williams was forced to the bench. Schofield’s fifth 3-pointer of the game gave Tennessee a 73-71 lead with 1:20 left, and he responded to Gonzaga tying the score by promptly putting the Vols back in front — this time for good — on his sixth 3-pointer of the game. His NBA-range dagger with 23.1 seconds left proved to be the difference. There’s plenty of discuss from Sunday’s game, and this episode covers just about all of it. First we speak with Vols head coach Rick Barnes, and then we break down the game with one of the reporters covering it in person.
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Episode 143: Vols aiming to take down No. 1 Gonzaga
12/07/2018
Episode 143: Vols aiming to take down No. 1 Gonzaga
GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247’s Blount County Satellite Office) conversed as if in the same room thanks to the miracle of Al Gore’s Internets, and there was plenty of Tennessee basketball to break down heading into Sunday’s game between the seventh-ranked Vols and top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in Phoenix. Tennessee lost a golden opportunity in an overtime setback against second-ranked Kansas two weeks ago in New York, but the Vols get a quick opportunity to more than make up for that this weekend. It doesn’t look like the Vols will be a full-strength for the game, though, because Lamonte Turner is continuing to deal with a shoulder issue. How much will the absence of the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year hurt Tennessee against Gonzaga? Will the Vols continue to go with their new-look lineup of sophomore Yves Pons starting at the shooting guard spot, with junior Jordan Bowden coming off the bench? Is Tennessee having a full week to prepare for this game a good thing or a bad thing? Will the Vols look like a locked-in, veteran team in this big-game environment? And what, exactly, do the individual matchups between Tennessee and Gonzaga look like? There are so many subplots heading this huge game, and many of those subplots are discussed in this episode.
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Episode 142: Vols OC search continues
12/05/2018
Episode 142: Vols OC search continues
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest on two pressing issues — the search for a new offensive coordinator, and all things recruiting — for the Tennessee football program. It’s now been a week-and-a-half since Tennessee offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tyson Helton left to become the head coach at Western Kentucky, and Pruitt is still going through the process of finding a replacement. He’s not moving as quickly as many Tennessee fans would prefer, but he remains in no hurry to make a hire and is confident that his due-diligence process will end the right way. Who would be the ideal fit to replace Helton? It’s a fair question, and we debate that question in this episode. We also discuss all things Hugh Freeze, because that’s very clearly a pressing issue with a significant portion of Tennessee’s fan base. The offensive coordinator search has been far from the only thing on Pruitt’s mind these days, though. With the early signing period getting closer and closer on the horizon, and a critical visiting period open, Pruitt and his staff are hitting the trail hard. The Vols are very much in play with some of the nation’s top prospects, and we have updates on some of those prospects in this episode.
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Episode 141: Vols find QB, still searching for OC
11/30/2018
Episode 141: Vols find QB, still searching for OC
GoVols247'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.
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Episode 140: Vols in win-or-no-bowl mode
11/23/2018
Episode 140: Vols in win-or-no-bowl mode
GoVols247's Wes Rucker went into Fort Rucker Studio solo this week — which made sense, given the staff’s location all over the country during this holiday week — but nonetheless served as conduit to anything and everything related to this season’s crucial Vols-Dores game at Vanderbilt Stadium. A brief intro on all things Vols football and hoops set the stage for an episode featuring interviews of three pertinent Vols — first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt snd senior defensive linemen Shy Tuttle and Paul Bain. Tuttle and Bain have a ton to play for this week, because a loss to the Commodores might be the final game of their careers at any level of football, especially in the case of Bain, a former walk-on who plans to enroll in dental school following his playing days. Neither D-linemen wants to be part of the first Tennessee team to lose three consecutive games to Vanderbilt since the mid-1920s. Both are playing for plenty of “pride” — a word Pruitt has used plenty of times this week. Speaking of Pruitt, a mid-week interview with the head coach featured plenty of discussion on all things Vols-Vandy, including the health of three Tennessee offensive starters — sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, junior wide receiver Marquez Callaway and sophomore running back Ty Chandler — and the list of players who won’t play Saturday in order to keep them eligible for a redshirt under new NCAA rules and regulations. Pruitt also praised several things about the Commodores, especially senior quarterback Kyle Shurmur and junior running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn and the toughness Vandy has seemingly always had under veteran coach Derek Mason. It’s Vols-Vandy week. Make a plate full of festive leftovers, sit back, watch some football, pop on this podcast and get yourself ready for Saturday’s win-or-no-bowl showdown.
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Episode 139: No. 5 Vols eyeing big week in Big Apple
11/17/2018
Episode 139: No. 5 Vols eyeing big week in Big Apple
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the fifth-ranked Tennessee basketball team through its first three game and its big week coming up in New York. The Vols improved to 3-0 with an ugly-but-comfortable, 66-53 win over Georgia Tech earlier this week in Knoxville, but toughest tests are waiting for the Vols, starting with next week's NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Tennessee will face Louisville late Wednesday afternoon, and a win in that game would likely give the fifth-ranked Vols a shot against second-ranked Kansas on Friday night. It looks like the Vols might be back to full strength for next week's New York trip, too. Junior guard Lamonte Turner, the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year, is tentatively scheduled to return next week after missing the first three games of the regular season with a reported shoulder issue. Tennessee's performance against Georgia Tech was hardly the Vols at their best, but they controlled the game from start to finish and defended well enough to keep the athletic Yellow Jackets at bay. A dissection of that game and whether there should be any concern from that performance is one of the primary discussion points in this episode. It's also been a big week for the Vols on the recruiting trail, as three prospects — including five-star point guard Josiah James — officially became Tennessee signees. A detailed discussion of all three signees is included in this episode. There's no shortage of Tennessee basketball topics to discuss at the moment, so let's discuss them.
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Episode 138: Pruitt era gaining momentum
11/16/2018
Episode 138: Pruitt era gaining momentum
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a big win for the rebuilding Tennessee football program and the opportunity now in front of the Vols as a result. Tennessee's 24-7 upset win over then-11th-ranked Kentucky wasn't just the Vols' second win over a ranked opponent this season. It was a win that gave Tennessee a much greater chance of securing bowl-eligibility — something many didn't expect from first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt. One win in the next two weeks — either this Saturday against Missouri, or the following Saturday at Vanderbilt — would give Tennessee's seniors a chance to extend their college careers and give the team's many young players 15 extra practices to help their development moving forward. Nothing is guaranteed, though. And the first of those two games — the one against Missouri — is a potentially problematic matchup for Tennessee. The Tigers have hardly been consistent this season despite having a potential first-round NFL Draft pick quarterback in senior Drew Lock. At times, though, they've been really impressive, and Tennessee obviously needs to expect it will get Mizzou's best shot. The Tigers are a seven-point favorite at Neyland Stadium for a reason. When they're not getting in their own way — something they certainly do from time to time — they're a pretty good football team. Of course, one could argue that Tennessee on its day also is a tough team. The Vols' performance against Kentucky was incomplete but impressive, and they have every reason to feel optimistic about their chances to build on this momentum and finish the season the right way. There's plenty to discuss — including the return of former Tennessee head coach and hair model Derek Dooley — at the moment, and this episode covers quite a bit of ground. The Kentucky win, the matchups against Mizzou, a recruiting roundup, Dooley stories and several things emerge in this wide-ranging discussion of all things Vols.
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Episode 137: No such thing as an ugly win ... right?
11/09/2018
Episode 137: No such thing as an ugly win ... right?
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's 14-3 win over Charlotte and look forward to the Vols' annual Battle for the Beer Barrel showdown with 12th-ranked Kentucky on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. There’s no way to call the Vols’ win against Charlotte a beautiful win, but perhaps only because there’s no such thing as an ugly win. A win’s a win, and Tennessee hasn’t won enough games the past two seasons to complain too much about a win, but the performance against the 49ers produced plenty of room for discomfort, at least offensively. The Vols had just 192 yards of total offense and just 20 rushing yards against Charlotte. The 49ers do have one of the nation’s stiffest run defenses on paper, but that’s still a Conference-USA opponent, and any time an SEC program can’t push a C-USA program off the line of scrimmage, there understandably will be consternation and much gnashing of teeth. How much concern should there be following last weekend’s performance? Should that be considered simply a bad day at the office, or should it be considered a red herring for the final three-game stretch of the regular season? Should anyone expect anything on offense to look any better Saturday against a good Kentucky defense? Let’s not forget the obvious question, either: Is Kentucky — yes, THAT Kentucky — really one of the dozen best teams in college football? Those are the main topics of this week’s podcast, though several other topics — including a discussion on the targeting rule in football, a discussion on whether a 5-7 Tennessee team could play in a bowl game and a quick discussion of the sixth-ranked Tennessee basketball team — are mentioned along the way.
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Episode 136: Vols' margin for error shrinking
11/02/2018
Episode 136: Vols' margin for error shrinking
Looking for an honest discussion on the impact of Tennessee’s disappointing loss at South Carolina, and where the Vols go from here? There's a GoVols247 Podcast for that. GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's tough, 27-24 loss to the Gamecocks last weekend at Williams-Brice Stadium, and the impact that loss could have on the Vols’ chances to secure bowl-eligibility under first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt — something few outside this state expected in Pruitt’s first season, but something that felt very possible after the team’s upset win at then-21st-ranked Auburn. Tennessee took an early lead at South Carolina, scoring its first first-quarter offensive touchdown of the season in the process, and the Vols extended that lead to 21-9 in the third quarter before the Gamecocks reeled them in, overtook them and held them off in a game that came down to the final minutes — as practically every Vols-Gamecocks game seems to do. How will the Vols rebound in this week’s homecoming game against Charlotte? Who actually knows anything about Charlotte? When did Charlotte football become a thing? Why are some Tennessee fans so seemingly convinced that Jarrett Guarantano needs to be replaced in favor of senior backup Keller Chryst? Why do some consider every backup a potential savior when any starter at any position is struggling? What does this Tennessee team need to fix in order to become bowl-eligible, and how many of those things are reasonable to expect? Now that Tennessee has just four games left in the regular season, should we expect to see any young players join the rotation while preserving their redshirt eligibility, thanks to the NCAA’s new rule? Those and many other questions are discussed in this episode. All previous GoVols247 Podcast episodes can be found HERE, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, iHeartRadio, TuneIn and most other podcast streaming services. If you enjoy the podcast, don’t forget to subscribe to it (for free) and rate it. Rating the podcast helps others find it and helps us add wolves to our wolfpack.
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Episode 135: Vols hope to regain momentum on road
10/26/2018
Episode 135: Vols hope to regain momentum on road
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's big road game at South Carolina on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. Tennessee picked up serious momentum two weeks ago with its shocking upset win at then-21st-ranked Auburn, and it remains to be seen how much of that momentum the Vols lost in last week's lopsided setback against Third Saturday in October rival Alabama. That loss looks bad in a vacuum, but it doesn't look terrible when you look at what the Crimson Tide have done to anything and everything in their path this season. South Carolina, on the other hand, was expected to compete for an SEC Eastern Division championship this season but has already lost three games to take itself out of the running. It remains to be seen whether the Gamecocks will be any more ready to play the Vols than Auburn was two weeks ago. The Tigers also had a disappointing start to their season, and Tennessee took advantage of that situation. The Vols — already an injury-riddled group up front — now have to face South Carolina without arguably their best player at any position. Sophomore Trey Smith has been ruled out indefinitely following the return of blood clots in his lungs, and how the Vols physically and mentally respond to that challenge will be on full display this weekend. It also remains to seen whether sophomore starter Jarrett Guarantano's injury or senior backup Keller Chryst's strong play off the bench against Alabama will have any impact on that position this weekend. Jeremy Pruitt has been characteristically mum on that topic this week, but early returns have pegged Guarantano as the likely starter against the Gamecocks. Whether that actually happens, though, remains to be seen. Tennessee also hopes to get its running game going after struggling badly in that area against Auburn and Alabama, but Smith's absence could throw a big wrench into those plans. Anything and everything related to this season's Vols-Gamecocks game is discussed in detail in this episode — an episode that ends with questions from listeners, GoVols247 subscribers and social-media followers, with the pick of the litter winning the Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week Award.
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Episode 134: Trey Smith 'indefinitely' sidelined again
10/25/2018
Episode 134: Trey Smith 'indefinitely' sidelined again
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down some tough news for arguably Tennessee's best football player. Tennessee confirmed Thursday that star sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith would again be sidelined "indefinitely" after doctors discovered Wednesday that blood clots had returned in his lungs. Smith was a touted five-star prospect who enrolled at Tennessee in Summer 2017 with outrageous expectations, and he met those expectations by emerging as one of the SEC's best offensive linemen as a true freshman. The West Tennessee native was considered by some as one of the nation's best O-linemen heading into his sophomore season, but serious health concerns have gotten in the way. The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Smith approached Tennessee's medical staff after struggling to get through a couple of February workouts, and doctors found blood clots in his lungs. He was immediately taken off the field and started treatment with anticoagulant medication, which eased the blood-clotting issue but forced him to stay away from physical contact. He was able to workout but not face contact on the field until midway through preseason camp, when (after consultation with UT doctors and specialists from around the country) he was weened off the anticoagulants and cleared for contact. Smith's family and Tennessee coaches and staffers handled the situation very carefully and made sure to give the player all the information he'd need to make a decision regarding his future, and Smith — whose mother passed away a few years ago with heart issues at age 51 — was adamant in his desire to return to football if doctors would allow it. Tennessee hasn't offered anything other than its Thursday statement on Smith's situation, and no one on the GoVols247 staff is a medical expert, so we spend this podcast breaking down the fallout from this news and its potential impact on the Vols in the short-term and longterm future. As much as as everyone likes Smith as a person, the fact is the show must go on, starting with Saturday's game at South Carolina, and Smith would be the first to admit that. We spend this podcast discussing Tennessee's options to replace the best performer on an already-struggling offensive line.
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Episode 133: Vols improve SEC winning streak to one
10/19/2018
Episode 133: Vols improve SEC winning streak to one
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's win — yes, win — at then-21st-ranked Auburn last weekend and discuss the Vols' upcoming showdown with top-ranked Alabama at Neyland Stadium. An program-record, 11-game SEC losing streak was stopped before reaching the dirty-dozen level, and Jeremy Pruitt became the fastest coach in SEC history to win a road game against a ranked team. It was just his sixth game on the sideline with the Vols. Much of the national discussion after the Tennessee-Auburn game focused on the Tigers, and understandably so, given the fact that they were considered legitimate national-championship contenders heading into the season and have now fallen out of the polls. But the talk around this state has centered on the stunning achievement for Pruitt and his Vols, who were stuffed all day on the ground at Auburn but scorched the Tigers' secondary through the air. Sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had the best day of his career on The Plains, winning several national and SEC player of the week honors after completing a career-high 21 of 32 passes for a career-high 328 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Senior defensive lineman Kyle Phillips also was honored by the SEC after arguably the best game of his career, finishing with nine tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one forced fumble that was recovered by freshman cornerback Alontae Taylor for a touchdown that proved to be the difference between the two teams. Here's are the questions now for Tennessee: Was the Auburn game an aberration, or have these Vols truly turned a corner and made themselves competitive in the SEC? Are these Vols now a contender to win six games and become bowl-eligible? Is Guarantano ready to be the man? Can this defense continue to hold up? Regardless, this weekend's game will be an even bigger test, even though it comes at Neyland Stadium — the site of Saturday's game against top-ranked Alabama. The Crimson Tide have been a force on defense throughout the Nick Saban era and are still really good on that side of the ball this season, but sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has made them even tougher on offense. They're leading the nation in scoring at 53.6 points per game, and Tagovailoa hasn't attempted a single pass in the fourth quarter all season. Before diving into what's expected to be a long weekend against Bama, though, we spend plenty of time discussing a huge win that Tennessee players, coaches, administrators and fans needed for several reasons. That — along with some injury updates, general tomfoolery and the announcement of the new Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week — is the main focus of this episode.
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Episode 132: Vols hoping to avoid Dirty Dozen
10/11/2018
Episode 132: Vols hoping to avoid Dirty Dozen
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the state of Tennessee football heading into Saturday's game at 21st-ranked Auburn. Tennessee had an open date after its Sept. 29 loss at second-ranked Georgia, giving the Vols an extra week of work to sort of some of their own issues and get a head start on Auburn's unique offense — something that SEC West teams have gotten used to seeing in recent years, and something Tennessee's current staff has seen a lot, but something that Tennessee's current players haven't seen. First-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt said his Vols took advantage of the open date, but how much can you really change schematically in one week? You can't reinvent the wheel in that amount of time, but you can tweak some things, and that's certainly something Tennessee has done. What changes could the Vols make, though? Will they try some drastically different things, or just add a few different things while refining the same basic formula? And what should we expect to see from Tennessee against an Auburn team that was expected to compete for championships but has already lost two games, including last week at Mississippi State? And is it possible to think Tennessee could win this game and avoid extending its program-program-record SEC losing streak to a dirty dozen games? That — along with some injury updates, general tomfoolery and the announcement of the new Grant's Gun Show Question of the Week — is the main focus of this episode.
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Episode 131: Vols hoops hits the (practice) court
10/05/2018
Episode 131: Vols hoops hits the (practice) court
GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down anything and everything from Tennessee basketball media day. Rick Barnes' reigning-SEC-champion Vols have sky-high expectations heading into the season, and understandably so, given the amount of experience and firepower on their roster. The Vols snuck up on the college basketball world last season, but that won't be the case now. They've been in the top-10 nationally in practically every preseason projection and power poll, and many have them ranked in the top-five. Can this team — a team with the reigning SEC player of the year in Grant Williams, the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year in Lamonte Turner, another legitimate conference player of the year candidate in Admiral Schofield and the reigning SEC Coach of the Year — repeat or even surpass its performance from last season? It sounds so simple on paper, considering Tennessee brings back its entire starting lineup and all but one of its top bench performers from last season, but things in sports rarely prove to be so simple. What changes should we expect from the Vols this season? Which players have improved, and in what areas? Whose roles could be increased this season? Will this team have the same great chemistry it enjoyed last season? Will touted freshman big man C.J. Burns get himself into the mix for a rotation spot? Those are some of the many questions discussed in this expansive look at Tennessee basketball.
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Episode 130: Bye-week reassessment of Pruitt Year One
10/03/2018
Episode 130: Bye-week reassessment of Pruitt Year One
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's loss at second-ranked Georgia over the weekend and look forward to things we can expect from the Vols following this week's open date. A loss is a loss, and Tennessee's loss at Georgia was its third setback of the season by exactly 26 points, but the Vols looked better against the Bulldogs than they had in losses to West Virginia and Florida. Tennessee got a terrible break in the first quarter and got nothing from its offense until the third quarter, but the Vols rallied back into it and made things at least a bit interesting in the fourth quarter. It was a step forward for first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt's rebuilding program. Pruitt was quick to say after Saturday's loss that he doesn't believe in moral victories, but he also showed some emotion and nearly got choked up while discussing the fight he's seeing from his players, and he didn't deny that they showed improvement in several areas Between the Hedges in Athens. The Vols get a brief break this week, and it comes at a good time — right in the middle of their toughest stretch of the season. What they do with that break will go a long way toward determining whether they secure bowl eligibility this season. What do the Vols need to be working on this week? Which areas of the team look OK, and which areas need serious work? And what can be done to shore up some of those struggling areas? Which specific players need to play better for this team to be more competitive? And which specific players could emerge and play much larger roles on this team in the second half of the season. Those and several other questions are the main points of orders in this first of two GoVols247 Podcast episodes this week. The second GoVols247 Podcast Episode of the week — an episode featuring a look at the reigning SEC champion Tennessee basketball team — will be released Friday.
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Episode 137: To the Pit of Misery
09/28/2018
Episode 137: To the Pit of Misery
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's SEC-opening, 47-20 loss to Florida and the Vols' Saturday trip to Georgia for a game against the second-ranked Bulldogs. Florida, another proud program in rebuilding mode, was considered one of the more winnable games on this season's SEC schedule, but ... welp. The Vols turned the ball over six times and lost a game that probably will make it tough for Tennessee to secure bowl-eligibility in Jeremy Pruitt's first season. Saturday's game at Georgia marks the beginning of the nastiest part of Tennessee's schedule. After facing the Bulldogs — who came agonizingly close to winning the national championship last season — they'll play at 10th-ranked Auburn, at home against top-ranked Alabama and then go back on the road to face a South Carolina team that opened the season in the polls and might be back in the polls at that point. Things get a little more manageable after that, but it's tough to see another SEC game this season where Tennessee will open as the favorite in Las Vegas. First thing's first, though: Georgia. We take a look back at the Florida game in this episode, but we pivot — PIVOT! — back to Georgia pretty quickly, and then we discuss the reasons things might get better and the reasons things might not get better this season. At this point, what's fair to expect from this team this season? We don't dance around it. We discuss the good, bad, the ugly and fugly.
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Episode 136: Vols. Gators. SEC play is here.
09/21/2018
Episode 136: Vols. Gators. SEC play is here.
GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's annual SEC opener against Eastern Division nemesis Florida. This isn't a classic Tennessee-Florida game on paper, but it's nonetheless an intriguing game, and an important game for first-year head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Dan Mullen. A rivalry win is always nice, and in this case, it will be a win that could go a long way toward determining postseason eligibility. Both the Vols and Gators already have a loss this season, and neither wants a second loss before the final week of September. Not with the schedules both of these teams have ahead of them. Is Tennessee ready for the start of SEC play? What matchups in this game look good for Tennessee, and which ones don't? How much would a win in this game mean? And just how many touted prospects will be in the stands on official and unofficial visits? Those are some of the many topics discussed in this episode.
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