The Vols have added a last-minute visitor to their slate this weekend. Now, former Miami and current Marshall four-star cornerback commitment A.J. Leggett will visit Knoxville. He'll be there along with four-star WR Quinshad Davis.
Leggett and Miami parted ways a couple months ago because Leggett was considered an academic risk. Now, it appears he is closer to being fully qualified.
This again. Dr. Saturday takes on the most stubborn of counters to the argument that college football needs a playoff, prompted by the problem actually manifesting in the current NFL playoffs in the form of the arguably subpar New York Giants going to the Super Bowl. Matt attempts to split the difference by lowering the bar to allow "worthy" teams in but raising the bar to include only those "worthy" teams. Sounds to me, though, that although that may mitigate the "hot team" problem a bit, it doesn't eliminate it altogether. No, I think Hooper has it right. We just need to acknowledge that the two systems are designed to do different things. The BCS attempts to find the best team. Playoffs and tournaments attempt to find a champion. The latter succeeds in that a winner is clear and a champion is crowned, and as long as "champion" isn't confused with "best team," all is well. The former system is almost always going to be up for debate no matter what you do. And isn't that part of the fun?
We'd take that. Cuonzo Martin hopes that the lesson Jarnell Stokes learned at the knee of Vandy's Festus Ezeli on Tuesday will pay dividends much the same way certain turnover-happy games did for Glen Robinson back in the day.
Phoning it in? Tennessee's new special teams coordinator Charlie Coiner apparently has an app for that, which is cool because ease of installation is key this season.
Where is he now? The TFP catches up with Phillip Fulmer, who seems to be comfortable with his current station in life.
Brian's right. Attendance must be a nationwide epidemic if Duke can't sell its student tickets to basketball games.
The writing on the wall is in large print in Indianapolis. Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star, to whom Manning spoke exclusively earlier this week on a variety of topics, spoke with Manning again yesterday after owner Jim Irsay called Manning a politician. Kravitz opens his column like this:
It is so sad and so hard to write it again, but it's true: Peyton Manning is done in Indianapolis.
After listening to Manning Monday night, after listening to owner Jim Irsay characterize Manning Thursday as "a politician" who should keep his concerns "in house," there's no other conclusion to be reached by a sane, sober human being: Manning's days in Indianapolis are over, and they have been over for quite some time.
Again, I write this as a UT fan first and, in this case, a Titans fan second, and am the expert on neither (for more on the Colts, check out Stampede Blue). Nor am I the expert on contract negotiations or anything to do with the NFL...but because even fifteen years later, Peyton Manning remains on the pedestal in Knoxville with thousands of fans waiting to hear who their new favorite NFL team will be, we offer a few thoughts on the matter today.
If in fact his time is done in Indianapolis, where will Peyton Manning finish his career? This is all hoping and assuming that he's healthy and capable of doing so, but he continues to rehab in such a way that suggests he believes he's coming back, and right now that's good enough for me.
Though I'm sure all of us would love Manning to land on our favorite team and take them to the Super Bowl, the reality is that even though Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, he's not going to land just anywhere. So which teams make the most sense? And where would you most like to see him land?
After the jump, we examine the candidates...feel free to agree or disagree, as always...
 |
January 26, 2012
Tuscaloosa, AL 9:00 PM EST TV: FSN Internet Audio: Lady Vols Network Live Stats: GameTracker |
 |
|||
|
14-5 (5-1 SEC) |
|
10-10 (0-6 SEC) |
No online television for this game tonight as Tennessee gets a chance to vent against an overmatched SEC opponent. A loss is unthinkable and would signal that all is going as the Mayans have foreseen. In more realistic waters, the focus of this game is how the Lady Vols respond to their recent embarrassment in South Bend. Do they take over the game early and prevent an underdog from having hope? Or do they come out flat and allow Alabama to hang around a little longer than they should. Either way, it's a road game, and Tennessee has not been particularly consistent on the road.
Coiner looks like he's coached a little bit of everything, most recently the defensive line at North Carolina. He coached special teams at Vanderbilt from 1991-93, LSU in 1999, Texas Southern in 1994 and 2000, and the Buffalo Bills (assistant ST coach) from 2004-2005
He coached TEs at Louisville from 1995-1997 and the Buffalo Bills from 2004-2005, so I imagine he'll coach them too
DANNY O'BRIEN, 6-2, 290 DT FLINT, MICH. [POWERS CATHOLIC HS]
RATINGS: Rivals 4* No. 12 defensive tackle No. 161 overall player in the nation No. 2 player in Michigan, Scout 4* No. 18 defensive tackle, ESPN 3* No. 56 defensive tackle, 247 4* No. 23 defensive tackle No. 6 player in Michigan. Chose UT over Michigan, Michigan State, Florida, Alabama, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt.
STRENGTHS: A very strong defensive tackle, O'Brien was UT's top priority at DT for much of the past year, and he has stayed loyal to his commitment since he verballed to the Vols. He uses his hands very well shedding blockers, and he has the attitude that will fit in well in Knoxville. Despite the coaching changes, he has never wavered and continued to recruit for UT. He is a very athletic defensive tackle and looks pretty technically sound for a high school DT. He has good footwork as well, and he uses every move in the book to rush the quarterback. He also is a high-effort, high-energy player.
NEEDS WORK: It would probably help for him to gain another 20 pounds, which he can certainly hold on his frame. He may actually be able to redshirt, which helps any high school DT, and you wonder where he best fits in a 3-4 scheme. If he's going to play nose guard, it's essential he bulks up a bit more. Coaches like his versatility, but for this scheme, it's a matter of finding a place and shaping your body to fit it, which will be a challenge for O'Brien, but one that he'll probably meet head-on.
Quote of the Day. From Cuonzo Martin: "One day, this team will be the last team standing. I really feel that. I don't say that jokingly, I don't say it, like, 'Oh, man, give him another year on his contract.' I say it because I truly believe it.'' I'm not exactly sure how I can believe that so wholeheartedly when the team is 9-10, yet somehow some way, that statement stirs me.
A Leader Emerges. Being the silver lining in a black cloud like Jeronne Maymon was at Vandy has a way of elevating you into a leadership position. Maymon's first words to his troops? Stokes, get your elbows up.
We Figured, but Still. Camouflaged in a recruit's comments is this slightly more definitive indication that Tennessee's defensive coaching changes will bring a change to the scheme: "It was good. We talked about their defense that they're about to switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4, how they need more d-linemen, more big d-linemen. They kind of introduced me to Tennessee because I don't know anything about them. So, that was basically it," Briscoe said.
Smokey's Got a New ACL. "The surgery went well with no surprises," said Dr. Darryl Millis, orthopedic surgeon and surgery section chief at UT Veterinary Medical Center. "Smokey is a very fit dog with good muscle tone." Good dog.
How to Break the News. This is a bit insidery, but anyone who's publishing in new media, including both the new dogs and the old dogs with new tricks, should read Black Shoe Diaries' Breaking the News and MGoBlog's Never Be The First To Report Someone's Dead.
