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College Gameday Crew says Butch Jones is close to losing locker room

2017-10-07T20:45:53-04:00

They came out swinging again.

Another week, another segment on College Gameday about Tennessee head coach Butch Jones. Last week the Gameday crew poked some fun at him for his criticism of the media. This week they turned their attention to the players, namely Marquez Callaway.

David Pollack said this. “The players aren’t protecting him anymore. Marquez Callaway this week, you’re talking about a tweet that he retweeted of somebody basically saying who is the worst coach in college football? And he retweeted it.”

Callaway didn’t actually retweet it, but he liked it. Of course Vol Twitter found it.

“Y’all know. Y’all know as well as I do. If you lose the locker room, that’s a wrap,” Pollack said. Corso chimed in with this. “You can lose games, but when you lose your team, you’re gone.”

Tennessee offensive tackle Marcus Tatum responded to the segment with this tweet.

Our locker room is just fine.
— Marcus Tatum (@AsapTatum) October 7, 2017

Marquez responded with this.

I know family. We all we got we all we need. Let's get back to winning and silence all this.
— Marcus Tatum (@AsapTatum) October 7, 2017

Elsewhere in the twittersphere, sophomore receiver Tyler Byrd had people buzzing over this tweet, which you can interpret for yourself. Byrd didn’t record a catch against Georgia.

The fact Vandy scored
— Tyler Byrd (@D1fuzzymuffin17) October 7, 2017

Jeff George also sent this earlier in the week, around the time of the rumored fight.

Which is worse the Callaway like or the deleted Jeff George tweet? pic.twitter.com/r1DKLAslFK
— zach ragan (@zachTNT) October 6, 2017

There’s some obvious issues happening here behind closed doors. With so much outside noise this week stemming from a brutal shutout loss at home, you could feel the tension building.

Obviously, next week’s game against South Carolina is a massive moment for Butch Jones. It’s do or die. It’s also against Will Muschamp, who Butch has yet to defeat. The Gamecocks looked stout today in a blowout win against Arkansas, but who knows what you’ll get next weekend.

After that.... It’s a trip to Tuscaloosa.

Fun.

LOOK: Colts unveil Peyton Manning statue at Lucas Oil Stadium

2017-10-07T17:18:01-04:00

A nice way to honor the sheriff.

The Indianapolis Colts honored former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning today at Lucas Oil Stadium. The future hall of famer now has a statue in front of the house that he built. Check out some of the scenes from today.

And the statue is unveiled! Thank you to the @Colts, to all of today’s speakers, and most importantly, #ThankYouPeyton. #OneCity pic.twitter.com/cXlBSPfpLn
— Mayor Joe Hogsett (@IndyMayorJoe) October 7, 2017

Very emotional to be here honoring Peyton today. The fans, his teammates & our Colts staff all acknowledging his contributions to the city. pic.twitter.com/wVIDJsH8Eo
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) October 7, 2017

#ThankYouPeyton pic.twitter.com/XSschhgczE
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 7, 2017

Manning was drafted first overall in 1998 after 4 seasons in Knoxville. He spent 14 season with the Colts, leading them to a Super Bowl win before heading west to join the Denver Broncos. If you look closely you can see Roger Goodell, Tony Dungy, Bill Polian and Jeff Saturday on hand for the celebration.

Everyone is waiting to see what Peyton’s next move is. He’s been rumored to be running for senate. He’s been connected to plenty of TV gigs. Right now, he seems perfectly content with sitting on the sidelines and being an ambassador for the Tennessee football program. That’s just fine with us.

College Football Week Six Open Thread

2017-10-07T11:43:01-04:00

Let’s talk about week six.

On the surface, this seems like a mediocre week of college football. Just one ranked matchup is on the slate today, but a host of other games should be fun to follow. Who knows what will happen in Knoxville today, even on a bye week. It seems like there’s something bizarre coming out every couple of hours.

Anyways, this is your open thread for the day. Discuss the games, Butch Jones — whatever you would like.

Tennessee RB John Kelly Added to the Maxwell Award Watch List

2017-10-06T15:21:19-04:00

Great news for Kelly.

If there’s been one consistently good thing in Knoxville this football season, it’s been running back John Kelly. He’s the heart and soul of this team and to this point has been virtually the entire offense. The national media is taking notice.

On Friday, he was added to the Maxwell Award watch list, which is handed out to college football’s most outstanding player each year.

Kelly has handled 97 rushing attempts this season, piling up 494 yards and 6 touchdowns. He’s averaging over five yards per carry to this point. He’s added 22 catches for 229 yards as well.

The SEC's leading rusher has been added to the watch list for the Maxwell Award.
Congrats, @JKShuttlesworth ✊

https://t.co/9GZ81bI5wn pic.twitter.com/sfupTp7rqp
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) October 6, 2017

Peyton Manning is the only Tennessee Volunteer to ever win the Maxwell Award. It’s cool to see Kelly recognized for his efforts despite a rotten couple of weeks for Tennessee. Watching him run the football is one of my favorite things about Saturdays.

College Football Week 6: Schedule, TV, Streaming and Kickoff Times

2017-10-06T14:53:06-04:00

Check out the slate.

The Tennessee Volunteers are on a (much needed) bye this weekend, but we’ve got plenty going on in Knoxville to keep us busy. There are also some football games to watch, if you need a break from the drama.

The only ranked matchup on Saturday will be West Virginia vs. TCU. The Horned Frogs seem legit after beating Oklahoma State. They’ll face Will Grier and the Mountaineers — Tennessee’s 2018 opening opponent.

A handful of once great SEC matchups will take place with a lot less sizzle than usual. Florida-LSU, Alabama-Texas A&M and Ole Miss-Auburn don’t exactly carry the weight that they did over the past few seasons.

We’ll also get Miami-Florida State and Michigan-Michigan State.

Here is the full slate.

Report: Tennessee’s Darrell Taylor, Trey Smith involved in Practice Fight

2017-10-06T13:57:58-04:00

More drama.

Jimmy Hyams has finally given us some reporting to go along with the rumors. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty of chatter on this — and other stuff by now. There’s been talk of a fight all week long, now Hyams is confirming that noise.

Here’s the tweet-storm that Hyams sent out this afternoon.

Source: UT DE Darrell Taylor kicked OL Trey Smith's face at
practice during 1 minute drill Thursday, leading to Smith needing stitches.
— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) October 6, 2017

Source: Smith blocked Taylor to the ground and Smith lost his helmet. They wrestled. Taylor then kicked at Smith and hit him in the face.
— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) October 6, 2017

Taylor did apologize to Smith, who won't miss any games. UT is not expected to appeal Taylor missing first half of next game, per source
— Jimmy Hyams (@JimmyHyams) October 6, 2017

Of course all this comes after the rumors of Shy Tuttle and Nigel Warrior fighting. Butch Jones told the media that Tuttle fell on a helmet, then went off on the media claiming fake news.

This is the second strike for Taylor this week, who was ejected from the Georgia game for fighting. He’s expected to miss the first half of next week’s game against South Carolina, but Tennessee is expected to appeal that, per Hyams.

Jayson Swain has been telling us about the fight this week, but left out the details.

When I said it was bad and not a normal fight, trying not to give specifics..... well yeah. Here it is. https://t.co/Qffy5Z1DNS
— Jayson Swain (@SwainEvent) October 6, 2017

So that’s what we know at this point. It wasn’t a normal practice scrum. It ended with a cleat to the face of Trey Smith. Things are going terribly on the football field, then this. Thankfully, Smith isn’t expected to miss any time.

Paul Finebaum Claims he’s been told Tennessee would Target Jon Gruden

2017-10-05T20:51:22-04:00

Finebaum stirs the pot.

Welp.

Butch Jones hasn’t even been fired from Tennessee and here come the #grumors! It’s the story that will never die. Paul Finebaum led a segment on his radio show on Thursday afternoon, talking about who could potentially replace Butch Jones.

Finebaum threw gas on the fire when he responded to a caller that said Tennessee would “break the bank” for a coach and that the first call they would make would be Jon Gruden.

Instead of shooting it down or laughing, like most of us do when we hear a #grumor, Finebaum said this. “I talked to — someone — let me put it that way. Someone that I have a lot of trust in and is connected deeply in that program. He told me the same thing. If we lose this game (Georgia) and something happens to Butch Jones, our first choice would be Jon Gruden.”

(Listen to the whole segment here. Advance to the 30 minute mark.)

Don’t get your hopes up.

There was a report out this summer detailing why Gruden wouldn’t take a college job. As everyone close to him says, he’s pretty comfortable in the booth. I think if he comes back, it would be for an NFL gig.

As I’ve said for years with Gruden, I’ll believe it when I see it.

ESPN Releases Updated Bowl Projections for Tennessee, SEC

2017-10-05T14:08:33-04:00

Updated bowl odds were unveiled by ESPN on Thursday.

On Thursday, ESPN released their updated projections for where they believe SEC teams will be headed in post season play following week five of college football.

According to the World Wide Leader in Sports, eleven of the fourteen teams in the SEC are projected to go bowling come December, and Tennessee which currently sits at 3-2 on the 2017 season, was included among those teams.

ESPN College Football writer Kyle Bonagura has the Vols heading to Legion Field in Birmingham to face Houston in the Birmingham Bowl on December 23rd. Ironically, fellow ESPN writer David M. Hale currently has Tennessee traveling to Houston to take on the Texas Longhorns in the appropriately named Texas Bowl.

Tennessee will look to make their fourth straight bowl appearance under Butch Jones as they prepare to play South Carolina on October 14th in Knoxville.

Here is the full list of projections per ESPN:

#1 Alabama

Bonagura: AllState Sugar Bowl (Playoff) vs Penn State
Hale: Rose Bowl (Playoff) vs Penn State

#12 Auburn

Bonagura: Citrus Bowl vs Ohio State
Hale: Citrus Bowl vs Virginia Tech

#22 Florida

Bonagura: Outback Bowl vs Michigan State
Hale: Outback Bowl vs Wisconsin

#5 Georgia

Bonagura: Capital One Orange Bowl vs Miami
Hale: Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl vs San Diego State

Kentucky

Bonagura: Franklin America Mortgage Music City Bowl vs Louisville
Hale: AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs West Virginia

LSU

Bonagura: TaxSlayer Bowl vs Minnesota
Hale: Franklin America Mortgage Music City Bowl vs Iowa

Mississippi State

Bonagura: Belk Bowl vs NC State
Hale: Taxslayer Bowl vs Florida State

South Carolina

Bonagura: AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs Texas Tech
Hale: Birmingham Bowl vs UCF

Tennessee

Bonagura: Birmingham Bowl vs Houston
Hale: Texas Bowl vs Texas

Texas A&M

Bonagura: Texas Bowl vs Kansas State
Hale: Belk Bowl vs Georgia Tech

Vanderbilt

Bonagura: Independence Bowl vs Wake Forest
Hale: Independence Bowl vs Wake Forest