Tennessee Athletics is debuting its first official podcast series next week, with the first episode of “A Host of Volunteers” available on Friday, Oct. 4.
Hosted by Barry Rice of VFL Films and Ben Bates of The Vol Network, “A Host of Volunteers” features interviews with football VFLs along with Vol Network archive material. There’s plenty of John Ward play-by-play mixed in with memories enthusiastically shared by the players, coaches and administrators who made history, played in the games or symbolize the memorable moments orange-blooded diehards associate with Tennessee football.
The first of 10 episodes in the podcast’s debut season is titled “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and spotlights the first year of the Johnny Majors era, Tennessee’s 1977 campaign. Guests in the first episode include Pat Ryan, Pert Jenkins, Eddy Powers and Larry Seivers along with former UT coaches Majors and Bill Battle.
“A Host of Volunteers” provides an audio deep dive into the Tennessee gridiron history books.
Fans can subscribe at Apple Podcast, iHeart Radio or wherever they get their podcasts.
Jason Aldean shared the track list to his upcoming ninth studio album, 9, which is set to drop on Nov. 22. The 16-song offering features a host of top songwriters, including Josh Thompson, Jordan Schmidt, Brad Warren, Brett Warren, Ben Hayslip, Rhett Akins and more, as well as artist/songwriters Morgan Wallen, Tyler Hubbard and Brantley Gilbert.
“People buy albums with eight songs for 10 bucks now, but with 9, it’s like you’re getting two whole albums at once,” says Jason. “I want fans to feel like they’re getting more than they bargained for, and I want it to be something they listen to from top to bottom, and never hit skip . . . or thumbs down or whatever.”
In addition to previously releasing lead single “We Back,” “Blame It On You,” “I Don’t Drink Anymore” and “Keep It Small Town,” Jason shared a new song, “Dirt We Were Raised On,” which you can listen to below.
9 Track List & Songwriters
1. “Tattoos and Tequila” (Michael Dulaney, Neil Thrasher)
2. “Blame It On You” (Kurt Allison, John Edwards, Tully Kennedy, Michael Tyler, Brian White)
3. “Champagne Town” (Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson)
4. “Some Things You Don’t Forget” (Nick Brophy, Michael Dulaney, Jennifer Hanson, Neil Thrasher)
5. “Got What I Got” (Thomas Archer, Alex Palmer, Michael Tyler)
6. “Keeping It Small Town” (Jaron Boyer, Ben Hayslip, Morgan Wallen)
7. “Camouflage Hat” (Ben Hayslip, Jameson Rodgers, Josh Thompson)
8. “Came Here to Drink” (Jaron Boyer, Alex Palmer, Michael Tyler)
9. “We Back” (Tyler Hubbard, Jordan Schmidt, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)
10. “Dirt We Were Raised On” (Rhett Akins, Jaron Boyer, Josh Thompson)
11. “I Don’t Drink Anymore” (Kelly Lovelace, CJ Solar, Neil Thrasher)
12. “Cowboy Killer” (Jaron Boyer, Josh Hoge, Michael Tyler)
13. “One for the Road” (Lynn Hutton, Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson)
14. “Talk About Georgia” (Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Michael Tyler)
15. “The Same Way” (Brock Berryhill, Brantley Gilbert, Cole Taylor)
16. “She Likes It” (Jaron Boyer, Ben Stennis, Michael Tyler)
Since releasing his self-titled debut album in 2005, Jason has dropped new albums at a prolific rate—never waiting more than two calendar years between projects. Jason’s most recent album, 2018’s Rearview Town, spawned four No. 1 hits, including the title track, “You Make It Easy,” “Drowns the Whiskey” and “Girl Like You.”
Reba McEntire will be honored with the Artist of a Lifetime award at the CMT Artists of the Year celebration on Oct. 16 at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
“I have loved entertaining people since I was a little girl and after being in the music business more than 40 years, I’m still having so much fun,” says Reba. “For CMT to recognize me as the Artist of a Lifetime is pretty special.”
This year’s Artists of the Year celebration will honor five artists—Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett—and will feature surprise musical pairings and guests.
Merle Haggard received the inaugural Artist of a Lifetime award in 2014, followed by Kenny Rogers (2015), Shania Twain (2016) and Loretta Lynn (2018).
The Artists of the Year celebration will air on CMT on Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. ET.
Two of the best voices in country music—Carly Pearce and Lee Brice—have teamed up for a powerful new single, “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
Penned by Carly, Luke Combs, Jonathan Singleton and Randy Montana, “I Hope You’re Happy Now” will be featured on Carly’s upcoming sophomore album, which is slated to drop later this year.
“I often gravitate towards the beauty and the break in country music, probably why it’s always been my dream to experience the realness of life so openly,” says Carly. “Writing ‘I Hope You’re Happy Now’ with Luke Combs, Jonathan Singleton and Randy Montana brought up sadness from the past, but I truly hope there is happiness now. Thank you, Lee, for lending your unsurpassable voice to perfectly tell my story.”
“Carly has such emotion in her voice, especially on a song like this that’s really powerful,” adds Lee. “I’m honored she asked me to record this duet.”
Watch the new lyric video of “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
Lauren Alaina released her new single, “Getting Good,” on Sept. 27. Penned by Emily Weisband and produced by David Garcia, “Getting Good” will impact country radio on Oct. 7.
Lauren tempers her powerful voice in the pensive track, sweetly crooning the lyrics alongside the subtle guitar accompaniment: “Oh, getting good, getting good, life starts getting good / I’m thinking maybe that’s when life starts getting good.”
Lauren is currently competing on this season’s Dancing With the Stars.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football freshman linebacker Quavaris Crouch could have went to college nearly anywhere in the country as the No. 1-rated prospect in North Carolina during a prep career that saw him rush for over 3,000 yards as a high school junior while recording 14 sacks.
The Charlotte, N.C., native chose Tennessee because of head coach Jeremy Pruitt and the Vols’ staff’s track record for preparing defensive players for the NFL and his desire to be a foundational piece of something special.
“I saw all of the players (Pruitt) put in the league and Coach (Chris) Rumph as well,” Crouch said. “So, I did my research on the guys…I knew coming in that I had a good defensive staff that could help me become the best defensive player I could be.”
Crouch’s message to fans, recruits and college football is simple during the Vols’ first bye week of the 2019 fall campaign.
Don’t sleep on Tennessee.
“For any recruit out there who questions Tennessee, don’t, because you can come here and get ready to play with us to build something,” Crouch said. “It takes time to build stuff, the world wasn’t built in a day either. I feel like everything takes time and as long as you keep working with the right mind set and attitude then success will come along the way.”
Crouch and the Vols got back to work this week with four practices, heavily emphasizing fundamentals, following the loss at Florida.
He is one of 17 true freshmen who have played through Tennessee’s first four games this season. Crouch has appeared in every game as a reserve outside linebacker and totaled seven tackles with three hurries and two pass breakups. The 6-1, 246-pounder has even shown potential as a short-yardage running back, bursting through the Gators’ defensive line for a four-yard rush on 3rd-and-1 to pick up the first down on his first career carry.
While he enjoyed getting an offensive touch, what Crouch is really excited for is when he gets his first sack and continuing to learn the outside linebacker position.
“I’m really focused on playing outside linebacker and learning and getting better with Coach Rumph and DT (redshirt senior outside linebacker Darrell Taylor)” Crouch said. “I’m learning as much as I can and getting better.”
The Vols have over 22 first- or second-year players in their two-deep, and four true freshmen have cemented themselves as starters, including linebacker Henry To’o To’o and cornerback Warren Burrell – who have both started all four games – and offensive linemen Wanya Morris (three starts) Darnell Wright (two starts).
Pruitt Doesn’t See Any Quit in his Squad
As he has said since the start of fall camp, Pruitt like his football team and he has seen vast improvement from Year 1 to Year 2.
“There’s lots of things where we need to coach them up better, we need to play a little better, we need to be a little more opportunistic on both sides of the ball,” Pruitt said. “But our guys are working hard, and they’ll continue to do that. I don’t see any quit in this group. These guys, I think, are fighters. We have to keep them healthy, so they have a chance to fight.”
Offensive Line Rounding into Form
Tennessee’s offensive line graded out as having its best performance of the 2019 season against a Florida defense that entered the game as one of the nation’s best.
During his bye week press conference, Pruitt explicitly called the offensive line one of the main positives following the Florida contest.
“I felt like we had four offensive linemen that played winning football in that game, and that’s the first time since we’ve been here that we’ve had that,” Pruitt said. “These guys continue to progress up front which is a positive sign.”
Joining freshmen Morris, at left tackle, and Wright, at right guard, on the line against the Gators were redshirt senior center Brandon Kennedy, junior left guard Trey Smith and redshirt sophomore right tackle K’Rojhn Calbert.
“Brandon Kennedy has gotten better every week because he is a fifth-year guy,” Pruitt said. “Brandon has not played a lot of ball because he has been hurt for most of his career. His play on Saturday was his best game. Trey Smith continues to improve, which you would think he would as the game goes. Riley Locklear is another guy that continues to improve. Our guys are working hard and getting better up front, every one of them. We have to continue to do that and build upon that.”
Smith, who captured Freshman All-America honors in 2017, has been a pleasant surprise for the Vols after his career was in jeopardy after he missed the final five games of the 2018 season because of blood clots. However, Smith’s specialized medical plan has enabled him to play all four games in 2019 and he continues to improve.
“There’s a lot of trust in this group,” Smith said. “As brothers, we love each other. We go to work with each other, we have each other’s backs on the field, whenever BK (Brandon Kennedy) has a guy and he’s lingering, I’m going to try to knock them out. Wanya (Morris) has got a guy, he’s lingering, I’m going to try to help them out. We all have each other’s back out there for sure.”
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Former Tennessee All-SEC defensive lineman Darwin Walker was named to the 2019 Southeastern Conference Football Legends Class as announced by the league office on Thursday morning.
Walker and the representatives from the other 13 conference schools will be honored at events surrounding the SEC Championship game later this season.
A two-time All-SEC first-team selection at defensive tackle, Walker made an impact at Tennessee on and off the field, appearing in 35 games and recording 119 tackles, 14 sacks and 19 TFLs for the Orange and White, while earning his degree in civil engineering. After spending his freshman season at North Carolina State, Walker transferred to Tennessee, where he lettered for the Vols for three seasons (1997-99) and helped lead the Big Orange to a pair of SEC titles and the 1998 BCS National Championship.
Walker had six sacks and 46 tackles en route to All-SEC first-team honors in 1998 as Tennessee went undefeated and won the first BCS National Championship. In 1999, Walker served as a captain for the Vols and repeated on the All-SEC First Team, totaling 46 tackles again and adding seven sacks.
The Walterboro, S.C., native was selected in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft and he went on to play nine seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, appearing in 109 games with 84 starts.
During his NFL career, Walker built his own engineering firm, Progressive Engineering Group. The firm later merged with Pennoni Associates, where Walker remains on the board of directors and as a shareholder. He is a commercial real estate developer who owns several Bojangles, Panera Bread and Wawa franchises.
This year’s legends class will be honored at the 2019 SEC Football “Weekend of Champions” from Dec. 6-7 in Atlanta, Georgia, highlighted by the annual SEC Legends Dinner on Friday, Dec. 6 at the Hyatt Regency. The group will also be recognized prior to the SEC Championship game, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7.
For more information and a list of the other 13 SEC legends, click HERE.
Tennessee SEC Legends All-Time
1994 – Bob Johnson
1995 – Doug Atkins
1996 – Condredge Holloway
1997 – John Michels
1998 – Richmond Flowers
1999 – Steve Kiner
2000 – Steve DeLong
2001 – Stanley Morgan
2002 – Johnny Majors
2003 – Reggie White
2004 – Frank Emanuel
2005 – Larry Seivers
2006 – Chip Kell
2007 – Willie Gault
2008 – Doug Dickey
2009 – Heath Shuler
2010 – Al Wilson
2011 – Bobby Majors
2012 – Peerless Price
2013 – Inky Johnson
2014 – Todd Kelly
2015 – Chuck Smith
2016 – Deon Grant
2017 – Chad Clifton
2018 – Phillip Fulmer
2019 – Darwin Walker
Luke Bryan will kick off his 11th annual Farm Tour on Sept. 26 at the Statz Brothers Farm in Marshall, Wis., with support from Cole Swindell, Mitchell Tenpenny, DJ Rock and the Peach Pickers.
The tour will make six stops at farms in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas (X2) and Oklahoma between Sept. 26–Oct. 5. Over the years, Luke has awarded more than 60 college scholarships to local students from farming families within the communities the tour has played.
“The Farm Tour has grown throughout the years, and the fact that we can set a stage up in a hay field or some kind of field and people flock to it is what I envisioned when I created Farm Tour, and to obviously help some kids with scholarships and stuff like that,” said Luke. “But the Farm Tour has grown every year, and it’s always something we look forward to. It’s really an exciting time to be able to just be out on a farm on a fall night. Sometimes [the weather is] cool—it’s perfect jacket weather—and everybody’s just enjoying music and having fun, and it’s happening in these little towns that have never gotten a show like this. So, it’s always fun knowing that I leave these little towns, and they can go, ‘Hey, we got to go party out in a field and hear a bunch of Nashville country music singers roll in,’ and give ’em a great show. So many great memories through the years.”
Luke Bryan Farm Tour 2019
Sept. 26 | Marshall, WI | Statz Bros. Farm
Sept. 27 | Richland, MI | Stafford Farms
Sept. 28 | Pleasantville, OH | Miller Family Farms
Oct. 3 | Louisburg, KS | MC Farms*
Oct. 4 | Douglass, KS | Flying B Ranch*
Oct. 5 | Norman, OK | Adkins Farm*
Garth Brooks will soon add another award to his crowded trophy case, the inaugural George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award for Caring and Compassion.
Points of Light, a global nonprofit dedicated to accelerating people-powered change, created the award to honor outstanding individuals who advance solutions to the world’s toughest challenges and exemplify the extraordinary traits of its late founder and the 41st President of the United States, George H.W. Bush.
“What I love about it [is] it’s about loving one another,” says Garth. “That’s what I like. This is an honor. Very sweet.”
Garth will be recognized at The George H.W. Bush Points of Light Awards Gala on Sept. 26 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Former Presidents George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama will serve as Honorary Chairs of the Awards Gala.
“‘41’ and his beautiful wife, Barbara . . . they were always so sweet to Miss Yearwood and myself,” says Garth. “They were sweet to [first wife] Sandy and myself. Just always kind of been in our corner. So, so sweet.”
Since Garth co-founded Teammates For Kids with Bo Mitchell in 1999, more than 4,700 professional athletes from baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, rodeo and racing have helped raised more than $100 million to aid children in over 60 countries around the globe. In addition, Garth and wife Trisha Yearwood have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for more than a decade.
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