Luke Bryan Scores 23rd No. 1 Single With “Knockin’ Boots”

Luke Bryan Scores 23rd No. 1 Single With “Knockin’ Boots”

Posted on September 9, 2019

Luke Bryan scored the 23rd No. 1 single of his career as “Knockin’ Boots” ascended to the top of both the Billboard Country Airplay chart and the Mediabase chart this week.

Co-penned by Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson and Jon Nite, “Knockin’ Boots” is the lead single from Luke’s upcoming seventh studio album, which is tentatively slated to drop before the end of the year.

“Huge thank you to fans, radio and my team for this #1,” said Luke via Twitter. “I think this song is so fun and it’s such a blast singing it. Again thank you to everyone who supports me and allows me to do what I love. Shout out to writers @Gordie_Sampson, Hillary Lindsey, and Jon Nite. Love y’all.”

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Six Set for Induction into University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame

Six Set for Induction into University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame

Posted on September 9, 2019
Credit: UT Athletics

Tennessee Athletics announced its six-person 2019 induction class for the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame Monday. The class includes Doug Dickey (coach/administrator), R.A. Dickey (baseball), Christine Magnuson (women’s swimming), Charles A. “Gus” Manning (administrator), Tony Parrilla (men’s track & field) and Candace Parker (women’s basketball).

The Class of 2019 will be celebrated during the weekend of Oct. 25-26—which coincides with Tennessee’s home football game against South Carolina—and the Hall of Fame activities will include an induction dinner at the Student Union on campus on the evening of Friday, Oct. 25. The inductees also will be recognized on the field at Neyland Stadium during the football game the following day.

Tickets for the induction dinner cost $75 and will go on sale next week.

“This collection of Tennessee legends is certainly worthy of this extraordinary honor,” Tennessee Director of Athletics and 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Phillip Fulmer said. “During their respective careers as Vols and Lady Vols, R.A. Dickey, Christine Magnuson, Tony Parrilla and Candace Parker not only exemplified excellence in competition and service, but also excellence in sportsmanship. They each accomplished great things individually while also taking pride in being great teammates and ambassadors for the University of Tennessee.

“As our head football coach, Doug Dickey won a national championship and introduced many of our treasured Tennessee traditions. And later, as athletics director, he oversaw an era of unprecedented growth and success. His legacy serves as a connection between our past and our future.

“Gus Manning‘s service as an administrator dates back to his days one of General Neyland’s most trusted aides. Gus has impacted many lives, launched many careers and shaped Tennessee’s status as a standard bearer for how an intercollegiate athletics department should function.”

The purpose of the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Tennessee Athletics.

“It’s wonderful to celebrate our legendary athletes, coaches and administrators,” Fulmer said. “We want to allow our fans to be a part of this memorable evening, and I hope many of them will join us on Oct. 25.”

Membership in the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame is based on a former student-athlete’s intercollegiate career at the University of Tennessee. Student-athletes are eligible for induction 10 years after their collegiate eligibility expires, and staff are eligible five years after retirement from or leaving employment of the University of Tennessee. Student-athletes and/or staff may be inducted posthumously.

DOUG DICKEY
COACH/ADMINISTRATOR | 1964-69, 1985-2003
In six years as head coach, from 1964 through 1969, Doug Dickey rebuilt the Tennessee football program and guided the Vols to a national championship and two Southeastern Conference titles. He also introduced UT’s famous checkerboard end zones and the “Power T” logo. As the university’s athletics director for 18 years starting in 1985, he managed a growing budget and administered a massive facilities overhaul. During his tenure as AD, Big Orange teams brought home 10 national championships, 38 SEC titles and captured more than 500 first-team All-America honors while positioning Tennessee as a beacon of intercollegiate athletics excellence.

R.A. DICKEY
BASEBALL | 1994-96
R.A. Dickey is one of the most decorated pitchers in the history of Tennessee baseball. The Nashville native is the program’s only three-time first-team All-American (1994-1996) and was named the National Freshman of the Year in 1994 by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper after posting a school-record 15 wins. Dickey followed up his sensational freshman season by helping lead Tennessee to the 1995 College World Series, the program’s second overall appearance and first in 44 years. Dickey still holds program records for career victories (38), games started (54) and innings pitched (434.0), while also ranking second in career strikeouts (345).

CHARLES A. “GUS” MANNING
ADMINISTRATOR | 1951-2000
Gus Manning held a plethora of roles during his nearly 50 years of service to the University of Tennessee, including administrative assistant, publicity director, ticket manager, business manager to assistant, associate and senior associate athletics director. The Knoxville native served eight ADs and 11 head football coaches during his career at UT. He attended 608 consecutive Tennessee football games from 1951 to 2003 and also attended 455 consecutive Tennessee football home games, a streak that ended in 2017. From 1960-2016, Manning co-hosted “The Locker Room” radio show which aired on The Vol Network on Tennessee football gamedays and remains the longest, continuous-running sports radio show in the country.

CHRISTINE MAGNUSON
WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING | 2005-08
Christine Magnuson stands as one of the most decorated women in Tennessee swimming & diving history. Magnuson was the 2008 NCAA champion in the 100-yard butterfly and garnered several honors that year, including 2008 SEC Swimmer of the Year and 2008 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year. She also received the 2008 SEC Commissioners Trophy as the high point-scorer at the SEC Championship meet. An Illinois native, she was a 23-time All-American and a three-time All-SEC performer. Magnuson also was a four-time SEC Champion in three different events (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly) during her career on Rocky Top.

TONY PARRILLA
MEN’S TRACK & FIELD | 1991-94
Tennessee track & field great Tony Parrilla won four NCAA 800-meter titles—three outdoor (1992, 1993, 1994) and one indoor (1994) —during his career as a Volunteer. The Homestead, Florida, native was a nine-time SEC champion, and he captured the outdoor 800-meter title all four years of his career. Parrilla was a 10-time All-American and was named the 1994 SEC Men’s Track & Field Outdoor Athlete of the Year. His oldest son, Jose Parrilla, was a member of Tennessee’s track & field team for two seasons from 2017-19.

CANDACE PARKER
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | 2005-08
One of only six Lady Vol basketball players to have her jersey hung in the rafters of Thompson-Boling Arena, Candace Parker led Tennessee to back-to-back national championships in 2007 and 2008 and was named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player both years. The Naperville, Ill., native was a two-time recipient of both the John R. Wooden National Player of the Year Award and the USBWA National Player of the Year Award. She also was a three-time All-American and All-SEC honoree, ranks third on Tennessee’s all-time scoring list with 2,137 career points and was the first woman to dunk in an NCAA Tournament game, doing so twice vs. Army on March 19, 2006. She finished with a school-record seven slams during her career.

To be inducted into the University of Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame, selection criteria includes the following areas of consideration:

  • College graduate or departed the university in good academic standing
  • Olympian
  • All-American
  • National Team Member
  • All-SEC (minimum of two times)
  • Conference or National Player/Athlete of the Year
  • University, American or World-Record holder
  • SEC Champion
  • AIAW or NCAA Champion or Top-4 finish

Criteria for staff includes:

  • Provided outstanding service to Tennessee Athletics

UT Athletics

Watch Luke Combs’ New Performance Video for Tender Single, “Even Though I’m Leaving”

Watch Luke Combs’ New Performance Video for Tender Single, “Even Though I’m Leaving”

Posted on September 9, 2019

Luke Combs dropped a new video for his current single, “Even Though I’m Leaving,” which features the North Carolina native performing the song live for the first time.

Luke is trying to score his seventh consecutive No. 1 single with the release of the new tune. Penned by Luke, Wyatt B. Durrette and Ray Fulcher, “Even Though I’m Leaving” is featured on Luke’s 2019 EP, The Prequel.

“‘Even Though I’m Leaving’ was the first song I wrote with Wyatt Durrette, who I wrote ‘Beautiful Crazy’ with, and my buddy Ray, who I write with a lot—it was our first time writing with Wyatt, and, man, it’s just one of those tunes that . . . Wyatt, he’s a dad and he has written a lot of stuff about being a dad, and you kind of wanted to just tap into that thing,” says Luke. “Sometimes when you sit down to write, it may not be necessarily a story about yourself, it may be a story about your co-writer or a friend of yours or your mom or somebody like that. And so it was just kind of one of those things where he was like, “Hey man, I’m in the mood to write like a dad song.’ And I had had that idea in my phone for awhile and it was a tough write too. Really had to work at it. It wasn’t one of those songs that just kind of came out. It was definitely more of a construction project than just . . . because sometimes you get in there and a song just kind of writes itself. But that one was tough. We wanted to get it right and make sure that people could relate to it and see a bit of themselves in it. And I think we did a good job of that.”

Luke is first country artist in history whose first six singles have reached No. 1: “Hurricane,” “When It Rains It Pours,” “One Number Away,” “She Got the Best of Me,” “Beautiful Crazy” and “Beer Never Broke My Heart.” Luke recently made history as the first artist to simultaneously top all five Billboard country charts for multiple weeks: Top Country Albums, Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, Country Streaming Songs and Country Digital Song Sales.

Watch the new video for “Even Though I’m Leaving” below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Little Big Town Announces New Album, New Tour & New Single, “Over Drinking” [Listen]

Little Big Town Announces New Album, New Tour & New Single, “Over Drinking” [Listen]

Posted on September 9, 2019

Little Big Town announced a new album, single and tour on Sept. 9.

LBT will release their ninth studio album, Nightfall, on Jan 17. Buoyed by lead single, “Over Drinking,” which was penned by Jesse Frasure, Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Gorley and Steph Jones, the upcoming album follows 2017’s The Breaker, which spawned the No. 1 hit, “Better Man.”

In addition, the foursome will embark on a 34-date tour dubbed The Nightfall Tour, which kicks off on Jan. 16 in New York and makes additional stops in Philadelphia, Boston, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Chicago, L.A. Denver and more. Caitlyn Smith will serve as support. Ticket pre-sale for the tour begins at noon ET on Sept. 9. General tickets go on sale on Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. local time (Carnegie Hall ticket sale begins at 11 a.m. ET).

Listen to “Over Drinking” below.

The Nightfall Tour

  • Jan. 16 | New York, NY |Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall
  • Jan. 17 | New York, NY | Apollo Theater
  • Jan. 18 | New York, NY | Apollo Theater
  • Jan. 30 | Philadelphia, PA | The Met Philadelphia
  • Jan. 31 | Philadelphia, PA | The Met Philadelphia
  • Feb. 01 | Pittsburgh, PA | Benedum Center
  • Feb. 07 | Boston, MA | Boch Center Wang Theatre
  • Feb. 08 | Boston, MA | Boch Center Wang Theatre
  • Feb. 14 | Cincinnati, OH | Taft Theatre
  • Feb. 15 | Cincinnati, OH | Taft Theatre
  • Feb. 20 | St. Louis, MO | Fabulous Fox Theatre
  • Feb. 21 | Indianapolis, IN | Murat Theatre
  • Feb. 22 | Indianapolis, IN | Murat Theatre
  • Feb. 26 | Tampa, FL Ruth | Eckerd Hall
  • Feb. 27 | Tampa, FL Ruth | Eckerd Hall
  • March 05 | Charleston, SC | Charleston Gaillard Center
  • March 06 | Charleston, SC | Charleston Gaillard Center
  • March 07 | Atlanta, GA | Fox Theatre
  • March 12 | Detroit, MI | Fox Theatre
  • March 13 | Chicago, IL | The Chicago Theatre
  • March 14 | Chicago, IL | The Chicago Theatre
  • March 27 | Salt Lake City, | UTEccles Theater
  • March 28 | Salt Lake City, | UT Eccles Theater
  • April 09 | Seattle, WA | The Paramount Theatre
  • April 10 | Seattle, WA | The Paramount Theatre
  • April 15 | Portland, OR | Keller Auditorium
  • April 17 | Oakland, CA | Fox Theater-Oakland
  • April 18 | Oakland, CA | Fox Theater-Oakland
  • April 23 | Los Angeles, CA | The Theatre At Ace Hotel
  • April 24 | Los Angeles, CA | The Theatre At Ace Hotel
  • April 26 | Las Vegas, NV | The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
  • April 28 | Phoenix, AZ | Comerica Theatre
  • May 01 | Denver, CO | Paramount Theatre
  • May 02 | Denver, CO | Paramount Theatre

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Jason Aldean Drops 4 New Songs, Including Lead Single, “We Back,” From Newly Announced Album, “9” [Listen]

Jason Aldean Drops 4 New Songs, Including Lead Single, “We Back,” From Newly Announced Album, “9” [Listen]

Posted on September 9, 2019

Jason Aldean will try to score the 24th No. 1 single of his career with the release of “We Back” on Sept. 9. The new track serves as the lead single from Jason’s newly announced album, 9, which is set to drop on Nov. 22.

“Early on I always thought if we ever got to make nine albums, I’m going to call it 9,” says Jason. “It was my baseball number growing up, and it’s just kind of always been my lucky number. I remember cutting the first album and thinking, ‘That’s forever away,’ and now here we are. I don’t know, it’s really special we made it this far—so, it’s more for me than anybody else—but, it means a lot.”

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.”

In addition to releasing “We Back,” Jason dropped three more new tracks from 9, including “Blame It On You,” “I Don’t Drink Anymore” and “Keep It Small Town.”

“When I came into country music and made my mark, it was with a banger,” Jason says. “But we haven’t put out a lot of that stuff over the last couple years. So we got [“We Back”], and to me it just says what it says: ‘Thought we were gone, but you’re wrong—now it’s on.’”

Listen to Jason’s four new songs below.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

Watch Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins Raise Some Hell in New Video for “Hell Right”

Watch Blake Shelton & Trace Adkins Raise Some Hell in New Video for “Hell Right”

Posted on September 9, 2019

Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins raise a little hell in the new video for “Hell Right.”

The longtime friends enjoy a few adult beverages at a field party, complete with a bit of rodeo work, noodling and exploding fruit. Blake’s new single, which features vocals from Trace, was penned by David Garcia, Brett Tyler and Michael Hardy, who also appears in the video.

“I decided it would be great to have Trace Adkins on this [song] just because he’s got that low, deep, big voice and he’s so great at the ad-lib stuff,” says Blake. “He just brings a certain quality to any recording that nobody else can touch. The guy’s got so much personality in his voice and the way he sings, and I still think that he’s one of the most underrated country artists out there, so I called him and asked if he would be on the record with me and he said something that was close to ‘hell right,’ but it was a different cuss word.”

Watch the new video for “Hell Right” below.

photo by NCD

Vols Fall in Double-Overtime to BYU 29-26, start 0-2

Vols Fall in Double-Overtime to BYU 29-26, start 0-2

Posted on September 8, 2019
UT offense / Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite 154 rushing yards from junior Ty Chandler and a career-high-tying two receiving touchdowns from senior Jauan Jennings, Tennessee fell, 29-26, in double-overtime to BYU Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

With less than a minute remaining in regulation, BYU drove 68 yards in five plays before Jake Oldroyd nailed the game-tying field goal with one second left on the clock.

In the first overtime, the teams traded touchdowns, with BYU scoring first and the Vols responding with a 13-yard strike from Jarrett Guarantano to Jennings to knot the score at 23-23.

In double-overtime, the Vols settled for a field goal following a three-and-out. On BYU’s drive, Ty’Son Williams pushed his way into the endzone to clinch the 29-26 victory for the Cougars.

The Vols fall to 0-2 and will host Chattanooga next Saturday for a noon ET kickoff on SEC Network.

Tennessee kicker Brent Cimaglia tied a career-high with four made field goals, upping his season total to seven made tries on seven attempts.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Vols held BYU less than 300 yards of total offense in regulation, while tallying four sacks and six tackles for loss on the night.

Junior LaTrell Bumphus, had a stand out performance with two sacks, while junior Theo Jackson led UT with nine total tackles.

The Vols got things started in the scoring department Saturday with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that ate 7:15 off the clock. The drive was capped off by a five-yard deflected pass from quarterback Jarrett Guarantano to Jennings on fourth down.

The drive was UT’s second scoring drive of 15 plays or more on the season.

BYU responded with a drive of its own into the red zone. The Cougars were forced to settle for a field goal, following an impressive stand that included a sack from freshman Greg Emerson.

Tennessee regained its seven-point advantage at 10-3, when Cimaglia nailed a 51-yard field goal, tying his career long.

Following a third punt in four drives for BYU, UT closed the first half with a second Cimaglia field goal – this time from 39 yards – to give the Orange and White a 13-3 lead at the break.

Out of the locker room, BYU forced an interception on Tennessee’s first drive of the half. On the ensuing possession, Williams took a carry on third down and scampered 16 yards to the end zone to cut the UT advantage to 13-10.

Following four consecutive punts between the teams, UT finished off a 14-play, 77-yard drive with Cimaglia’s third field goal of the contest to increase the Big Orange lead to 16-10.

The Cougars responded with a 10-plus play drive of their own to cut the UT lead back to three following Oldroyd’s second field goal of the evening.

On the ensuing possession, Tennessee was forced to punt with a minute remaining, setting up BYU’s game-tying drive.

Box Score | Postgame Notes | Pruitt Quotes |
BYU Quotes | Tennessee Player Quotes 

-UT Athletics

Jimmy’s blog: Blown coverage causes UT to blow game against BYU

Jimmy’s blog: Blown coverage causes UT to blow game against BYU

Posted on September 8, 2019

By Jimmy Hyams

You can’t lose that game.

You can’t be ahead with the opponent backed up at its 20-yard line with less than 20 seconds to go and lose.

You can’t let a receiver get behind you.

Let him catch a 10-yard pass, a 20-yard pass, a 30-yard pass.

But not a 64-yarder.

Receiver Micah Simon streaked past Tennessee sophomore cornerback Alontae Taylor for a game-changing gain that put Brigham Young in position for a game-tying field goal with one second left.

In the second overtime, the Cougars crashed into the end zone with a convoy of blockers and pushers escorting Ty’Son Williams into the end zone from the 5-yard line to give BYU an improbable 29-26 victory before a stunned crowd at Neyland Stadium that included about 8,000 visiting fans.

“It’s a tough pill for everybody to swallow,’’ Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said.

Tennessee lost its opener to Georgia State because of lack of effort.

Tennessee lost to BYU because of lack of discipline.

You can’t blame Taylor’s inexcusable error on youth.

Any college corner knows you have to keep the receiver in front of you.

Any high school corner knows you have to keep the receiver in front of you.

A middle schooler knows it.

Asked if Taylor was rattled when the game went into overtime, Pruitt almost erupted.

“He should’ve been rattled after I got on him,’’ Pruitt said post-game. “Just use a little common sense.’’

What defense was Tennessee in?

“The same one we called the previous play when they lost 12 yards,’’ Pruitt said. “We’re in deep thirds and the guy (Simon) gets 20 yards behind our guy.’’

UT didn’t actually cause BYU to lose 12 yards on its last possession, which started at its 16 with 1:01 left.

On the first play, BYU was called for holding and was pushed back to its 8. On the next play, quarterback Zach Wilson threw an incompletion. On the next play, Wilson scrambled for 12 yards to the 20.

Facing third-and-six and the clock running, Wilson hit a wide open Simon for a 64-yard gain to the UT 16 with seven seconds left.

After BYU spiked the ball, the Cougars kicked a gut-wrenching, game-tying 33-yard field goal.

BYU scored a touchdown in the first overtime but the Vols gamely matched that by converting a third-and-11 and then a third-and-10 TD pass to Jauan Jennings.

In the second overtime, UT could only manage a field goal.

BYU used two runs to the 5-yard line before pile driving it into the end zone for the game ender.

“They willed themselves into the end zone, in my opinion,’’ Pruitt said.

Tennessee failed to convert a critical fourth-and-1 at its 30 with just over four minutes left could have helped seal the deal.

UT failed on another fourth-and-1 toward the end of the first half that led to a field goal and a 13-3 halftime lead.

UT also missed on a fourth-and-1 in field-goal range early in the second quarter.

Those failures were costly.

“We’ve got to have the will power to get it in the end zone,’’ Chandler said.

The defeat usurped a nice bounce-back performance for the Vols from the 38-30 debacle against Georgia State the week before.

The Vols’ offensive line was much better as UT took advantage of off-tackle runs and sweeps to pile up 242 yards rushing – 154 by Ty Chandler and 77 by true freshman Eric Gray.

UT outrushed BYU by 135 yards, outgained BYU 418-339, held the ball for eight more minutes, ran 77 plays to 60, and never trailed until overtime.

Tennessee is 0-2 for the first time since 1988, when the Vols opened 0-6 before winning the last five games of the season.

These Vols are reeling and appear to lack confidence.

Can they bounce back from this?

“I’ve been through worse here,’’ senior offensive tackle Marcus Tatum said.

Did that refer to a coaching change? Or losing to South Carolina in 2016 with the East Division title on the line? Or losing to Vanderbilt in 2017 with a Sugar Bowl bid on the line?

What matters now is Tennessee must regroup in a hurry.

“We’ve got to continue to fight,’’ Tatum said.

Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all 

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