Below are some observations and notes from the University of Tennessee’s last two football practices, 7 and 8, along with comments from Jeremy Pruitt on Saturday, here in my blog, Vince’s View.
-For the second day in a row, the team was in shells rather than full pads
-The team had a much shorter practice than normal Saturday, surely in preparation for an important first scrimmage Sunday at Neyland Stadium
-Jeremy Pruitt mentioned Saturday that they want to turn the players loose to see what they can do and how they handle situations without the coaches right next to them
-Pruitt had high praise for true freshman RB Eric Gray
“Eric’s very mature. When you watch him practice and go about his business, he gets it the first time. He learns from other people’s mistakes. He’s got really good ball skills, good vision, good competitor. He jumps out there. He’s very mature when it comes to football playing ability. We’re excited about him. I think he’s had a really good camp so far. Again, this will be a guy that’s been really good at drills, really good at practice, now let’s see how he does when we get over here to the stadium. So, looking forward to seeing that.”
-I’ve said in the off-season, that I expect Gray to be in the top 2 running back rotation before long during the season. If Ty Chandler gets split-out wide a lot, you could see both of them on the field a lot together. Gray (or whoever is the #2 RB at the time) would earn plenty of carries in that scenario because Chandler is so good catch the ball and in open space.
-I know the group just lost Emmit Gooden and there are plenty of question marks about the unit, but I see improvement from many of the defensive linemen. Guys are bigger and stronger individually. I think the unit is larger in stature than it was a year ago. And, I think there are more linemen that Tracy Rocker will be willing to put on the field this year. Last season, it was Kyle Phillips, Shy Tuttle and Alexis Johnson that saw a majority of the snaps. You’ll see most, or all, of the 10 remaining linemen get some early season playing time.
-Obviously, UT needs one of those 10 DLs to be eligible, in Aubrey Solomon. Solomon has looked strong and physical in camp. There’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the former 5-star recruit will start, if eligible immediately as a transfer.
-DT Greg Emerson has been complimented after his reps quite a bit. He’s much more of a factor for playing time this season than he was last season. He’s likely to primarily be used inside at tackle, but he has taken reps in individual drills at end.
–Savion Williams is big (340-ish) but he’s still very inconsistent. He’ll look strong in one drill and draw the ire of Tracy Rocker the next. I would wait until team settings before expecting him to wreck the SEC and label him a star.
-Here is how the defensive linemen lined-up in one drill at Friday’s practice. These have no meaning whatsoever in whom they were paired-up with or depth chart position or anything like that. They weren’t concerned with the personnel pairings, just to get the reps in for the given calls and to do it right. I do think the positions give some insight on how much players will move around the line based on the front that’s called.
4-man fronts
LDE Ja’Quain Blakely
LDT Kingston Harris
RDT Savion Williams
RDE Matthew Butler
-Jeremy Pruitt said they aren’t very close to finding a first five on the offensive line. They have identified 10 or 11 players that are competing. With 13 OLs (counting Trey Smith) that means that there are likely two guys that are on the outside looking in for whatever reason…health, youth, ability, numbers, etc. My guess on those two are redshirt freshman Ollie Lane, who I have not seen during our viewing periods, and true freshman Jackson Lampley, who gets very limited reps. He’s usually with the walk-ons in a scout team position opposing the linemen getting reps.
-Jeremy Pruitt was asked if Jahmir Johnson can play on the right side of the offensive line. I don’t recall seeing Johnson take any right-side reps last year or this year in practices or games. He’s been at guard and tackle but all on the left side. Pruitt has talked about before that some guys can play one position either side, others can play multiple positions but on one side and others can play multiple positions on either side. Johnson has looked good this camp. If Trey Smith plays then he’s likely his backup at LG. If Smith can’t go, or is in-and-out, then Johnson will likely get the nod there. Another reason why I think Johnson hasn’t received many reps at RG is because big K’Rojhn Calbert has his hands around that position, I believe, despite strong competition from Jerome Carvin. Carvin is taking more reps now at RG after the departure of Nathan Niehaus.
-With the o-line and d-line especially, these next two scrimmages will start to separate the true playing time contenders at the start of the season
-I’ll be on SportsTalk with Jimmy Hyams for the vacationing John Wilkerson, so if you have any questions about any players or the team from my vantage point, feel free to call us at 865-656-9900 or tweet me @VinceSports
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt is excited to see the Vols’ young players “turn loose” in the first scrimmage of the 2019 season.
Tennessee held its eighth practice of fall camp on Saturday at Haslam Field. The Vols practiced in shells for a little over an hour with the scrimmage inside Neyland Stadium scheduled for Sunday.
“They need to be thrown out there and turned loose and see what they’re going to do, cause you don’t know what you got until to you go out there and do that,” said Pruitt about the scrimmage. “The way the rules are now you don’t get an opportunity to take them to the ground in a full-scale practice but a few times. It will be interesting because coaches aren’t out there with them. When things don’t go the right way, how’s the team going to respond? Is anyone going to have a positive impact on the folks around them?”
UT returns 18 starters for Pruitt’s second season on Rocky Top. However, the Vols still lack proven depth at several positions and the influx of back-to-back blue chip recruiting classes has young players pushing veterans at nearly every position.
The coaching staff will be looking to see who it can rely on in live game-like situations.
“I’ve seen guys that are really good drill players, may be okay during the team stuff in practice, but when they get to the stadium they disappear,” Pruitt said. “I’ve seen guys that have been good at both of them (drill and team exercises) that get to the stadium and disappear. I’ve never seen one that wasn’t good over here (at the practice field) that gets good over there (at the stadium). It’ll be interesting to see if the guys who’ve had really good camps so far, how they respond when they get to the stadium to get an opportunity to scrimmage.”
Callaway Paces Receivers
Senior wide receiver Marquez Callaway is Tennessee’s leading returning receiver with 37 receptions for 592 yards and two touchdowns a year ago. The Warner Robins, Ga., native has emerged as one of the SEC’s top playmakers over his career with seven career scoring grabs to go along with a pair of punt return touchdowns. His career 13.4 yards-per-punt-return average is the best of any active player in the FBS.
“He’s a good special teams player, he’s a good leader,” Pruitt said. “You’d love to have a team full of guys like Marquez.”
The Vols also return redshirt senior Jauan Jennings, seniors Brandon Johnson and Tyler Byrd and junior Josh Palmer to one of the SEC’s most-experienced wide receiver corps.
Jennings has 87 receptions for 1,184 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career, but battled injuries in 2018 and missed all but one half with a wrist injury in 2017.
Johnson was Tennessee’s leading receiver with 37 grab for 482 yards in 2017, while Byrd has 19 catches and two touchdowns in his career.
Palmer is arguably the most explosive player of the bunch. The Brampton, Ontario, native led the SEC in yards per catch (21.0) a year ago. He totaled 23 receptions for 484 yards and two touchdowns in 2018, adding a 20-yard scoring rush, too.
Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt Press Conference Transcript – Aug. 10
Opening statement:
“We had two really good back-to-back practices here the last couple of days. It seems like the energy is there. We’ve kind of got three groups of players. We’ve got guys that know what to do, they have experience and they kind of know how to play. We’ve got guys that know how to play, know what to do, but they don’t have any experience. And then we’ve got a group of guys that have the ability, but they have yet to learn what to do. Our coaches are doing a really good job pushing these guys and getting them there. It’ll be interesting tomorrow when we scrimmage to see where some of these guys are at.”
On figuring out the starting offensive line:
“I don’t think we’re anywhere close to finding the first group of five. I think we’ve got an idea of who the 10 or 11 guys there that we’re working. We’ve worked several combinations and it’s been good for the group. We’ve had several guys that have put a couple of good practices together but we’re looking for consistency with the entire group, so we’ve got good competition there.”
On the progression of freshmen quarterbacks J.T. Shrout and Brian Maurer:
“I think both guys need experience. They’ve both got really good arm talent. Brian (Maurer) can run around really well, probably when the play breaks down he can extend and hurt you a little bit with his feet there. They’ve got to quit throwing the ball to the other team. They’ve got to take command of the offense when they’re out there. They’ve got to understand situational football. We’re throwing a lot at them and both of them are doing a really good job competing every day, and they’ve created a lot of plays – both of them have. We just got to continue to coach them up and they’ve got to continue working hard to improve every single day.”
On the depth of the defensive line and the status of DL John Mincey:
“I don’t know what it says as much about the defensive line. We have 11 guys out there and there’s not much difference in any of them. If you look there’s three guys that are playing defensive line that were in the program before we got here: Matthew Butler, LaTrell Bumphus, who was playing tight end, and (Ja’Qauin) Blakely. Last year Blakely played fullback and LaTrell played tight end, so they’ve not been there very long [and] all the rest of the guys are new, so there wasn’t a whole lot here when we got here. The guys that played for us last year were seniors and they did a really good job. And then Emmit (Gooden) played some last year, those were really our four best defensive linemen. The guys that are here have good ability, they just got to raise their game. They’ve got to be exposed to new things every single day, and we’ve done that with them. You ask about John Mincey, he’s had a little bit of a lower leg injury, just kind of where we’ve held him out the last couple of days just getting him ready for tomorrow, so he’ll be fine.”
On the progress of the tight ends:
“There are a few guys there at the position. Dom (Wood-Anderson) is a little bit further ahead than the other guys. We have two freshmen, one who was here in the spring and one who was not, in Jackson Lowe and Sean Brown. Princeton Fant is a guy who has bounced around a bit who has good athletic ability, but he’s got to figure out what to do and be consistent every day in practice. He’s improved in doing that and creating the right practice habits. You’ve got Andrew Craig, a guy that played a little bit for us last year at times. He’s worked hard in the camp. Also, Austin Pope. We’ve got guys there. We just have to continue to grow and develop at that position and I think our guys are working hard every day to do that.”
On what he is looking for in the team’s first scrimmage on Sunday at Neyland Stadium:
“To start with, offensively it starts up front. We’re looking for guys that don’t make mental mistakes and don’t beat themselves – guys that know what they’re supposed to do. We’re going to keep the calls simple on both sides of the ball to give the guys a chance to have success playing with the right temperament, playing ‘til the whistle blows, being consistent. Things aren’t always going to go their way, so how do they handle adversity? Who can sustain? Who can finish?
Defensively, we have a lot of really young players. They need to be thrown out there and turned loose and see what they’re going to do, because you don’t know what you got until to you go out there and do that. The way the rules are now you don’t get an opportunity to take them to the ground in a full-scale practice but a few times. It will be interesting because coaches aren’t out there with them. When things don’t go the right way, how’s the team going to respond? Is anyone going to have a positive impact on the folks around them?
It’s always guys that have been really good up to this point, I’ve seen them disappear at the scrimmages. I’ve seen guys that are really good drill players, may be okay during the team stuff in practice, but when they get to the stadium they disappear. I’ve seen guys that have been good at both of them (drill and team exercises) that get to the stadium and disappear. I’ve never seen one that wasn’t good over here (at the practice field) that gets good over there (at the stadium). It’ll be interesting to see if the guys who’ve had really good camps so far, how they respond when they get to the stadium to get an opportunity to scrimmage.”
On what to expect from a tackling and physicality standpoint on defense and where the team is in terms of development:
“We’re improved. We’re definitely improved. We’ve got to do a better job of communicating to give ourselves a chance right now because of lack of experience. Daniel Bituli is a guy that really has done a nice job quarterbacking the defense a little bit, but when you look up front there’s hardly any of those guys that’ve played. Darrell Taylor has played a lot of ball. Deandre Johnson played a little bit at the end of the year last year. At the secondary, you’ve got Alontae (Taylor) and Bryce (Thompson) and Nigel (Warrior). Alontae and Bryce played as freshmen, but how well did they play? There’s a certain standard that we’re trying to get to. These guys understand what that standard is. We’ll see. We’ll see when we go out there.”
On the improvement of the team’s inexperienced players:
“You want to see everybody improve. You hope everybody gets better every single day. It’s kind of where you’re at. You’ve got to challenge the guys. You’ve got to point it out to them and then they’ve got to respond. We’re doing that. I’ve talked about our coaching staff. They’re a great group of teachers. We’ve got a lot of guys that need to be coached. We do have some guys on one side, especially on the offense at wide receiver when you talk about Jauan (Jennings), (Marquez) Callaway, (Josh) Palmer, Dom (Wood-Anderson), Jarrett (Guarantano) – there’s guys – Ty (Chandler), that have experience. Then the guys right after them, there’s not a whole lot of experience there. Then you look up front. Those guys have played a lot of ball, but it’s not been the type of ball that we need to play. We’ve got to improve there, obviously.
On OL Jahmir Johnson fitting in the offense:
“You know, we’ve played him at left tackle, we’ve played him at left guard, we’ve done that with Wanya (Morris), we’ve moved the guys around a lot. There’s nothing to that.”
On if Jahmir Johnson could play right guard:
“Well, I guess you can. I would say there’s probably a difference in the sets, you probably could get more comfortable on one side than the other. I would think that if you can play one side, with a little bit of work, you could probably play the other side.”
On WR Marquez Callaway:
“I think Marquez (Callaway) runs really well, he does. He’s worked hard about getting off releases and finishing, high pointing the football because he’s got a lot of length there. As many good catches as he’s made, extending in the air to get them, there’s probably been a lot that he’d like to have back, so being consistent there. He’s a good special teams player, he’s a good leader. You’d love to have a team full of guys like Marquez.”
On if there is a difference in spirits between the team three weeks out now and last year:
“I don’t think there’s any reason to compare where we’re at right now to last year. It’s not going to have any impact on where this team is going. I think the big thing is to focus on this team. Like I said, we’ve had several good practices in a row. We’ve had two really good practices. I like the energy. When you’re not having to coach effort, the guys are policing themselves, it allows you to be a coach and coach the details and fundamentals. That has been fun to do. We are improving.”
On Eric Gray:
“You know, Eric is very mature. When you watch him practice and go about his business, he gets it the first time. He learns from other people’s mistakes. He’s got really good ball skills, good vision, he’s a good competitor, he jumps out there and is very mature when it comes to football playing abilities. We’re excited about him. I think he’s had a really good camp so far. Again, this will be a guy who has been really good in the drills, really good in practice, so we’ll see how he does when we get over to the stadium, so looking forward to seeing that.”
LAARNE, BELGIUM – The Tennessee women’s basketball team improved to 2-0 on its European tour, blowing past KBBC Upkot Sparta Laarne, 106-64, on Saturday night at Gemeentelijke Sporthal.
The Lady Vols, who traveled to Bruges in the morning to explore that city and returned in the afternoon to Ghent for a tour inside Gravensteen Castle, took a while to hit full speed after making the 30-minute trip to Laarne. An 18-0 UT run over the first 5:51 of the second quarter, though, turned a narrow 19-15 first-quarter lead into a 52-25 runaway by halftime.
Junior guard/forward Rennia Davis led five Big Orange players in double figures, hitting 11 of 15 shots to produce a 25-point, 10-rebound double-double. Sophomore guard Zaay Green tallied 15 points, followed by freshman guard Jordan Horston and sophomore guard/forward Rae Burrellwith 14 each and junior center Kasiyahna Kushkituah with 10.
Horston (7-8) and Green (6-7) missed just one shot apiece, while Burrell nearly recorded her second double-double in as many games on the tour, finishing with nine boards. Sophomore guard Jazmine Massengill, meanwhile, was just shy of her own double-double, firing in nine points while pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds and dishing out six assists.
“Right now, it’s good to play a lot of people, a lot of minutes,” first-year Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said. “We started a little slow today, which could be a result of our travels, but we did a really nice job of changing that, grabbing some momentum and pushing us forward in the second quarter.
“The most important thing for us, I think, is just finding a way to get better each day. It may be little details right now, but that’s going to matter later on.”
UT hit eight of 16 shots in the opening stanza for 50-percent accuracy, but it gave up 15 points to the home team in that period before picking up the intensity in the second frame. UT outscored KBBC Upkot Sparta Laarne 33-10 in the quarter, connecting on 13 of 20 field goals while limiting Laarne to 4-of-23 shooting (.174). Davis tallied eight of her points in that 10 minutes, including six in the opening moments of the second.
UT, which hit 57 percent for the game on 44-of-77 marksmanship, knocked down seven of 14 field goal tries in the third. The Lady Vols, however, allowed 20 to the hosts and headed to the final stanza leading 72-45. UT closed out the contest by knocking down 16 of 27 field goal attempts to outscore Laarne, 34-19, over the final 10 minutes. Davis had 10 points during that quarter to help UT improve to 23-7 all-time on foreign soil, including 16-7 vs. non-NCAA teams.
For the second straight game, UT was 17 of 24 at the free throw line for 71 percent. Tennessee also had command of the glass, out-rebounding Laarne, 62-23, and grabbed 10 steals, including three each from Green and Horston, and two from Burrell.
From a turnover standpoint, the Lady Vols committed 19, but had only one in the final frame. The staff continues to distribute the minutes to get looks at the entire roster, which includes six players who had never suited up for the Big Orange before this season.
The Lady Vols make their way to France on Sunday and will meet Parisian Select at Gymnase Joliot Curie in Brétigny-sur-Orge on Tuesday at 5 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET) to close out the three-game schedule.
Cumulus Broadcasting Knoxville’s Sports Department staff was at Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt’s meeting with the media Saturday after practice 8 of the fall and just before the team’s first scrimmage of camp Sunday at Neyland Stadium. Watch that entire press conference below.
Vols HC Jeremy Pruitt / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
Cumulus Broadcasting Knoxville’s Sports Department staff covers Tennessee football practice daily. The Vols held practice #8 of the fall on Saturday at Haslam Field in Knoxville ahead of Sunday’s scrimmage at Neyland Stadium. Below is some footage from today’s practice. Check back for videos after every practice with media viewing.
Vols LB Darrell Taylor / Credit: 99.1 The Sports Animal
Cumulus Broadcasting Knoxville’s Sports Department staff covers Tennessee football practice daily. The Vols held practice #7 of the fall on Friday night at Haslam Field in Knoxville. Below is some footage from tonight’s practice. Check back for videos after every practice with media viewing.
KNOXVILLE, TN – APRIL 13, 2019 – The Tennessee Volunteers during the 2019 Chevrolet Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics
By Vince Ferrara / @VinceSports
Below are some observations and notes from the University of Tennessee’s last two football practices, 5 and 6, along with comments from Jeremy Pruitt and three UT players the last two days here in my blog, Vince’s View.
-The full pads are now on the UT football team, which can be a game-changer for many players
-The big news this week was the injury to DT Emmit Gooden that will cost him the entire 2019 season. As Pruitt pointed out, he will have another year of eligibility next season.
-Gooden was the only player on the defensive line that you could pencil-in as a starter with any confidence. DE Aubrey Solomon will definitely start if he’s eligible, but that’s obviously still up in the air. Matthew Butler has the most game experience on the d-line, so he’s maybe the favorite to start, but that’s also still a question mark. Now, you have a wide-open, unsettled situation at defensive tackle.
-Here are the games played and career starts for the entire d-line along with their most likely positions on the defensive front after removing Emmit Gooden and Kurott Garland (transfer portal and hasn’t practiced)…
Defensive Ends (7) Matthew Butler (Jr) 6’4, 295 (3-star) 17 GP/1 start LaTrell Bumphus (Jr) 6’3, 273 (3-star) 22 GP/1 start at TE Ja’Quain Blakely (R-Jr) 6’2, 284 (3-star) 14 GP/0 starts John Mincey (So) 6’3, 271 (3-star) 5 GP/0 starts Darel Middleton (Jr) 6’7, 311 (3-star) 0 GP Savion Williams (Jr) 6’4, 304 (4-star) 0 GP Aubrey Solomon (R-Jr) 6’5, 299 (5-star) 18 GP/0 starts Total: 76 GP/2 starts (only 1 at DL)
One start left as a defensive lineman. Think about that. This is arguably the most important position group in football after quarterback and UT has very little experience. Even after this remaining group gets experience, the question remains if they have any difference makers among them.
You could very well see Savion Williams, Aubrey Solomon or Darel Middleton get some reps inside to add to that competition there. Pruitt didn’t sound concerned about the numbers on the defensive front. There will also be plays (especially in pass rush situations) where you can slide ends inside to go smaller and quicker with outside linebackers like Darrell Taylor, Deandre Johnson, Quavaris Crouch or Roman Harrison put their hands in the dirt to replace those ends that are inside. They have options. The quality in the combined front seven is the unknown. Finding stars among the newcomers can make a huge difference here.
I think this group, although not perfect, has looked improved in camp so far. The group is definitely bigger, looks stronger and for the most part, gives DL coach Tracy Rocker effort.
-True freshman QB Brian Maurer has some juice in that arm. His sideline throws get there in a hurry and are impressive.
-QB Jarrett Guarantano continues to look solid and accurate in the viewing periods we’ve seen. Seeing him in team settings would be much more telling though.
-The team will hold a closed scrimmage this Sunday. That will be big for the players to start to show separation in competition at their respective positions.
-Another big story this week was OL Nathan Niehaus leaving the team and releasing a statement explaining injuries taking a toll on his body as the reason for it. Niehaus played in 10 games at Tennessee with 6 starts. Twice when LT Trey Smith came out of games last season before returning, Niehaus was the first option off the bench at LT. He’s played both guard and tackle with the ability to play on either side of the line.
-Niehaus’ departure leaves the Vols now with 13 scholarship OLs. I broke down the main positions of the OLs in my post-practice 4 blog.
-OL coach Will Friend and OC Jim Chaney still have sufficient bodies to work with. Trey Smith, Jerome Carvin, Riley Locklear, K’Rojhn Calbert and Chris Akporoghene have been getting a lot of the guard reps during our viewing periods. You have young OLs Ollie Lane and Jackson Lampley that could see their roles grow. Plus, Jahmir Johnson, Wanya Morris, Ryan Johnson and Brandon Kennedy all have the potential to play guard, if needed.
-WR Jauan Jennings didn’t want to get in trouble by talking about individual teammates rather than the team and positions as a whole. Instead, he did most of the interview session with a smile on his face and delivered some great lines after I first asked him about trash talking. He also has a hilarious answer to Jimmy Hyams’ question about being the alpha male of the wide receiver room. Listen to that interview HERE.
-Jeremy Pruitt raved about true freshman LB Henry To’oto’o this week…
“Henry’s a guy that things have come really easy to him. He picks things up. Instinctive. He can cover. Fits the runs. He’s what you’re looking for as a linebacker. He’s pretty advanced for a young guy at the position. He’s capable of being a signal caller. He’s a guy that can play all three downs. He goes out there and works every day. He’s a hard working guy. He’s tough. He’s physical. He’s just got to continue to do that and work hard to improve every day.”
-I’ve said going back to recruiting how good I thought he would be and that he was my favorite player in last year’s class. He’s the total package at linebacker…can run, great size, physical, instinctive, smart, versatile, tough, coachable, hard-working and from all accounts has great passion for the game. Boom. He’s going to find a spot on the field sooner rather than later. Then, it will be very hard to find a reason to take him off the field in my opinion.
(This is the second in a four-part series on what some SEC coaches had to say about other SEC teams. We will focus on the title contenders.)
By Jimmy Hyams
Alabama has won five of the last 10 national championships. It has won more games in the past dozen years than any other program in college football, including Clemson.
Yet, the Tide took it on the chin in the national title game last season, falling to Clemson 44-16 as the Tigers scored the last 30 points of the game.
That should serve to motivate Saban and his team. But will that be enough to record a sixth national crown under Saban?
“Nick Saban went 14-0 (before facing Clemson) and was miserable because of all the staff changes and nobody knew how to do it the Alabama way,’’ one SEC coach said. “Now it’s going to be the Steve Sarkisian experiment (as offensive coordinator). Can he score points?
“They’ve got holes in the defense. I can see them losing 2-3 games (Saban is 103-10 the last 8 years). They lost (linebacker) Mack Wilson. They’re missing guys up front. (Defensive tackle) Raekwan Davis didn’t play that well last year.
“The team that will give them the most trouble in the West is Texas A&M.’’
Although quarterback Tua Tongaviloa put up incredible numbers, he didn’t play well against Clemson.
“I think Tua needs to humble himself,’’ one SEC coach said. “I think he did some bad things in the bowl game that cost the team because he put himself ahead of the team. He needs to understand Alabama won national championships by playing great defense and special teams and not beating itself. In the national championship game, the quarterback play was atrocious, and some would say the play calling, too.’’
Yet, said another coach: “I don’t think they’ll miss a beat on offense.’’
Most experts consider Georgia the main threat to Alabama’s SEC thrown.
The Bulldogs lost close calls to Alabama each of the past two years, last season in the SEC title game, the year before in the national championship game.
Is Georgia ready to unseat Alabama?
“After Texas beat the hell out of Georgia in the bowl game, Kirby Smart had to take a big look in the mirror,’’ one SEC coach said. “He hangs his hat on defense and Texas shredded his defense. Oklahoma did the same thing two years ago. That gives people an idea how to move the football on Georgia’s defense. Texas ran it right up their butt. Oklahoma beat them on the perimeter. And you can’t say Georgia ain’t got players.’’
One draft analyst says Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm will be the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft. One SEC coach isn’t so sure.
“Jake Fromm is a talented guy but I don’t think he’s one of the five best quarterbacks in Georgia history,’’ the coach said. “He makes some bad throws and he has struggled picking up different coverages. But he does have a strong arm and he’s talented. But he will miss (OC) Jim Chaney (now at Tennessee).’’
Another SEC coach had a different viewpoint.
“I really like Fromm,’’ he said. “He’s an NFL style quarterback, cerebral, can run better than people think, very accurate thrower. If you gave me one quarterback in this league to pick, he’d be the guy.’’
With success comes expectations. Can the Bulldogs handle that?
“Georgia can’t back slide,’’ one coach said. “Those fans think they’re going to win the national championship every year.’’
LSU is another team to watch. Many project to Tigers as a top 10 team, but they’ve been shutout by Alabama in two of the past three years.
“I thought Ed Orgeron did a nice job last year,’’ one coach said. “He does a good job recruiting. He’s one of them (Cajun). LSU doesn’t always do a good job evaluating, but Ed’s done a good job. Tennessee should have hired him after Lane Kiffin left (2010). He’d have done a helluva lot better than Derek Dooley or Butch Jones. If Ed had stayed at Tennessee, Tennessee would probably be the best program in the East right now.’’
That is certainly debatable, but what isn’t debatable is the progress of quarterback Joe Burrow, the Ohio State transfer who played very well the second half of last season.
“I like their quarterback, Joe Burrow,’’ one SEC coach said. “He’s very efficient, tough. (OC) Steve Ensminger does a good job putting him in situations where he can succeed.
“And (defensive coordinator) Dave Aranda is a consistently good coach – as good of a defensive coordinator as there is in the SEC. Defensively, they’re good but really by their standards, not where they want to be statistically. They’re still good but not great, and they lost some key players.’’
Two other teams that could challenge are Florida and Texas A&M.
“I think Jimbo Fisher is as good a coach as they come,’’ one SEC coach said. “The biggest difference in the program from the first to the second year is to set the culture. I have a high level of respect for the way Jimbo runs his program.
“He did a helluva job with that kid Kellon Mond, he really did. I didn’t think Mond would be that good. That son of a gun was really good.
“They’ll miss (SEC leading rusher) Trayveon Williams. But they’ll sign some running backs. Trust me when I tell you that. There are running backs all over the state of Texas.
If A&M gets Alabama at home (the game is at Kyle Field) they’ve got a chance. It will be a barn burner and an expensive ticket. I think A&M has enough talent and a good staff. Mike Elko is as good of a proven (defensive) coordinator as there is in this league.’’
Another coach wasn’t as high on Fisher: “Jimbo is a good football coach, but didn’t win the ACC every year and it’s a helluva lot easier to win the ACC than the SEC.’’
Florida went from four wins to 10 and established itself as a team to beat in the SEC.
“Dan Mullen did a helluva job with (quarterback) Feleipe Franks,’’ said one SEC coach. “Franks was very average before Dan got there. One thing about Mullen at Florida, he will have as good or better defenses than he had at Mississippi State, and he’s not playing a West schedule (in the SEC). So if he can duplicate at Florida on offense what he did at State, he’ll challenge for the East every year.
“If he can get the best athletes in the state if Florida and coach them up, he’ll win a lot of games. And he’s got a really good defensive coordinator in Todd Grantham.’’
Another coach is also high on Mullen.
“Mullen got as much out of his talent as anybody in the league (last year),’’ one coach said. “And I think Florida will be much improved. I’ve got a lot of respect for Mullen. There’s an argument he’s the best quarterback coach in all of the Southeast.’’
Kip Moore is giving fans their first taste of new music from his upcoming fourth studio album with the release of lead single “She’s Mine.”
Kip produced the new single, which he co-penned with Dan Couch and Scott Stepakoff.
“I wrote this song at a time in my life when I realized that my life was flipped upside down and I didn’t know which way was up,” says Kip. “Every experience from there forward, I felt like everything was going to be a surprise. I didn’t know where I was going to end up, who I was going to meet or who I was going to be with. I’m fired up to be getting new music out there, and this song is just the beginning. I know the fans are ready and so am I.”
Kip’s forthcoming project follows his 2018 EP, Room to Spare: The Acoustic Sessions, and his 2017 studio album, Slowheart, which spawned hits “More Girls Like You” and “Last Shot.”
After dropping lead single, “What If I Never Get Over You,” in May, Lady Antebellum is giving fans their second taste of new music from their upcoming eighth studio album with the release of “Pictures.”
The new tune was penned by Lady A’s Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley and Hillary Scott with Sarah Buxton and Corey Crowder.
“We live in a world right now, especially with social media, where everyone’s lives can look happy and pretty,” said Lady A’s Hillary Scott. “We wrote this song to reflect on the reality that things are more complex than that. As good as something might look in brief moments, there are so many layers to who people really are and what’s really going on. I love the juxtaposition of how this song’s lyrics dig in while feeling laid-back and groovy.”
The trio’s upcoming album will be their first project since leaving Universal Music Group and signing with Big Machine.
![Kip Moore Drops Rowdy Lead Single, “She’s Mine,” From Upcoming 4th Studio Album [Listen]](https://cdn.socast.io/6616/sites/602/2019/08/09104731/Kip-Moore.jpg#aqua_resizer_image_not_local)
