Country star Craig Morgan—who spent 10 years on active duty in the U.S. Army in the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions—recently completed his 11th USO Tour, which spanned seven days and five countries, including Germany, Afghanistan, Qatar, Iraq and Italy.
photo courtesy of DoD by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann
Craig was joined by a host of celebrities and athletes on the recent tour, including chef Robert Irvine, surfer Makua Rothman, former MLB player Shane Victorino, and UFC fighters BJ Penn, Felice Herrig and Chris Weidman.
Since Craig’s first USO Tour in 2002, he has visited 15 countries during 11 tours, entertaining more than 45,000 service members. Craig served in the Army for 10.5 years, with an additional 6.5 in the Army Reserves.
In 2018, Craig was awarded the Army’s Outstanding Civilian Service Medal in recognition of his dedication to entertaining troops and their families around the world. The Outstanding Civilian Service Medal is one of the highest awards that the Department of the Army can bestow upon a civilian. The Army recognized Craig for his significant dedication to supporting military members who have served their country, often in harm’s way.
Craig has scored numerous Top 10 hits over his career, including “That’s What I Love About Sunday,” “Redneck Yacht Club” and “Bonfire.”
photo courtesy DoD by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann
Tennessee Volunteers wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Tee Martin spoke to the media on Tuesday in a press conference setting. This was Martin’s first full availability since joining the staff.
UT WR coach & pass game coordinator Tee Martin / Credit: Cumulus Knoxville Staff
Tennessee Volunteers defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley spoke to the media on Tuesday in a press conference setting. This was Ansley’s first full availability since joining the staff.
Vols DC Derrick Ansley / Credit: Cumulus Knoxville Staff
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It was an easy decision for Derrick Ansley to return to Rocky Top after spending a season in the NFL as the Oakland Raiders’ defensive backs coach.
Ansley, who was hired as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator in February, said his relationship with head coach Jeremy Pruitt and the lure of Tennessee’s campus, resources and fanbase was strong enough to pull him back to the college game.
“Being from the South and coming back to the South was very appealing to me,” Ansley said. “Working with Coach Pruitt was probably the ace in the hole for me because he kind of gave me my start as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 2010 when he was the secondary coach. He and I have a very, very strong and unique bond. I consider him one of my biggest mentors. He’s helped me along the way throughout my career.”
Ansley was an assistant at Huntingdon College, an NCAA Division III school in Montgomery, Ala., when he first met Pruitt, and the pair eventually worked together at Alabama in 2010-11 before Ansley came to Tennessee as the cornerbacks coach in 2012. He also coached the secondary and was co-defensive coordinator at Kentucky (2013-2015) before reuniting with Pruitt at Alabama as the DBs coach (2016-17).
“Coming back here, working here at Tennessee in 2012, the familiarity with the campus, the fanbase, it was a really easy sell for me to come back,” Ansley said.
Tennessee’s hire of Ansley was a coup after the 14-year coaching veteran and two-time national champion transformed the Raiders’ defensive back unit into one of the NFL’s most improved last fall.
The Raiders had 14 interceptions with Ansley in 2018 after totaling only five in 2017. Ansley coached Gareon Conley in Oakland. Conley finished fifth in the NFL with 15 passes defended as he made tremendous strides in his second year in the league, starting 14 games after appearing in only two games as a rookie.
Ansley believes his NFL experience will give him an advantage back in college football.
“I think that just gives me a little more credibility with the guys because all of them always ask me ‘how is the league, how is practice different than what we do here, how is the 16-game schedule with the preseason,’” he said. “I think it gives a coach a little bit more of a credibility factor on dealing with guys that want to go to the NFL.”
Chevrolet Orange and White Game will Feature First Team Offense vs. First Team Defense
Pruitt announced on Tuesday the format of the Chevrolet Orange and White Game, the annual spring exhibition this Saturday at 6 p.m. at Neyland Stadium.
The first team offense will be paired with the second team defense and the first team defense will be paired with the second team offense to give the fans the most competitive matchups: 1s versus 1s and 2s versus 2s.
The game will be played with a running clock until the final four minutes of each half, and Pruitt is looking for an uptempo game.
“I think we hope to play a little faster so we can get more snaps,” Pruitt said. “We like to get somewhere between the 65-70 (plays) range. Something that has to do with putting drives together. I think it will be a great opportunity.”
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Defensive Coordinator Derrick Ansley Press Conference Transcript
On talent-level of the defense:
“I think we have a lot of talent. We are built back-end forward. We have some seniors up front that have played a lot of ball. Darrell Taylor being one. He has done a really nice job this spring. Daniel Bituli in the middle has done a really good job quarterbacking the defense, getting us lined up and in and out of checks. And done a really good job leading by example. If you look at the backend with Nigel Warrior and Baylen Buchanan, although Baylen is out this spring dealing with (an injury). Both those guys are out there every day being consistent leaders. We have plenty enough talent to be successful on the defensive side of the ball.”
On his year with Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders:
“On man, I learned a lot. Coach Gruden is a ball guy. Everybody knows that. He’s very intense and very thorough in his preparation and how he goes about his business. I learned a lot about how to run a team, how to build a team, how to manage a locker room – through the highs and lows of our season last year. I would say I learned a lot from him. I consider him one of my friends. We still talk on a daily basis and stay in touch very closely.”
On having an NFL background:
“If we are recruiting the right guys – all the guys that come here and are in our program now – all of them have goals to go to the next level. So with me having NFL experience, I think that just gives me a little more credibility with the guys because all of them always ask me ‘how is the league, how is practice different than what we do here, how is the 16-game schedule with the preseason?’ I think it gives a coach a little bit more of a credibility factor on dealing with guys that want to go to the NFL versus a guy that may not have had that NFL experience moving forward.”
On having an SEC background:
“I think it helps. Most of the guys in our room, on all side of the ball, I’ve recruited a lot of those guys. From Deangelo (Gibbs), Nigel (Warrior), Baylen (Buchanan), a lot of those guys … Darrell Taylor. We’ve all known a lot of those guys for awhile. So coming back here, there wasn’t any new faces so to speak. It was just me getting acclimated to how these guys have matured in the year that I was away from college football. It’s been an easy learning curve.”
On why he left the Raiders for the Vols:
“I think anytime you take a job you have to create value for yourself and you have to take in the family factor. Being from the South and coming back to the South was very appealing to me. Working with Coach Pruitt was probably the ace in the hole for me because he kind of gave me my start as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 2010 when he was the secondary coach. He and I have a very, very strong and unique bond. I consider him one of my biggest mentors. He’s helped me along the way throughout my career. Even when we didn’t work together. When he was at Georgia and Florida State, we always talked and always bounced ideas off each other. He’s helped me tremendously grow as a young coach. Coming back here, working here at Tennessee in 2012, the familiarity with the campus, the fanbase, it was a really easy sell for me to come back.”
On personnel that he inherits:
“From a personnel standpoint, I was at Alabama for two years and before that I was at Kentucky for three years. Every year we competed against Tennessee. So, I was very familiar with the personnel that these guys inherited and I talked to coach Pruitt, coach Rumph, coach Sherrer and coach Rocker all through last season when I was on the west coast. I was very aware of the personnel we had coming in here and I’ve known these coaches for five to 10 years and I have known coach Rocker for almost 20 years. When I was a player at Troy he recruited me. With the familiarity and knowing those guys, it was an easy transition because we all respect each other and know each other. We all have the right intentions with the kids.”
On his fingerprints on the defense scheme:
“We are going to run the defense through coach Pruitt’s vision. We all have the same philosophy and the same vision. The main thing we want to see when we turn on our tape is guys flying around, communicating and playing clean football. If we do that, we will give ourselves a chance to be successful in the SEC.”
On coming back to the college game:
“The relationship with coach Pruitt made it an easy, no-brainer for me, but also to coordinate a defense for the first time in the SEC at a storied program like Tennessee. We have an unbelievable tradition and an incredible boss in coach Fulmer, who give us everything we need resource wise here. To come back to be a defensive coordinator and work with coach Pruitt, both of those things were very positive in coming back.”
On Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson:
“Coach Pruitt did a really good job of developing those guys last year. Both of those guys played a ton of ball as freshmen. They are not learning on the job anymore. Now, it is about fine tuning the techniques and going out every single day and mastering those techniques. Both of those guys are competitive, have a unique skillset and play corner very different, but effective. We look forward to those guys being the cornerstone of the defense moving forward.”
On Darrell Taylor from a leadership perspective:
“When you look at Darrell, he is a guy when you turn on tape that jumps out. He was a guy that made a decision to come back for his senior year and we all appreciate that because he is a difference maker. One thing that you don’t see on the field is him grabbing guys like Deandre Johnson and Jordan Allen. Even the young guys like Jaylen McCollough and Warren Burrell, I see him high fiving and being positive with the young guys we have back there. That kind of leadership is contagious and as coaches you always want to try and build on that and promote that kind of leadership.”
On Pruitt’s willingness to give up play calling duties:
“I think it shows that he trusts me and it shows me that he has the same kind of philosophy as me. This is coach Pruitt’s defense. I am just going to try and get it the way that he wants it. He is going to let me call the plays which is very valuable for my growth. My job is to make sure we have success on defense.”
On the defense line:
“It starts with Coach Rocker up front. Coach Rocker puts in hard work every day. He’s always the first one in the building. He’s the one that coaches those guys with a lot of passion and you can see that passion trickle out through the players. John Mincey has been developing. He didn’t play a whole lot last year, but he is a guy that is working hard every day and mastering his ability. You talk about Emmit (Williams). Emmit has kind of been a rock inside. And we have a slew of other guys. Butler has done a really good job inside and Aubrey Soloman is working hard to master his position. All of those guys are working hard. We just need to continue to have those guys to work out throughout spring and summer so, they can come in to fall camp ready to go.”
On Deangelo Gibbs on the defensive side of the ball:
“I love it. I’ve known him since his eighth grade year. It’s hats off to him that he can go out there and the first 10 practices learn our offense which is very complex with coach Chaney and then come over on defense for the last five and play a complex defense. It has been a breathe of fresh air for the defensive guys especially in the secondary that he is able to get in there and fill in right now without missing a beat. He is ultra-competitive, has great ball skills, has a unique skillset and is a bigger man. We are very thrilled to have him over there and coach Pruitt will kind of figure out where he will land this summer and we are going to make the best decision for the team and for him.
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Tennessee Assistant Head Coach Tee Martin Press Conference Transcript
On talent at wide receiver:
“I’ll start with the wide receiving group, I was really impressed. It’s a group of four seniors that have played a lot of football. The first thing I look for is toughness and the will to win. It starts with number 15. He’s been a solid force for a lot of years and he’s the guy at practice that gets guys going, when a play needs to be made, he steps up and makes the play. Marquez Callaway has also been playing tough, he’s a little banged up. One thing you like to see through leadership is guys who can play through pain and play through a little bit of adversity. Marquez has been doing a good job of doing that. Another guy that’s been doing a good job is Josh Palmer. He’s had a couple of touchdowns in the last two scrimmages and been very consistent mentally and physically. As a unit, I like where we are. We’ve grown a lot throughout the spring. Quarterback-wise, Jarrett Guarantano has done a great job and I’m really impressed by his arm talent and really impressed by him mentally being able to handle a few offenses over the last few years and then now getting a complicated offense with a lot of operating at the line of scrimmage and checks and things of that nature. That’s what quarterbacks do at the University of Tennessee. So I’ve been really impressed by him.”
On bringing the 1998 championship ring and bringing up his past at UT:
“I haven’t done it yet. At some point we’ll get there. I’ve been moving a lot and trying to get settled into the house, but we’ll get there. For me, that’s a very special symbol of pride, of hard work, of determination and all of those things coming together as a team. I’ll find the right time to do that. I’m looking forward to that moment, hopefully it’s during training camp, maybe it’s some point during the season. Once this group gels together we’ll get to things like that.”
On the moment it sank in he was here:
“It hits me at different times. Really just walking around the building and sitting in my office as a coach here. As a player, you kind of hang around and go check on your coaches and then go about your business. Over the years, I’ve come back for games and everything was happening over at the stadium. It had been a long time since I had been over in this building and had seen everything. When it finally kind of set in, it was coming in early in the morning, being here late at night, recruiting for the school that you played at and had so many great memories at. It kind of hits me at different times when I’m around the building or I’m on the phone with recruits. I’m really selling the place that I played at. It’s not just a job for me, it means more to me since I’ve done it here at this place and had the opportunity to come back and get it back to what I know it can be. It’s been a different feeling for me, because I’ve been a lot of places that I’ve liked when I was there coaching, but nothing is like coming back home.”
On first impression of Ramel Keyton:
“Really good. I’ve only ever been around two other wide receivers in my coaching career that have been early high school graduates. Both of them came in and were injured and we didn’t get to see much of them. The first thing that you’re concerned about is the physical conditioning of the young man coming out of high school and going straight into the way of college practicing, lifting weights, the classroom regimen, the weight room regimen, the meeting schedule, it can be a lot for a young man to adjust to. Ramel has been smooth. We’ve been challenging him every day to play fast. Sometimes a young man comes out of high school and they were the fastest guy on the field and then when you get to college, the junior and seniors and guys with more experience move a lot quicker than you do and you’re the slow guys. I’m really proud of what he’s learned and what he’s accomplished. During the first scrimmage, you could tell he had a little nervousness about him. He dropped a couple of balls, but then came back in the second scrimmage and made every play that came his way. And also only had two mental assignment errors the whole scrimmage. That says a lot about his mindset and his determination. Josh Palmer has really taken him on as a little brother, you see them in here doing extra work and catching balls on their own, watching film on their own. Ramel is always asking for ways to get better and asking about how he’s doing. He’s an eager young man and that’s what you like to have in a freshman receiver.”
On learning about Josh Palmer’s background:
“Josh was the only one that I recruited at my last stop. I was down in Miami recruiting and had a buddy that was a receivers coach at St. Thomas Aquinas that said he didn’t know what the kid can do and that he was from Canada. I watched him run and offered him a scholarship at USC. At the time he was looking at Syracuse and at other places closer to where he was from. I left him alone a little bit and them looked up and he had signed with Tennessee. So I was actually happy that he signed with Tennessee even though I was somewhere else because I thought he was a talent. The only concern at that time was how much football he had played. He reminds me of Nelson Agholor. Although Nelson had played a lot of football coming into college from high school, he had played a lot of running back and not wide receiver, so when Nelson moved to wide receiver, he hung on every detail that I coached on. Whether it was depths, releases, the way to catch the ball or reading conversions and coverage, Nelson hung on every word that I said. And I can see Josh in the meetings mentally processing as I’m talking. It really reminds me of Nelson. Josh has really improved this spring. I’m really impressed with where we started 13 practices ago and then where we are right now. I’m really excited about a summer with him, knowing what the potential and capabilities are for a young man like him. He has the size, the speed, the hands, the route running and the releases. He has the ability to be a big time player in the future.”
On the Lady Vols hiring Kellie Jolly Harper and his time as a student-athlete with her:
“Three-time national champion, how could you forget that? Congratulations to her and her family, she’s been successful at her previous stops. I’m happy to get back some Tennessee blood. You know, Holly (Warlick) was, and she did a great job for us as a university, and for that women’s basketball program. But it was exciting to see someone from the family and someone who was around during the time that we were in school. We were undefeated and they were undefeated, it was pretty cool to see that in parallel. We were complaining about how hard Phillip (Fulmer) was on us, they were complaining about Pat, rest in peace. So, I’m really excited for her, and I’m looking forward to welcoming her back.”
On experience at wide receiver:
“The thing that you want most is the experience that they have. There’s no substitute for experience. A guy knowing what it’s like to play against Georgia and Florida and be on the road at Alabama, there’s no way that I can explain that to Ramel (Keyton). But, the four seniors in the room, they understand what that’s like. The only thing that’s a negative when you inherit guys that are veterans is you have to break some of the old habits and the ways that some of the other coaches may have asked you to do things in the past. Some of these guys have had three different guys telling them that. The first thing you have to do is build trust. When I first got the job, it was just a lot of talking to them on the phone, bringing them by the office and sitting down and getting to know them and having them get the opportunity to know me. Some of them may have seen the pictures on the wall and all of that stuff but have never had a relationship or have never had the opportunity to get to know me. And, that’s where coaching begins. Before I can ask a young man to go out and give me one hundred percent effort, he needs to know that I care about him, that I know who he is, and that I want him to get better. So, that’s what I wanted to establish coming into spring ball, because I knew that once we got on the field, I’m kind of a different person when we get on the field. But they know I care about them, and they know that everything that I ask them to do is to get them better and to get our offense better, and ultimately get our team better. So, the positive is they are experienced. The negative, if there is one, is some of the old habits that have to be broken to get them to do the things that we would like them to do the way that we would like for them to do it.”
On last season at USC:
“It was kind of a perfect storm last year. A young team, we had lost our top offensive players at every position, whether it was wide receiver, losing your quarterback, your top tight end, and it was what it was. We didn’t perform the way that you need to perform at a place like that. And, you get canned. But, every coach in this business, at some point, is going to get fired. For me, it was a lesson for me to learn about planning for your future and doing the best that you can do at job that you’re currently at. You can’t take a job worried about losing your job, and you can’t think about your last job when you take the next job. It was my first opportunity going through that. And, it was positive to leave a place that was really good. I have no bad words to say about where I came from. But then, you get blessed up and come to Tennessee. So, it was a blessing for me.”
On impressions of Deangelo Gibbs and campaigning for him on offense:
“Oh yeah, I’m going to campaign. First off, he was with us for nine or ten practices, and I thought the young man displayed speed, he has good hands, he has big hands, strong hands, athletic ability, he can stretch the field and he made some big catches at times. He was physical, blocking, so there was a good skill set there for an offensive player. But, at the end of the day, we have to do what’s best for our overall football team, and if there’s help needed in the secondary, you know they pulled him over to the secondary and he went and made an interception in the scrimmage with one hand. So, who knows? But I’m going to always fight for the receiver room and try to get the best players in there, and if he stays on defense we’ll go out and recruit and try to fill that void in recruiting.”
On what the first day was like back in Knoxville as a coach:
“It was surreal. There was nervousness there, just because it’s the first time coming back in this role. You’ve got to remember, the last time I lived here and spent every day here, I was 21 years old. And now, you return with four kids, a wife and a dog. You’re a totally different person. But, to see Angela and Kim and Max, Fraz, Condredge, people who were here when I was a young man and helped me grow to be the man that I am today, they were still around giving me hugs and high-fives. That gave me a sense of being back at home again. Then there’s embracing the new. It is a better place that it was when we left it. You just look around and you can tell. The buildings are nice and things of that nature, and it’s great having Coach Fulmer back. It really hit me when we were in an academic meeting and I was paying attention to them talk and I look to my left and Coach is sitting right there. It’s a little different then being a player, but it was surreal. It took me a couple of weeks to actually get used to being back here as a coach in a different role.”
Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt – 2019 Spring Practice April 9, 2019
Opening Statement:
“To start with, Carlin Fils-aime is out for the spring now. He had to have a procedure on his leg. He will be back and ready to go in July. It is unfortunate for him. He was having a really good spring, and with being a senior and in his last go around, he was frustrated with it, but it is something that needed to be done and he will be back better than ever. With the scrimmage the other day, offensively there were a few things I thought we had done well. We eliminated penalties, eliminated third downs, handled the four-minute situation, but we still have a bad snap or two occasionally. Offensively, we cannot start a play if you cannot get the ball from the center to the quarterback. We have to improve from that standpoint, and we cannot have any issues there. We did not create that many explosive plays as we would like too. We created to many negative plays whether it was in the run game or in sacks, and just not finishing. Whether it is in the run game, the pass game, or blocks, you have to be able to finish. Defensively, I thought there was a lot more strain on the defensive side of the ball. I saw a little more effort than I saw in the previous scrimmage with a lot more not back tackles and guys trying to finish. Guys were pressuring the quarterback. We did give up a couple of big plays and we need to eliminate those. We really got to improve consistency at all three levels whether it starts with communication, getting lined up, or playing the proper technique. We got to find a way to get more turnovers. In the kicking game, Brent Cimaglia continues to have a good camp. We got to get more consistency with our punters and our long snappers. They have plenty of ability and experience. Just have to do it every single day the right way. We got three opportunities this week. We got to continue to work hard and be a tough, fundamentally sound football team. Today is another opportunity. We will see where we go and really improve from the last scrimmage to this scrimmage. We had 12 pretty good days, and today is day 13. We are pretty excited to get back out there. I think our guys have worked hard and we have come a long ways since spring has started. We have to continue to improve and clean up some of our techniques so we can play clean football.”
Credit: UT Athletics
On offense being further along in certain areas:
“We have been more consistent running the football, and we have less mental errors this year than this time last year. We are bigger and stronger. We can push a little more and with more consistency doing that. I think especially with our ones, Jarrett (Guarantano) has experience and Saturday was not his best practice and might have been his worst practice for the spring, but we got to have more consistency there. We have some guys with playmaking abilities on the offensive side that have some experience putting in a new system. I think it has relatively been easy for the guys, just watching from afar at it. You could not tell it was a new system.”
On format of the spring game:
“We will have the Orange Team and the White Team. One team will consist of the first defense and the second offense. They will play against the first offense and the second defense. We will play a game. We traditionally in the spring will have a running clock until we get to the last four minutes of each half, then it goes into a two-minute situation. If you play that way, you’re probably going to get 50 snaps with each group. I think we hope to play a little faster so we can get more snaps. We like to get somewhere between the 65-70 range. Something that has to do with putting drives together. I think it will be a great opportunity. This past Saturday, we had a 151 play scrimmage. That’s far and away the most we have had since we have been here. We need it. We need to play. We have lots of guys in the last scrimmage that played somewhere between 50 and 70 snaps. That’s close to playing an entire game. That’s what we need. We need guys that are game ready come the fall.”
On emergence of edge rushers:
“Well, I thought in this past scrimmage Kivon Bennett had a good scrimmage. He is a guy that we moved last year from defensive line to outside linebacker. We were fortunate enough to be able to redshirt him last year. He’s gained some experience there. He still makes a few mental errors here and there, but I think he plays hard. It gives him a chance to have some success at a position that he kind of fits than a defensive tackle.”
On SEC producing good edge rushers, and if there will be a drop off:
“No, there won’t be a drop off of defensive football in this league. Guys in this league recruit too well. Lots of teams have depth, so there’s always elite pass rushers in this league.”
On progress of offensive line:
“It’s not where we want to be, but there is a lot of positives. We have guys that have really improved this spring. We have to be more consistent. We have to play with a little better pad level. We have to become better finishers. I think up front, you have to know what to do. If you know what to do and who you are blocking, you give yourself a chance. You have to have the proper technique. You have to execute the technique with the proper pad level. You have to be able to finish. It’s one thing to know who to block when you start the technique, but you have to finish. That’s one thing that we need to improve on in the next three practices.”
On using to spring game to elevate on the depth chart:
“I think it’s a great opportunity for a lot of guys. It’s the third scrimmage. It’s the way practices are set up now with the NCAA rules. You get three opportunities to actually go play football like you play on Saturdays. We do all this stuff. All the practices. All the offseason. All the training. All the conditioning, nutrition and treatment. Everything really for 12 opportunities. You want to make sure when you get those 12 opportunities that you get it right. Saturday is a big deal. It’s a big deal to our players. It’s very important to any program. You get the opportunity to go out and play in front of a bunch of people and see if you can do it the right way. When you don’t do it the right way, how do you respond? It’s a platform for everybody to see who takes advantage of it.”
On how Deangelo Gibbs has been on defense:
“Deanglo has done really well at the STAR. We have played him there, because it’s what he’s played before and is what he knows. After you practice nine times, you put him over there so you have a chance to see what his skillset is. He’s a big guy that is a good blitzer. He plays well against the run and has really soft hands. He picked off a pass the other day in a scrimmage. That is one of the things you need to have in the back end. When the offense makes a mistake, you have to make them pay, and he is a guy that can do that. There are lots of little things that need to be cleaned up, but that’s because he missed the first nine days. We are going to leave him on the defensive side of the ball so he can get three more practices to give him six on the defensive side and be able to make a decision about where he needs to go from there.”
On incentives to win the spring game and what the kicking game has looked like:
“I think the first incentive is pride. We have tried to make every day where there are winners and losers, and there are consequences. It’s kind of heated up our spring practice a little bit. I think we have had really good competitions within positions and with offense versus defense. It will be another opportunity to do that. If you love football, the opportunity to go practice in front of thousands of people should be incentive enough.
“As far as the kicking game, Marquez Callaway has done it for a couple of years and has lots of experience. We have been working with Ty Chandler, Bryce Thompson, Trevon Flowers and Jordan Murphy. These guys took reps last year. It takes a guy with experience to stand out there and catch these punts that hang up there for five seconds with 10 guys screaming on top of you in front of 100,000 people. We have been doing a lot of live situations, trying to get these guys to where they are game ready. We can simulate it all. We just can’t simulate the 100,000 people.”
On defense through two-thirds of spring practice and corner position behind Baylen Buchanan:
“We teach everything conceptually, so most every single guy of our secondary can play multiple spots. For the last six or seven practices, we have worked Nigel Warrior there (and) Shawn Shamburger. Baylen can play there. There are lots of players that can play the STAR position or money. (Bryce) Thompson has moved in and out. All our guys can play multiple spots based on concepts. We are creating depth there, which is good. We also have competition.”
On groups of players he is looking to respond in the spring game:
“I would say everybody. You are only as good as the last time you went out on the field. We are not good enough to take any days off. So you want to see everybody respond the right way and compete and improve.”
On additions of Jim Chaney and Tee Martin to the staff:
“I think Jim is a very good teacher. He is really demanding. He has a really good teaching direction. I have said in several meetings that when he coaches, he coaches. The fact that he is not particularly coaching a position, he can walk around to each individual group and tease a guy that brings a lot of energy, a lot of knowledge to the position. I see our guys developing confidence on the outside. I think our wide receivers are probably our most experienced group on our team and it shows by the way they go about their business every day. But I see a lot of improvement in that position.”
On how Warren Burrell has settled into the team:
“I think Warren is a guy that has really good ball skills. He is instinctive and conscientious. He probably needs to get a little stronger and a little bigger. He has come from a very good high school program. He has played on some good football teams. He is a guy that has been able to get his hands on some balls out there and shows up where the balls at. He has to improve his tackling abilities and help us on special teams. He has to just continue to work and improve every single day.”
On decision to hire Tee Martin:
“First of all, he won a national championship here. I have recruited against Tee for a very long time and he is first class. He does it the right way. He builds great relationships with the players and family. I have coached against him. Just watching from afar, the offenses that he has been in charge of has been very successful. If you look at the guys that he particularly coaches, the wide receivers he had at USC, there have been lots of guys that have been very productive. They were skilled, but had really good technique and played the right way.”
On the tight end position:
“Dominick Wood-Anderson was here last year, Austin Pope played some (and) Andrew Craig. We have Jackson Lowe that we have worked on. Jacob Warren is in there. Princeton Fant is working in that position now. We have guys that have a skillset that fits the position. They don’t have a whole lot of experience. The only way to get that experience is to go out there and practice every single day. When you talk about a tight end and what you ask them to do, you have to block a 300 hundred pound guy and to be able win, he has to pass pro and flex out and run routes like a wide receiver. So there is a lot that goes into that skillset and some of the guys do certain things better than others. Dominick is a guy that can kind of do all of it. We just have to continue to improve at that position.”
Opening statement:
“I am not going to try and make this super dramatic, but there are a few comments that I would like to make. Looking back, who would’ve thought that a chubby kid from Charlotte, North Carolina, would be doing this and playing the game of basketball? I never could’ve imagined that I would be here today, but over the past three years at the University of Tennessee, I have made some incredible memories off and on the court. I have been surrounded by and met a group of phenomenal people that have impacted my life in ways that I couldn’t have had imagined. I have had a great experience with the NCAA and college basketball, and on top of that, I want to have a great experience in professional basketball because it has been my dream since I was young to play in the NBA. I knew the decision I made had to be my own, and I have to trust myself, but also lean on my mother, my father, my brothers and my coaches to make the most informed decision possible. It is my decision and I have prayed on it. I trust my heart. I will test the waters and enter the NBA draft process, but I will not forgo my last season at the University of Tennessee, with the capability to come back and finish what I started here. This process helps me gather information as a player and figure out what I need to do to improve. I will use the new rules to allow a player to hire an agent to make the most informative decision possible. I will go through this process trying to gather as much information as possible because it is a win-win scenario in both ways. Thank you, and I appreciate everything you do as well as the support from the most loyal fans in the country.”
Credit: UT Athletics
On what criteria he will be using when he decides to stay in the draft or come back:
“I haven’t decided on that because my whole thing is I want to go into the process with an open mind and understand what I need to improve on and what I need to get better at. But also understand that to make the most informed decision possible and at the right time. It is just a matter of going into it with a mindset of I’m going into it to improve myself.”
On what he thinks he needs to improve on:
“I know that I need to improve on my defensive capabilities on the perimeter and also consistently shooting the three at a high level. I think I have shown that I can put the ball in the basket in other ways, but consistently knocking down the outside shot and also defending smaller, quicker guys is something I need to consistently show that I need to do.”
On if Rick Barnes ended up leaving Tennessee would it have impacted his decision:
“It definitely made it easier having Coach Barnes come back. If you think about it, Coach Barnes is a phenomenal guy. He has done a lot for the community and he’s done so much. I know that he was torn because if you told myself in recruiting that I was going to be offered by a blue blood like Kentucky, UCLA, UNC, you’re going to have to consider it because it’s a pedigree. And when you look at UCLA, Wooden and everything there, you have to trust and believe that he was going to make the best decision possible. He was going to pray on it and understand he is going to make the decision for himself and those around him. It took him time, and I think his heart a little bit, but he made the decision that he think is best. I fully trust Coach Barnes and I would’ve trusted him whether he was staying or leaving; I told him that. I have the most love and sincerity in my heart for him.”
On what the news about Barnes was like as a player and watching it all unfold:
“I talked to him three or four times (yesterday). I reached out to him and he reached out to me. I let him know that I trusted him because he’s been the guy that has never been about himself or the money. It has never been about anything of that sort. It has always been about how to impact people’s lives, and I know that Coach Barnes’ goal is a championship. And in order to make that happen, he knows he can do it here or wherever he wants. I think that being here at the University of Tennessee is something that helps him be comfortable because he loves it here. He has said it many times that being here has been one of the greatest experiences of coaching. And with the guys around him, he knows he can do it and he can provide it.”
On how difficult it was to not think about the NBA too much during the season and how he goes about the agent process:
“For myself during the year, I didn’t really pay much attention to it. I just played the game because I know if you put your heart and mind into basketball it is going to take care of itself. Jordan Bone and I are roommates, so we had conversations about it every now and then. We trust each other. But for me, it was always about being there for the team, and I think Bone thought the same. The second part of that question is when it comes to an agent, it is all about the trust and communication. I have always been about honesty and being up front. I have always been the guy who respects the honest truth, whether that’s telling me I am going to be drafted or not going to be drafted, this is what this team feels about you, I want that over anything else. I also want to have a personal relationship as well as a business relationship because in the end it is a business. But being able to have somebody you trust and somebody you can care about and somebody you can put your respect into, that is huge.”
On if he has talked about his teammates and what the conversation is like:
“I have. Those guys have been very supportive of not only myself, but everybody else, and Bone. Kyle Alexander left last night, and that kind of tore us up a little bit. It has been a long 24 hours. It has been communication that we trust each other and support each other in whatever happens. We will always be there for each other and that is that love and passion we have for each other. And that whatever happens, we will be there for each other.”
On what point in his career did he realize the NBA could be a real possibility:
“Honestly, it never really hit me until looking back on it. I’ve always gone through the process of just understanding that it’s a game. I love it. I love basketball. It’s something that I want to do for the rest of my life. I always thought that it would come if I continued to work hard. Coach always told me it would get there. I trusted him and I trusted those around me. Eventually, when that time comes, I will be ready. But, if it’s not there, you just have to keep working.”
On if he ever thought he would become a two-time SEC Player of the Year and if it entices him to become a three-time winner:
“Growing up, I don’t know if I could say I would have thought that. It’s definitely something that is going to be in the back of your mind, something you could do. There’s always going to be that scenario thinking, ‘Hey, we have a championship team. We can come back and do something special.’ There’s things individually that I could do that could be historic, but there’s also the mindset of you have to do what is best. You have to trust the opinions of those around you. You have to trust your family. Trust your coaching staff. Also, you have to have trust in yourself and understand that it’s your decision and either way it’s a win-win. Because coming back here, I have another phenomenal year because of the people I’m around every day. No matter what happens in basketball, I would enjoy it.”
On the talent coming to Tennessee and the returning players from last year’s team:
“We have a lot of talented players coming in. We have Josiah-Jordan James, Drew Pember, Davonte Gaines and guys that are already here. Guys that are ready to step up. Guys that are going to adapt. There’s opportunity for Bone to come back as well. He could come back and it could be another great year. It could have a huge impact on this university. We could do something that hasn’t been done in a long time. That day will come.”
On his family and how involved they were in the process of his decision and if James has been recruiting him to come back to school for his senior season:
“My family has always been supportive of me. They trust my decision-making. They learned that with college. They learned that they can inform but they also have to listen and understand that what they think might not be the best idea, they have to try to understand what I think. They were always going to be there and support me no matter what I decided. That’s what they told me, they said, ‘No matter what decision you make, we’re here for it.’ With Josiah, I talked to him a couple times yesterday. He’s a great kid. He’s going to hopefully be that guy that is kind of a recruiter but also a goofy kid that everyone is going to love around here. He has that type of personality. He’s been texting me throughout the year, and I think that’s something that he will continue to do.”
On if he is still on track to graduate next month:
“Yes, I’m graduating May 10.”
On if he could be swayed by Jordan Bone’s decision to return to school or declare for the NBA Draft:
“My whole thing is going to be going into the process for the best decision for myself. Sure, if Bone stays, that’s huge because it adds a little bit to it. I always wanted to go into it with the most informed decision-making that I can. I have until May 29 to decide, and that’s a short, but a long time away. I want to gather as much information as possible in order to make the best decision for myself.”
On how much advice he will take from NBA teams on what he needs to work on versus what the team needs are:
“It is a huge balance. It’s a matter of communication between both the staff and the guys because you want to do things that are going to help you improve individually. You also want to remember that it’s a team and as much passion as you have for it in life, you can work on it here. It’s about working out, it’s about how much time you put in the gym. You don’t necessarily have to do it in the office every single day. But, it’s something you can work on your own. That’s how our coaching staff is. They understand you want to improve, and they are going to help you improve on what you believe you should improve on. They are also going to add in the things that are helping our offense. I think Coach Barnes and staff will do a great job either way.”
If there is a feeling of unfinished business with the team and if it factors in his decision to return to school:
“No doubt. There’s always that thought process of, ‘There’s more that we can do. There’s more that we need to accomplish. That’s something that is always going to be in your mind throughout the process. I think that no matter what is going on, you have to understand that it is a win-win. You can come back, there can be a lot more we can do as a team. Individually, in the future, it can be a win in that aspect as well.”
The feeling and emotion of the team when it discovered Coach Barnes would remain at Tennessee:
“Guys were ecstatic. Guys were excited, because we knew guys were going to trust him. Same with him, we want him to live out the dreams that he has. If that’s here, which it is, we were going to support it. If it wasn’t we were going to support it that way. He does that for us every single day, he puts as much time as he can in that gym as anyone. We knew that we were going to support him just like he supports us when he goes to the gym and spends extra hours. Or when he supports us deciding to test the process like Bone and I are doing. He’s always been a guy that shows love and care for us, and that’s what we’ll do for him.”
On his experience at the Naismith Awards and what he has coming up this weekend:
“The Naismith Awards were incredible. It was an event that allowed us to bond as a group of individuals, but also meet a lot of phenomenal people at the moment. Zion Williamson won the award, and I was super excited for him because he deserved it. It was just a weekend we got to experience. We got to go to the Final Four. We saw the Auburn-Virginia game. We saw the Texas Tech-Michigan State game. We spent a lot of time together, so it was really fun in that aspect. This weekend, we’re going to L.A. for the Wooden Award, which will be just as exciting. There is a group of five individuals that are very deserving of the award. We’re going out there to both enjoy it, but also understand that we are going to meet a lot of incredible people there as well.”
On the next step in the process of testing the NBA Draft waters:
“In order for you to start the process, you have to submit the paperwork, which I will probably do today. I will start coordinating that at a later date.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — University of Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer announced Tuesday that 1999 UT graduate and women’s basketball standout Kellie (Jolly) Harper has been chosen as the new head coach of the Lady Volunteers. She will be formally introduced at a press conference on campus Wednesday.
The university and Harper have agreed to a five-year contract with annual compensation of $750,000 per year.
“I’m excited to have Kellie as our new women’s basketball coach,” Fulmer said. “She is a Lady Vol through and through. Her love of the game, her care and love for her players, and her loyalty to UT all came through during the interview process.
“Kellie has proven to be a winner at every stop in her career, taking three programs to the NCAA Tournament. She certainly knows the expectations that come with this job, as she has lived it herself.”
Harper becomes only the third Lady Vol head coach in the NCAA era of women’s basketball. She will take the reins at Tennessee after six years of leading the Missouri State Lady Bears, capped by this season’s impressive march to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title and magical run to the NCAA Sweet 16.
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be named the head coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols,” Harper said. “Tennessee holds a special place in my heart, and I am excited to embrace the legacy of this proud program. I can’t wait to help each player and this team be champions, on the court and off.”
A native of Sparta, Tenn., Harper played point guard for the legendary Pat Summitt at UT from 1995-99, starting 132 games and helping the Lady Vols win NCAA National Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998. She was part of a senior class that helped the Big Orange forge a 131-17 overall record as well as win two SEC regular season titles (1998, 1999) and three SEC Tournament crowns (1996, 1998, 1999).
One of only 11 women’s hoops skippers to lead three different schools to the NCAA Tournament, she has directed her teams to 12 postseason berths in her 15-year head coaching career.
Harper guided Missouri State to NCAA appearances in 2015-16 and 2018-19 with WNIT berths on three other occasions. She also led North Carolina State to the NCAA Tournament in 2009-10 (plus two WNIT appearances) and guided Western Carolina to NCAA berths in 2004-05 and 2008-09 (plus two trips to the WNIT).
Harper owns a 15-year head coaching record of 285-208, including five NCAA Tournament appearances and seven WNIT berths in that span. In 24 seasons as a Division I head coach, assistant coach or player, Harper has made 20 postseason appearances with a combined 533-261 record, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven WNIT bids.
She recorded a 118-79 won-lost record at Missouri State, claiming Missouri Valley Conference Tournament crowns in 2016 and 2019 and notching regular-season runner-up finishes in 2015-16, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
This year’s squad improved measurably as the season progressed, resiliently overcoming a 1-7 start to post the program’s best overall record (25-10) since 2004-05 and its top league mark (16-2) since 2003-04 with a 24-3 run over the final 27 contests.
The Lady Bears finished No. 24 in the final USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, which was their first national ranking in 15 years. Harper was named the Missouri Valley Coach of the Year and also was chosen as the 2019 Kay Yow Coach of the Year. That award is presented annually to the Division I women’s head coach who embodies a winning spirit while displaying great character, on and off the court.
Harper took over a MSU program that was coming off a 14-17 overall mark and 6-12 league mark in 2013-14. After a 14-17/8-10 slate in her first season in Springfield, the Lady Bears never finished lower than third in the league standings and made the postseason every year.
Three of her last four editions surpassed the 20-win plateau. Her final Lady Bears team developed into her best one with a late season spree that included victories over No. 21 Drake, No. 24 DePaul and No. 13 Iowa State and a nine-point loss to sixth-ranked Stanford in the Sweet 16. Harper’s 2018-19 squad featured only one senior and included 11 freshmen or sophomores on the 14-player roster.
In addition to making the NCAA Tournament this season, Harper took Missouri State back to the NCAA Tournament after a decade absence in 2015-16, guiding her third MSU squad to an MVC Tournament title and 24-10 overall record. Her program also defeated SEC programs Missouri (twice), Arkansas and Ole Miss during her time at MSU.
Prior to her arrival at Missouri State, Harper became just the third women’s basketball coach in North Carolina State history in 2009 and directed the Wolfpack to three postseason appearances and a 70-64 record during her four-year stint at the helm, including the 2010 NCAA Tournament. NC State joined Tobacco Road rivals Duke and North Carolina as the only Atlantic Coast Conference teams to score wins over the league’s other 11 teams during that span and earned six top-25 victories in four seasons.
Prior to her tenure in Raleigh, Harper piloted Western Carolina to a 97-65 record and four postseason berths in five seasons, including a 70-31 mark her final three years in Cullowhee. The Catamounts captured the first two Southern Conference (SoCon) Tournament titles in school history while seven student-athletes captured all-conference honors during her tenure.
She earned 2007 SoCon Coach of the Year accolades and placed her squads in the WBCA Academic Top 25 on three occasions, including a fifth-place finish in 2007-08.
Before her first head coaching job, Harper spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Chattanooga, helping the Mocs to three consecutive Southern Conference championships, three NCAA appearances and a combined 78-15 record under head coach Wes Moore. She tutored four all-conference guards while at Chattanooga, including the 2004 league player of the year.
Prior to her time in Chattanooga, Harper spent two seasons at Auburn, the first as an administrative assistant before being promoted to assistant coach under Joe Ciampi for the 2000-01 campaign.
As a college player, Harper was part of a women’s basketball dynasty at Tennessee. As a junior, she guided the Lady Vols to a 39-0 record and their third-straight national championship, averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 assists for the season and scoring a career-high 20 points in the national title game against Louisiana Tech. She went 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in that contest and was named to the 1998 All-Final Four Team.
Harper set an NCAA championship game record with 11 assists and dished out 20 helpers in two games for All-Final Four honors in 1997 after returning from a knee injury midway through her sophomore season. That year, the National Strength and Conditioning Association named her its Strength and Conditioning Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
For her Tennessee career, Harper scored 894 points and had 452 assists, leaving UT on the school’s career top 10 lists for assists, assist average, 3-point attempts and 3-point percentage. She still ranks seventh in career assists and is 10th in 3-point percentage (.364, 99-272).
Harper was drafted by the Cleveland Rockers in the fourth round of the 1999 WNBA draft and earned her degree in mathematics that same year. She was a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member and earned both All-SEC Coaches Second Team and honorable mention All-America honors as a senior. She also was named to the SEC Community Service Team as a senior.
She played for her father (the late Kenneth Jolly) at White County High School in Sparta, Tenn., and was a five-time All-American during her AAU playing career. She was inducted into the UT Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 and White County High Hall of Fame in 2012.
Harper is married to Jon Harper, who served on her coaching staff at Western Carolina, NC State and Missouri State. The Harpers welcomed their first child, son Jackson, in November 2013, and had a daughter, Kiley, in June 2018.
