The band Delta Rae—comprised of Ian Hölljes, Eric Hölljes, Brittany Hölljes, Elizabeth Hopkins, Mike McKee and Grant Emerson—stopped by the Nash campus last week to chat with Elaina Smith for her Women Want to Hear Women podcast (you can listen to the entire episode here).
One of the podcast’s segments—“Play It Forward”—beckons the featured artist/band to perform a song from another female’s catalog.
For their Play It Forward, Delta Rae covered Cam’s “Diane,” a tune she released in 2017.
Reba McEntire is the hostess with the mostest. Reba returns for a second year as host of the ninth annual CMA Country Christmas, a two-hour music celebration that airs on ABC on Dec. 10.
CMA Country Christmas was taped on Sept. 27 at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center in Nashville. In addition to Reba, this year’s lineup includes performances by Tony Bennett, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Amy Grant, Diana Krall, Dustin Lynch, Martina McBride, Old Dominion, Brad Paisley, Michael W. Smith, Lindsey Stirling, The Isaacs and Brett Young.
“I’ve always cherished celebrating Christmas alongside family and friends, taking time to reflect on the season,” says Reba. “I’m so excited CMA invited me back to host their show and am looking forward to fun singing carols with my friends.”
CMA Country Christmas airs on ABC on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. CT.
Watch a clip of Reba performing “The Christmas Song” below.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – As the Tennessee football team returned to practice on Monday at Haslam Field, head coach Jeremy Pruitt said the Vols had their best offensive game of the season on Saturday in the 27-24 loss at South Carolina.
Despite the defeat, Tennessee was able to methodically use quick passes and screens to keep the Gamecocks off balance early while converting a season-high 68.8 percent of third downs (11-of-16) and committing zero turnovers. The Vols lacked explosive plays, but put together several long, clock-eating drives.
“Far and away this was our best output offensively,” Pruitt said. “We weren’t just relying on explosive plays, but we need to create more, and we had opportunities to do that, but we had breakdowns in protection. A couple of times I didn’t feel like we threw the ball to the right side of the field, and then we had a drop. The plays were there to be made from the explosive standpoint, but I thought from an execution [standpoint] and kind of getting more plays right, that was far and away our best game offensively. We didn’t turn the ball over, [and] converted third downs. We just killed ourselves with penalties.”
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano tallied career highs in completions (27) and attempts (39), while throwing for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Guarantano was knocked out of the game a week earlier at Alabama in the second quarter, but he played every snap against South Carolina.
“I thought he showed a lot of courage, played really hard and was a really good leader for our team,” Pruitt said. “We just need to fix those other plays, and he can do that. We ask him to do a lot of things, which, I think it helps our offense. He gets us in the right plays in the run game, we can make checks from run to pass, he can change protections. There’s a lot of demand on him and he can handle it. There’s just a few things that we got to fix from this past week.”
Guarantano has started all eight games in 2018, completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 1,399 yards and eight touchdowns with just two interceptions. He ranks fourth in the SEC in pass efficiency rating (144.78) and fifth in completion percentage, while only Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa has thrown less interceptions.
Tennessee’s offense also received a spark from junior running back Carlin Fils-aime at Williams-Brice Stadium. Fils-aime returned to the offensive backfield last week after moving to cornerback last spring. He rushed three times for 20 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown early in the third quarter that gave the Vols a 21-9 lead.
Tennessee’s offense stalled in the fourth quarter, however, and penalties ultimately doomed the Vols, as South Carolina came back to win.
“There’s lots of lessons that we can learn, and we’ve got to take them and move forward,” Pruitt said. “I thought that last week we practiced really well, and I think it showed in the game and how we performed, but we have to be able to finish and find ways to win games like that.”
Next Up: Charlotte
Pruitt and the Vols know they cannot overlook this week’s opponent, Charlotte, with three SEC games looming down the stretch. The 49ers bring a 4-4 record to Neyland Stadium after defeating Southern Miss, 20-17, on Saturday. Charlotte is coached by Brad Lambert, who helped move the program form FCS to FBS. He was an assistant at Wake Forest, Georgia and Marshall before taking the reigns of Charlotte.
The 49ers are paced by a defense that is yielding only 89.8 rushing yards per game (No. 6 in the nation) and 318.6 total yards per game (No. 18 in the nation), while linebacker Juwan Foggie leads the country in interceptions with six.
“We’ve got a really good opponent this week in Charlotte,” Pruitt said. “Their coaching staff has a ton of experience. They’re very well coached, offensively and defensively. They eliminate the run in the run game. They get lots of turnovers. They give you multiple looks offensively and then run the football. I know they’ve had an injury at quarterback, but they’ve got a guy that has experience. The guys are well coached in the special teams. We’ve got to focus on us and try to improve, I think when we do that it shows up on Saturdays. Then we have to take it to the game and we have to do a good job of finishing in the game.”
Saturday’s game (4 p.m., SEC Network-Alternate) marks Homecoming for the University of Tennessee. Former Tennessee defensive back Inky Johnson is this year’s Homecoming Grand Marshall.
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Tennessee Player Quotes
Senior DE Kyle Phillips
On the struggles playing at home this season:
“It all starts with our preparation. That’s what we have to fix. Starting today we have to make sure we come out and give our best effort and know these next games are very important. We can still have a pretty decent season if we win out. We just have to make sure we focus each and everyday and keep on getting better.”
On getting to a bowl game:
“We definitely need to try and do the best we can to win out. I think we have a good team, but we just make too many mistakes. The little things have just really hurt us. We don’t have a lot of margin for error and we have to take advantage of that opportunity to do the best we can. This program is a top ten program, and if we want this program to go to the next level then we have to do better.”
On hearing the Trey Smith news:
“That was definitely really tough, but Trey has been so positive on the whole situation. It really makes you think how blessed we are to be able to play. The guy is such a great player, he was highly recruited, he’s been a great player in college, and a guy that is really so unselfish. He’s a guy that really enjoys his team and the guys on the team. It is really a blessing to see how well he is taking it, and it’s a great feeling.”
Junior DB Baylen Buchanan
On the defense’s play against South Carolina:
“Great defenses are able to sustain the whole game and that’s something that we didn’t do. We got to do a better job closing out games.”
On how important it is for the program to get back to a bowl game this year:
“I think it’s real important that we get back to a bowl, but I feel like we have to take it one game at a time and focus on the next team. We can’t overlook Charlotte, I heard that they are a good team and their run defense is really good. I heard they do some good things on offense too, so it’s something that we can’t overlook. We just have to focus on this week.”
On why the team has seemed to play better on the road:
“You know, I’m not sure why that is. I really don’t think a road game or playing at home has anything to do with it. I think it’s more about us and how we execute on the field. We have to do a better job executing and that’s going to be every weekend. We’ve got to keep improving.”
On what he’s seen from Jeremy Banks since his move to linebacker:
“He can hit. I remember the first play that I saw him, he went in there and he hit somebody, just lowered his shoulder. He’s going to be good. He’s coming from offense to defense, so you know he’s going to have to learn the scheme, but when he gets it down, he’s going to be a great player.”
Junior WR Marquez Callaway
On the third-down success against South Carolina:
“We had a great game plan going in. We knew what they wanted to do on third down, so we built off of that and executed the play. Everything seemed to open up for us. We knew they were going to play a lot of man and three deep, especially on third down. We had to get the ball out quick.”
On the team’s third down mentality:
“We have to do what we have to; to get to stay on the field. We have to have sustained drives and be consistent with that so that we can let our defense rest.”
On playing at home vs. playing on the road:
“Playing at home is going to be big especially since the next three games are going to be at home. We’ll have our home crowd here with us. Playing on the road in the SEC is hard to do. When it gets to that, we definitely have a mental edge. We are there with just our fans that are there, so playing away brings us together.”
On the quick passing game:
“That’s what all receivers want to do, get the ball in their hands quick and make a guy miss and get up field.”
On having long drives:
“Sustaining drives and having third down success was our main point heading into the week. If we keep drives alive on third down, it will tire out the defense and motivate the offense to keep it going.”
Redshirt Senior DL Paul Bain On what made South Carolina more effective:
“I’m going to have to look at the film and have more time to assess it, but out there all of the mistakes were on our part, it was really Tennessee beating Tennessee. South Carolina being the respectable team that they are, they kept fighting and turned out to be the victors on Saturday.”
On how they adjust on the field:
“I think going into any game, preparation-wise, it’s going to be hard to get what every team does down pat. The game is continuously growing and every team is putting in new plays and formations. They’re studying us just like we’re studying them, so Saturday there’s going to be some new things, nuances, that we have not seen before. It’s best for us to adjust and handle it the best way we can.”
On how they dealt with South Carolina’s tempo:
“I feel like we did a good job and they were trying to catch us off guard a little bit, but we were very conditioned and well-coached for it.”
On how the team has improved this season:
“I definitely feel like we have improved. I feel like we’re a stronger team mentally and physically. I feel like we’re more prepared going into games, and I feel like right now we’re a very good football team, but we’re just making a lot of minor mistakes that cost us these close games.”
“The outcome of the last game was not what we were looking for. There’s a lot of bright spots that we can build off of, especially offensively. We ran the ball a little better last week. We converted some on third down, but if you look at us, one time we had way too many penalties that created negative plays and negative yards. We had one in the red area that knocked us out of third-and-10, and we had to run the ball and kick a field goal. There are a lot of positives that we can build off of. Defensively, we didn’t stop the run and we didn’t create many negative plays. We gave up some explosive plays, we have to eliminate that. It’s interesting when you watch the first 24 plays versus the last 30 plays in the game. The difference when it comes from the defensive standpoint, is the production, so we have to improve there. The kicking game – we have to do better on kickoff cover, play with a lot more speed on the kickoff cover. We have to get some guys that do a little better job of going hand-to-hand and not give up one-for-ones down there. Our kickers and snappers have done a really good job, they’ve done a really good job all year. There’s lots of lessons that we can learn, and we’ve got to take them and move forward. I thought that last week we practiced really well, and I think it showed in the game and how we performed, but we have to be able to finish and find ways to win games like that.
“We’ve got a really good opponent this week in Charlotte. Their coaching staff has a ton of experience. They’re very well coached, offensively and defensively. They eliminate the run in the run game. They get lots of turnovers. They give you multiple looks offensively and then run the football. I know they’ve had an injury at quarterback, but they’ve got a guy that has experience. The guys are well coached in the special teams. We’ve got to focus on us and try to improve, I think when we do that it shows up on Saturdays. Then we have to take it to the game and we have to do a good job of finishing in the game.”
On how he would assess his game management in the final quarter against South Carolina:
“I think based off of the way the game was going, I would have done everything the exact same way.”
On what he saw on film that stood out from last week’s game:
“They did a really good job offensively. They gave us a lot of looks that we hadn’t seen. They got in what we call silver personnel, two tight ends, two wide receivers and a running back. It opened up some of the formations and moved some of the guys around. It’s not a lot of what they’ve done, and they did a really good job. We didn’t fit some runs up the correct way. There was a couple plays in the game particularly – you have the two minute before the half, which is probably the most important part of the first half, was the last two minutes. We put a great drive together, then we get a penalty, an undisciplined penalty. We gave them good field position and they move the ball down and convert one third down, pop a run down to the goal line and we turn a guy lose when we’re fixing to sack a guy. In the start of the second half we put a really good drive together. We went down there and scored. Then they bounced back and did some things that they hadn’t done in the first half. They went down and scored and from there we gave up a big pass play that got the ball down to the one- or two-yard line. We’ve got to make them earn it.”
On if early signing day puts a strain on the staff:
“No, I don’t think so. If you’re not recruiting every day then you’re probably not going to be a good recruiter, so we’ve got to be good recruiters regardless of when the signing date is. I think our guys know that.”
On kicker Brent Cimaglia’s range:
“You always get the kicker’s range in the pregame and going the other way it was at the 35-yard line and going to our tunnel was the 30. We were at the 35, and we knew the wind had died down a little bit, but at that point in the game we were either going to go for it or we were going to kick a field goal. We felt like we were a little bit out of his range. The play before we dropped a pass. We would have had the ball on 4th and 1 on the 30- or 29-yard line, and we would be in his range. We understood that, and we called a play to gain to make sure we could possibly make the first down or possibly be in a fourth and short to have choices, and we didn’t execute there, especially on the next down.”
On the controversial non-fumble call at the goal line in the third quarter:
“Well it was definitely a fumble. I saw that, but unfortunately for the officials, they only have certain angles they can see, and from their angles they didn’t see that. You can look at it on our film, it’s obviously a fumble. It was disappointing for me because I could see it on the sideline, but they have a tough job to do, just like we have a tough job to do, and those guys are doing the best they can, and they have to take what they have to work with it. It is an unfortunate circumstance, but the officials had nothing to do with us getting nine penalties, they had nothing to do with us losing the battle at the line of scrimmage, so that’s really only one small part of the game.”
On the play of the offensive against South Carolina:
“I think we did a good job offensively giving them different looks. We have been pretty multiple the last three games if you go back to the Auburn game, Alabama and this game. We have presented a lot of problems for those defenses just being able to line up formation wise, giving them different looks, and different personnel. One thing we didn’t do was create a lot of explosive plays. We only had three explosive plays. Far and away this was our best output offensively. We weren’t just relying on explosive plays, but we need to create more, and we had opportunities to do that, but we had breakdowns in protection. A couple of times I didn’t feel like we threw the ball to the right side of the field, and then we had a drop. The plays were there to be made from the explosive standpoint, but I thought from an execution [standpoint] and kind of getting more plays right, that was far and away our best game offensively. We didn’t turn the ball over, [and] converted third downs. We just killed ourselves with penalties.”
On the offense being multiple and the play of Marcus Tatum at left tackle:
“You can be multiple a couple of different ways. You can have lots of playmakers and get them the ball in different scenarios, or you can give them different things formational wise, and maybe give them things that they don’t think they will get and create edges that way. I think our staff has done a good job with that. Our last three teams we’ve played we have been very familiar with. Defensively wise, we all kind of come from the same background, so that’s helped because you kind of know what you’re going to get a little bit just from our standpoint, we’re all coming from the same defensive tree. As far as Marcus Tatum, Marcus is a smart guy. He played hard for a guy that hasn’t been playing left tackle – and I don’t know if he has ever played left tackle – but I’m sure there are things he can improve on, and he will.”
On Saturday’s penalties and how he is addressing them:
“For one, some of them are unforced, lack of judgement. We can definitely fix that. I think a lot of the penalties on Saturday were going on the clap and not hearing the cadence, so when you’re playing on the road, we’ve got to do a better job of communicating, knowing when its coming. I think getting in and out of the huddle faster, so the offensive linemen are not having to make calls up there as the play clock’s going down, I think that would help. And that goes a bunch of different ways. That can go from hustling back to the ball. I think right now, based off of where we’re at offensively, we operate much better out of a huddle because we’ve had so many guys turn over, and some of that’s hustling back to the ball, some of that’s breaking out of the huddle, some of it’s as simple as we hold three yards from the ball, there’s four or five times in the game, somehow we huddle 8-10 yards from the ball. Some of it’s the quarterback standing right next to the huddle, so there’s not much movement for him getting the signal, some of it might be him getting the play in faster, but all of these things would help speed up the fact that we’re not making calls. The o-line is trying to ID the MIKE or the front, and I think would help in the communication of a simple thing is a clap, so we’ve got to do that.”
On what it is about the SEC that makes it difficult for true freshmen to come in and play right away:
“It’s probably no different in any conference. If you’re going to play young guys, they’ve got to be mature, they’ve got to know how to prepare. Lots of times the guys can start off really well early, but because of the grind of the season, the academic part, sometimes sustaining throughout the year [is difficult], but if you look at it all over the country, there’s teams that played lots of freshmen. Probably more times than not the teams that have experience, it probably shows on Saturday. There’s nothing more valuable that you can get than just going out there and playing and just getting used to it.”
On the fumble issue and why he didn’t challenge it:
“Well there’s no more coaches’ challenges anymore. Every play is reviewed by the officials, so they look at everything from targeting to the spots, turnovers, but they’re limited to which views they have from the cameras. For us, we film from a sideline view, an end zone view, and from our sideline view, you can’t see anything, but definitely from the end zone it’s obvious. Those guys are doing the best they can do, and they’ve got to go with what they’ve got. It would probably make a whole lot of sense in the SEC, with as much money as we’ve got, to get end zone cameras. That was a big play in the game, and it’s unfortunate that it happened that way, but we made plenty of errors in the game, and you’ve got to give South Carolina credit for creating a lot of those issues, and we’ve got to get where we don’t make those errors.”
On the challenges that Charlotte presents this week:
“They’re very well coached. If you look at their coaching staff, there’s tons of experience on the staff, on offense and defense. Offensively, they give you multiple looks, they’re committed to running the football. They went for it nine or 10 times already this year on fourth down. Defensively, they stop the run, they create negative plays, they get turnovers, and when you watch them on special teams they play with speed. They’ve got good players and they’re very well coached. For us, every week we’ve tried to focus on us, because we feel like if we can just fix us, that’s what we can control. That’s what we’re going to go back and try to do this week.”
On what he like about Jarrett Guarantano’s performance:
“I’ve said all along, Jarrett’s a tough guy. He made some really good throws and made some really good decisions. I think we played 73 offensive snaps and probably 65 of those he played extremely well. There were probably three throws that he would’ve liked to have had back. There were probably five decisions, whether it was a check or with protection or maybe starting on the wrong side of the field, that he was wrong on. I thought he showed a lot of courage, played really hard and was a really good leader for our team. We just need to fix those other plays, and he can do that. We ask him to do a lot of things, which, I think it helps our offense. He gets us in the right plays in the run game, we can make checks from run to pass, he can change protections. There’s a lot of demand on him and he can handle it. There’s just a few things that we got to fix from this past week.”
On getting the ball in Carlin Flis-aime’s hands against South Carolina:
“Carlin can run, but he’s not going to learn the offense in three days just like Jeremy (Banks) won’t learn the defense. We just found a couple of special plays that we felt fit his skill set and kind of went with them. He’ll obviously get more reps this week and probably have a bigger role.”
On how much responsibility Jarrett Guarantano takes and how much the offensive line takes for him being hit:
“Well when you look at it, you can seven-man protect, you can eight-man protect, you can do five-out, empty, there’s a bunch of different ways you can do it. The closer you get everybody, there’s more guys that can actually come, so when you’re doing five-outs it’s on the quarterback to make sure you’re either going to be hot or you’ve got to be able to slide the protection. He got flushed a few times the other day in eight-man protection. I don’t know what the percentage would be.”
On the game plan for quarterbacks against South Carolina:
“We repped both guys and they actually took the same amount of reps this week. It was just going to be a game-time decision. One thing I never like to do is tell a kid something that I can’t follow through with, so the games that we’ve decided we’re going to play Keller (Chryst), I’ve told him. I’m not going to tell you what series it’s going to be, because I don’t want to tell you fourth series and we’re getting the ball on the minus-1-yard line and we’ve changed quarterbacks, so we’ve tried to be consistent with our message and I think our players respect that. I didn’t go into the game and say, ‘Hey, Keller you’re going to play’. Another part of that is that you don’t want the other guy looking over his shoulder, you want him to play with confidence. That’s the one thing to me about Keller Chryst that I respect so much, is he’s come here and been a phenomenal teammate and our players rally around him. I’ve seen him and Jarrett have really worked well together and he can do anything in our game plan.”
