The gifted vocalist and songwriter scored his fourth consecutive No. 1 single on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with “She Got the Best of Me,” which follows previous No. 1 tunes “Hurricane,” “When It Rains It Pours” and “One Number Away.”
The four No. 1 singles are featured on Luke’s 2017 debut album, This One’s For You, and the 2018 deluxe follow-up, This One’s For You Too.
Luke is now the only solo country artist in history to score four consecutive No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with his first four singles.
While Luke is the first solo country artist to achieve the four-for-four feat, two duos have accomplished the coup: Florida Georgia Line and Brooks & Dunn.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sixth-year wideout and return man Cordarrelle Patterson continued to be a dangerous weapon for the New England Patriots in their 38-31 road win at Chicago on Sunday.
With the Patriots trailing the Bears 17-7 early in the second quarter, Patterson took a kickoff back 95 yards for a touchdown to cut New England’s deficit to three. For the season, Patterson has 11 catches for 114 yards and two receiving touchdowns as well as
Catch up with all of Tennessee’s former players below. Updates will be posted each week on UTSports.com.
Derek Barnett – DE, Philadelphia Eagles 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 6/6, Tackles: 12 UA, 5 A, 17 Total, Other: 2.5 Sacks
Barnett started and posted two tackles in the Eagles 21-17 loss to Carolina on Sunday.
Eric Berry – DB, Kansas City Chiefs 2018 Regular Season: No Stats Recorded
Berry has yet to see action this season for the Chiefs, who are 6-1 after a blowout victory over Cincinnati on Sunday night. The five-time Pro Bowler has been rehabbing an Achilles injury he suffered in last year’s season opener.
Bray played in four preseason games for the Chicago Bears in 2018, completing 60-of-97 passes for 652 yards and one touchdown. The California native was named to the Bears’ practice squad to start the 2018 season.
Colquitt had another busy day in the Browns’ 26-23 overtime loss at Tampa Bay. The Knoxville native punted nine times on the afternoon, averaging 51.7 yards per boot. He pinned three inside the 20 and boomed a career-long 79 yard punt in the game.
Colquitt did not have to punt a single time in Kansas City’s 45-10 blowout win over Cincinnati on Sunday night. The Chiefs improved to 6-1 on the season with the win.
Hunter and the Steelers had their bye in Week 7. They return to action on Sunday with a divisional game at home against Cleveland at 1 p.m. ET.
Malik Jackson – DT, Jacksonville Jaguars 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 7/7, Tackles: 15 UA, 3 A, 18 Total, Other: 1 Sack
Jackson had a pair of tackles in the Jaguars’ 20-7 loss to Houston on Sunday. The 2017 Pro Bowler has started all seven games for Jacksonville so far this season.
James made his 54th career start in the Dolphins’ 32-21 loss to the Lions on Sunday afternoon. The fifth year pro has started all seven games for Miami this season.
Alexander Johnson – LB, Denver Broncos 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 0/0, Tackles: 0 UA, 0 A, 0 Total
Johnson played in three preseason games for the Denver Broncos, recording a tackle in each outing. He has not seen action in any of the Broncos’ regular season games.
Kamara rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown and also had two catches for 11 yards in the Saints’ 24-23 win at Baltimore on Sunday.
John Kelly – RB, Los Angeles Rams Preseason: Games/Starts: 3/0, Rushing Att-Yds: 46-197, 4.3 Avg., 40 Lg, 3 TD Rec-Yds: 6-18, 3.0 Avg., 12 Lg, 0 TD
Kelly rushed 46 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns through three preseason games Los Angeles. The rookie running back has not seen action in any regular-season contests for the undefeated Rams.
McCullers and the Steelers had their bye in Week 7. They return to action on Sunday with a divisional game at home against Cleveland at 1 p.m. ET.
Kahlil McKenzie – G, Kansas City Chiefs Preseason: Games/Starts: 4/0
McKenzie made four appearances in the preseason for the Chiefs and helped pave the way for 397 yards of total offense in the final preseason game against the Packers. McKenzie has not played in any of the Chiefs seven regular season games so far this year.
Emmanuel Moseley – DB, San Francisco 49ers (Practice Squad) Preseason: Games/Starts: 4/1, Tackles: 6 UA, 0 A, 6 Total, Other: 0 Sacks, 1 PD, 1-6 Int-Yds, 0 FF, 0 FR
Moseley played in four games for the 49ers in the preseason, making six solo tackles and one interception. The rookie was signed to San Francisco’s practice squad prior to Week 1 of the regular season.
Palardy punted five times for 209 yards (41.8 avg) with three of those punts landing inside the 20 in the Panthers’ 21-17 win against the Eagles on Sunday.
Cordarrelle Patterson – WR, New England Patriots 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 7/2, Rec-Yds: 11-114, 10.4 Avg., 55 Lg, 2 TD Rushing Att-Yds: 7-36, 5.1 Avg., 11 Lg
KR-Yds: 11-366, 33.3 Avg., 1 TD, 95 Lg
Patterson had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the Patriots’ 38-31 road victory over the Bears.
Jalen Reeves-Maybin – LB, Detroit Lions 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 6/0, Tackles: 6 UA, 3 A, 9 Total
Reeves-Maybin recorded two tackles in Detroit’s 32-21 win over the Dolphins on Sunday.
Stocker hauled in his first touchdown catch of the year and finished with two catches for 11 yards in Tennessee’s 20-19 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon.
James Stone – C, Chicago Bears (Practice Squad) Preseason: Games/Starts: 4/1
Stone made four appearances, including one start, in the preseason for the Oakland Raiders before being signed to the Chicago Bears’ practice squad.
Dierks Bentley will try his hand at a new trade: producer.
Dierks is slated to serve as the executive producer of a new comedy on Fox, according to Variety. The currently untitled series will be set in a Nashville bar.
Jack Burditt, whose credits include Modern Family, Last Man Standing and The Mindy Project, will serve as the writer and executive producer.
Dierks will serves as the executive producer alongside Mary Hilliard Harrington, founder of GreenRoom PR and a current executive at Red Light Management, which reps Dierks.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee sophomore guard Evina Westbrook was named to the 2019 Nancy Lieberman Award Preseason Watch List by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Westbrook was one of 20 point guards nominated for the award named for Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.
Now in its 20th season, the award recognizes the top point guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball. The list of 20 will be narrowed down to 10 by mid-February with five finalists being named in March. The winner of the 2019 Lieberman Award will be revealed on an ESPN platform during the 2019 Women’s Final Four in Tampa, Fla.
Now entering her sophomore campaign, Westbrook started all 33 games last season and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after notching 8.4 points, 4.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game in 2017-18. Her assist average ranked second-best all-time by a Lady Vol freshman. Her 12 assists against Troy tied the school’s freshman record for assists in a game and ranked seventh all-time.
Westbrook logged 10 or more points in 12 games as a rookie and notched three or more assists in 26 games.
Fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite finalist at www.hoophallawards.com.
The Lady Vols will return to action with an exhibition game against Carson-Newman at home on Monday, Nov. 5 in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed by SEC Network+.
2019 NancyLieberman Point Guard of the Year AwardCandidates
Laia Raventos, Charlotte
Kennedy Leonard, Colorado
Crystal Dangerfield, Connecticut
Kelly Campbell, Depaul
Kyra Lambert, Duke
Taja Cole, Georgia
Kayla Goth, Kansas State
Channise Lewis, Maryland
Kenisha Bell, Minnesota
Paris Kea, North Carolina
Marina Mabrey, Notre Dame
Chastadie Barnes, Lamar
Carmen Grande, Ohio State
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
Destiny Slocum, Oregon State
Jessica Kovatch, Saint Francis
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina
Tiana Mangakahia, Syracuse Evina Westbrook, Tennessee
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M
*This list is fluid – players can play their way onto and off the Watch List throughout the season.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt said the Vols are getting closer to finding the type of leadership he wants in a football program on Monday during his weekly press conference.
Tennessee is coming off a 58-21 loss to No. 1 Alabama and returned to practice on Monday afternoon at Haslam Field.
“I do think that we’re getting close because you can sense some frustration with guys doing it the right way,” Pruitt said. “It’s easy to tell. All you have to do is watch the film. They’re out there every day at practice. They know what guys are capable of, of what calls we’ve worked. It’s hard to run from the video. I think as this season goes, I see more and more of it, which is positive.”
Pruitt took full responsibility for the Vols’ mistakes against the Crimson Tide, but acknowledged the team must move on and turn its attention to South Carolina. The Vols travel to Columbia, S.C. this Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network) game to kick-off the season’s final five-week stretch.
“I’m the head football coach, so everybody under me I’m responsible for,” Pruitt said. “The guys not playing at their best, ultimately that’s my responsibility. It’s frustrating for me and it’s a challenge for our coaches, for me, for everybody associated with our program…. To me, if you want to know how good a coach you are, just look at what you put on the field because what you put on the field, that’s yours, that’s mine, that’s ours. We’ve got to do a good job of getting these guys to play at their highest level all the time and that all comes back to me. Then to me, I’m looking forward to the next five weeks starting today to get our guys to do that. That’s just why you get in this business.”
Jennings Has Experience, Family Ties in Columbia
Redshirt junior Jauan Jennings is one of the few Vols to see significant action in a game at William-Brice Stadium. He caught a fourth-quarter six-yard touchdown from Josh Dobbs against the Gamecocks in 2016 to cut South Carolina’s lead to 24-21 – the final score of the game. Redshirt junior linebacker Darrin Kirkland led the Vols with eight tackles during the trip.
“It’s a great environment to go on the road and play football in,” Jennings said. “It’s always great to play football, and it’ll be a challenge for our team. We’re just getting ready and I can’t wait for this weekend.”
Jennings has emerged as a leader for the Vols’ offense in recent weeks. He finished with six receptions for 102 yards against the Crimson Tide – the most receiving yards by a player against the nation’s No. 1 team this season. He had five catches for 71 yards and the go-ahead score in the 30-24 upset at No. 21 Auburn two weeks ago. In four SEC games, Jennings has 17 receptions for 250 yards. He ranks sixth in the league in conference-only games with 62.5 receiving yards per game.
“I’m just going out there, playing football and running my route as fast as I can,” he said. “When the ball comes my way, I make the catch. That’s all it is.”
Jennings’ sister, Alexis, stars on South Carolina’s women’s basketball team and ranked second on the team win scoring (11.4 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg) in 2017-18.
“She always will root for her brother,” Jauan Jennings said with a laugh. “It will probably be half and half. I’m sure family comes first.”
Pruitt Looking for Improvement from the Secondary
The Vols were without senior safety Micah Abernathy (team-best 27 career starts) for the second straight week as he continues to recover from injury as well as freshman safety Trevon Flowers (collarbone injury during bye week), who started the season-opener and was a heavy contributor in the four other games he played. Against Alabama, Tennessee lost freshman cornerback Alontae Taylor following a scuffle with a Crimson Tide player and starting safety Shawn Shamburger to injury in the second quarter.
The Vols’ secondary played the majority of the game against Alabama quarterback and Heisman Trophy frontrunner Tua Tagovailoa with several reserves. Still, Pruitt made zero excuses for the position group. He expects improvement to come this week in practice.
“We didn’t play like we needed to play. We gave those guys too many easy plays. When you look at the tape, there’s lots of mistakes that we need to improve on and those guys can play better. We’re going to work hard this week to get them to do that.”
Pruitt said Abernathy would be day-to-day this week.
Pruitt Confident Guarantano Will Return
Pruitt said redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano is expected to return this week after being knocked out of Saturday’s game against Alabama following a hit on a 30-yard completion to Josh Palmer in the second-quarter.
“I think Jarrett’s going to be fine,” Pruitt said. “He took a pretty good shot. He took a couple pretty good shots. He’s a tough guy and I expect him to be out there.”
South Carolina Led by Bentley
The Gamecocks are led by junior quarterback Jake Bentley, who has started 25 games and passed for 5,365 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Bentley ranks third in the SEC with 20.2 completions per game and sixth in the league with 230.2 passing yards per game. He leads the league in interceptions with seven.
Bentley, who graduated a year early from high school to enroll at South Carolina, was the 2018 Outback Bowl MVP and is a member of the Watch Lists for the Manning Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. His father, Bobby Bentley, is South Carolina’s running backs coach. Bobby Bentley is a South Carolina high school coaching legend, winning four consecutive state championships at James F. Byrnes High School in Duncan, S.C.
Pruitt is familiar with the Bentley’s, as the Byrnes teams used to come down to Hoover High School for 7-on-7 camps. He said his prior school recruited Jake Bentley and that he has known Bobby Bentley for many years.
“Jake’s a coach’s son,” Pruitt said. “He understands what they’re trying to get done. He’s tough. He can get the ball out of his hand, makes all the throws. Very unique situation that he leaves, really he could have played his senior year in high school, leaves and goes to South Carolina and ends up being the quarterback. That says a lot about him. We’ll have to find ways to affect him Saturday because if you let him sit there and stand in there in the pocket, he can deliver to some really good players.”
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Player Quotes
Redshirt Junior WR Jauan Jennings:
On getting into a rhythm the last few games:
“I’m just going out there, playing football and running my route as fast as I can. When the ball comes my way, I make the catch. That’s all it is.”
On Keller Chryst’s performance on Saturday:
“He stepped up in a big situation and played to the best of his capability, and that’s all we can ask for.”
On playing on the road at South Carolina:
“It’s a great environment to go on the road and play football in. It’s always great to play football, and it’ll be a challenge for our team. We’re just getting ready and I can’t wait for this weekend.”
Redshirt Junior TE Eli Wolf:
On his thoughts on South Carolina:
“They’re a great football team and anytime you play another SEC opponent it’s going to be a tough game, so we have to be ready.”
On what needs to be done to improve the running game:
“We just need to open up holes and create protection. All around we have to get better. Saturday was not what we wanted or expected for ourselves, so we have to use this week of practice and move forward.”
On travelling to Columbia this weekend:
“I think we’ll compete anywhere, whether it’s at home or away. A road environment presents another challenge, but I don’t think we’re extremely phased by that and we take pride in playing in any atmosphere.”
Junior DB Baylen Buchanan
On the veteran leadership on the team:
“It starts with knowing what to do. We have to do a better job as veterans knowing and sensing who is ready to play, and who is not. We have to get in the film room to correct it and make sure everyone is on the same page.”
On responding to Pruitt’s challenge:
“I know some guys got in there yesterday and already started on South Carolina. The players are watching the game as a group this week. We have to watch the film, we have to watch the mistakes we made, learn from it and move on.”
On playing the STAR position:
“I feel like I am getting more comfortable each week. Each game I feel like I’m working on a different piece of my game. I feel like I am getting more comfortable blitzing. I feel like I’m getting more physical, and that is an aspect of my game I have been wanting to work on, especially moving back inside.”
Senior DE Kyle Phillips
On the South Carolina series:
“It’s definitely a competitive game each and every time I’ve been here. It’s been down to the last possession. We know each other a lot and we’ve pretty much gained a rivalry with them. We always know when we play South Carolina it’s going to be a tough game.”
On defensive line’s role:
“The game starts up front, so when we’re doing well, our team does well. The team feeds off of what we do, so when we play well, everybody else does pretty well. So, we have to make sure we start off really good Saturday, and it starts this week in practice.”
On his mindset heading into his last five regular-season games as a senior:
“It’s my job to give my all and help my team as well. As I go into these next five games, I just want to take it one game at a time. Every week is a new season, so we have to focus on getting better every day, and hopefully we will be able to win Saturday.”
Fresh off of scoring their 16th No. 1 hit with “Simple” earlier this month, Florida Georgia Line will ship a new single, “Talk You Out of It,” to country radio on Nov. 5. The tune, which was penned by Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Jameson Rogers and Alysa Vanderheym is the duo’s second single from their upcoming fourth studio album.
“Talk You Out of It” features slow-jam lyrics that namedrop Luther Vandross and a suggestive hook: “I’m looking at the fine little dress you got on / Don’t get me wrong, girl, I love it / Now I just wanna talk you out of it.”
“‘Talk You Out of It’ has a very different feel for us,” says Tyler Hubbard. “It’s the baby-making song on the album [laughing]. But really, BK and I are always challenging ourselves creatively and knew that we had to record it when we first heard it.”
“The vibe was just so money,” adds Brian Kelley. “Nothing like a good date night in.”
