Luke Bryan treated 30,000 fans to a free outdoor concert in downtown Nashville on Sept. 10 to celebrate the grand opening of his new restaurant, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink.
After openers DJ Rock, Chelsea Field and Jon Langston got the party started, Luke hit the stage for a 90-minute set that included appearances by Cole Swindell and Ryan Hurd.
Check out Luke performing his recent No. 1 hit, “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” with Ryan Hurd, one of the song’s co-writers.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Week 1 of the regular season wrapped for the NFL yesterday on Monday Night Football and three VFLs made their professional football debuts over the weekend: Jason Croom, Trevor Daniel and Rashaan Gaulden.
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: 1/1, Tackles: 1 UA, 1 A, 2 Total, Other: 0 Sacks, 0 Int., 0 FF, 0 FR
Barnett started Philadelphia’s first three games of the preseason, recording two tackles at Cleveland. To kick off the regular season, the Nashville native earned the starting position versus Atlanta and tallied two tackles.
Eric Berry – DB, Kansas City Chiefs 2018 Regular Season: No Stats Recorded
Berry did not play in the play in the preseason or in the Chief’s Week 1 game versus the Los Angeles Chargers.
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 the 2018 season.
Coleman started two of four preseason games for the Seahawks, totaling six tackles and three passes defended. In Seattle’s Week 1 game at Denver, he entered off the bench and recorded one tackle.
Colquitt played in all four of Cleveland’s preseason games, recording 15 punts for 618 yards. He landed five inside the 20-yard line and averaged 41.2 yards per punt. In the Brown’s Week 1 game against Pittsburgh, Colquitt punted 12 times for 522 yards and pinned the Steelers inside the 20-yard line six times.
Colquitt averaged 43.2 yards per punt through four games in the preseason for the Chiefs. In Week 1 of the regular season versus the Los Angeles Chargers, he averaged 51.2 yards per punt and landed three of his five boots inside the 20-yard line. Colquitt’s longest punt of the game was a 67-yarder.
Cox served as the Ravens primary long snapper in the preseason, playing in four games, and saw action in Baltimore’s 47-3 rout of the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 of the regular season.
Croom tallied three receptions for 60 yards through three preseason games for the Bills. In Week 1 at Baltimore, Croom saw action off the bench and caught two passes for 18 yards, including a long reception of 10 yards.
Daniel played in all four of Houston’s preseason games, punting 10 times for an average of 45.3 yards per punt, before winning the roster spot as a rookie. In his NFL debut against the Patriots, Daniel landed three of his six punts inside the 20-yard line and averaged 38.3 yards per punt.
Dobbs played in three preseason games for the Steelers, getting the starting nod against Carolina. He completed 29-of-43 passes for 434 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for an additional 64 yards and a score. The Georgia native did not see action in Week 1 of the regular season.
Alex Ellis – TE, Kansas City Chiefs 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 1/0, Rec-Yds: 0-0, 0.0 Avg., 0 TD
Ellis saw action in all four of Kansas City’s preseason games and earned a start in the final game of the preseason versus Green Bay. He caught 10 passes for 93 yards, including a 17-yard reception against the Packers. Ellis entered the Chief’s Week 1 game in Los Angeles off the bench.
Foster did not play in any preseason games for the Steelers, but started Week 1 of the regular season at Cleveland. Foster helped pave the way for 472 yards of total offense, including 313 yards passing.
Fulton started three preseason games for the Texans. The guard started in Houston’s Week 1 game at New England and paved the way for 325 yards of total offense.
Gaulden played in four games during the preseason for the Panthers, earning two starts. The rookie made five tackles in the preseason. In Week 1, Gaulden made his NFL debut, coming off the bench in Carolina’s 16-8 win over the Cowboys.
Hunter caught seven passes for 132 yards, including a 46-yarder against Carolina, and one touchdown in the preseason. The Virginia native made one catch for six yards in Week 1 of the regular season, helping the Steelers to a 21-21 tie at Cleveland.
Malik Jackson – DT, Jacksonville Jaguars 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 1/1, Tackles: 1 UA, 3 A, 4 Total, Other: 0 Sacks, 0 Int., 0 FF, 0 FR
Jackson started three games in the preseason for Jacksonville, recording four tackles, a sack and one forced fumble. He made four tackles in Week 1 of the regular season to help the Jaguars to a 20-15 win over the Giants.
James made three starts in the preseason before paving the way for 342 yards of total offense in the Dolphins’ Week 1 win against the Tennessee Titans.
Johnson played in three preseason games for the Denver Broncos, recording a tackle in each outing. He did not play in Denver’s Week 1 season opener against Seattle.
Kamara started two preseason games for the for the Saints, rushing for 27 yards and a touchdown on seven attempts. He also caught two passes for 17 yards in the outings. During Week 1 vs. Tampa Bay, Kamara rushed for 29 yards and two touchdowns while tallying nine receptions for 112 yards and a score.
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 for the Rams. The running back did not see action in Los Angeles’ 33-13 win over Oakland in Week 1 of the regular season.
Made four appearances, including one start, for the Bengals during the preseason, making seven catches for 101 yards and one touchdown. Malone saw action of the bench in Cincinnati’s 34-23 Week 1 victory over Indianapolis.
McCullers played in three preseason games for the Steelers, making one tackle. The North Carolina native played in Pittsburgh’s Week 1 game at Cleveland.
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 did not play in the Chiefs’ Week 1 game at the Los Angeles Chargers.
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 played in all four of Carolina’s preseason games, punting 16 times for an average of 43.9 yards per punt. In Week 1, the veteran punter landed three of his six punts inside the 20-yard line and averaged 47.8 yards per punt.
Cordarrelle Patterson – WR, New England Patriots 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 1/1, Rec-Yds: 1-6, 6.0 Avg., 0 TD, Rushing Att-Yds: 3-13, 4.3 Avg., 10 Lg
Made four appearances, including one start, for the Patriots during the preseason, making 11 catches for 126 yards and one touchdown. Patterson started in Week 1 of the regular season versus Houston, making one catch for six yards. The South Carolina native also had three rushing attempts for 13 yards in the 27-20 win.
Reeves-Maybin played in three games for the Lions in the preseason, making six solo tackles and defending one pass. In the Lions’ first regular season game against the New York Jets, Reeves-Maybin entered the game off the bench.
Stocker saw action in all four of Tennessee’s preseason games but did not record any stats. The Kentucky native entered the Titan’s Week 1 game in Miami off the bench and made two catches for 37 yards.
James Stone – C, Chicago Bears (Practice Squad) 2018 Regular Season: Games/Starts: 1/1
Stone made four appearances, including one start, in the preseason for the Oakland Raiders before being signed to the Chicago Bears’ practice squad.
Sutton played in all four of the Steelers’ preseason games, making four tackles and defending three passes. The Georgia native also had one interception for 13 yards and forced a fumble. In Week 1 of the regular season, Sutton intercepted a pass and recorded two tackles against Cleveland.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee Football, visit //UTSports.com/Football and follow @Vol_Football on Twitter.
California native Brett Young revealed he will drop his sophomore album, Ticket to L.A., on Dec. 7.
The upcoming record follows the 2017 release of Brett’s self-titled debut album, which spawned four No. 1 hits, including “Sleep Without You,” “In Case You Didn’t Know,” “Like I Loved You” and “Mercy.”
“It’s been four-and-a-half years that I’ve been in Nashville,” says Brett. “A lot has happened, the first record has been really good to me and I’m really, really proud of it. But just having a new batch of songs—it’s like breathing new life almost.”
Brett co-penned 10 of the 13 tracks on Ticket to L.A., including new single, “Here Tonight.”
“I decided to name the album Ticket to L.A. because flying home to Los Angeles has become such a big part of my life,” Brett says. “A lot of the first record reflected a kind of hard point in my life when I was moving from Los Angeles to Nashville, but I’m in a completely different place now. I’m so happy, and I think you can really hear that shift on the new record.”
Zac Brown Band will team with singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes for an upcoming episode of CMT Crossroads.
The new episode, which will be filmed at the Factory’s Liberty Hall in Franklin, Tenn., on Sept. 11, will air on CMT on Oct. 24.
“Shawn is an incredibly talented artist and it’s been exciting to watch his career rise over the past few years,” said Zac Brown. “This Crossroads will be very special with huge vocals and musicality. It will be unexpected and something that both sets of fans will enjoy.”
“I’m so excited to head to Nashville to play with Zac and the band on Crossroads,” added Shawn. “It’s going to be a blast.”
Shawn recently released his self-titled third album in May 2018. The album debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
Effort to Increase Alzheimer’s Research at The Pat Summitt Clinic at UT Medical Center
(L to R) Dr. Roberto Fernandez, Joe Landsman, Jeremy Pruitt, Phillip Fulmer / Credit: UT Athletics
Vol fans can go ALL IN to boost Alzheimer’s research at The Pat Summitt Clinic at The University of Tennessee Medical Center. Tennessee Athletics and the Vol Network are joining forces with the medical center and asking fans to join them in ALL IN, a program where everyone with the Volunteer spirit can help tackle major diseases that impact Tennesseans.
The inaugural effort is ALL IN Against Alzheimer’s and will benefit the Alzheimer’s Research Initiative, a fundraising endeavor to increase research capabilities by the medical center’s team at The Pat Summitt Clinic. Fans can pick up an official ALL IN shaker for just $5 at several retailers throughout the state of Tennessee, including: Pilot, Food City, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Kubota, Kroger, Long’s Drug Store, Orange Mountain Designs, Alumni Hall, HoundDogs, the gift shop at The University of Tennessee Medical Center, the Vol Shop (and Tennessee Team Shops inside Neyland Stadium), and VolWallArt.com.
Every shaker purchase includes a free 20-ounce fountain drink at any home football game this season at Neyland Stadium. ALL IN Against Alzheimer’s culminates at the home game against Alabama game on Saturday, Oct. 20, with the goal of every fan having a shaker and joining together to shake down Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our Tennessee family has been impacted by Alzheimer’s,” said Phillip Fulmer, University of Tennessee Director of Athletics. “And my family also has suffered the heartache of this dreadful disease and the toll it takes on all immediate family members as well as their caregivers. It’s past time to act. I’m pleased that our entire Tennessee family is going ‘All In’ to support the fight against Alzheimer’s.
“The Pat Summitt Clinic holds a special place in our hearts, and we want to support the great research currently taking place there. We appreciate the partnership with our friends at UT Medical Center and the Vol Network in creating a first-of-its-kind campaign to help raise needed research funds and awareness.”
Whether fans are at the games or not, they can show that they’re ALL IN and help advance research for Alzheimer’s disease by sharing photos with their shakers and using #VOLSALLIN during UT home games. Visit www.utmedicalcenter.org/alz for more information about ALL IN and to view the growing list of locations to buy the shakers.
“I’m continually amazed by Tennessee fans and how they embrace the Volunteer spirit by coming together to help others,” said Joe Landsman, President and CEO of The University of Tennessee Medical Center. “It will be exciting to see fans at the game and across the state standing up as one against this terrible disease and in support of Alzheimer’s research at The Pat Summitt Clinic. Support of ALL IN is critical to the advancement of early diagnosis, treatment, and hopefully one day, a cure for Alzheimer’s. Hope for this disease lies in the research.”
The clinic is named for the late Pat Summitt, the legendary basketball coach of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team who led her players to eight national championships. Summitt’s public announcement of her battle with Alzheimer’s led to significant awareness of the disease and a national discussion about the need for advancing care and research. The medical center opened the clinic in 2017, with the support of The Pat Summitt Foundation, to fulfill Summitt’s vision to have a place in East Tennessee where patients, families, caregivers, and leading medical experts would work collaboratively to improve care and support, educate future physicians and clinicians, and conduct ground-breaking research.
The number of Alzheimer’s cases in the nation is expected to more than triple, from 5 million to more than 16 million, by the year 2050. The fundraising initiative will provide for significant expansion of the multi-disciplinary Alzheimer’s research being conducted at the facility. To learn more about the Alzheimer’s Research Initiative, contact The University of Tennessee Medical Center Development Office at (865) 305-6611 or via email at [email protected].
Opening statement:
“It’s probably a lot easier for our guys to come to practice after they have experienced a win, but I am sure there will be something that we will have to coach around and see how we respond. We have so many things that we need to improve on. We improved on a lot of things this past week, but we still had a lot of errors and made some critical mistakes in the game. We are still looking to play a complete game for 60 minutes. I thought we did eliminate some of our errors from the previous week, offensively. Especially after the lightning delay, we were a lot more efficient. We didn’t turn the ball over which was a plus, and we scored in the red area. Defensively, we minimized the big plays and got off the field on third downs. We created a score on defense and special teams, so that is always good. We had another turnover to set up an offensive touchdown.
“We are excited about this week. It’s another opportunity for us. We have to really improve this week in all phases. Our coaches have to do a good job of developing the team and creating depth. We have to learn exactly what we want to do and how we want to do it. I look at UTEP, and I think they are very similar to us. This is Dana Dimel’s first year. Offensively, if you look at them when they are going in the right direction and everyone is on the same page, they have an opportunity to have success. When they don’t have that, they haven’t had success. Defensively, they play hard, their sound, and you know what they’re trying to do. You can see the Kansas State background there on the defensive side of the ball. They play hard. We will have a tremendous challenge for us. We have to be able to execute, and we need to be able to improve.”
On the errors the team needs to eliminate:
“If you just start on offense, we have had too many negative plays that are zero or less yards. You could start at the quarterback position. We have to make sure we are in the right play and have identified the correct guys up front. We have to throw the ball in the right direction, and the wide receivers have to run the correct routes or block people on the perimeter. The offensive line and tight ends have to be communicating with each other and step in the right direction and block the right folks. We minimized our mistakes from the previous week, but we still aren’t anywhere close to where we need to be. When we do it the right way, we have good plays. When we don’t, we don’t have good plays. We have to improve and get it figured out.”
On his preparation for clock management:
“Being a football coach, you are always aware of the scenarios. It doesn’t matter if you coach the defense, defensive backs or the kickers. A lot of it is common sense. There are some things that you have to study. Maybe you only have three timeouts. Maybe you have two at the end of the game. So when should you take a timeout? Some of that stuff, but none of those scenarios have come up yet.”
On his impressions on Jauan Jennings:
“Jauan is playing really well on special teams. He had been limited in fall camp, but he is starting to get his legs back under him. He is a really good competitor and is instinctive. Sometimes, when you call a pass route, you don’t have any idea as to where it’s going to go because you’re waiting to see what the defense does. With the balls that have been targeted to him, I think he has done a really good job securing the football, which was one thing I was concerned about because he didn’t take many licks during fall camp. He’s ran the ball well after he’s caught it. We probably need to find a way to get him more involved offensively, but right now, I think our quarterbacks are being efficient and putting the ball where it is supposed to be.”
On what he saw out of Emmit Gooden:
“Emmit made some plays. He’s continuing to improve each week. This will be a big week for him. He’s still got a long ways to go, but he does have some ability. He’s worked hard this fall camp. When he practices well, he performs and plays well. He has to continue to do that.”
On rotating the offensive lineman throughout the season:
“I think a lot of that depends on who the guys are. You want to play your best players. If there’s not much difference in the guys out there, then you might as well play multiple guys to keep them fresh. I think were still figuring out who we are up front. We’re making strides in the right direction, but we’ve got to continue to improve.”
On Alontae Taylor’s reaction after not getting to start:
“I think that each week there’ll be different guys that play in the secondary. We’ve got to get everybody to play at a high level, and I think the way you go about your business in practice is very important. I think Theo (Jackson) and Alontae have a lot to learn, and really, they’ve got to take it from the practice field to the playing field. They’re both inexperienced guys that have not played a lot of college football, so hopefully they’ll improve each week.”
On Paul Bain’s hard work and what it means to put him on scholarship and have him as an example:
“I think Paul is a guy that works really hard. We have a lot of walk-ons in our program that work really hard, and they’re all over the country, and I think it builds character. I was a walk-on, so he’s not the first one that’s ever done it. When it comes to playing, he’s got to be consistent and really learn what to do. He has some ability, and I think he’s a very good representative to the University of Tennessee.”
On what he sees in film that explains the lack of consistency in opposing quarterbacks:
“Some of it has to do with the ball coming out fast; some of it could be teams protecting with seven folks. You can affect the quarterback in more than one way. You can get your hands up and bat at balls, which we did. You can disguise. If you do a good job of disguising, maybe the quarterback holds the ball that allows the pass rush to get there. One thing that I’ve noticed that we’ve got to improve on is how many times have we had a defender that’s from here to this bottle that’s a quarterback in the last two games, and you don’t get him on the ground. When we get that close, we need to be getting them on the ground. That’s something we need to improve on.”
On offense’s execution after the weather delay:
“I think if you look at the last two games, I don’t think we’ve started very fast offensively. We’ve not been very efficient. After a couple of series, whether it was the end of the first quarter two weeks ago or it was after the delay this past week, which was really the first quarter, we’ve been much more productive after that. I think we’ve got to find a way to start a little faster and be a little more efficient. Some of that has to do with execution and some of it is how you just start the game with a little bit more fire.”
On how Ryan Johnson did at starting center:
“Ryan’s a guy that the University of Tennessee is very important to him. He takes a lot of pride in being a Tennessee Volunteer. He works really hard at practice. He tries to play with the right toughness that you should play with. He’s still a young guy that’s played lots of positions. He’s moved to center now and is probably still learning exactly everything that he needs to know. He competes hard. Was he perfect? No. It was nowhere close to perfect, but I think he’ll continue to improve there.”
On himself influencing the offense more against ETSU than West Virginia:
“From an influence standpoint, I was talking about if I see something out there, I want to be able to get them the information. I thought our guys were really in tune to what we were trying to get done, and we made corrections as the game went. I didn’t really help them a whole lot. I probably got in their way more than I helped them.”
On what he saw from the young linebackers:
“I think our guys just need to play. We’ve got so many guys that have never played in a game. Depending on how long they’ve been here, how many reps have they really had? They need to play in games, and they’ll improve by doing that, so I think it’s good for those guys to get an opportunity.”
On his relationship with UTEP quarterback Kai Locksley and his family:
“Mike and Kia Locksley are very good friends to our family. I worked with Mike for two years, and I’ve only been around Kai a couple of times when he came to campus. I love their family and think Mike is a tremendous coach and a good friend. Kai can run, and they’ve had a little bit of a problem with protection just like us. He’s a guy that can get away from it, he can extend plays and has a good arm. He’s their leading rusher and passer, so everything starts with him.”
On the punting competition:
“Joe Doyle and Paxton Brooks has been a really good competition, and we could let both of them kick. SInce Paxton is kicking off, Joe is a little more experienced, so we let him punt. We did get Paxton a punt the other day, and he’s got a really strong leg. Paxton could actually be a field goal kicker, a kickoff guy or a punter. So he can contribute in a lot of areas, but he’s still learning as far as operations and getting the ball off on time. We’ve had to shorten him down because he’s a naturally big guy. He’s really worked hard on improving and I think he has a chance to be a really good punter one day.”
On Quart’e Sapp’s availability:
“He’ll be able to practice today.”
On Dominick Wood-Anderson and his development:
“He played much better this week around the line of scrimmage, and he blocked really well. That’s something that he’s improving on, and he’s working hard on it in fall camp. I think he’s a guy that can create some plays with us in the passing game. He’s got to be a little more consistent with his route running. There are a lot of guys on our offense that have ability and are improving, and he’s one of those guys.”
On Darrin Kirkland Jr.’s decision to stay at Tennessee:
“I’ve said this before, if a guy doesn’t want to be here, we want to help give him a chance to go somewhere else. We wanted Darrin here, and we want all of our guys here. I told Darrin and his family that if he wanted to go somewhere we would help him go wherever he wanted to go. We’re proud he decided to stay. He’s a guy that knows how to play, and he’s very instinctive. I’m glad he’s getting a chance to play after sitting out last year.”
On Bryce Thompson and how the defensive backs are progressing in practice:
“Bryce practiced the way you’re supposed to practice, and he played well. So that would be a good lesson for everyone involved, if you practice that way, it gives you a chance to have success on Saturday. We’re young, we’re new, and they’re trying to figure it out. Moving forward, there are a lot of lessons that we can learn from every week. We have to make sure we continue to educate our guys and how we expect things to be done.”
Ticket to L.A. Track Listing and Songwriters
