Locash’s Preston Brust and wife Kristen announced the birth of their second child, son Legend Wilde, on Aug. 10.
Preston shared the announcement with a photo of the little guy via Locash’s Instagram, saying, in part: “Hello. My name is Legend Wilde…and just like that, our hearts have opened up in all new ways. Every map in life needs a Legend. We’re so blessed.”
Vols players at scrimmage 1 / Credit: UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee held its first scrimmage of fall camp on Sunday afternoon at Neyland Stadium, running 116 total plays between regular scrimmage work as well as situational, red zone and goal line work.
“We played a lot of guys in a lot of different situations with a lot of different groups,” Pruitt said. “At the beginning of practice, we worked a little bit of ones versus twos, and then twos versus ones and then some threes on threes. During that period, we moved some guys around to give them opportunities.
“I saw a lot of guys who were competing, but we were inconsistent on both sides of the ball and had too many undisciplined penalties, but we took care of the ball when we were running the ball. We had some turnovers when we put the ball in the air (but) we did create some explosive plays.”
Vols Still Competing at All Positions
Despite being almost two weeks into fall camp, Pruitt emphasized that they are still a long way from determining who will earn starting spots for the team’s season opener against West Virginia on September 1.
“As we get into figuring out who the players are going to be at which spots, it give us an opportunity to create some consistently and rhythm, but we are not there yet,” Pruitt said. “There is still a lot of competition and we have to figure it out. This will be ongoing for a lot of positions throughout fall camp and throughout the year.”
Pruitt also said he hopes most of his players have aspirations past starting a game for the Vols.
“With every position I hope I have players – whether they play quarterback, defensive tackle, punter or long snapper – I hope their number one goal is to not be the starter at Tennessee. I hope that is not their goal,” Pruitt said. “That is not much of a goal in my opinion. I hope their goal is to be the best player in their position out there.”
Young Vols Impressing but Still Have Plenty to Learn
Tennessee’s young players got plenty of opportunities to display their talents in Sunday’s scrimmage. The youngsters showed some promise but also still have a long way to go according to Pruitt.
“We have a lot of young guys who don’t know what to do, but they are more than capable and we are giving them opportunities,” Pruitt said. “Today was their first chance out there on the field. Just like most of the guys, as the scrimmage went on they got better.
“That is a good thing and that is positive, which means we didn’t make a mistake when we were recruiting them. We have to get them to be consistent and learn what is going on.”
Vols QB Derby Still Wide Open
Pruitt said that no quarterback has separated himself through nine practices. All four played in Sunday’s scrimmage.
“From a quarterback standpoint, Jarrett Guarantano and Keller Chryst have done really good things,” Pruitt said. “Will McBride played with our twos a lot today. He’s had a solid camp.
“J.T. Shrout may have the best arm out of all of them, but he has to learn what is going on. He can spin it but he has to figure some things out. If you look over the practices, no one has really separated themselves yet.”
Guarantano (six starts in 2017) and Chryst (13 starts at Stanford) have the most experience, while McBride (1 start in 2017) and Shrout are also battling to be the Vols’ signal-caller this fall.
Jennings and Hall Held Out of Scrimmage, Still Limited
Pruitt said that redshirt juniors Jauan Jennings and Chance Hall were held out of the scrimmage as they continue to be brought along slowly this fall camp.
Jennings, a wide receiver, missed the final 11 games of the 2017 season after totaling 40 receptions for 580 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore in 2016. Hall started 13 games at right tackle in 2015 and 2016, collecting Freshman All-America honors along the way. He missed all of 2017 because of injury.
The Vols will take Monday off before getting back to practice at Haslam Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt Post-Practice Quotes
Opening Statement:
“You know we got 116 plays in today. We played a lot of guys in a lot of different situations with a lot of different groups. At the beginning of practice, we worked a little bit of ones versus twos and then twos versus ones and then some threes on threes. During that period, we moved some guys around to give them opportunities. So, it gives us a chance to evaluate them and then some situational later on with a lot of ones versus ones. I saw a lot of guys who were competing, but we were inconsistent on both sides of the ball and had too many undisciplined penalties, but we took care of the ball when we were running the ball. We had some turnovers when we put the ball in the air (but) we did create some explosive plays. We need to do a better job of protecting the quarterback and the quarterback has to do a better job of getting the ball out of his hand. I thought that our running backs ran pretty well today. I think we need to improve blocking on the perimeter with the wide receivers and we have to do a better job of converting third downs on the offensive side. As we get into figuring out who the players are going to be at which spots, it give us an opportunity to create some consistently and rhythm, but we are not there yet. There is still a lot of competition and we have to figure it out. This will be ongoing for a lot of positions throughout fall camp and throughout the year. We have a lot of young guys who don’t know what to do, but they are more than capable and we are giving them opportunities. Today was their first chance out there on the field. Just like most of the guys, as the scrimmage went on they got better. That is a good thing and that is positive, which means we didn’t make a mistake when we were recruiting them. We have to get them to be consistent and learn what is going on.”
On the team being mentally tougher compared to the spring:
“It’s human nature that when you have success, everyone gets fired up and walks around with their chest stuck out. We have to get to where, when things don’t go our way, we are like a yo-yo. We have to put the fire out. That is one of the things that comes with consistency. You create the right habits. Our scrimmage was like that today. There was a lot of good with a lot of different guys, but we will be looking at the consistency. I will know more once I watch the practice.”
On what he saw from the quarterbacks during the scrimmage and through fall camp:
“I would have to watch the tape. From a quarterback standpoint, Jarrett Guarantano and Keller Chryst have done really good things. Will McBride played with our twos a lot today. He’s had a solid camp. J.T. Shrout may have the best arm out of all of them, but he has to learn what is going on. He can spin it but he has to figure some things out. If you look over the practices, no one has really separated themselves yet.”
On if he adds more to the scrimmages than to practices:
“Every day, every practice and every opportunity says a lot about who you are. If you don’t love this game, you probably won’t be very good at it. It’s too tough. If you want to be great, you have to go to work every day. The best players that I have been around were the best practicers. I have been around very few guys that were the best players who weren’t great practicers. I think it goes hand in hand. I wouldn’t say any day is more important.”
On ending possessions with a kick and how the defense tackled:
“When you look at the tackling aspect, it’s no different than being out on the practice field. When you tackle someone, you want to use the same fundamentals and habits. As far as kicking the ball, we created a lot of opportunities for our guys to kick, whether it was punts, field goals or kickoffs. We spent a lot of time on special teams today.”
On the timeline of starters and quarterbacks: “With every position I hope I have players – whether they play quarterback, defensive tackle, punter or long snapper – I hope their number one goal is to not be the starter at Tennessee. I hope that is not their goal. That is not much of a goal in my opinion. I hope their goal is to be the best player in their position out there. If you’re goal is to be a starter and you become a starter, then you’re the big fish in this pond here. We are a long ways on naming positions or any starters here. We are going to try to find as many guys as we have play. Hopefully we have a bunch of them that can play. That will create some depth and competition. This is a long season and it is a physical conference. We want to be able to be a team that plays a physical brand of football. You are going to need bodies to do that.”
On Pruitt’s assessment of the offensive line:
“When it comes to the run game or protection, sometimes you can be running into wrong looks. It only takes really one guy on the offense to make a mistake and it can mess up the entire play. You have to have guys that play together. I think our guys are learning to do that. We have guys that are playing multiple positions, which I think is important, so we can find their top six to eight guys and create depth from there. The guys have worked hard in practice. They just have to become more consistent and they need more time together. There are a lot of guys that are here for the first time.”
On the pass rush:
“When it comes to pass rush, if you look at it on both sides of the ball, sometimes they cover them really well in the back end and maybe the receivers aren’t getting open. Maybe the offensive line blocks great, but a running back doesn’t. Maybe the quarterback is supposed to get the ball out. There are a lot of things that go into it. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
On what Pruitt focused on during the scrimmage:
“Everybody on the offensive line and everybody on the defensive line. Linebackers. With defensive backs, they play corner, safety, star and nickel. With linebackers, they have to be interchangeable, along with the offensive and defensive line. You have to do that to be able to have depth on your team. That is something we have been doing the entire fall camp. Everybody does that. The negative about that is that you don’t play one position the whole time. There is a learning curve, but it usually pays off in the long run.”
On the team going to church on Sunday morning:
“I grew up going to church. I think a lot of these guys did. I know our staff did. It is Sunday. It is fall camp. It’s a habit you can create and it was something we wanted to do. I think our players enjoyed it and had a really good time.”
Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt spoke to the media in a press conference setting Sunday evening. You can listen to the podcast or watch it as both are available below.
Here’s some video from Tennessee football fall practice #8 in Knoxville on Friday. There is no audio with the OLs by design. That’s not an error. There was no viewing of any of Friday’s 7th practice nor will there be any for Sunday’s 9th practice. We will hear from Jeremy Pruitt after practice Sunday.
Vols OL coach Will Friend and offensive linemen / Credit: WNML Staff
When you hear the name Chris Rumph, the first thing that comes to mind is hard-nosed defense.
Born and raised in St. Matthews, S.C., Rumph, the Vols’ co-defensive coordinator, got his start in coaching at South Carolina State as a graduate assistant in 1997 under legendary head coach Willie Jefferies. From there, he went on to become head coach at his high school, Calhoun County (S.C.), for the next four years before returning to the college ranks in 2002.
During his time at Calhoun County, Rumph learned what college coaches looked for in top-tier talent and took that knowledge with him back to the college game. Rumph became one of the top defensive coaches in the country by mentoring defenses at Memphis, Clemson, Alabama, Texas and Florida, while also becoming one of the nation’s top recruiters in the process.
“Before someone can believe in the shirt that you are wearing, they have to believe in the man that’s wearing the shirt,” said Rumph. “Throughout the years, speaking for myself and some of the other guys as well, we have a great reputation as a man first.
“I try to be genuine. I try to be who I am: Chris Rumph from St. Matthews, S.C.”
Rumph has recruited players such as Jon Bullard, Malcom Brown, Da’Quan Bowers, Gaines Adams, Phillip Merling, Darell Scott and Ricky Sapp — all during his time at Clemson. Caleb Brantley, Hassan Ridgeway, Alex McCalister, Ed Stinson, Jesse Williams and Josh Chapman, to name a few, are among the other stars he has recruited in his career.
In all, Rumph has coached four All-Americans and 18 eventual NFL draft picks.
Coaching Tennessee’s outside linebackers on top of his co-defensive coordinator duties, which he shares with Kevin Sherrer, Rumph came to Rocky Top after a 2017 season that saw him coach defensive line at Florida, wrapping up three seasons in Gainesville.
All told, Rumph has 15 years of coaching experience at the FBS level, including a stint at Texas in 2014 as defensive line coach and assistant head coach for defense.
From 2011-13, Rumph was the defensive line coach at Alabama, racking up two BCS National Championships along the way (2011 and 2012). During those two seasons, Rumph coached alongside current Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
In Rumph’s final season at Alabama, the Crimson Tide ranked fifth nationally in total defense and seventh in rushing defense.
His years of experience in the SEC—a résumé staple among this new Vols’ coaching staff—makes it easier for him to sell the players on what it takes to play college football at the highest level.
“When we are speaking about (playing or coaching in the SEC), we are telling them how it is,” Rumph said. “We aren’t just reading about it from some book. We have experienced it ourselves. It just ups our credibility.”
In addition to his coaching experience, Rumph also played in the SEC—he was a four-year letterwinner at South Carolina, starring at linebacker and racking up 141 career tackles. He was on the 1995 Gamecocks squad that won its first ever bowl game, the 1995 CarQuest Bowl.
At Tennessee, Rumph has joined an extraordinarily well-rounded and battle-tested collection of coaches.
“I think that the staff is a powerful staff,” Rumph said. “Sometimes, I look around the room and I think, ‘Oh wow, that’s Tracy Rocker over there or Charles Kelly or Coach Sherrer … oh man, Tyson (Helton) and those guys from Southern Cal.’ It’s really impressive. The best thing about it is none of these guys have any egos. We go in the meeting room and a guy will bring up an idea and there are no egos—everyone is going along with the plan. With some of the guys we have on the staff and their track record and some of the things they have done, they are so humble. It’s a blessing. They could be in there saying, ‘I’m the guy who created all of these things.’ There are some humble guys in there, some great men.”
One of Tennessee’s big areas of emphasis in the offseason: strength and conditioning
“(The progress) has been unbelievable,” Rumph said. “Some of the gains that not only my guys have made, but as a team, is unbelievable. These guys are changing their bodies. At one point, they could come over to my house and I didn’t care if they took their shirt off around my wife. Now, I told them they can’t take their shirt off in front of my wife.”
But as it often is with coaching at the collegiate level—as well as at high school and even youth leagues—coaching football isn’t all about the weight room or the film room or the execution on the field. At the end of the day, the young men on Tennessee’s roster are pursuing degrees, educations both inside and out of the classroom, educations that will benefit them for decades after they leave Rocky Top.
“I just try to be genuine and try to let them know I love you and this is more than just football,” Rumph said. “It is life. I tell them all the time, if the only thing you learn from me is how to tackle, then I have failed. I don’t want to be a guy that just teaches you how to do that. I might as well leave if I want to do that. I want to teach them how to be a man, how to be a father, how to be a husband, how to treat your wife, how to treat your kids and how to treat people. That’s what it is all about. If we can do that, the world is going to be great.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer announced Friday that head women’s basketball coach Holly Warlick has agreed to a contract extension through the 2021-22 season.
“Holly has dedicated the majority of her adult life to Lady Vols basketball, and there is no one better suited to lead what is one of the most unique and tradition-laden programs in the sport.” Fulmer said. “In her six years as head coach—during which women’s college basketball has experienced a tremendous surge in parity—very few programs have produced the level of success that Tennessee has maintained.
“Holly and her staff have recruited at an elite level, and the young women in our program have developed on the court while also excelling academically. The combination of Holly’s leadership and love for her alma mater, the Lady Vols’ longstanding legacy of excellence and the most passionate fans in the nation points toward continued success in the future.”
Warlick has compiled a 153-54 overall record in six seasons as a head coach, guiding the Lady Vols to NCAA Tournament berths during each campaign. Only 12 of 349 Division I women’s programs in the nation have appeared in every NCAA Tournament the past six years, including just three from the SEC (Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas A&M).
In her first six seasons as a head coach at any level of basketball, Warlick has directed the Big Orange to three Elite Eight appearances (2013, 2015, 2016). Only three schools have more Elite Eight appearances than UT during that time (UConn, 6; Notre Dame, 5; and Baylor, 4). Tennessee, Stanford, Louisville and South Carolina have three each.
The 1981 Tennessee graduate is 71-25 (.740) in Southeastern Conference play, ranking first among active league coaches in winning percentage and second in regular season league titles won in what is regarded as the toughest conference, top to bottom, in the nation. Tennessee captured SEC regular season crowns under Warlick in 2013 and 2015 and a tournament title in 2014. The Lady Vols were the 2014 regular-season runner-up and the 2015 tourney runner-up.
Warlick ranks fourth in SEC wins behind coaches who’ve been at their SEC schools for 15 years (Gary Blair, TAMU, 33 total seasons as a head coach), 10 years (Dawn Staley, USC, 18 total seasons as a head coach) and 11 years (Matthew Mitchell, UK, 13 total seasons as a head coach).
“I am excited about the future of Tennessee Lady Vol basketball and appreciate the support of Coach Fulmer, the university and our tremendous fan base,” Warlick said. “My staff and I are excited about our combination of returnees and newcomers and are anxious to continue working with these young ladies and preparing them for the 2018-19 season.
“Women’s basketball and the SEC are the most competitive they’ve ever been, but our staff is dedicated to seeking out, attracting and mentoring the kinds of student-athletes who are committed to giving their all in competing for championships, earning their degrees and being successful after college in both basketball and life after sports.”
Rated No. 9 in Charlie Crème’s espnW “Way Too Early Top 25 for next season,” the Lady Vols return three starters and seven letterwinners from a unit that was 25-8 overall and 11-5 in the SEC a year ago. UT finished 12th in the final AP Poll and 17th in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, posting impressive wins over Texas, South Carolina (twice) and Stanford along the way.
Returning starters include 6-2 forward Rennia Davis (12.0 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), 6-0 point guard Evina Westbrook (8.4 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 4.3 apg.) and 5-11 wing Meme Jackson (8.2 ppg., 4.2 rpg.). Top returning reserves include 5-7 guard Anastasia Hayes (9.3 ppg., 2.5 reg. 3.4 apg.), 6-3 forward Cheridene Green (4.1 ppg., 3.7 rpg.) and 6-4 center Kasiyahna Kushkituah (1.8 ppg., 1.4 rpg.). Davis and Westbrook were SEC All-Freshman Team honorees, while Hayes was the SEC’s 6th Woman of the Year.
In addition to returning the quartet comprising the consensus No. 1-ranked 2017 recruiting class, the Lady Vols welcome a 2018 freshman foursome that was ranked No. 4 by both ProspectsNation.com and HoopGurlz/espnW. That group includes 6-0 guard Zaay Green, 6-0 point guard Jazmine Massengill, 6-3 forward Mimi Collins and 6-1 wing Rae Burrell. These are the best back-to-back signing classes for UT since a No. 5 unit in Pat Summitt’s final season (2012 signing class) and a No. 3 collection in Warlick’s first year as head coach (2013 signing class).
Tennessee’s offense last season was one of the program’s worst in the modern era of football.
The Vols ranked last in the SEC in points scored and total yards and 13th in rushing and passing.
UT scored 10 or fewer points in four SEC games.
So when Tennessee’s first-year offensive coordinator Tyson Helton was asked what numbers he pays attention to on the post-game stat sheet, you might have thought points and yards gained or yards per play.
Nope.
He looks at two things: Turnovers and field position.
“Turnovers can lose a game in a heartbeat,’’ Helton said.
Helton said you can point to players and teams that have “great offensive performances, but at the end of the day, people turned the ball over and they put themselves in bad situations.
“We have to take care of the football.’’
Next, he said, is field position.
Without good field position, Helton noted, it’s hard to have explosive plays.
“The name of the game is explosive plays,’’ Helton said. “At some point in time, you’re gonna have to throw the ball down there and you’re gonna have to come down with it.
“Or you’re gonna have to hand it to a running back and him take it to the house.’’
But if you’re backed up inside your 20, you’re less likely to generate plays of 20 or more yards. And you’re more likely to be a bit conservative when calling plays.
How would Helton define success for the offense this season?
“Win a lot of games,’’ he said. “I think our main goal going into every game is to win the game. That’s you’re mindset. That’s what it has to be.
“Every game is different and every game takes on its own environment. And so we want to win every game.
“Now, is that scoring a bunch of points? It might be.
“Or is that managing the clock and making sure we do whatever it takes to go win? Then it’s that.’’
But to accomplish that, Helton believes, you have to avoid turnovers and enjoy good field position.
By Jimmy Hyams
