KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt announced the hiring of Chris Weinke as the Vols’ running backs coach on Wednesday.

A former NFL assistant coach and player and the 2000 Heisman Trophy winner, Weinke brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Tennessee coaching staff.

He comes to Rocky Top after working as an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2017, helping lead the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Before his time in Tuscaloosa, Weinke was the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams for two seasons and spent five years as the program director at IMG Academy, where he worked with some of the nation’s top high school football players and trained several NFL players, including Cam Newton and Russell Wilson. He compiled a 19-2 record as the head coach and offensive coordinator of IMG’s high school program in 2013 and 2014.

He spent seven years in the NFL as a quarterback for the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, following a standout collegiate career where he set numerous Florida State records and led the Seminoles to the 1999 National Championship.

“I’m excited to have Chris Weinke on our staff to coach running backs,” Pruitt said. “He has played the game at the highest level and what he has accomplished on the field speaks for itself. He is also an outstanding coach and teacher of the game, coaching in the NFL, in college this past season and at the high school level. He has a great eye for talent and knows the game on the offensive side of the ball as well as anybody I’ve been around. He will be a great fit for our Tennessee program.”

Weinke worked on the Alabama staff with Pruitt in 2017, and was instrumental in the Crimson Tide’s offensive success. Alabama finished No. 15 in the nation in scoring (37.1 points per game) and No. 13 in rushing (250.6 yards per game).

During his time with the Rams, Weinke mentored quarterbacks Nick Foles, Case Keenum and No. 1 pick Jared Goff. Keenum found success under Weinke’s direction, passing for over 3,000 yards despite starting only 14 games. Weinke also helped Goff, then a 21-year-old rookie, build a foundation for his future success as his first NFL position coach.

Weinke helped launch the IMG Madden Football Academy in 2010 and served as the director through 2014. In addition to his success as a high school coach, he trained several NFL quarterbacks for the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft, including Newton, Wilson, Teddy Bridgewater and Kirk Cousins – many of who continued to work with Weinke in the off-season.

Weinke played for the Panthers from 2001-06 before spending time with the 49ers in 2007. He started 15 games as a rookie in 2001 after being drafted in the fourth round.

The St. Paul, Minn., native is perhaps best known for his remarkable career at Florida State, playing for the legendary Bobby Bowden from 1997-2000. Weinke owns the Seminoles’ career records for passing yards (9,839), completions (650) and touchdown passes (79).

As a senior in 2000, Weinke won the Heisman Trophy, Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O’Brien Award after leading Florida State to the ACC title, throwing for an FSU-record 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Weinke led the Noles to a 12-0 mark and the BCS National Championship as a junior in 1999.

He spent six years in minor league baseball after being selected in the second round of the 1990 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays following an outstanding prep career at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul in both football and baseball. He was named a 1989 Parade Magazine All-American and USA Today First Team All-American in football.

Weinke has an 11-year-old son, Carter, and a 9-year-old daughter, Mallory.

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Head Coach Holly Warlick met with members of the media before practice on Wednesday in Pratt Pavilion. No. 15/14 Tennessee (21-6, 9-5 SEC) is preparing for its last road trip of the regular season, traveling to Gainesville to face Florida (11-16, 3-11 SEC) on Thursday at 7:02 p.m. ET.

Answering questions from the media, Warlick discussed Rennia Davis‘ play and what to expect against Florida.

The Tennessee-Florida matchup will be streamed online via SEC Network+.

Tennessee Head Coach Holly Warlick

On Rennia Davis‘s response during practice this week after not converting on free throws in the final minute of the game against Missouri:
“She’s good. She’s been in the gym. It hurt then, but she’s gone back to work. She is a tough kid.”

On what’s been the primary focus in practice:
“Ball movement against sagging man-to-man and sagging zones. We did a lot of that yesterday, defending Florida sets. They shoot the three. They spread the floor. They shoot a ton of threes. (We’re) just trying to zero into Florida and what they do.”

On the importance of winning the next two games:
“Florida is our focal point right now. It’s on the road, and we tend to struggle with teams that are on the road and not ranked. Our focus is zeroed in on Florida, and we’ve got to get the win.”

On if she’s concerned about her team’s confidence:
“I don’t think so. I think it’s made us more focused at practice. They understand that there’s not an easy game, not that they thought there was. You have to play hard all the time, and I think they are realizing that. Every possession matters, and we have really been focusing on that. It continues to be a learning process for us. We’re really still young. We have two seniors that play a lot, but the rest are still learning. They are going to continue to learn.”

On showing the team footage from the first 15 games:
“Yeah, we do. We’ve seen it. A lot of teams are running sagging zones against us right now. Earlier they ran a lot of man-to-man, and we were successful with that. Now we need to get as comfortable with sagging zones as we are man-to-man. We are going to get there.”

On the Rennia Davis, Evina Westbrook, and Anastasia Hayes‘ play:
“I think Rennia (Davis) has stepped her game up. (Westbrook and Hayes) probably haven’t produced as successfully as other games. They’re still working hard. They’re still leading the basketball team. They are getting better defensively. We’re trying to get them quality shots. I think sometimes they take quick shots and just try to identify those and make sure they run the basketball team. There is so much more that they have to do besides scoring points or those type of productions.”

On the effort against Missouri compared to the effort against Alabama:
“I really don’t think in the Alabama game our kids overlooked them. I really don’t. We were pretty focused. They were more in-tune. The more I watch it and talk to our kids, I think our offense affected our defense. When our defense got going, we turned them over and scored. In the fourth quarter, we got great looks and they didn’t go. So it was a learning experience for them. At Missouri, once we settled in, I thought we played really hard. The last couple practices we had have been really hard. I think they see a correlation between when you cut hard and play hard and put the pressure on the defense, it will make the defense move when they are sagging. We just can’t stand, and I think they understand that.”

On struggling to the run the offense vs. Missouri:
“I don’t think we struggled to run our offense. I thought we penetrated more. If they are going to allow us to penetrate to the basket, then we don’t need to run our offense. I thought that’s what Jaime (Nared) was doing. We were getting a lot of steals and scores, and a lot of penetration and buckets and going to the free throw line. I wasn’t so concerned about our offense. We were attacking. I was more concerned about our defense and stopping Missouri.”

On dealing with a player in a shooting slump:
“I think it’s a combination of things. It’s getting in the gym and getting your muscle memory back and confidence and consecutive shots. I think you watch tape, (and say), ‘Was that a good shot?’ There are a lot of times when kids are in slumps its due to their shot selection. A lot of times they are forcing it because they want to score, and they take bad shots. I think recognizing shot selection and saying, ‘Is that a good shot for me? Is that a great shot for me? Am I working to get open?’  Those type of things. Then try to get them to focus on different things – rebounding, defense. Defense will lead to easy buckets. We talk a lot about that. Get your teammate open, so not just focusing on you. And you can get in the gym, and you can watch it on tape and see what quality shots you are taking.”

On what’s the biggest improvement that needs to be made:
“Probably ball movement on offense. One-on-one on defense, just awareness of where people are. We have to continue to be solid on rebounding the basketball. Don’t give people a second chance, and then we need to get second chance points.”

UT Athletics

Former All-American Howard Wood has been selected as Tennessee’s Allstate SEC Basketball Legend and will represent the Volunteers at the SEC Tournament next month in St. Louis.

He will be recognized by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey at midcourt during halftime of Tennessee’s first game at the SEC Tournament. The tournament takes place March 7-11 at the Scottrade Center, which is home to the NHL’s St. Louis Blues. Tickets for the tournament are available at AllVols.com.

Wood starred in the Tennessee frontcourt for head coach Don DeVoe from 1978-81. A powerful but undersized center—he was 6-7, 235 during his career as a Vol—he was a member of Tennessee’s 1979 SEC Tournament championship team and was a second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC selection as a senior in 1981.

The East Hampton, New York, native ranks 35th on UT’s all-time scoring list with 1,201 career points.

He was selected by the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 1981 NBA Draft and enjoyed a long and successful professional playing career—with many outstanding seasons spent playing in Spain.

Wood currently resides in his hometown of East Hampton, New York.

Joining Wood in the 20th annual class of Legends is James Robinson (Alabama), Jonathon Modica (Arkansas), Joel Eaves (Auburn), David Lee (Florida), Chad Kessler (Georgia), Joe Crawford (Kentucky), John Brady (LSU), Rob Evans (Ole Miss), Ray White (Mississippi State), Doug Smith (Missouri), South Carolina (Carey Rich), Barry Davis (Texas A&M) and Godfrey Dillard (Vanderbilt).

TENNESSEE’S ALL-TIME SEC LEGENDS
1999 – Reggie Johnson
2000 – A.W. Davis
2001 – Ernie Grunfeld
2002 – Tony White
2003 – Tom Boerwinkle
2004 – Dale Ellis
2005 – Ron Widby
2006 – Bill Justus
2007 – Allan Houston
2008 – Bernard King
2009 – Paul “Lefty” Walther
2010 – Don DeVoe
2011 – Jimmy England
2012 – Gene Tormohlen
2013 – Len Kosmalski
2014 – Ed Wiener
2015 – Johnny Darden
2016 – Vincent Yarbrough
2017 – Ron Slay
2018 – Howard Wood

UT Athletics