The Southeastern Conference today announced the schedule for its annual football media days, which will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia, July 16-19.
A more detailed daily schedule with full television information, rotational breakdown and student-athletes attending will be available later this summer.
During the four-day SEC Media Days event, the Hall of Fame will be home to the coaches’ primary press conferences and serve as the live broadcast headquarters for both ESPN and the SEC Network. The Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center, which is connected to the Hall of Fame, is the host hotel for the event and will house Radio Row and other media interviews and activities.
As part of the week’s activities, participating media cast their votes to predict the SEC champion and order of finish for the coming season. Only six times in the last 25 seasons has the SEC Media Days predicted champion proceeded to win the SEC Championship, two of which have occurred in the last four years.
The 2018 event will mark the first time SEC Media Days will be held outside the Birmingham, Alabama, area since 1985.
2018 SEC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS SCHEDULE
MONDAY, July 16
Kentucky – Mark Stoops
LSU – Ed Orgeron
Texas A&M – Jimbo Fisher
TUESDAY, July 17
Arkansas – Chad Morris
Florida – Dan Mullen
Georgia – Kirby Smart
Ole Miss – Matt Luke
WEDNESDAY, July 18
Alabama – Nick Saban
Mississippi State – Joe Moorhead
Missouri – Barry Odom Tennessee – Jeremy Pruitt
THURSDAY, July 19
Auburn – Gus Malzahn
South Carolina – Will Muschamp
Vanderbilt – Derek Mason
Dwight Yoakam will curate a new channel on SiriusXM, Dwight Yoakam & The Bakersfield Beat, which will feature music from his career as well his musical friends and heroes, including Buck Owens, The Byrds, The Blasters, Eagles and more.
Dwight’s new channel will launch this spring, with a special preview airing Feb. 23–26 on SiriusXM’s channel 58.
Other country artists who have curated channels on SiriusXM include Garth Brooks (The Garth Channel), Willie Nelson (Willie’s Roadhouse) and Kenny Chesney (No Shoes Radio).
After topping the charts this week with the lead single, “Legend,” from her sophomore album, Unapologetically, Kelsea Ballerini announced her next single will be “I Hate Love Songs.”
Co-penned by Kelsea, Shane McAnally and Trevor Rosen, the tongue-and-cheek ode to modern-day romance will impact country radio on March 12.
“I will never forget introducing ‘I Hate Love Songs’ at the Grand Ole Opry before my record was even out, and just the overwhelming feeling of magic,” said Kelsea. “I’d never experienced anything like that before with a song. It’s sweet and sassy and I hope you love it as much as I do.”
Kelsea has release five singles over the course of her career, four of which have reached No. 1.
In the lead-up to the premiere of Season 14 of The Voice on Feb. 26, the coaches—Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and Alicia Keys—paired off to perform a couple of vintage Vegas tunes in a new digital elusive.
Blake and Adam tackled Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” while Kelly and Alicia put their pipes on “Feeling Good,” a tune recorded by a number of artists, including Nina Simone, Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Buble and more.
The new season of The Voice premieres on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Watch the Blake, Adam, Kelly and Alicia perform below.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Grant Williams scored 23 points and No. 19 Tennessee outlasted Florida at home on Wednesday night in Thompson-Boling Arena, 62-57.
Williams scored 11 of the Vols’ last 18 points, while Tennessee as a team made eight of its last 11 field-goal attempts s to edge out the Gators. Tennessee (20-7, 10-5 SEC) led by as many as 10 points on two separate occasions in the second half, but Florida fought back each time.
With the Vols leading 37-36 midway through the second half, Tennessee and Florida exchanged baskets before a Jordan Bowden breakaway dunk sparked a 15-6 Tennessee run to put the Big Orange in front by 10 for a second time in the half, 52-42.
After starting the game 2-for-18 from 3-point range, Florida then proceeded to made three of its next four from long distance to stay on pace, but the Gators never got closer than three points for the rest of the game.
Bowden made three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the game for Tennessee.
In addition to Williams’ 23 points, junior Admiral Schofield scored 16 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the Vols.
Jalen Hudson had 13 points, while Chris Chiozza and Keith Stone had 11 for Florida (17-11, 8-7 SEC).
Despite shooting just 38 percent from the field in the first half, Tennessee took a 27-18 lead into the break.
The Vols held Florida to its lowest first half scoring output of the season, as the Gators’ 18 points at the break were 11 fewer than their previous low of 29. Florida’s 26.9 percent (7-for-26) shooting performance was also its lowest percentage in any first half this season.
To open the game, Tennessee held Florida scoreless for the first 4:35, and to close out the first half the Gators made just one of their final 10 shots. Williams paced the Vols in the opening period with 10 points, while no Florida player scored more than four.
UP NEXT: UT has back-to-back road games against Ole Miss (Saturday) and Mississippi State (Feb. 27) before returning home for a rematch with Georgia to conclude the regular season. Saturday’s game in Oxford will tip at 1 p.m. ET and will be televised on SEC Network.
VOLS BREACH 20 WINS: With the win over Florida, Tennessee earned its 25th 20-win season in program history and first since 2013-14, when the Vols finished with 24 victories and advanced to their seventh Sweet Sixteen. This is the first time UT has posted 20 regular-seasonvictories since 2013-14 (20).
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE: During the first half of the game on Wednesday night, UT’s defense held the Gators to season lows in points (18) and field-goal percentage (.269). Florida’s previous lows were 29 points vs. Gonzaga (11/24/17) and 27.6 percent shooting against New Hampshire (11/19/17).
FINISHING DOWN THE STRETCH: Over the final 10 minutes of play, the Volunteers shot 8-of-11 from the field to hold off Florida’s late comeback attempt. During the previous 30 minutes of action, UT was just 15-of-42 shooting (35.7 percent) from the floor.
BIGS DOMINATE ON OFFENSE:Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams fueled Tennessee’s offense all night, combining for 39 of UT’s 62 points (63 percent) in the matchup. Williams, who finished with game-high 23 points, scored 11 of UT’s final 18 points. Schofield chipped in 16 points.
Chris Weinke – Vols RB Coach / Credit: UT Athletics
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.
