Four Vols Earn Preseason Media Days All-SEC Honors

Four Vols Earn Preseason Media Days All-SEC Honors

4 Vols players / Credit: UT Athletics

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Tennessee senior offensive lineman Jashon Robertson, junior wide receiver Jauan Jennings, senior defensive back/kick returner Evan Berryand redshirt senior punter Trevor Daniel have garnered 2017 Preseason Media Days All-SEC honors, as announced by the Southeastern Conference on Friday.

On Thursday, Robertson was named by the Football Writers Association of America to the preseason watch list for the 2017 Outland Trophy. The Nashville native has started 34 games during his Tennessee career and was a key part of a UT offensive line that paved the way to record-breaking offensive numbers in 2016. The Vols set program records in points scored (473) and touchdowns (63) last season and won their third consecutive bowl game by defeating Nebraska, 38-24, in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. Robertson is the Volunteers’ most-experienced offensive lineman with 39 games played and 35 starts in his career. He is also one of the most versatile offensive linemen on the roster as he started 12 games in 2016 at left guard and worked at center for much of the spring. As a sophomore in 2015, Robertson helped the Vols rush for a 2,908 yards, which was the second-most in UT history. He has been an anchor of Tennessee’s offensive line since his 2014 freshman year when he started all 13 games at right guard and earned Freshman All-SEC and ESPN True Freshman All-American honors.

Jennings is coming off a breakout 2016 sophomore campaign in which he set career highs with 40 receptions, 580 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. He made two of the biggest catches of the 2016 season. In the Vols’ 38-28 comeback win against Florida on Sept. 24, Jennings caught three passes for 111 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown down the right sideline that gave the Vols the lead in the fourth quarter. He topped that the following week at Georgia on Oct. 1 when he outleaped several Bulldog defensive backs to catch Joshua Dobbs‘ 43-yard Hail Mary in the end zone and lift Tennessee to a 34-31 victory. He also completed a four-yard touchdown pass against Texas A&M on Oct. 8.

Berry, who Athlon named a Preseason All-American, was a 2016 Coaches Second Team All-SEC Selection after averaging 32.9 yards on 14 kick returns. In the Vols’ win against Georgia, Berry returned a pooch kick 20 yards to the Bulldogs’ 48-yard line and, along with a UGA offsides penalty, helped set up Dobbs’ 43-yard Hail Mary to Jennings. Berry had a 100-yard return for a touchdown at South Carolina on Oct. 29. In 2016, he also tallied 12 tackles and one tackle for loss. As a sophomore in 2015, he ranked first in the NCAA and first in the SEC with a 38.3-yard kickoff return average and was named a First Team All-American by Walter Camp, Sporting News and Sports Illustrated. For his career, Berry has returned 49 kicks for 1,677 yards, a UT-record 34.2-yard average and four touchdowns. His 34.2-yard career kickoff return average is the best mark of any current player in the NCAA, regardless of division.

On Wednesday, Daniel was named to the preseason watch list for the 2017 Ray Guy Award. In 2016, Daniel posted a 44.6-yard average with 28 of his 70 punts inside the 20, 29 fair catches and 21 punts of 50 or more yards. His 44.6-yard average ranked third among SEC punters and his 70-yard punt against South Carolina was the longest in the SEC in 2016. Daniel was a candidate for the Ray Guy Award in both 2015 and 2016. Daniel’s 45.1-yard career punting average ranks fourth among active NCAA punters, regardless of division.

-UT Athletics

 

Watch Lady Antebellum Perform  “You Look Good” and “Need You Now” on “Good Morning America”

Watch Lady Antebellum Perform “You Look Good” and “Need You Now” on “Good Morning America”

Fans braved the rain in NYC today (July 14) to watch Lady Antebellum headline Good Morning America’s Summer Concert series.

The trio performed a number of their tunes, including “Heart Break,” “Downtown,” “Good Time to Be Alive,” current single, “You Look Good,” and 2009 mega-hit, “Need You Now.”

Check out Lady A’s performance of “Need You Now” and “You Look Good” below.

Sara Evans Talks Career Highlights, Being a Woman in Today’s Male-Dominated Industry, New Album, “Words,” & More

Sara Evans Talks Career Highlights, Being a Woman in Today’s Male-Dominated Industry, New Album, “Words,” & More

Jim Casey talks with Sara Evans about some of her career highlights over the last 20 years, being a woman in today’s male-dominated country music industry, her new album, Words, selecting songs for the new project, being a lyric-driven artist and the family connection throughout the record.

Show Participants

  • Sara Evans
  • Jim Casey, NCD director of editorial

Show Notes & Links

https://youtu.be/iNUTJiHGa3I

The Writers Room, Ep. 104, 18 minutes
photo by Jason Simanek

Social Media Roundup: Maren’s Pose, Kelsea’s Cover, Luke Bryan’s Golf Swing, Thomas Rhett’s Family Photo & More

Social Media Roundup: Maren’s Pose, Kelsea’s Cover, Luke Bryan’s Golf Swing, Thomas Rhett’s Family Photo & More

If you don’t have time to comb through social media all day, here’s what you’ve been missing over the last 24 hours in the country music world:

  • Kelsea Ballerini covers Sigrid’s “Don’t Kill My Vibe”
  • Tyler Farr and Chase Rice go fishing.
  • Luke Bryan takes his sons to a driving range.
  • Maren Morris does some N*SYNC poses before her Atlanta show.
  • Craig Morgan teases a new episode of Craig Morgan All Access Outdoors.
  • Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen cover Guy Clark’s “Rita Ballou.”
  • Dan + Shay cover Ed Sheeran’s “Happier.”
  • Thomas Rhett gets a family photo.

All about that bass

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Some pre-show fun with the boys. #LBTV #HFEtour

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N*SYNC pose for ATL tonight. 📷: @alexmferrari

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THIS SONG. "Happier" by @teddysphotos // @ryantedder // @itsbennyblanco 😭

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Watch Smithfield Perform an Acoustic Version of Their New Single, “When You’re Gone”

Watch Smithfield Perform an Acoustic Version of Their New Single, “When You’re Gone”

Jennifer Fiedler and Trey Smith of duo Smithfield turned some heads in 2016 with the release of their single, “Hey Whiskey,” which has since copped more than 2 million clicks on Spotify.

Now the Texas natives and longtime friends are pushing their new tune, “When You’re Gone,” a fun-loving ditty (think buzzed, not dead) that’s featured on their self-titled EP.

“‘When You’re Gone’ is a song about having fun with the one you love when they’re a little tipsy,” says Trey.

“It’s sexy, it’s sultry and different from anything else we have ever done, which we’re so excited about,” adds Jennifer.

Watch Smithfield perform an acoustic version of “When You’re Gone” below.

So Far, the Best-Selling Country Albums Released in 2017 Are . . .

So Far, the Best-Selling Country Albums Released in 2017 Are . . .

Can you believe 2017 is already halfway over? Well, it is, which means it’s time to crunch a few numbers.

Over the last six months, a plethora (yes, a plethora) of country artists have released new albums, including offerings from Chris Stapleton, Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band, Lauren Alaina, Brantley Gilbert, Josh Turner, Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts and more.

While Chris Stapleton’s new album, From A Room: Volume 1, dominated the country sales charts—selling more than 200,000 more copies than its closest competitor—a handful of other artists have had very successful 2017 releases, too.

Here are the Top 6 country albums released in 2017, based on pure album sales according to Nielsen Music.

  1. Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1 (419,000 pure albums)
  2. Zac Brown Band, Welcome Home (218,000)
  3. Reba McEntire, Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope (183,000, which includes metrics from Nielsen’s Christian SoundsScan)
  4. Brantley Gilbert, The Devil Don’t Sleep (179,000)
  5. Little Big Town, Breaker (123,000)
  6. Alison Krauss, Windy City (110,000)

When you factor in equivalent album sales (10 song sales or 1,500 song streams from an album are treated as equivalent to one purchase of the album), Brett Young makes an appearance in the Top 5.

Here are the Top 5 country albums released in 2017, based on equivalent album sales according to Nielsen Music.

  1. Chris Stapleton, From A Room: Volume 1 (484,000 equivalent albums)
  2. Brantley Gilbert, The Devil Don’t Sleep (284,000)
  3. Zac Brown Band, Welcome Home (274,000)
  4. Brett Young, Brett Young (250,000)
  5. Little Big Town, Breaker (210,000)
Check Out a Clip of Keith Urban’s “Live From Phoenix” Television Special [Airs Tonight]

Check Out a Clip of Keith Urban’s “Live From Phoenix” Television Special [Airs Tonight]

Keith Urban headlined the AT&T Block Party in downtown Phoenix as part of the March Madness Music Festival earlier this year. Now the performance is coming to your television screen.

Audience Network is slated to air Keith’s concert—which includes “Somewhere in My Car,” “Wasted Time” and more—tonight (July 14) at 9 p.m. ET on DirecTV and Uverse. The television special also features a sit-down interview with Keith.

“Growing up and doing a lot of solo gigs in pubs and clubs with no band, you’ve got to be the drums and the groove—you’ve got to be everything,” says Keith during the interview. “The success of the this record [Ripcord], really, it floored me. You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Below, watch a clip of Keith in action at the AT&T Block Party.

Dolly Parton’s “Christmas of Many Colors” Earns Emmy Nomination

Dolly Parton’s “Christmas of Many Colors” Earns Emmy Nomination

Dolly Parton’s holiday television special Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love received an Emmy nomination in the Television Movie category.

Starring Jennifer Nettles, Ricky Schroder, Gerald McRaney and Alyvia Alyn Lind, the sequel was the follow-up to Dolly’s original family story, Coat of Many Colors, which aired in early 2016.

Dolly’s Christmas of Many Colors will competed against Black Mirror, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Sherlock: The Lying Detective and The Wizard of Lies in the Emmy’s Television Movie category.

“I am so very proud and excited to have Christmas of Many Colors be nominated for an Emmy award,” says Dolly. “Special thanks to my partner and executive producer Sam Haskell, a wonderful cast and crew, [producer] Steve Herek and Pamela Long for a great script. And a special thanks to all of the many fans that watched it.”

“This project for me was a celebration of the family and the beautiful story of Miss Dolly Parton,” adds Jennifer Nettles. “Each day I played Avie Lee Parton was a joy. For Christmas of Many Colors to be nominated and celebrated further by the Emmys thrills me.”

The 69th Emmy Awards will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 17 on CBS.

Watch Will Lexington of “Nashville” Put His Charm to Work in the TV Drama’s New Budweiser Commercial

Watch Will Lexington of “Nashville” Put His Charm to Work in the TV Drama’s New Budweiser Commercial

Nashville’s Will Lexington (played by actor Chris Carmack) put his charm to work in a Budweiser spot during a recent episode of the CMT drama.

The fictitious clip opens with Will taming a vicious dog and helping an old woman cross the street before he enters a seedy bar and wins over an unsavory-looking group of patrons.

Check out the Bud spot below.

Social Media Roundup: Michael Ray’s Seal, Jason Aldean’s Hair Weave, Chris Janson’s Harmonica Skills, Reba’s Fundraiser & More

Social Media Roundup: Michael Ray’s Seal, Jason Aldean’s Hair Weave, Chris Janson’s Harmonica Skills, Reba’s Fundraiser & More

If you don’t have time to comb through social media all day, here’s what you’ve been missing over the last 24 hours in the country music world:

  • Michael Ray kisses a seal.
  • Jason Aldean mistook a hair weave for a dead squirrel.
  • Reba McEntire, Lee Ann Womack and Brandy Clark performed at a benefit for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.
  • Chris Janson played the hell of the harmonica on the Opry stage . . . again.
  • Granger Smith quizzed his touring crew about another crazy week on the road.
  • Peyton Manning coached Brad Paisley on his Nationwide jingle writing.
  • A Thousand Horses played in Nashville to support Musicians On Call.
  • Shania Twain will be performing at the US Open (tennis) in August.
  • RaeLynn and Chris Lane are in Cosmo.
  • Sara Evans crushes a piñata.
  • Aaron Tippin throws it back to Aaron Tippin.

Found me a jersey girl @jenksclub #signSEALEDdelivered 📸: @dustbar

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been a crazy week…

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