Vols DB Theo Jackson spoke with media Tuesday following Tennessee’s third practice in Nashville ahead of their matchup with Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
Our coverage in Nashville is brought to you by Camp Rivers Landing, Nothing Too Fancy, Visit My Smokies.com, Bragg Weight Loss & Wellness, Hound Dogs, Image Matters, and The Cadence Nashville operated by WhyHotels!
Vols DB Trevon Flowers spoke with media Tuesday following Tennessee’s third practice in Nashville ahead of their matchup with Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
Our coverage in Nashville is brought to you by Camp Rivers Landing, Nothing Too Fancy, Visit My Smokies.com, Bragg Weight Loss & Wellness, Hound Dogs, Image Matters, and The Cadence Nashville operated by WhyHotels!
Vols DL Matthew Butler spoke with media Tuesday following Tennessee’s third practice in Nashville ahead of their matchup with Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
Our coverage in Nashville is brought to you by Camp Rivers Landing, Nothing Too Fancy, Visit My Smokies.com, Bragg Weight Loss & Wellness, Hound Dogs, Image Matters, and The Cadence Nashville operated by WhyHotels!
Vols DL Ja’Quain Blakely spoke with media Tuesday following Tennessee’s third practice in Nashville ahead of their matchup with Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
Our coverage in Nashville is brought to you by Camp Rivers Landing, Nothing Too Fancy, Visit My Smokies.com, Bragg Weight Loss & Wellness, Hound Dogs, Image Matters, and The Cadence Nashville operated by WhyHotels!
By Jimmy Hyams
Quarterback Tayven Jackson has an adjustment to make.
The Tennessee signee will soon be operating in a hurry-up offense that ranks among the fastest in the nation.
In high school, that wasn’t the case.
“I probably ran the slowest offense in high school history,’’ Jackson said. ‘’It’s a really old, old offense. It’s the Wing-T offense.
“But I’m very capable of doing that because I play basketball and run track. That’s all fast.’’
Jackson watched Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker operate the Vols’ up-tempo attack with great effectiveness and envisioned himself in a similar role.
“I kind of just put myself in his shoes,’’ Jackson said. “I feel like I have the skill set, almost the same as Hendon Hooker. We can both run, we can both pass. I can’t wait to meet him and learn from him next year. … I couldn’t ask for anyone else to come in and model my game after.’’
While some incoming quarterbacks might prefer that the veteran depart so the competition is open, Jackson doesn’t see it that way.
“I was very excited (when Hooker said he was returning,),’’ Jackson said. “He brings great energy and he is a leader. I’m excited to see how much better he’ll get in the offseason and come out next season and light it up and hopefully he gets the Heisman.’’
Jackson said it was “awesome’’ to watch UT’s offense this past season. The Vols averaged 38.8 points per game, over 450 total yards, and scored 28 first-quarter points against Missouri and South Carolina.
“It was crazy because everything coach (Josh) Heup (Heupel) told me they would do, they did it, and they did it very well. They had a great scheme every game.
“You don’t want a coach that tells you something and does something difference. But that’s not coach Heup. He’s very real and truthful.’’
Jackson committed to Tennessee in April, four months before the Vols teed it up in the fall. The quarterback from Greenwood, Indiana, had a belief in the system.
“I trusted coach Heup the minute I talked to him,’’ Jackson said. “And I knew he was always about love. I knew he would do this (have a good season) just by talking to him. It was great to watch them play this year. I believed in him.’’
Jackson will be joined at Tennessee by what he called “the best receiving class in ’22.’’
It includes Cam Miller, Squirrel White, Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb.
“These guys are fast,’’ Jackson said. “They play hard, run crisp routes. I can’t wait to get out there throwing the ball to them. They’ll make (No.) 15 look really good. … They’ll be a great asset to the offense.’’
Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: the wings that changed it all
Vols QB Hendon Hooker spoke with media Monday following Tennessee’s second practice in Nashville ahead of their matchup with Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
Our coverage in Nashville is brought to you by Camp Rivers Landing, Nothing Too Fancy, Visit My Smokies.com, Bragg Weight Loss & Wellness, Hound Dogs, Image Matters and The Cadence Nashville operated by WhyHotels!
Vols OL Jerome Carvin spoke with media Monday following Tennessee’s second practice in Nashville ahead of their matchup with Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
Our coverage in Nashville is brought to you by Camp Rivers Landing, Nothing Too Fancy, Visit My Smokies.com, Bragg Weight Loss & Wellness, Hound Dogs, Image Matters and The Cadence Nashville operated by WhyHotels!
Michael Ray ends 2021 by knocking on the door to the number-one spot in country music with “Whiskey And Rain.”
As Michael’s single sits at number-2 on the Billboard airplay chart – he shared a video to get his fans ready for next year, by highlighting his 2021 accomplishments with the comment “Y’all ain’t see nothing yet. 2022 let’s goooo!!!”
Watch it here…
“Whiskey And Rain” is one of the 7-tracks on his EP, Higher Education.
Check out the music for Michael Ray’s “Whiskey And Rain” here…
Photo Credit: Sean Hagwell
Tennessee opened practice to media at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville as the Vols get prepped for their matchup with Purdue in the Music City Bowl.
Our bowl coverage is powered by…Image Matters, Hound Dogs, Bragg Weight Loss And Wellness, VisitMySmokies.com, Nothing Too Fancy, Camp Rivers Landing & The Cadence Nashville operated by WhyHotels.
Box Score | Postgame Quotes | Highlights | Photo Gallery
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 7/10 Tennessee took a comfortable victory over Chattanooga on Monday, winning in Thompson-Boling Arena, 91-41.
Tennessee (11-1) was led by junior Tamari Key with 18 points and seven rebounds. Graduate Alexus Dye and freshman Karoline Striplin were also in double digits with 15 and 12, respectively.
Amaria Pugh was the high scorer for Chattanooga (2-12), logging 17 points on the night.
Sara Puckett scored the first points of the game, knocking down a trey 11 seconds into play. Tess Darby followed it up with a 3-pointer on the next possession, and Dye hit buckets on back-to-back plays to give the Lady Vols a 10-0 lead before UTC got its first basket off a Pugh layup at the 7:08 mark. Key answered with six straight points, fueling a 12-3 run over the next seven minutes to give Tennessee a 22-5 lead at the end of the first.
Dye opened the second period with a jumper and the teams traded buckets before Dye and Key combined for nine straight points to make the score 38-10 with 3:49 left in the half. Pugh responded with a three for Chattanooga to set off an 8-0 run that cut UT’s lead to 20 by the 2:22 mark, but the Lady Vols outscored the Mocs 5-1 in the closing minutes to take a 43-19 lead into halftime.
The Lady Vols opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run capped off with a trey by Darby to extend UT’s lead to 55-19 three minutes into the half. Brooke Hampel ended the run with a layup that would prove to be one of just two field goals the Mocs knocked down in the quarter. The rest of Chattanooga’s points would come from the free-throw line, as UT closed out the period by outscoring the Mocs 16-7 to send the game into the final stanza with a score of 71-28.
Emily Saunders opened the scoring in the fourth with back-to-back buckets, as Tennessee launched into a 12-1 run that spanned four minutes. Two layups by Striplin gave Tennessee its largest lead of the game at 87-31 with just under four minutes left in the game before the Mocs answered with an 8-0 run to cut the score to 87-39 by the 1:57 mark. Saunders hit a pair of free throws and Jessie Rennie scored on a fast-break layup to stretch the lead back to 52 before UTC hit the last bucket of the game to make the final score 91-41.
UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will begin conference play on Thursday, hosting Alabama in a 6:30 p.m. ET match-up that will be streamed on SECN+.
TK MAKING MOVES: Tamari Key recorded two blocks against the Mocs, moving her career total to 201 to pass Ashley Robinson to settle into fourth place in all-time career blocks at UT.
HAPPY TO ASSIST: The Lady Vols dished out a season-best 30 assists on 37 field goals against UTC. Tess Darby and Sara Puckett each set new career highs with six and five, respectively, while Brooklynn Miles tied her career high of six and Jordan Walker set a season high of eight. It marked the first time Tennessee had 30+ assists since recording 38 on Dec. 6, 2017, in a 131-69 win over Troy.
THREE FOR THREE: Three different Lady Vols found success from behind the arc against Chattanooga. Tess Darby led the way with three treys, Brooklynn Miles knocked down two and Sara Puckett hit one. Puckett has now hit at least one 3-pointer in 10 of 12 games this season.
STRIPLIN FINDING HER GROOVE: Freshman Karoline Striplin upped her career high in points for the second straight game, pouring in 12 points while also setting a career high of nine rebounds.
BACK-TO-BACK FIFTY PIECES: Tennessee recorded its second straight victory by 50 or more points, with a 54-point win on Dec. 20 vs. ETSU and a 50-point triumph over Chattanooga. The Lady Vols hadn’t pulled off that feat since defeating Alabama State by 53 and Troy by 62 on Dec. 3 and 6 of the 2017-18 campaign.
-UT Athletics
