Tennessee new defensive line coach Rodney Garner was introduced to the media on Monday.
WATCH: DL coach Rodney Garner “Opportunity to be able to get Tennessee back to the elite status we feel like it belongs”
WATCH: Josh Heupel on def staff “4 out of the 5 have coordinating experience. 4 out of the 5 have SEC ties.”
Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel spoke to the media Monday to announce and discuss the new defensive coaching staff.
Thomas Rhett Announces Double Album – Part One – Country Again: Side A – Out On April 30th
Late last week Thomas Rhett released two new songs to go along with his major smash hit “What’s You Country Song”
The tracks, “Want It Again” and “Growing Up”, are from Part One of Thomas’ newly announced double album Country Again.
Country Again: Side A will be released on April 30th, with Side B coming later this year.
Talking about the new project Thomas says, “Country Again: Side A is everything I wanted to say when I was 19 years old, but hadn’t lived enough to know how to say any of those things yet,” he adds. “It’s about the crazy journey that took me out into the world over the last ten years and ultimately brought me back home, more centered and content than ever, with a deep understanding for what’s important in life. I’ve had a blast sharing some of these songs in their acoustic form during quarantine and am blown away by the reaction the fans have already shown.”
COUNTRY AGAIN: SIDE A TRACK LIST:
1. “Want It Again” | Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson
2. “Growing Up” | Thomas Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Miller, Josh Thompson
3. “What’s Your Country Song” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley, Parker Welling
4. “Where We Grew Up”* | Thomas Rhett, Luke Laird, Josh Miller
5. “Heaven Right Now” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson, Laura Veltz
6. “To The Guys That Date My Girls” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson
7. “More Time Fishin’” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundy, Josh Thompson
8. “Country Again” | Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley
9. “Put It On Ice (featuring Hardy)”+ | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson
10. “Blame It On A Backroad” | Thomas Rhett, Zach Crowell, Ashley Gorley
11. “Ya Heard” | Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Matt Dragstrem, Chase McGill
Fans can pre-order the album HERE beginning today and will instantly receive two new tracks, “Want It Again,” and “Growing Up.”
From Country Again: Side A check out Thomas Rhett’s music video for “What’s Your Country Song”…
Photo Courtesy of Valory Music Co
Gabby Barrett Is Following the Footprints to Her Live From The Goldmine EP
Next week Gabby Barrett is releasing a live experience EP called Live From the Goldmine — which was captured during the launch event last summer for her album, Goldmine.
Gabby says, “My Live from the Goldmine livestream was a highlight of my year last year. It made me feel closer to y’all during such an uncertain time. Sooo I’m sharing the live recordings of these songs with you as the Live From The Goldmine EP on March 16th!”
The seven songs fans can look for on the new EP include…
- “Footprints On The Moon”
- “Rose Needs A Jack”
- “Jesus & My Mama”
- “Thank God”
- “The Good Ones”
- “I Hope”
- “Goldmine”
Along with her smash hit “The Good Ones” being included on the new EP, leading up to the March 16th release of Live From The Goldmine, you can check out “Footprints On The Moon” right here…
Photo Credit: Robby Klein
SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament Bracket: See path for 4-seed Vols and print the bracket
With Tennessee’s win over Florida, the Vols will be the 4-seed in this week’s SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville. Here’s the bracket and the path for UT.
Carly Pearce Joins Matthew West On His Number-1 Song “Truth Be Told”
Grammy winning Christian artist Matthew West has recently released a brand new version of his number-one song “Truth Be Told” – and it features Carly Pearce.
Talking about the new duet, Matthew says, “I’m honored to have Carly join me on this new version of ‘Truth Be Told,’” and he adds, “Since her first single, ‘Every Little Thing,’ I’ve been a huge fan. There’s an honesty in her voice that convinces you she’s not just singing, she’s feeling every word she’s singing. It was a special thing to hear that same honest vocal delivery brought to this song about being honest. I’m so excited for the world to hear this duet.”
Carly is thrilled to be on this new version of “Truth Be Told,” and being on the song is just another part of her career that she wants to share with her fans, “My faith is such a huge part of my life. I’ve been praying for the right opportunity to show more of my heart, and ‘Truth Be Told’ felt meant to be.” Carly also says, “Not only am I such a fan of Matthew’s, this lyric has been the anthem of my life over the last year. Being transparent and vulnerable is how we connect with others. I’m so excited to be a part of this collaboration!”
Check out the music video for Matthew and Carly’s collaboration on “Truth Be Told” right here…
Photo Courtesy of Carly Pearce and Matthew West
Ashley McBryde Takes “Martha Divine” Live
Ashley McBryde will be releasing her Never Will: Live From A Distance EP May 28th.
After putting out her Never Will album, Ashley full expected fans to have a taste of what the tracks would sound like live, but due to quarantine and the shutting down of concerts, that “live” experience has yet to happen at shows.
Ashley is trying to do the next best thing by releasing an EP with some of the songs from Never Will recorded in a social distanced live setting.
Ashley shares, “Getting together to rehearse and record these live versions safely was our way of giving the fans a taste of what they would have seen had the world not changed so much.”
While she’s already shared the video for “First Thing I Reach For” — now she’s letting fans check out the Never Will: Live From A Distance EP version of “Martha Divine” which you can see right here…
Photo Credit: Daniel Meigs
Elvie Shane Shares His “Redneck” Gender Reveal Video
Last week it was revealed that Elvie Shane and his wife are expecting a girl. Now the “My Boy” singer has shared the gender reveal video.
Elvie says, “Had to have a redneck gender reveal… obviously. Burnt out the tires & it was all worth it. Can’t wait to meet you, babygirl. You’re already so loved!!”
Another video to watch is Elvie’s music video for “My Boy.”
Photo Courtesy of Elvie Shane
Postgame/Boxscore/Story: #17 Vols Shut Out Panthers to Sweep Series
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 17 Tennessee completed its series sweep of Georgia State in dominant fashion with a 7-0 shutout win in Sunday’s series finale at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Five pitchers combined for the Vols’ first shutout of the year with junior right hander Elijah Pleasants earning his second victory this week after tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
Junior third baseman Jake Rucker capped his impressive series with another strong performance at the plate, going 2-for-4 and setting a new career high with four RBI.
Liam Spence and Drew Gilbert also had big days with two hits each. Spence set a career high with three runs scored while Gilbert hit his third home run of the season with a two-run blast that was part of a four-run third inning that put Tennessee firmly in the driver’s seat.
Sophomore right hander Mark McLaughlin made his first-career weekend start and was effective in 3.2 innings of work. The Georgia native did not allow a run and gave up just two hits while striking out three batters on the day.
Pleasants, Zander Sechrist, Camden Sewell and Gilbert combined to pitch the final 5.1 innings for UT, giving up just four hits while striking out seven batters in that stretch.
After Rucker gave the Big Orange an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first, the Vols (11-2) used the long ball to increase their lead to five runs in the third inning. A pair of two-run homers by Rucker and Gilbert helped Tennessee score four runs in frame.
UT added two more runs in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk by Rucker and a groundout off the bat of Jordan Beck to cap the scoring and give the Vols a commanding 7-0 lead.
Tennessee finished the day with a great relay throw from left field to cut down Blaine Marchman at home plate for the game’s final out to preserve the shutout.
Georgia State (4-9) starter Chad Treadway was the losing pitcher after getting tagged for four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings of work.
The Vols will hit the road once again for a Tuesday midweek contest at Charlotte before coming back home to host UNC Greensboro next weekend.
NOTABLE
RUCKER’S BIG WEEKEND: Veteran third baseman Jake Rucker had a huge weekend at the plate for the Vols. The junior from Greenbrier, Tennessee, batted .500 for the series and led the Vols with a homer and six RBI. Rucker has reached base is all 13 games this season and is currently on a nine-game hit streak after this weekend’s performances.
YOU’LL GET NOTHING AND LIKE IT: The Vols posted their first shutout of the season on Sunday and have now recorded 14 total shutouts since the start of the 2019 season, a span of 91 games. For comparison, UT had just 13 shutouts in its previous 269 games prior to 2019 (2014-18).
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS: With Sunday’s win, Tennessee recorded its second series sweep of the season and the ninth since Tony Vitello was named head coach in 2018. Both of UT’s sweeps this season have come against schools from the Peach State after opening the year with three victories at Georgia Southern.
Tennessee Series Sweeps by Year
2021: 2 // 2020: 2 // 2019: 3 // 2018: 2
Box Score (PDF) | Series Stats (PDF) | DOWNLOAD: Postgame Video (Vitello, Rucker, Pleasants) |
-UT Athletics
Highlights/Postgame/Boxscore/Story: Vols Battle Past Florida, 65-54, on Senior Day
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A balanced offensive effort and a momentum-shifting, second-half run propelled the Tennessee basketball team past Florida, 65-54, on Senior Day inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
The win secured the No. 4 seed and first-round bye for the Volunteers at next week’s SEC Tournament.
The Vols (17-7, 10-7 SEC) punished the Gators (13-8, 9-7 SEC) on the boards, out-rebounding Florida 38-29 overall and 18-9 on the offensive glass.
Every Vol to record more than two minutes of playing time scored at least four points, with three scoring 14.
Tennessee was led in scoring by senior John Fulkerson, who scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, pulled in seven rebounds and dished out four assists with no turnovers.
Fellow senior Yves Pons chipped in five points, eight rebounds (including six offensive boards) and a pair of steals in his final game on Rocky Top.
Junior Victor Bailey Jr. was the second of three Vols to drop in 14 points, with eight coming in the second half.
Freshman standout Keon Johnson also finished with 14 points, scoring 10 in the second half and recording a pair of steals on the defensive end.
The programs went bucket for bucket in the early stages of the opening half, with Florida holding a slim, 18-15 lead at the midway point of the period.
The Gators opened things up with a 15-5 run to take a 33-20 lead with just under four minutes remaining.
The Vols responded with an 8-0 run of their own to close the opening half and trim the deficit to 33-28 heading into the locker room.
Out of the break, UT kept the momentum rolling. After the teams traded the opening few buckets of the half, the Vols used an afternoon-altering 15-2 run to take a 47-41 lead with close to 10 minutes remaining.
The Vols maintained their juice over the final stages of the afternoon, extending their lead to as many as 11 and coming up clutch at the foul line to end the regular season on a high note.
Up Next: Tennessee takes the court at the SEC Tournament on Friday with a quarterfinal matchup against either Florida, Vanderbilt or Texas A&M. Tipoff from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS | QUOTES | BARNES POSTGAME | FULKERSON ON ESPNU | PONS POSTGAME | FULKERSON POSTGAME
-UT Athletics
Country News
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