Transcript: Vols RB Eric Gray Kentucky Week Avail

Transcript: Vols RB Eric Gray Kentucky Week Avail

Tennessee running back Eric Gray (3) runs the ball while defended by Missouri safety Tyree Gillespie (9), for a touchdown during the second quarter of a game between Tennessee and Missouri at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020.

Eric Gray, RB – So.

On what he would say Georgia did to give the running game a hard time on Saturday…

“It’s a big testament to Georgia, they have a great front seven. They did a great job and had a great scheme and for the most part they just outplayed us in the second half.”

On if it has seemed like the past two weeks have been wild, considering they were successful against Missouri, but struggled against Georgia running the ball…

“That’s how it goes sometimes. You have to keep going and keep working. Today in practice we have to work on our run game and keep it going and I believe we will get back on track.”

On if it frustrated the offense that he wasn’t able run effectively against Georgia…

“To be efficient we have to run the ball efficiently in any game, and when you don’t run the ball efficiently, it can sort of mess it up, but I believe it was a good test and learning curve for us.”

On his thoughts in regard to the offensive line…

“I still believe our offensive line is one of the best offensive lines in the country no matter what. So, I believe we definitely should have some success running the ball.”

On the relationship needed between the offensive line and running backs to have a successful run game…

It starts with practice, and it starts with going hard and making sure we are on the same page in practice, and make sure we’re all going hard so we can see the holes the line creates. We are not going against the ones a lot. We are going against the scout team, so we just got to make sure we are doing everything right and doing everything hard.”

On if he sees his role in the passing game evolving after the game Saturday…

“I definitely think in today’s game, getting your running back out and catching passes in space is the life of a running back nowadays, and for me to do that and for me to show that I can do that is just helping me improve my game.”

On how the feels the offensive line has reacted to the game on Saturday…

“It was a learning curve for everyone. Everybody has to look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘what do I need to do to get better?’ The guys have done that and today we are going to go out and practice and make sure we do all the right things so we make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

On if he would like to play on the field the same time as Ty Chandler more and if it could make them more difficult to defend…

“I think with us back there it definitely gives the defense a different look on who is getting the ball and who you have to cover, but I’ll leave all those schemes and all those plays to coach Chaney. He is the mastermind up there.”

On if he thinks he and Ty Chandler are now weapons as pass catchers in the backfield…

“I definitely think we are both weapons in the outside game. Like I said in today’s game you have to be able to catch it out of the backfield to be successful.”

On what he thought about the young guys that scrimmaged on Sunday that haven’t go to play a lot…

“Those guys actually went out there and played really hard. I was really proud of them being able to get out there and play. The running backs did a great job just going out there and playing. It kind of felt like high school again to those guys, just going out there and playing and showing what they can do.”

On what he thinks about Dee Beckwith and what he can bring to the team…

“I think Dee had a great scrimmage as well. He’s a big guy. He’s a big tough runner that is going to be hard to bring down and he brings that toughness and hard running to our team.”

On how he changes his approach to a game when they a play a team like Kentucky who also likes to establish the run game which may limit offensive possessions…

“It comes down to making plays. When you got the ball you have to make plays and you can’t leave any empty possessions and leave it out there on the field and make plays when It is needed.”

On what he thinks he and Ty Chandler need to better at as far as running the ball…

“We just have to be on the same page. There were some runs where we could’ve busted it for more than we did, but we got to stay on our track, stay true to our linemen and our assignment, and I think we will get better at it.”

On if his confidence was affected any after struggling to run against Georgia…

“I like to say I am a confident guy, and not being able to run the ball isn’t going to affect it like that, but you just got to know that you got to keep going, got to keep striving that things will get better.”

On what he sees out of Kentucky’s run defense…

“I believe they have a good run defense. I have watched them and they got a big front four on the defensive line, and I believe our offensive line will put them to the test this week.”

-UT Athletics

Transcript: Vols WR Brandon Johnson Kentucky Week Avail

Transcript: Vols WR Brandon Johnson Kentucky Week Avail

KNOXVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 07, 2020 – Wide receiver Brandon Johnson #7 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Brandon Johnson, WR – Sr.

On what takeaways he had after watching film from the Georgia game…

“It’s always frustrating when a lot of the wounds that we had were self-inflicted. We didn’t play the way we know we can play and the way we hoped to play. It’s always frustrating, but we take it, make corrections and move forward.”

On the challenges for a receiver when the run game is struggling…

“Just from a broad football standpoint, you want to be able to do both because if you can run the ball well, it will open up the pass game. If you can pass the ball well, it will open up the running game. It’s kind of hard when one of them isn’t clicking. It makes it difficult for everything else to move forward like it’s supposed to. It was difficult to watch and look back on and see all of the mistakes that we made, because a lot of them were self-inflicted. It’s frustrating, but at the same time we’re just looking forward to next week and coming back out and proving ourselves again.”

On how a team can keep its composure while the other team has momentum…

“That’s something that Coach Pruitt always talks about, keeping composure and not necessarily looking at the scoreboard, but just continuing to play our game. In order for you to come back on a team like that or come back when things aren’t necessarily coming your way, you need to have composure. You need to be able to keep that composure. It’s disappointing, but we’re looking forward to next week.”

On his big catch from this past weekend and what confidence that can give him ahead of the Kentucky game…

“I was just trying to make a play for my team. I held onto the ball. Obviously, I was pretty excited. I just wanted to bring that momentum. I feel like that was a good momentum boost for us. The next play led to Josh’s (Palmer) touchdown. I was happy I could make that play for the team.”

On what conversations Coach Pruitt has had with the team about mental health this season…

“Coach Pruitt definitely has hit on mental health, especially with what’s going on right now. There’s a lot going on in our country right now with COVID-19 and social injustice issues. He’s told us often that he’s available to us. If we need anything, if we feel like things aren’t right mentally, we have an outlet and we have people to go to and talk to. Coach Pruitt has definitely made than an emphasis. He let us know that he’s here for us.”

On how big of a priority getting off the line of scrimmage when facing press coverage is for the wide receivers…

“It’s a big priority, simply because of the league that we’re in. We’re in the SEC, so we see a lot of press man-to-man and a lot of different things like that. It’s imperative that we’re able to get off of press coverage and be able to do it quickly. I feel like we’ve done a decent job at it. There’s always room for improvement and we know exactly what we need to do. We’re going to continue to improve.”

On the conversations the wide receivers have amongst each other and Jarrett Guarantano after a turnover, to get back on track…

“They’re encouraging. A lot of things happen in the heat of the game. There’s no time for heavy criticism. That’s time to make sure everybody is feeling right mentally. Those are all uplifting conversations and pats on the back to say, ‘We’ve got your back. Keep your head up.’”

On what he’s seen from the Kentucky defense during preparation this week…

“They’ve got a lot of athletes on the defense. They’ve got a really good defense and we look forward to the matchup. This is the SEC, so nobody is an easy game or anything like that. Everybody is a difficult team to play. Kentucky has a great defense with great athletes, and we look forward to the challenge.”

On what it’s like to watch Josh Palmer perform on Saturdays…

“It’s awesome. He works hard every day. To see him have success out there on the field and see him make plays that he makes in practice all the time, it’s great. You can’t ask for anything else. It’s awesome to watch him do that. I’m really happy for him.”

-UT Athetics

Transcript: Vols DL Matthew Butler Kentucky Week Avail

Transcript: Vols DL Matthew Butler Kentucky Week Avail

Vols DL Matthew Butler / Credit: UT Athletics

Matthew Butler, DL – Sr.

On what defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh has meant to his game…

“Coach Brumbaugh, like I said before, he’s very meticulous. He’s very high attention to detail, just like I am. Early in my career it was almost to a fault, focusing too much on the details and not just going out and playing ball. Coach Brumbaugh has really come at me, as far from a coaching perspective – and come at all of us – as far as a coaching perspective with that good balance of going out and playing ball. It’s a violent sport, especially for a defensive lineman to where you’re making contact with another opposing player every snap, and then also having a high intensity to details so that you can be the best athlete that you can be.”

On how he feels like he’s improved from his freshman year to now…

“Exponentially. You know, I came in as a freshman probably about 20 pounds lighter than I am now. Little bit of a different role, different defense, but now I have more of an understanding of the game. I’m able to kind of use all these moves I have in my head and actually know when and how to execute them rather than just going out and doing them haphazardly. I’ve become more of a student of the game, a cerebral player, knowing what’s in front of me rather than just lining up and playing. But it’s a good balance because I can still line up and play. Maybe I don’t really understand what’s in front of me if the opposing offense is doing something outside of their normal personnel or whatever the case may be, so it’s a good balance and that’s due to coaching, that’s due to a lot of work that I’ve done on myself, that’s due to watching a lot of football. Like I said, I’ve grown exponentially.”

On facing a run heavy attack like Kentucky as opposed to a balanced or pass heavy offense…

“It’s actually a little bit more different than you think just because although they have a good running back who has racked up a lot of yards in his career, they also have a quarterback, just like last year, who can run the ball – who’s fast, athletic, can run the ball, pass the ball a little bit as well. I would say in some ways we take the same approach as we did last year, as a defensive line being able to plug those interior gaps, get off blocks, to set edges and have contain, and just be ready to run for sure because if you can bounce it outside the sideline is our friend (to help) make those tackles just like we did a good bit last year and like we want to do every game because it’s the SEC. It’s a run first league.”

On the impact of getting Shawn Shamburger back and having Bryce Thompson healthy…

“Those are two guys who have been in our program for awhile and who are also very talented guys, so when you have that level of talent and you have that level of experience and then you can also add a level of leadership because they have that talent and experience and outspokenness, it’s a great thing. It really galvanizes our defense in a lot of ways. We’re the guys in front of them but we can all kind of work together with all of our pieces. If we get tired, we have great subs. If they get tired, they have great subs. We have all our pieces, and nobody has to play a million snaps or play out of position. It’s really a good feeling going into the week.”

On how facing a running quarterback affects a defense…

“It might affect a little bit of personnel. You might have a couple of checks here and there, but having a run-oriented quarterback, or maybe having a run-oriented offense, is kind of one and the same as far as your approach going into the week. Playing in the SEC, where even if you do have more of a balanced attack like we had in weeks passed or even more of a slightly pass heavy attack like we had in weeks passed, you’re still going against good running backs with big offensive lines who are willing and able to go downhill. So, the approach doesn’t change too much, but a few personnel’s, a few checks and still put yourself in a good position to win the ball game.”

On walking the line of focusing on the details but also going out and playing without thinking too much…

“I mean, with everything comes balance and that balance isn’t always going to be a straight line. Maybe you don’t follow that perfect balance every day, but you learn to adjust, you learn to kind of adhere to whatever circumstances have been placed upon you. I’m not going to act like I have life figured out all the way, but you just find that balance of the details and living. You find that balance of the details and balling. You ain’t got to walk it straight, you know? It might be a narrow path, it might be wider in some places, but you kind of just find that balance day-by-day rather than just this one balance that you walk down the whole time. I hope that makes sense.”

On if he likes the challenge of facing a run-oriented offense…

“I like football. Last year, we were able to get a few sacks versus a run heavy team in Kentucky, so that’s awesome. We also stopped the run well enough to win the game. This year we want to compound on that. Stop the run even better even though they have some different personnel and different guys. But ultimately, no matter whether they pass the ball 48 times a game or run the ball 60 times a game, we’re just trying to go out there and play some good football and win the ball game.”

-UT Athletics

Transcript: Pruitt and No. 18/17 Vols Remain Positive as Prep for Kentucky Underway

Transcript: Pruitt and No. 18/17 Vols Remain Positive as Prep for Kentucky Underway

Vol HC Jeremy Pruitt / Credit: UT Athletics

Opening statement …

“You know going back and looking at the game on Saturday, to start offensively, didn’t execute at a very good level at all. Done a very poor job of communicating. Lots of times we had the wrong MIKE spot, who we’re pushing to on our points, running the football in protection – gotta do a much better job of that. It’s hard to have success if you don’t understand who the MIKE is. Gotta play faster on the perimeter, gotta do a better job of protecting the quarterback, gotta establish the run game and obviously gotta take care of the football. Too many penalties on offense, didn’t take care of the football – never got in a rhythm of being good at anything that we wanted to do on Saturday. We threw a couple of balls down the field that created a couple of explosive plays there, but because of the penalties, getting behind the chains really kept us from being able to get in rhythm. You have to give them (Georgia) credit for that. Lots of things we have to improve on there. Defensively, there were a lot of guys that played really hard, but we didn’t always play smart. Made a lot of mistakes on third down – kept them on the field. Had a couple of penalties there that they converted on, but a lot of positives to me there we can clean up and grow on from the game. Special teams had one return there on kickoff that missed a tackle on the 15-yard line. Had a couple of guys who didn’t get off blocks and that was disappointing there. Lots of things we can learn from, from this game that we can improve on. The biggest thing is, it’s no different week in and week out, No. 1 is you have to be able to care of the football. Defensively, we did get two turnovers, a turnover on downs twice. That was much improved there. But, the most penalties we’ve had the entire season, which is disappointing. We’ve got to work hard to improve that and our kids will.

“When you look at Kentucky this week, Coach (Mark) Stoops has done a fantastic job there. They’re one of the best teams in the conference when it comes to running the football. They do a nice job – very creative in the run game. They use their quarterback running the football. They have a stable of running backs and a bunch of guys running the ball well there. They have an experienced offensive line. Defensively, they’ve always created issues in our league the last three or four years. Really good in the red area. A lot of blitzing, varieties in coverages there, so you gotta do a nice job. They’ve always done a nice job at special teams. Just looking at this week, we gotta get back to work. Our kids will have a positive attitude and we’ll go back and do that.”

On senior LB Deandre Johnson’s targeting penalty at Georgia…

“First off, it was a bad decision on his part. He took 2.5 steps. The whole thing about, really any defenseless player, if you can avoid contact and you see that, it’s your job as a defensive player to do that. I always felt like this rule, there’s probably inconsistency in the rule. It’s a good rule though, because it helps our game and it helps protect our players. But, it is a tough rule to kind of enforce. There have probably been some inconsistencies in my opinion over the years. I think that Deandre should’ve avoided the quarterback, it’s pretty simple. He knows that.”

On the issues at the STAR position and what he expects out of that spot…

“Well it starts with we got to play what we call. They converted three third downs probably when we had the best call we could possibly be in. If you said, ‘this is the play they’re going to run’, then we would have said, ‘this is what we want to be in.’ We had that call called, we didn’t execute it. We got to do a better job of communicating and executing. That goes back to the practice habits that we create throughout the week.”

On Sunday’s scrimmage and how freshman QB Harrison Bailey looked…

“It was really good. I think we took like 49 snaps and Harrison (Bailey) took every one of them. For him, that was really good because based off the way our fall camp went, he didn’t get a lot of live action. We just didn’t have enough plays for him to get in there and get going. So, it was good for him. It was good for a lot of players. A lot of energy. There were a lot of guys that, to me, that kind of stuck out, so we got to continue to do this and give these guys an opportunity to develop.”

On why OL Jerome Carvin and some other players didn’t play much against Georgia…

“Jerome (Carvin), Jahmir (Johnson) and Riley Locklear were all banged up. These guys took very little practice reps during the week. He probably could have played, but we just felt like, at the time, it just didn’t really fit in our game plan to get him in. Hopefully, he’ll be back and ready to go this week.”

On the chop block rule and the status of freshman DB Tamarion McDonald…

“They called the (chop black) penalty on Elijah (Simmons). This is a violent game and we have a lot of rules and regulations involved to protect our players who are playing the game. Our officials have a tough job. The speed of the game is really fast. Most of the time, on the quarterback, those things are reviewable so they can see, but some of these other things, it’s hard to see. I think the guys in the SEC do a good job and work hard to be good at what they’re doing.

“Tamarion (McDonald), last night was the first time that he’s really had any contact during fall camp, and I thought he was one of the bright spots of the scrimmage last night, so that was good to see.”

On why he thinks the team committed so many penalties against Georgia…

“Well we talked about Deandre’s (targeting penalty in first quarter). They throw the ball over the middle there – probably wasn’t a very good thrown ball – but Tank (Jaylen McCollough) was playing the ball and as he went to play the ball he did hit the wide receiver about half a count too soon, so they’ll probably call that. I felt like it probably should have been a no call, based off he’s playing the ball, but you know that’s bang bang, it’s judgmental, it’s hard to see right? I mean it happened so fast; I get it. The big thing is, to me, we had an offsides penalty on defense, we had a pass interference call down the field. It’s 2nd and 9, it’s fixing to be 3rd and 9, we’re in three-deep zone and we let a guy get behind us and then don’t play the ball, so there’s a couple of penalties. And then you throw in, on the offensive side I think we had five false starts. So, just communication, got to do a better job of that, obviously. And had a couple of holding calls, so not very good. We’ve got to eliminate those.”

On the pressure from Georgia’s defensive line …

“Well, it’s no different. Everybody in our league stems around a little bit. In my opinion, I feel like they moved based on something they had with our quarterback, as far as the timing of the snap. That’s something that we need to fix.”

On what he means when he says Tennessee needs to be faster on the perimeter …

“To me, playing faster on the perimeter starts with getting off the line of scrimmage. In social media world, everybody loves to go to these camps and watch wide receivers and defensive backs play press man coverage. We see all of these wide receivers that take five seconds to get off the line of scrimmage but they end up making the defensive back look bad. You can’t release like that. You need to release really fast because the other team is rushing. In seven-on-seven, nobody rushes. We’ve got to release, get off the line of scrimmage and play faster out there.”

On offensive communication issues on Saturday …

“It starts up front with the offensive line. Our center declares the MIKE (middle linebacker) through the quarterback. If you want to change the spot, you’ve got to make sure the running back knows. We’ve got to do a better job communicating that. It cost us on probably four plays in that game, that were big plays.”

On preparation for Kentucky …

“They play good defense and probably should be 3-0. They lost a tough one at Ole Miss and I think we all saw what happened down at Auburn on the play that was reviewed there. They very easily could be 3-0. They’ve been one of the better teams in our conference for the last several years. They’re committed to running the football. They believe in their plan. They’re a physical team that’s disciplined. They play well together. It will be a tremendous challenge for us.”

 

On if he is preparing for Kentucky’s Joey Gatewood to play more this week …

“I think they’re similar quarterbacks. He played a little bit this past week, so we have to be ready for everything.”

On if the penalties on Saturday could be attributed to the lack of practices during fall camp for some players on the team …

“We lost the game Saturday because Georgia outplayed us in the second half. That’s the bottom line. There’s been circumstances within our fall camp that we had no control over, but we’ve known that all along. We have to find a way to adapt and improve. Our kids will find a way to get better. This has been three weeks in a row that we’ve had our entire team, starting the week of the South Carolina game, with the exception of a few injuries. We’ll continue to improve in all of these areas. I think on Saturday, offensively with the penalties, we couldn’t overcome the penalties. With the mental mistakes that we made on a couple of plays. We couldn’t overcome that. Then you throw in the turnovers in the second half, it was too much for us to overcome against a really good football team. It’s not what we want to be offensively. Defensively, we’ve got to eliminate mistakes, but we’ll come back and go to work this week. We’ve got a lot of character on our football team and they’ll work hard to improve. We’ll get ready to play Saturday.”

On the defense’s improvement …

“I really thought we improved defensively this week, compared to the week before. There’s still a couple lineman issues that gave them the edge and really easy plays to make. They run reverse and we don’t play cutback through reverse. Our flat corner runs across the field. They gained 43 yards on that one play and they get three points because of it. There’s lots of things in there that Georgia did really well and there’s lots of things we need to improve on and that we could have made tougher for them. We have to fix those. We’ll work hard to do that this week.”

On possibly changing quarterbacks in the coming week …

“Well Jarrett (Guarantano) is our quarterback. He gives us the best opportunity to have success. When you have 1st and 20, it’s tough to make first downs. When you have 2nd and 15, it’s tough to make first downs. We didn’t do a very good job protecting. We didn’t play very fast on the perimeter. It’s the way the game goes. I played quarterback. When you don’t have a lot of success, the quarterback takes too much blame. When you have a lot of success, the quarterback probably gets too much credit. Offensively, our struggle Saturday was not because of one independent person. It was a team effort. We understand that. It starts with us as coaches to put our guys in a better position to have success.”

On wearing black jerseys during the Kentucky game …

“I’ve learned a really good lesson as a head football coach. There are contracts within our organization that are about our apparel and what we’re allowed to wear. It’s something that our players and staff want to do. It’s something that we’re not going to be able to do from the standpoint of our contract. We’re going to find ways within our organization to raise money and support local institutions. We’re not going to be able to do it this game. Nike guaranteed us that from now on we would be able to have black jerseys. It’s something we’ve worked hard on within our administration to get done.”

On being creative in the run game and Elijah Simmons’ performance …

“When you look at Kentucky, they use their quarterbacks in the run game a lot. If you’re not going to do that, your quarterback has got to be a guy that can get the ball out of his hands and get it to the playmakers. To do that, it takes all eleven guys working together. When you’re talking about Elijah (Simmons), he continues to improve. I think he’s a guy that the more he plays, the better he’s going to get. He really has to work hard about keeping his weight where it needs to be so he can play more downs.”

-UT Athletics

Jimmy’s blog: Run game, stopping run crucial for UT against Kentucky

Jimmy’s blog: Run game, stopping run crucial for UT against Kentucky

By Jimmy Hyams 

Tennessee has had its way in the series with Kentucky. 

Since 1985, Kentucky has two wins over the Vols. It’s been that one-sided. But last year, it was a nail-biter as the Vols had to make a goal-line stand to hold on 17-13 despite allowing 302 rushing yards to a wide receiver playing quarterback. 

Tennessee is coming off a disappointing 44-21 loss at Georgia. 

Kentucky is coming off a 24-2 win against Mississippi State’s Air Raid offense. 

Kickoff is set for noon on the SEC Network. 

Here are five keys to the game: 

  1. Tennessee’s offensive line must regroup. The Vols five-star studded line was overwhelmed by Georgia, rushing for minus-1 yard on 27 carries (40 lost yards coming on sacks). UT’s two running backs had 16 carries for 36 yards. That’s not good enough – even though Georgia appears to have by far the best defense in the SEC. UT was outrushed 302-83 last year at Kentucky yet still found a way to win. UT must come within 50 rushing yards of Kentucky or run the risk of losing. UT also ranks 69 in pass protection of the 76 teams that have played this year, per Pro Football Focus.  
  2. Tennessee must contain the run game and make QB Terry Wilson throw. Wilson was 8×21 for 73 yards against Mississippi State and he does not consistently provide the balance the Wildcats want. Coach Mark Stoops has hinted that if Wilson struggles, Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood might see action. Gatewood is a gifted athlete who appears to be a better passer than Wilson. 
  3. Don’t be feel fooled by Kentucky offensive coordinator Eddie Gran (former UT running backs coach). Gran did a terrific job last year helping Kentucky win eight games with Lynn Bowden (converted wideout) at quarterback. Pruitt says Gran does a great job of ``creating a lot of multiples’ and having a ``triple option flavor’ to the run game. Pruitt also said Gran “stretches you all over the field.’’ UT can’t get caught out of position and yield explosive plays.
  4.  Tackling. Pruit lamented the fact Georgia gained too many yards after contact. Kentucky’s running backs and Wilson are capable of breaking tackles.  UK rushed for an astounding 400 yards against Ole Miss, with three players rushing for over 100.
  5. Third-down efficiency. That goes for offense and defense. UT was 4×17 on third downs against Georgia, 1×11 on third downs against South Carolina. That won’t cut it. Conversely, UT has been poor on third-down defense: Georgia was 8×16. “We’ve got to be able to get off the field on third down,’’ Pruitt said. “It’s been a very disappointing year so far.’’ 

    Sponsored by Big Kahuna Wings: The wings that changed it all

Reba McEntire Reportedly Attached to New TV Series Based on “Fried Green Tomatoes”

Reba McEntire Reportedly Attached to New TV Series Based on “Fried Green Tomatoes”

Reba McEntire will star in a new NBC television series based on the 1987 novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, according to Variety. The book was the basis for the 1991 movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, which starred Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary-Louise Parker and Cicely Tyson.

According to Variety, the hour-long drama project is described as a “modernization of the novel and movie that explores the lives of descendants from the original work.”

In addition to starring as Idgie Threadgoode, Reba will serve as an executive producer with Norman Lear.

Of course, Reba is no stranger to TV. She starred as Reba Nell Hart, the wisecracking character on her long-running sitcom, Reba. The sitcom aired 127 episode over six seasons from 2001 to 2007 on The WB and The CW.

photo by Curtis Hilbun, AFF-USA.com

Trace Adkins Rounds Up 6 Songs for Brand-New EP, “Ain’t That Kind of Cowboy”

Trace Adkins Rounds Up 6 Songs for Brand-New EP, “Ain’t That Kind of Cowboy”

Trace Adkins rounded up a handful of songs for his new EP, Ain’t That Kind of Cowboy, which drops on Oct. 16.

The six-song set features a number of top songwriters, including Hillary Lindsey, Corey Crowder, Josh Osborne, Jeffery Steele and more. Produced by Bart Butler, the new EP includes recently released songs “Just the Way We Do It,” “Mind on Fishin'” and “Better Off.”

“It was great to work with Bart and [Verge Records president] Mickey Jack [Cones] on these handpicked songs from some of my favorite writers,” says Trace. “I’m really proud of these songs and looking forward to what’s to come.”

Ain’t That Kind of Cowboy Track List

  1. “Better Off” (Hillary Lindsey/Corey Crowder)
  2. “Mind on Fishin’” (Aaron Raitere/Wynn Varble)
  3. “Ain’t That Kind of Cowboy” (Justin Lantz/Stephen Wilson)
  4. “Big” (TJ Osborne/John Osborne/John Pierce)
  5. “Running Into You” (James Slater/Tony Lane)
  6. “Just The Way We Do It” (Jeffrey Steele/Danny Myrick/Kip Raines/Bart Allmand)

Trace hosts a festive free-for-all full of friends, food and fireworks in his new video for “Just the Way We Do It,” which you can watch below.

photo by TCD

Brooks Named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week

Brooks Named Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week

Vols P Paxton Brooks / Credit: UT Athletics

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tennessee punter/placekicker Paxton Brooks was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week, the Augusta Sports Council and the Ray Guy Award Committee announced on Tuesday.

The Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week is presented to the best NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) punter in college football for a specific week of play as determined by the committee. The winner must display leadership, self-discipline and have a significant, positive impact on his team’s success. Character and educational excellence are also considered as factors in determining the winner.

Brooks, a two-time SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree and 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 selection, averaged 47.2 yards per punt against a then-No. 3/3 Georgia in Athens last Saturday, recording two 50-plus yard punts, including a 55 yarder. He finished with 283 total punting yards against the Bulldogs.

The nomination marks the first weekly honor for Brooks, a Lexington, S.C. native, who is currently on the watchlist for the Ray Guy Award. Final candidates will be announced on November 10.

-UT Athletics

Reba, Kelsea Ballerini, LBT, Brothers Osborne & More to Take the Stage for Virtual SOSFest

Reba, Kelsea Ballerini, LBT, Brothers Osborne & More to Take the Stage for Virtual SOSFest

Reba McEntire, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town and Brothers Osborne are among the 35 artists taking part in the virtual Save Our Stages Festival on Oct. 16–18.

The three-day virtual festival, in partnership with National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), will feature performances from 35 artists recorded live from more than 25 independent concert venues across country, including Ryman Auditorium, Exit/In, the Troubadour, Apollo Theater and more. Additional artists slated to play include Miley Cyrus, Foo Fighters, the Lumineers, Dave Matthews and more.

The festival will air via NIVA’s YouTube channel. Fans can donate directly to the NIVA’s Emergency Relief Fund, which benefits independent venues that have suffered as a result of the ongoing pandemic. 

Check out the full schedule.

photo by Tammie Arroyo, AFF-USA.com

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