GoVols247: A Tennessee Volunteers athletics podcast

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down anything and everything from Tennessee basketball media day. Rick Barnes' reigning-SEC-champion Vols have sky-high expectations heading into the season, and understandably so, given the amount of experience and firepower on their roster. The Vols snuck up on the college basketball world last season, but that won't be the case now. They've been in the top-10 nationally in practically every preseason projection and power poll, and many have them ranked in the top-five. Can this team — a team with the reigning SEC player of the year in Grant Williams, the reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year in Lamonte Turner, another legitimate conference player of the year candidate in Admiral Schofield and the reigning SEC Coach of the Year — repeat or even surpass its performance from last season? It sounds so simple on paper, considering Tennessee brings back its entire starting lineup and all but one of its top bench performers from last season, but things in sports rarely prove to be so simple. What changes should we expect from the Vols this season? Which players have improved, and in what areas? Whose roles could be increased this season? Will this team have the same great chemistry it enjoyed last season? Will touted freshman big man C.J. Burns get himself into the mix for a rotation spot? Those are some of the many questions discussed in this expansive look at Tennessee basketball. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's loss at second-ranked Georgia over the weekend and look forward to things we can expect from the Vols following this week's open date. A loss is a loss, and Tennessee's loss at Georgia was its third setback of the season by exactly 26 points, but the Vols looked better against the Bulldogs than they had in losses to West Virginia and Florida. Tennessee got a terrible break in the first quarter and got nothing from its offense until the third quarter, but the Vols rallied back into it and made things at least a bit interesting in the fourth quarter. It was a step forward for first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt's rebuilding program. Pruitt was quick to say after Saturday's loss that he doesn't believe in moral victories, but he also showed some emotion and nearly got choked up while discussing the fight he's seeing from his players, and he didn't deny that they showed improvement in several areas Between the Hedges in Athens. The Vols get a brief break this week, and it comes at a good time — right in the middle of their toughest stretch of the season. What they do with that break will go a long way toward determining whether they secure bowl eligibility this season. What do the Vols need to be working on this week? Which areas of the team look OK, and which areas need serious work? And what can be done to shore up some of those struggling areas? Which specific players need to play better for this team to be more competitive? And which specific players could emerge and play much larger roles on this team in the second half of the season. Those and several other questions are the main points of orders in this first of two GoVols247 Podcast episodes this week. The second GoVols247 Podcast Episode of the week — an episode featuring a look at the reigning SEC champion Tennessee basketball team — will be released Friday. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's SEC-opening, 47-20 loss to Florida and the Vols' Saturday trip to Georgia for a game against the second-ranked Bulldogs. Florida, another proud program in rebuilding mode, was considered one of the more winnable games on this season's SEC schedule, but ... welp. The Vols turned the ball over six times and lost a game that probably will make it tough for Tennessee to secure bowl-eligibility in Jeremy Pruitt's first season. Saturday's game at Georgia marks the beginning of the nastiest part of Tennessee's schedule. After facing the Bulldogs — who came agonizingly close to winning the national championship last season — they'll play at 10th-ranked Auburn, at home against top-ranked Alabama and then go back on the road to face a South Carolina team that opened the season in the polls and might be back in the polls at that point. Things get a little more manageable after that, but it's tough to see another SEC game this season where Tennessee will open as the favorite in Las Vegas. First thing's first, though: Georgia. We take a look back at the Florida game in this episode, but we pivot — PIVOT! — back to Georgia pretty quickly, and then we discuss the reasons things might get better and the reasons things might not get better this season. At this point, what's fair to expect from this team this season? We don't dance around it. We discuss the good, bad, the ugly and fugly. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's annual SEC opener against Eastern Division nemesis Florida. This isn't a classic Tennessee-Florida game on paper, but it's nonetheless an intriguing game, and an important game for first-year head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Dan Mullen. A rivalry win is always nice, and in this case, it will be a win that could go a long way toward determining postseason eligibility. Both the Vols and Gators already have a loss this season, and neither wants a second loss before the final week of September. Not with the schedules both of these teams have ahead of them. Is Tennessee ready for the start of SEC play? What matchups in this game look good for Tennessee, and which ones don't? How much would a win in this game mean? And just how many touted prospects will be in the stands on official and unofficial visits? Those are some of the many topics discussed in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down a huge development for the Tennessee basketball program. Five-star point guard prospect Josiah James stunned the hoops world Wednesday morning by committing to Tennessee. The nation's No. 14 overall prospect in the 2019 industry-generated 247Sports Composite is a Michigan State legacy from Charleston, S.C., but he turned down Michigan State, Duke and practically every other program in the country and chose Rick Barnes' Vols. The 6-foot-6, 200-pound James is an impressive southpaw specimen who can play practically anywhere on the floor but was recruited by Tennessee as a point guard, and the Vols believe he has the physicality and maturity to be an instant-impact player. Recruiting analysts obviously share that assessment, considering his ranking. How did Barnes and Co. finally close the deal on a five-star prospect after coming so painfully close and falling short on a few others? There were several reasons, and those reasons are the primary focus of this episode. A couple of other basketball notes — former Tennessee star Josh Richardson's impressive ranking on CBSSports.com's list of the NBA's top 100 players, and some preseason-ranking top-five for the defending SEC-champion Vols — are discussed in this episode, but insight into James' commitment and his future in Knoxville are the main topics. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Tennessee's blowout win over East Tennessee and look forward to ... well ... a likely blowout win over UTEP. Tennessee hoped to use the ETSU/UTEP portion of the schedule as a time to take mistakes from the season-opening game against West Virginia and clean them up before the SEC opener against longtime Eastern Division rival Florida. So far, so good on that front. The Vols took care of business in a big way (59-3) against ETSU, and they'll likely do the same thing against a UTEP that opened the season with a 30-10 loss to NCAA Division I FCS opponent Northern Arizona and then took the business end of a blowout loss at UNLV. Much can be learned from any game, though, and this episode focuses on the things we learned from the win over the Buccaneers and things we might see against the Miners on Saturday. Who is underperforming? Who is exceeding expectations? Who is doing what we thought they would do? Why is Grant Ramey avoiding the podcast? There are many questions, and this episode provides many answers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the good, the bad, the ugly and the fugly from Tennessee's season-opening, 40-14 loss to then-17th-ranked West Virginia in Charlotte. As much as everyone in and around the Tennessee program would love to flush that season-opening cow pie and forget it forever, the fact is the Vols play East Tennessee State and UTEP the next two Saturdays, so it'll be a few weeks before they face another quality opponent — SEC Eastern Division rival Florida. Some things actually did go well in Jeremy Pruitt's first game at Tennessee, and those things are discussed in this episode. Obviously there's more bad than good to break down following a 40-14 loss, though, and that bad also is broken down in this episode. Can Tennessee's offense get explosive? Can Tennessee's defense stop making opponents look so explosive? How many of the mistakes from Saturday's loss are correctable in the immediate future? How many of them will take longer? And what, exactly, is chicken skin? Those and other pressing topics — including some fun facts about East Tennessee State University — are included in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown (and Grant Ramey for a bit) went into Fort Rucker Studio to ask a simple question: Is the last-minute buzz surrounding the Vols heading into this game based in reality? For whatever reason, the confidence level in the Tennessee program has seemed to rise in the past week-and-change, and some are considering the Vols a chic upset pick over the double-digit-favored Mountaineers. Why is that the case, though? This episode features some discussion on the potential reasons for that change. GoVols247 settled this issue with a debate. Patrick played the part of someone thinking about picking the Vols to upset the Mountaineers, and Wes played the part of someone trying to reel him back to reality and the bigger picture. It was an interesting discussion that should generate plenty of talking points for the next 24-plus hours. Other football news is included in this episode, as well. There’s discussion on the “or”-filled Tennessee depth chart heading into this game, especially at the quarterback position, and whether the Vols will play one or more quarterbacks against West Virginia. Ramey joined the final segment of the podcast to break down an interesting week for Tennessee basketball on the recruiting trail, and to discuss the places Tennessee will look after losing five-star point guard commitment Tre Mann to Florida. There’s also a discussion on what Rick Barnes and his staff need to do to seal the deal on all these five-star and high-four-star prospects who keep putting them on the lists of finalists but committing elsewhere. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown — went into Fort Rucker Studio to discuss the Vols’ potential depth charts on each side of the ball heading into the opener against the 17th-ranked Mountaineers. Plenty of discussion on Tennessee’s quarterback situation is included in this episode. As first-year Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt said, though, there are competitions for several other positions heading into the final week of preseason camp. Tennessee’s fall academic semester started this week, so the Downtown Knoxville campus is packed with students and football season is tantalizingly close on the horizon. Come get the latest on which Vols should be on the field to start the season. It’s been a big week for the Vols on the recruiting trail, too, and we discuss the recent commitments of Top247 Atlanta-area safety Jaylen McCullough and Memphis-area offensive lineman Melvin McBride that pushed Tennessee into top-10 status in the updated 247Sports Team Recruiting Rankings. There’s plenty of recruiting talk in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247’s full crew Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to reassess Tennessee football at the midway point of coach Jeremy Pruitt's first preseason camp in Knoxville. The Vols had a laundry list of questions to answer heading into camp, and some of those answers have started to emerge. But many have not. What's the deal at quarterback? How many running backs will be in the rotation? Have the wide receivers had a slow start? Have things become any clearer on the offensive line? How many tight ends are in the picture, and what are they bringing to the table? How has the adjustment to Pruitt's defense gone? Is there enough depth up front? Who's in and who's on the outside looking in at linebacker? Has anyone not named Nigel Warrior stepped up in the secondary? Will Tennessee have adequate replacements on special teams, with a great punter, a solid kicker and an All-America return specialist out of eligibility? See what we meant when we suggested the Vols had a lot of questions to answer heading into camp? There are so many questions to answer. Come get at least some of those answers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown — went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest news, notes and insights from Tennessee's first preseason camp under coach Jeremy Pruitt. The Vols have practiced a couple of times in full pads now, and just before that they had an open practice for fans at Neyland Stadium. We've seen enough at this point to start discussing some of the potential strengths and weaknesses of this team, and some potential surprises. We discuss all of those things in this episode. There's plenty of talk about Tennessee's ongoing competition at quarterback, but it seems like one of the candidates (sophomore Jarrett Guarantano) still seems to be holding the lead in that competition. No one needs to assume anything about that battle for now, though, and we discuss the reasons for that in this episode. A season-opening game against high-flying West Virginia is barely more than three weeks away for the Vols, but a lot can happen in those three weeks. There's also plenty of discussion on that in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to discuss the hot topics heading into Tennessee's preseason camp — a camp set to start Friday afternoon with a practice at Haslam Field. The offseason and ended, the preseason is here and the actual season will be here in a month. There are plenty of questions first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt's Vols need to answer, and there isn't much time to answer them. Who will be Tennessee's quarterback or quarterbacks? How much of a boost should the Vols' offensive line get by the returns of Trey Smith and Chance Hall? What's the overall health of the team after summer workouts? Who's ready for camp, and who isn't? Where will some of the team's talented, versatile newcomers line up to open camp? How many running backs will be in the game-day rotation? What did coordinator Kevin Sherrer, Chris Rumph and Tyson Helton have to say after their one and only interview session of the season? Those are just a few of the many questions discussed in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown — went into Fort Rucker Studio to discuss the state of Tennessee’s defense heading into its first preseason camp with new head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt has spent the past decade cultivating a reputation as one of the best up-and-coming defensive minds in the college game, and he's already got a handful of national championship rings as an assistant coach. His first season as a head coach will be spent trying to fix (or at least patch) a Tennessee defense that hasn't been consistently solid for several years. The Vols will have a new base defense this season, but it's not nearly as simple as suggesting they're switching from a 4-3-base defense to a 3-4-base defense. If Pruitt's history proves to be an accurate barometer, they'll be multiple and they'll be very aggressive. But it remains to be seen how aggressive Pruitt and co-defensive coordinators Kevin Sherrer and Chris Rumph will be with a defense that has tons of questions marks in the secondary aside from junior star Nigel Warrior. Defense is the only topic in this episode, but there's plenty to discuss on that side of the ball. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247’s full crew — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown — went into Fort Rucker Studio to discuss the state of Tennessee’s offense heading into its first preseason camp with new head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt completely overhauled Tennessee’s offensive staff, and that new staff — a group led by offensive coordinator Tyson Helton, who came to the Vols from USC — is installing a new system that’s supposedly a more traditional, pro-style offense. That will be a big change for a group that’s been spread-based on offense the past five seasons. There will be position battles all over the field, but the most prominent battle will be at the quarterback position, and Pruitt insists that all four of his scholarship quarterbacks — sophomore Jarrett Guarantano, senior graduate transfer Keller Chryst from Stanford, sophomore Will McBride and freshman JT Shrout — will be given a fair chance to earn the starting spot in the team’s season opener against West Virginia. Position battles across the board will be a major theme in Tennessee’s preseason camp, though. Few players can be truly confident that they’ll start the game against the Mountaineers, but several players will head into camp believing — and with good season — that they could win first-team spots. That should make this camp an exciting one. This week’s second GoVols247 Podcast — an episode looking at Tennessee’s defense heading into camp — will be published Friday morning. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to recap the news and notes of this week's SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. In case you missed it — surely you didn't miss it — there's been a silly controversy surrounding new Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt's personality and whether it's a good fit for his new position. Several Georgia players have weighed in on the matter, with two former Bulldogs who never played for Pruitt (Aaron Murray and David Pollack) on one side and a quarterback who played for Pruitt at Georgia (Hutson Mason) on the other, at least in some ways. We break down the many reasons why this quasi-controversy centered around the former Alabama, Georgia and Florida State defensive coordinator is silly, but there's also plenty of other things to discuss. We have updates on the statuses of two key Tennessee players — sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith and junior wide receiver Jauan Jennings — as well an update of the status of touted linebacker signee JJ Peterson. Tennessee's quarterback battle, the players' thoughts on Pruitt and several other topics also are included in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down another interesting week for the Tennessee football and men's basketball programs. Bovada this week released the SEC divisional and conference-champion odds, and things look about as grim as you'd expect for Jeremy Pruitt and his rebuilding Tennessee program. We break down those odds for the Vols, and all three GoVols247 writers in the studio offer their unsolicited advice on teams they'd feel good dropping a few bucks on. In much better news, though, Tennessee added another big offensive line commitment. And this commit — Nigerian-born Chris Akporoghene of Florida powerhouse IMG Academy — has a great story that featured a couple of years at The King's Academy School in the Knoxville area. We break down Akporoghene's pledge and what it means for the Vols and their class moving forward. We also spent time discussing the Tennessee commitments who got big bumps in the most recent 247Sports Recruiting Rankings. Atlanta-area offensive line commit Wanya Morris is now a consensus five-star prospect and the nation's No. 6 overall prospect and No. 1 offensive tackle prospect in the 2019 industry-generated 247Sports Composite. Tennessee wide receiver commit Ramel Keyton got an even bigger bump. He rose 66 spots to No. 104 overall in 247Sports' rankings, where he's now the No. 17 wide receiver in the 2019 class. And there were others, too. And we discuss all of them. Tennessee basketball continues to hit the recruiting trail hard, as well, and the Vols have gotten themselves in solid-or-better shape with two of the nation's top four point guard prospects in the 2019 cycle. One of those point guards — Tre Mann from Florida — is deciding soon and likes Tennessee a lot, despite the home-state Florida Gators keeping themselves very much in the mix. The Vols are also very much in the mix for consensus five-star point guard Josiah James, though he's not ready to commit anywhere anytime soon. It was another week full of news, but we've got you covered on it. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to hold the second annual Preseason Camp Buzz Draft. The rules were simple: Pick three players who aren't surefire starters who could generate plenty of buzz in preseason camp, and at least one of those players can't be a newcomer. The first annual Preseason Camp Buzz draft was "not a snake draft," according to Ramey, who anointed himself as the staff's Decider Of Whether Drafts Are Snake Drafts Or Not Snake Drafts. Things were different this year, with Ramey choosing to use the snake draft format. BONUS: Ryan Callahan couldn't make it to Fort Rucker Studio this week, so he wasn't around to tell everyone why their picks weren't good. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down some reasons why the Tennessee football team might exceed expectations in its first season under coach Jeremy Pruitt. Media who cover one team on a consistent basis can at times seem a bit jaded and focus so much on a team's weaknesses rather than its strengths, and that's a natural feeling when you really think about it. But with the start of preseason camp less than a month away, we threw all that aside for at least one week to examine some reasons why Tennessee might not be quite to bad, after all. We discussed a few other things in this episode, including former Vols wide receiver Josh Smith opening up about the frustrations he had with coach Butch Jones, one former Tennessee star perhaps trolling Jones a bit on social media and a recruiting update from Callahan, but the bulk of this long episode is spent walking on the sunny side of the street. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest news from another week of Tennessee football. It's been a newsy week for first-year coach Jeremy Pruitt's Vols, who added two commitments — including a quarterback — to their 2019 class. We also break down Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano's performance at the annual Manning Passing Academy, take a look bad at the emotional celebration of life the Vols held for former broadcaster John Ward and debate and discuss Patrick's recent article detailing 10 bold predictions for the 2018 season. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the offseason that's been and the offseason that will be for the Tennessee basketball team — a team that's been ranked in the preseason top-five by several analysts heading into next season. Are the Vols ready for that kind of target? Does having virtually your entire team returning from last season guarantee anything regarding chemistry? Does this team have the point guard play to compete for a national championship? How much does Admiral Schofield's return mean? Which players can and will take big steps forward next season? Will touted big man signee DJ Burns make an impact on an already-deep frontcourt? There are so many interesting offseason storylines for this Tennessee basketball team, and we discuss several of them in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to discuss the career and legacy of iconic former Voice of the Vols John Ward, who passed away this week at the age of 88. Tennessee's four-decade broadcaster was consistently regarded as one of the nation's best for a reason, and he was a beloved figure in the Volunteer State for a reason. This episode is focused mostly on Ward, and it features an interview with his predecessor — current Voice of the Vols Bob Kesling. Other topics are discussed in brief in this episode, but the meat and potatoes is focused on one the greatest broadcasters in American sports history. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's full staff — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker studio to break some some of the wildest things we've seen during our time covering Tennessee athletics over the years. Wes' recent wedding was something no one else on the staff thought would ever happen, and in honor of that, we held a roundtable discussion on some of the other crazy things we've seen covering one of the craziest beats in all of sports. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll want to punch things. The Tennessee beat has been many, many things over the years, but it has never been boring. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's full staff — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker studio to break down the latest from another week of Tennessee athletics. It's been a busy summer week on The Hill, and a vast majority of coach Jeremy Pruitt's first Tennessee signing class is now enrolled in classes and participating in team workouts. We have the latest on who enrolled, who didn't enroll and when the rest will (or at least should) enroll. That's far from the only topic covered in this episode, though. The latest on current and (perhaps) future Tennessee baseball players in this week's MLB Draft is discussed, as well as the departure of a beloved, highly respected member of Tennessee football's support staff and the buyout of former UT-Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's full staff — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker studio to break down Tennessee's latest influx of 2018 signees arriving on campus for the start of summer semester classes. Who's in? Who's not? Who might find a way to be in soon? This is a big topic every summer, and a couple of situations with a couple of players changed in between the Wednesday afternoon recording of this pod and this pod's Friday morning release. Regardless, here's a general outline of where things stand with Tennessee's 2018 class and its arrival in Knoxville. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's full staff — Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey — went into Fort Rucker studio to break down the curious case of star linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., who in the span of five days decided to leave and then not leave the Tennessee football program. All's well that ends well, and the bottom line is Kirkland returned to the team, but his situation was the latest spotlight on a graduate-transfer policy that's causing changes throughout the college football landscape. Kirkland's situation and the future of graduate-transfer policy are the main topics in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Grant Ramey went into a waterlogged Fort Rucker Studio to break down anything and everything related to another week of University of Tennessee athletics — which, of course, wasn't a boring week, because those don't exist on this beat. The main topic this week is a more expansive discussion on the latest palace intrigue at Tennessee — the demotion of UT-Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport. What does Davenport's exit from the chancellor's position mean for Tennessee from an athletics standpoint? Is it a good thing? A bad thing? A meh thing? That's the primary discussion in this episode, but it's far from the only discussion. Fresh updates on Tennessee football star Trey Smith are discussed, as well as news and notes from football coach Jeremy Pruitt and basketball coach Rick Barnes from Thursday's Big Orange Caravan stop in Chattanooga. Barnes revealed the latest on Vols junior star Admiral Schofield's flirtations with the NBA Draft, and Pruitt provided plenty of notes, as well. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker went into Fort Rucker Studio to provide a quick recap from another ... well ... interesting week for the University of Tennessee and then pass along a recent speech from new Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt to The Rotary Club of Knoxville. Before playing the Pruitt audio, though, there's a quick snapshot of another wild week in Knoxville. University of Tennessee-Knoxville Chancellor Beverly Davenport was demoted to a teaching position, and she was formally demoted in an absolutely blistering letter from UT President Joe DiPietro that outlined seven areas in which Davenport struggled to perform adequately. The fallout from Davenport's demotion continues, and understandably so, given the mysterious nature of the situation and the confusion and anger from several people in and around the university. It wasn't all bad this week for Tennessee, though, at least from an athletic standpoint. Several former Vols have new homes and bigger checking accounts after last week's NFL Draft, and there were big recruiting commitments in football (touted offensive lineman Wayna Morris) and basketball (graduate transfer guard Kwhan Fore from Richmond). This week — as most weeks go at Tennessee — provided plenty to discuss. So let's discuss it. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to take an extensive look at the Tennessee football team's first spring camp under coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff. Everyone knows what kind of situation Pruitt and his staff walked into when they agreed to come to Knoxville, but the belief is that Pruitt — a well-respected, young protege of Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher and Mark Richt — and his high-priced staff can take Tennessee to a better place at some point. When will that point be, though? That's a fair question. Whether this spring did anything to change the Make-Tennessee-Tennessee-Again timeline also is a fair question. This episode has educated guesses on that front, but the abridged version is this: It won't happen in the nearest of near futures. GoVols247's staff witnessed every media-allowed period of Tennessee spring camp and watched the Orange & White Game at the same time as the public, so what's a logical way to see where thing stand heading into a huge summer for the Vols. Discussion on those things and more — including the fallout from Jeremy Pruitt's post-spring camp comments about fan attendance — is included in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to preview the NFL Draft through a University of Tennessee lens. This season's Tennessee draft class isn't a huge one, at least by the standards of a program that's traditionally one of the NFL's richest pipelines, but at least a couple of Vols should hear their name called by the end of the annual seven-round, three-day spectacle. Multiple Tennessee players elected to forego their final seasons of eligibility under a new coach and declared for the draft, and two of those players — defensive back Rashaan Gaulden and running back John Kelly — are widely expected to be drafted at some point. Aside from that, though, it might be a quiet few days for the Vols. Some mock drafts feature other Tennessee players — defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, and/or tight end Ethan Wolf — and it wouldn't be shocking to see any of them come off the board. Several other Vols will at least be signed to free-agent contracts after the draft. This episode features anything and everything related to the Vols heading into an event that always shoves itself into the center of the sports universe. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down Saturday's annual Orange & White Game for the Tennessee football team. The Orange team (first-team offense, second-team defense) boat-raced the White team (first-team defense, second-team offense) in a 34-7 thumping, but what does that really mean? Is Tennessee's first-team offense really that far ahead of the first-team defense? Not necessarily, according to first-year Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt had more than a few interesting comments after the game. He said some of his players "just flat-out quit" during the game, and while he said his first Vol Walk was "spectacular," he made an interesting remark that hinted at his desire to see more than 65,000 people at the game itself. Discussion of all that and much more is included in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to preview Saturday's annual Orange & White Game — the Vols' first spring game under new coach Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt has kept things mostly quiet this spring, but Saturday's game — and it'll actually be formatted like a game this year — should provide at least a sneak peek at what the Vols might look like under a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator and an entirely different staff. Just how much the Vols will show remains to be seen, but there are still plenty of intriguing story lines heading into the game, and this episode focuses on several of those topics. Want to know which players and which positions to focus on? We've got you covered. Want to know what kind of atmosphere to expect in the first spring game in recent memory that won't be preceded by fan day autograph sessions? Well ... we don't have those answers yet. But we do have some guesses. Want to know what (if any) spring awards will be presented? Well ... we don't know that either, but we do have a Sarah McLachlan-themed tribute to the silly Butch Jones awards that surely have been put out to pasture. A couple of other pressing topics — a recruiting preview for the weekend, and the latest on new athletic director Phillip Fulmer's four-year contract — are discussed in this episode, as well, but most of the conversation sticks to the spring-game script. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest as the third week of Tennessee football's first spring camp under coach Jeremy Pruitt approaches its conclusion. The Vols have practiced eight times this spring, and Practice No. 9 — Saturday's practice — will be their first scrimmage of the Pruitt era. What do Pruitt and his staff need to see from their team Saturday? What would be a good day? What are the basics, and what would be added bonuses? That's one of just many topics covered in an episode that also delves into the keep-it-in-house philosophy of Tennessee's new staff, a recent ESPN Football Power Index projection for the 2018 season, one position change on Tennessee's defense and a big week for the Vols on the recruiting trail. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest as the second week of Tennessee football's first spring camp under coach Jeremy Pruitt approaches its conclusion. Pruitt has been the only person in the Tennessee football program to speak on the record with reporters since the head coach took the job in December, and that trend has continued through at least the first five practices this spring. Pruitt also has done his best to avoid mentioning any individual players to this point in camp, but he said there's been a simple reason for that: He doesn't know how his players will react to public compliments (or criticism) from their new coach. Don't be fooled, though. We've learned plenty about this team the past two weeks. We've learned who's healthy, who's not healthy and who's somewhere in between. We've learned what guys have changed their bodies in new strength coach Craig Fitzgerald's winter-workouts program. We've learned that several players are lining up in different spots from last season, and we've learned that at least some of those changes look likely to stick. We've learned what Pruitt thinks about the way his players are adjusting to his complex, aggressive, 3-4-base defense. We've learned how well players are — or aren't — adjusting to meetings with Pruitt and Co. on a daily basis. Those meetings are longer and more detailed than they were under predecessor Butch Jones, and some are handling it better than others. We've learned that and much more. And those topics — along with Vols star forward Admiral Schofield declaring for the NBA Draft (but not signing with an agent), and a decent start to SEC play for new Tennessee coach Tony Vitello's baseball program — will be discussed in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to review a Tennessee basketball season that was so surprisingly good until it had a surprisingly sour finish. The Vols won an SEC championship after being picked to finish 13th in the 14th-team league, and they returned to the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence before being shocked by Final Four-bound Loyola-Chicago in a second round thriller in Dallas. How do you summarize a season that was so good but ended so painfully? Is it possible for a team to have a great but disappointing season? Will this season be remembered in a good way, a bad way or both? Were these Vols ultimately a victim of their own success? Did they just have a bad injury at a bad time and run into the wrong Cinderella at the wrong time? Will this team's stomach-punching NCAA Tournament exit be the fuel for an even bigger season, since virtually the entire roster will be back? Or was this season's magic something that can't be replicated for one reason or another? What areas need to be improved or at least fortified in the offseason? Those are some — but not all — of the questions discussed in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio for an episode that was initially scheduled as a basketball season recap but became something entirely different after Thursday night's document dump from the Tennessee athletic department in response to Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the final days of former athletic director John Currie's tenure. Currie was placed on suspension with leave on Dec. 1 after his search to replace fired football coach Butch Jones turned into a bit of a circus show. Thousands of pages of correspondence (emails, text messages and social media messages) between Currie and hundreds of people put a bright light on one of the wildest coaching searches (and athletic director searches) in recent memory. A basketball-season-in-review episode got pushed back to next week in order to make room for breaking news on the most interesting beat in college sports. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest on Week One of Tennessee's first spring camp under football coach Jeremy Pruitt. The Vols have gone through two of the three scheduled practices for the week, and they won't put on full pads until next week, but there's already been plenty of noticeable changes on Haslam Field. Several players are lined up in new positions, several players look a lot different physically and some players are either temporarily or permanently gone from the program. The transition from Butch Jones (now an Alabama intern) to Pruitt (formerly Alabama's defensive coordinator) was always going to be an interesting one, and several changes are already easy to spot. Those changes are the main topic of this episode, but several other news and notes are also on the agenda. And if you're wondering about the PentaVol Papers that emerged Thursday night — just after we recorded this podcast episode — then you won't have to wait long. We'll have a special edition of the GoVols247 Podcast later in the day to break down the treasure trove of documents we received from Tennessee in response to a Freedom of Information Act request on John Currie's turbulent final days as Tennessee's acting athletic director. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio for the second of our two-part preview of Tennessee's first spring camp under new head football coach Jeremy Pruitt. This episode focuses on the defense, which might need to carry the team in 2018. Pruitt is a defensive backs coach by trade, and he's spent much of his career working for defensive mastermind Nick Saban, and Tennessee almost certainly will have to be good on that side of the ball in order to make Pruitt's first season a good one. Reasons for optimism and causes for pause on all three levels of Tennessee's defense are the main topics of this episode, but several other topics are discussed. Patrick recently sat down with Pruitt and came away with updates on several topics, including the addition of graduate-transfer quarterback Keller Chryst from Stanford, the addition of graduate-transfer running back Madre London from Michigan State, the return of star wide receiver Jauan Jennings to the program's good graces and the health of Tennessee's offensive line. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247's Blount County satellite office) conversed through the modern technological marvel that is Al Gore's Internets about Tennessee's return to the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence. The Vols' most recent trip to March Madness ended in a surprising Sweet Sixteen run despite being placed in the First Four, but advancing that far or beyond wouldn't be a huge shock to anyone this season. Tennessee has been one of college basketball's better teams all season and has become a chic Final Four pick as the No. 3 seed in the South Region. The Vols will open with No. 14 seed Wright State on Thursday afternoon in Dallas, and if they take care of business against the Raiders they'll play either No. 6 seed Miami or No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago on Saturday. What are the reasons for optimism and causes for pause for Rick Barnes' Vols heading into the tournament? Those are the main questions addressed in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest with the SEC-champion Tennessee basketball team heading into the conference tournament — which started Wednesday night for some of the league but won't start until Friday night for the Vols, who received a double-bye directly into the quarterfinal round. The second-seeded Vols (who shared the league title with top-seeded Auburn) will play Mississippi State, with the winner facing the Arkansas-Florida winner in a Saturday semifinal. Tennessee's late-season finish capped an improbable run to a league title, but Rick Barnes and his Vols have even bigger goals in mind heading into the postseason. What needs to happen for Tennessee to do that, though? What are the reasons for optimism? What are the causes for pause? Those and many other questions are discussed in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio for the first of our two-part preview of Tennessee's first spring camp under new head football coach Jeremy Pruitt. The Vols and their new coaching staff will get a crash course on each other the next several weeks, and a Tennessee offense that already had plenty of holes on paper will be without a few of its top players for at least a good portion of the spring. A position-by-position look at Tennessee's offense revealed many more questions than answers, but every team gets a blank slate under the next staff, so there might be more answers than questions after the annual Orange & White Game. There's plenty of other news to discuss in this episode, too, including the Vols' addition of graduate transfer quarterback (and former starting quarterback) Keller Chryst from Stanford, the latest on Butch Jones and his Excellent Adventure in Tuscaloosa, the performance of several former Tennessee players at the annual NFL combine and a recap from the Vols' busy Junior Day over the weekend. And dancing. Definitely dancing. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down the latest with a Tennessee basketball team that is one win away from earning at least a share of an SEC championship. The 16th-ranked Vols have spent most of this season defying external (but not internal) expectations for a team that was picked to finished 13th in the 14-team SEC, and Saturday opponent Georgia is the only thing standing between them and at least a share of the SEC title spoils. Of course, it should be added that Georgia has been a problem for the Vols in the Barnes era. Barnes is 0-5 against Bulldogs coach Mark Fox, with four of those losses coming with Barnes at Tennessee and Fox at Georgia. How has Tennessee put itself in position to win an SEC title, and what do the Vols need to do in order to finish the drill? All of that — plus a discussion on some players who are hot, cold or somewhere in between at the moment — is included in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down another surprisingly busy week of news for the Tennessee football program. Sophomore-to-be offensive lineman Trey Smith — arguably the Vols' best player — is facing an uncertain future because of a newly-discovered (but unspecified) health situation, throwing another large wrench into the rebuilding efforts of new head coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff. We break down the latest on what we know regarding Smith's situation, and the impact that losing him for any period of time would do to Tennessee's offensive line. That's the biggest news of the week, but it's far from the only interesting news. Former Vols head coach and still-Neyland-Stadium-scoreboard star Butch Jones has surfaced as a potential candidate for an analyst position at archrival Alabama, and there's no way we could avoid discussing that. Tennessee's upcoming Junior Day for recruiting is also discussed in an episode that concludes with questions from GoVols247 subscribers and social-media followers. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio in Knoxville) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247's Blount County satellite office in Maryville) break down another week that was and more weeks that will be for the 19th-ranked Tennessee basketball team. The Vols have had another interesting week, falling on the road at Georgia over the weekend but the bouncing back for a 62-57 win over Florida on Wednesday that gave Tennessee a two-game cushion for the No. 2 spot in the SEC standings. The Vols almost certainly won't catch league-leading Auburn with just three games left in the regular season, but Wednesday's win did give Tennessee some breathing room ahead of the incredible six-way tie for third place in the standings — and those spots are really important in a league that gives double-byes to the top four seeds in the conference tournament. As big as Wednesday was for the Vols, though, there are still plenty of reasons for concern heading into the last leg of the regular season. We discuss reasons for optimism, cause for pause and everything in between in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to look at a big-picture topic — and a really important topic — for fans wanting to know what to expect with a new sheriff in town. Rather than look only at Tennessee in a vacuum, though, this episode takes a close look at every current SEC coach who has been with his current program at least two seasons. We look at the situations those coaches walked into, and what they did with their programs in their first two seasons on the job. Why does that matter to Tennessee? If nothing else, that look at eight of the Vols’ SEC peers should offer some insight into what the Vols could look like the next couple of seasons under new head coach Jeremy Pruitt. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Ryan Callahan and Patrick Brown went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down another interesting week — is there ever a boring week? — for the Tennessee football program. New Vols coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff have (mostly) put the finishing touches on their first signing class in Knoxville, and that group currently ranks No. 20 nationally and No. 8 in the SEC. While a finish in that area wouldn't be good enough most years for a program like Tennessee, this was hardly an ordinary recruiting cycle. Considering the disappointing 2017 season on the field and the circus of a coaching (and athletic director) search that followed it, is it possible to grade Pruitt's first class on a curve? And that was hardly the only interesting news in the Tennessee program in recent days. How surprising was Pruitt's decision to part ways with popular running backs coach Robert Gillespie and replace him with Chris Weinke? How will that move be received by Tennessee's fan base? And how should it be received? Those are the main topics in this episode. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker studio to break down anything and everything from the past week for the 18th-ranked Tennessee basketball team. The Vols were one of the nation's hottest teams heading into last weekend's game at Alabama, but the Crimson Tide boat-raced them in a big way. Tennessee's 28-point loss in Tuscaloosa was nearly a wider margin of defeat than the Vols accumulated in their first five losses put together. It was a terrible, no good, very bad day. But the Vols rebounded three days later, holding off feisty South Carolina in a 70-67 win at Thompson-Boling Arena. Are the Vols back on track, or is the recent dip in guard play still a major concern heading into the stretch run? What happened in the final few minutes against the Gamecocks? Why did Tennessee revert back to its early-season tendency to fall apart late in games? What should the Vols expect this weekend against a Georgia team that's struggled much of the season but stunned Florida in Gainesville earlier this week? All of those topics and much more are included in this episode — an episode that ends, as usual, with questions from GoVols247 subscribers, social media followers and podcast listeners. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker and Grant Ramey went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down all things Tennessee basketball — and most of those things are good things at the moment. The 15th-ranked Vols beat Kentucky on Tuesday at Rupp Arena to complete a season sweep of the Wildcats for the first time since 1999. Tennessee's first win at Rupp since 2006 has given the surging Vols a sixth consecutive win this season, and there's growing speculation that they could play their way into a No. 2 or even No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Rick Barnes and his staff have built a deep, versatile, unselfish team that looks poised to compete for an SEC championship and a deep run in March, and in this episode we break down several of the reasons for this team’s success. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker sat down with new Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer for an exclusive, wide-ranging interview on several topics. Fulmer, a Hall of Famer who finished with a 152-52 record, two SEC championships and one national title as the Vols' head coach, has given nearly four decades of service to a place he proudly calls "my school." And now he's entering the final act of his Tennessee service, and there's plenty to discuss regarding the department he inherited and the department he wants to build moving forward. There's plenty of discussion on new Vols football Jeremy Pruitt, including some insight from the one-on-one interview process between Fulmer and Pruitt — a process that made Fulmer more and more comfortable with the then-Alabama defensive coordinator. Pruitt and the football program dominate the course of this interview, but Fulmer's fondness for Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes and the future of a potential contract extension for Barnes are broached, as well. Fulmer also discusses his football-and-beyond priorities now that he's leading the charge to make Tennessee ... well ... Tennessee again. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker (from Fort Rucker Studio) and Grant Ramey (from GoVols247's Blount County satellite office in Maryville) break down anything and everything about a Tennessee basketball team that keeps getting better and better. The Vols have rolled to big wins at Iowa State and LSU in the past week, and they're up to No. 18 nationally in both major polls, No. 9 nationally in stat guru Ken Pomeroy's rankings and No. 14 in the NCAA's official RPI standings, and they've overcome a sluggish start to SEC play to rise up to second in the league standings heading into Saturday's game against Ole Miss in Knoxville. Tennessee continues to prove itself as one of the nation's deepest teams, with different players stepping up seemingly every game to compliment star forwards Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield. Speaking of Williams, he gave Tennessee fans a scare in the LSU game when he crumped to the floor with an early-game injury, and it was revealed afterward that he'd been battling a back/hip issue all season. Is that a concern going forward? That and several other topics — including a story about Barnes giving an assistant coach a raise out of his own pocket, as well as Barnes' desire to avoid talking about his own potential contract extension until after the season — are discussed in this episode. Questions from listeners, as always, are included, as well. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GoVols247's Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan went into Fort Rucker Studio to break down all things Tennessee football and recruiting after another newsy week in and around Knoxville. New Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff remain full speed ahead in their efforts to salvage a solid recruiting class heading into next week's traditional National Signing Day. A class that had been ranked as low as No. 56 nationally is up to No. 19, but Tennessee remains in play with several prospects who could cause that number to rise even more. The performance of Pruitt and Co. on the recruiting trail is the main topic of this episode, but it's far from the only topic. GoVols247's first annual State of the Vols address is unveiled in this episode — an episode that, as always, ends with questions from GoVols247 subscribers and other listeners. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices