Posts Tagged ‘Tennessee Football’

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a pretty great new Tennessee Football preview annual coming out in only a few short days.  It’s from Maple Street Press and is entitled: “Rocky Top Tennessee 2009.”

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking to yourself “those previews are all the same, a bunch of the same basic statistics and information re-styled to make them appear shiny and new.”  In most circumstances you would be correct, but this preview is a little different than most.  You see, Maple Street Press does not approach these sorts of publications the way that some of the other publishers do.  They turn independent writers and bloggers who are passionate about their team and ask them to write on subjects that are near and dear to their hearts.

The result is a 128 pages of thoughtful insight, analysis, and perspective that the mainstream press simply does not offer.  Furthermore, if your a regular reader here at Gate 21 and other sites across the web, you’ll recognize some of the writers and be pleasantly surprised at the ways Rocky Top Tennessee 2009 differs from the run-of-the-mill preview magazine.

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Alright everyone, let’s have a little flashback now, shall we? Rewind to the day after National Signing Day, when Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin called Urban Meyer a cheater with the whole Nu’keese Richardson thievery. Remember all the hoopla and relative crap that went down after that? Well, we might be going through more of it…

You see, Kiffin spoke today at a kickoff event for a United Way campaign at Oak Ridge National Lab. As Lane is prone to do, the crowd there was pretty large and seemingly excited. And while he was speaking to said crowd, he may or may not have taken a little jab at Florida’s off-the-field criminal issues again (at 1:40). SEE HERE FOR YOURSELF.

It was an indirect jab at the Gators, and though he’s clearly talking about the accomplishments of his own team and players, there’s no doubt he’s aware of Florida’s issues and pointing those out. I just found this, and I don’t know how long it’s been up, but my guess is it won’t be long at all before this is everywhere. So call this a warning. I’m sure some people are gonna be upset that Lane’s being free with his words again. What do I think? Screw Florida.

I think Lane feels that exact same way.

– … to me.

Updated: 23 June 2009 – 10:17pm | by: Lawvol

Video: Lane Kiffin at ORNL

Nice find.  Didn’t figure you’d mind me posting the video to go along with the story…

I can’t prove it, but I really think this guy may be Tennessee Volunteers Assistant Football Coach Ed Orgeron’s long lost butt-kickin’ brother.

Video: Vinnie Jones: Ed Orgeron’s Long Lost Brother?

• HT to / via: Funny or Die!

I mean, they are at least cousins or something…

More to come this week as my little off-season remodeling project finally nears its end.

Somewhere, in front of a chalkboard—his hands coated with chalk dust—Lane Kiffin is smiling…

For the past several months Tennessee fans and the general sports-watching public have heard a near endless discussion about the various secondary infractions which have occurred since Lane Kiffin (a/k/a “the Blackjack General”) took the reins as the head football coach for the Tennessee Volunteers.  Needless to say, some have taken every available opportunity to criticize the University of Tennessee, The UT Athletic Department, Smiling Mike Hamilton, and the Blackjack General himself.  Some of it has amounted to little more than sniping and smack-talk, while others have been decidedly more direct.

Rightly or wrongly, Tennessee has self-reported (or is in the process of investigating with with an eye toward reporting) six secondary violations of NCAA Rules, the most recent coming—as HSH reported just the other day—as a result of the Blackjack General’s recent appearance on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” where he discussed, imagine that, secondary infractions with ESPN’s Bob Ley.

A “secondary violation” is defined in the NCAA Manual as follows:

A secondary violation is a violation that is isolated or inadvertent in nature, provides or is intended to provide only a minimal recruiting, competitive or other advantage and does not include any significant recruiting inducement or extra benefit.  Multiple secondary violations by a member institution may collectively be considered as a major violation.

•  2008-09 NCAA Division 1 Manual § 19.02.2.1 (emphasis added)

To put this in layman’s terms, secondary violations are the functional equivalent of talking in the NCAA’s rather large and particularly boring class.  Or, perhaps, in Lane Kiffin’s case, they amount to showing-off for all the girls (or in this case, recruits) in the back of class to impress them and passing notes reading:

I like you.  A Lot.

Do you like me?

Check One:  ___Yes  ___No  ___Maybe

— Lane

While this sort of thing—in both Mrs. Elliott’s 6th Period English Class and in the world of NCAA compliance—are annoying, they are largely harmless.  While it is true (again, with both Mrs. Elliott and the NCAA) that enough of these sorts of minor errors along the way can land you in the proverbial Principal’s office, as long as you say you are sorry after each instance (and UT has self-reported all such violations) and space the occurrences out by a day or two, usually there is little punishment to be meted out, aside from being made a spectacle in front of your peers…

… or by having to stay after class and write on the blackboard.

Kiffin at the Chalkboard

Hence, while Lane Kiffin and the UT Athletic Department are probably getting a little tired of having to deal with the issue of secondary violations, they have been merely a bump in the road thus far.

The Alabama Crimson Tide, on the other hand, is now facing a decidedly more serious situation…

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For those that might have missed it, ESPN’s Outside the Lines ran a feature story on Lane Kiffin this morning. In case you did miss it, take a moment and watch it.

Now, I think most of us can agree on the quality of that report in terms of a positive portrayal of Tennessee’s football coach and the confidence (outsiders will say arrogance, of course) he has in his plan. What he says about rivals’ fans and coaches at the very end might be my favorite part of the story – other than the parts with the lovely Layla.

In case you were not aware, am I currently a student at UT, entering my senior year. I am majoring in journalism/electronic media here in Knoxville, and as I get closer to having to go out and start working, I find myself watching all kinds of TV – the local news, SportsCenter, highlight shows, the Tonight Shows with Conan/Letterman – and noticing different specific journalistic and production aspects that most of you probably don’t, simply because I have a better understanding of it (I am studying and doing some of this stuff, after all).

Put another way, what lawvol is to law, I am to journalism – except much less of an expert, obviously.

Anyways, this is a really good piece from a journalistic point of view, and credit Wendi Nix for doing a good job. It covers the recent stories surrounding Coach Kiffin and the program very well, and gets added input from other sources – the Raiders, Ed Orgeron, Mike Hamilton, Layla, and USC head coach Pete Carroll. The piece is very visual, with clips from Kiffin’s various public appearances to shots at the spring game and spending time with his daughters at World’s Fair Park in downtown Knoxville.

However, the part in question (and where I find issue with ESPN) comes with just under two minutes left in the story. In Coach Kiffin’s office, you see him and assistant coach Eddie Gran speaking with a couple of recruits. It isn’t in the video linked above, but after the completion of the feature, Bob Ley, the host of the show and longtime ESPN personality, says that the clip is actually a secondary violation. Media members cannot witness the contact between a coach and a recruit.

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I imagine that Joel might like that one, a little homage to “the Crunk Incident”…

So is football season here yet?

– So it goes…

Last year, during the off-season, I began a series on the Great Games played by the Tennessee Volunteers football team over the many years as seen through my eyes.  As I am wont to do, I seem to have lost my focus and have not exactly done a capital job of keep that series going.  Imagine that.

Since the off-season is once again upon us—paired with the fact that I have been coming up pretty spare in terms of ideas lately—I’ve decided it is time to once again take a walk down memory lane and re-live some of the greatest games in Tennessee history.  For those of you who missed the 2008 installments of this series, here are the ones I’ve covered thus far:

The “Great Games” Series:

• Ole Miss 1991
• Florida 1992
• Alabama 1995
• 1996 Citrus Bowl
• Florida 1998
• Lawvol’s All-time Top-10 Games

In addition to my list, Will, one of the sages over at RTT has been counting down the top-50 games of the Phillip Fulmer era in grand style.  Predictably, some of his favorites are on my list as well.  Trust me, his list is worth a look (and is far better researched, far more thoughtful, far better written, and … well … just far better than my little foray into the ghosts of games past).  Since I don’t want to be accused of stealing his thunder, I will be citing to his accounts of his favorite games liberally.

In fairness, it might be best to just skip this article altogether and just go read his work.  Lord knows I would but for the fact that I have to write it…

22 November 1997

vs.

(5) Tennessee 59 •    Kentucky 31

Commonwealth Stadium  •  Lexington, Kentucky

Some folks might think I am crazy for including the 22 November 1997 contest between Tennessee and the Kentucky Wildcats on my list of great games.  I can understand why they might question my thoughts on this (or my sanity).  This game was anything but a flawless game for the Vols and was hardly the Tennessee defense’s finest hour.  In fact, the game as a whole was pretty darn sloppy, as was the weather.  Still, for reasons which I will attempt to explain (a feat I will likely fail utterly to accomplish), this game still ranks as one of the great games in Tennessee football history.  The short answer as to why can be summed up in two words:

Peyton Manning

I make no bones about it.  I am a huge fan of the guy  who wore No. 16 for the Vols from 1994 to 1998.  As many have pointed out, both Andy Kelly (1989-91) and Heath Shuler (1991-93) could—in their own right—claim to be the greatest Vol quarterback in the history of the program during the time they wore an orange shirt.  Then, starting only a few snaps into the 1994 game against the UCLA Bruins in the Rose Bowl, everyone in Orange Nation began the process of forgetting everything they ever knew about quarterbacks at Tennessee, as true freshman Peyton Manning took the reins from senior Jerry Colquitt, who quite tragically (and downright depressingly) suffered a career-ending injury in the first series of his first start at quarterback.

The rest, as they say, is history…

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I normally don’t post about individual commitments or recruiting updates in general, but I think this is fairly important. Tennessee got another defensive lineman – tackle, specifically – to join the group for 2010 in the form of John Brown.

This is important for two reasons. First, Brown is transferring from the University of Florida to Northeast Mississippi Junior College in the fall to likely an early enrollee at Tennessee in December or January (he says he will sign with the Vols as soon as he can).

Secondly, Brown was a pretty highly-touted recruit coming of Lakeland High School in Florida in 2007. Yet, for lack of a better term, was a bust in Gainesville, barely seeing the field in two seasons due to injury, academic and motivation issues (or so I’ve read).

So are Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin taking a slight risk with this offer and pickup? To an extent, yes. But you have to think Brown has some level of potential left after being a 4-star (5-star on Scout) guy out of high school. Obviously his time at Florida was unremarkable, but hopefully a change in scenery may give him the kick in the pants he might need to put it all together on the field.

And hey, considering the well-documented issues Tennessee will have along the offensive and defensive lines following this season, you probably should just take what you can get and be happy.

On another quick note, as most of you know Tennessee is conducting football and basketball camps this week here in Knoxville. I have yet to see any of it except for the local news coverage on TV and the internet, but by all accounts it seems to have gone very well on the football front. As for basketball, I think it’s pretty cool Chris Lofton is back in town. I have an incredible amount of respect for #5 (that jersey is on the wall of my room) and he’s going to be an all-time favorite. He also has a tryout with the Memphis Grizzlies later next week, so hopefully he makes the most of that opportunity, because he deserves a shot to make the NBA. And of course what better team than my hometown Grizz? I have no idea what his chances are of sticking around with the team for the summer, but I wish him luck.

In other basketball Tyler Smith news, despite Tyler’s discussion of playing in Europe, I don’t see that happening given him having his son Amare. And Losers With Socks says he’s coming back, and they have been correctly ahead of everybody else on a couple of these type things, so take that for what it’s worth.

That’s it for now, hopefully some concrete QB recruiting news will come out soon – we’re all waiting for it.

– … to me.

In the eyes of rival fans and the so-called “outsiders,” Lane Kiffin has made Tennessee football sort of an offseason laughing-stock. What with Kiffin’s incorrectly calling Urban Meyer a cheater and the secondary violations and taking in Daniel Hood and the other stuff – I’ll save you the recap – UT has been the brunt of jokes and criticism. Of course the beauty in this is that Kiffin doesn’t give a you-know-what about any of it (as should Tennessee fans)…

And while many people are laughing (we Vol fans should like to think it’s in fear) at Tennessee, you should feel free to go ahead and have a hearty chuckle at Auburn. In case you had missed it this weekend, Gene Chizik and the Auburn coaching staff just hosted the first-ever “Big Cat Weekend” down on the Plains of eastern Alabama/western Georgia.

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Well, after taking the better part of two weeks off here at the Gate, and enjoying a little vacation in my “real” life, I am back once more.  If anyone noticed that I was gone, that is.

At any rate, now that I am back I am hoping to get a few features back up and running while we wait for football season to finally get here.  Apparently the mainstream media is feeling the same pressure to find something … anything … to write about at present.  Hence the News Sentinel’s in-depth focus on some old Tennessee football photographs (which are pretty cool, I must say) and observations on Lane Kiffin’s meteoric rise to prominence in the world of college football.

Slim pickings…

Since my other team, the Carolina Hurricanes, lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL Eastern Conference Playoffs (ouch) I can’t even talk about hockey anymore.  I guess we’re just going to have to depend on HSH for any real substance until the season rolls around (no pressure or anything).

The good news is that, as the little tell-tale countdown in the right sidebar ticker confirms, we now officially have less than 100 days until kickoff.  Furthermore, things are heating up in the race to win the Fulmer Cup.  Still, football season has a ways to go before it arrives.

Needless, to say I am counting the days…

So, you might ask, is there a point to this post?  Well, in short, no.  Then again, I have never been one to sweat the small stuff such as accurately and succinctly conveying a message.

Minor details, minor details...

Sometimes we all fail, no matter how hard we try.  I think this is one of those times, not that I tried all that hard.

Anyway, go check out the old Tennessee football photos I mentioned above.  Oh, and make sure you go to see the new Star Trek movie, it rocks!  Other than that, I’ve got nothing for you today.

Yeah, this off season thing is a killer…

– So it goes…

Image(s) Courtesy of: The Fail Blog