The fallout after the loss in the Peach Bowl continues as fans, boosters wonder aloud what is next for this program. In talking to some different people, some feel some of the discipline problems can be traced back to the start of the 1999 season when Fulmer did no suspended Shaun Ellis after hitting a female with a glass. The rest of the 1999 season was filled with discipline problems and a lack of heart or pride with that team.
Fulmer and his staff met for a couple of hours on Thursday to get ready for recruiting and the off-season program. Fulmer and his staff will go to the coaches convention this weekend and be there through the first part of the week. You have to think if Fulmer is going to make some changes they could come as early as this weekend. The rumors continue that Fulmer might be looking at making some changes on the offensive side of the ball, but we will see if that comes to or not.
Apparently, Tennessee defensive tackle Andre Taylor who has not played a snap all year did not see the Peach Bowl game in person. Taylor was on the trip, but did not make the game because he overslept and did not make the bus in time.
Also, at the half Tuesday night one offensive player, Troy Fleming, actually walked out of the locker room with his cell phone to make call while the coaches were in their locker room making changes. It is not known whether or not Fleming had some kind of emergency. Perhaps he did. You would hope he had an emergency and not so little respect for the game and his team that he would just make a personal call at a time like that.
Also, senior captain Omari Hand missed the Peach Bowl team picture last week at the Georgia Dome because he missed the bus for practice. Hand was under the weather and fell asleep between meetings and practice and missed the bus. Someone went and got him and he was there in time for practice. Hand also apparently missed curfew Saturday night but by just a few minutes. Hand was out with a family member and got caught in traffic trying to get back to the hotel. He called and let Tennessee know he would be late. Fulmer looked into everything to see what happened and did not let him go out at all the next night and elected not to suspend him.
It certainly seems that many were just relieved to put this year behind them. In talking with Kevin Burnett, I got the feeling that some things were just not going to be allowed by next year’s team that was allowed by this year’s team. However, right now that is just talk we will have to see if it comes true.
Burnett said he will sit down with Casey Clausen and talk a lot about the direction of this team. Burnett was clearly miffed at the way things had transpired this season. Burnett said going back to the Peach Bowl would not be an option for this team. Again, it is all good talk and we will see if there results and action.
It is completely clear, that Fulmer’s tenure is at a crossroads. He has had a good ten year run, but now the question is will is just be a run or does it go from being a run to become something legendary. Fulmer has to get control and make some philosophical changes. After ten years on the job, you still wonder under Fulmer what Tennessee is especially offensively. If you hang your hat on running the ball then there should be no year where you cannot run the football if that is what you have to do to be successful offensively. Spurrier never had years where he did not have a quarterback who could throw the ball effectively.
It is not a guarantee that defensive linemen Jared Hostetter will be here at mid-term. Hostetter has to get through the clearinghouse and get a couple of academic things corrected before he can get here. Right now it is not a guarantee that he will be here in a couple of weeks. Steven Jones will be here and of course Jon Poe has already been here and was in Atlanta.
Tennessee’s staff meeting on Thursday did not include offensive line coach Mike Barry. Barry was scheduled to be in Tampa on Wednesday to see his son. So he left Atlanta Wednesday morning and did not come back to Knoxville like the rest of the staff. In that meeting, one of the main topics that was discussed was discipline and how is needed to improve on and off the field. Now the question still remains how Fulmer goes about doing that. The rest of the meeting was devoted to recruiting. Also, Fulmer apparently met individually with both his coordinators John Chavis and Randy Sanders.
On the recruiting front, the waiting game continues for quarterback Zach Richardson. Richardson is not getting a lot of attention from anyone but is still scheduled to visit Tennessee the last weekend.
I am not sure where Fulmer will head when the dead period ends after the coaching convention. He was going to Cincinnati to see Ray Edwards, but now that Edwards is committed to Purdue and it looks like a visit there is a waste. Also, the visit to San Diego and Kovalcheck looks like it will not happen. I expect he will commit to Arizona in the next couple of days.
Tennessee is not giving up complete hope on JaMarcus Russell. They are continuing to try and get him to visit in January on the weekend of the 17th, but it does not look like their chances are real good of that happening.
They are continuing to search the junior college ranks for a wide receiver and might even look for a quarterback in those ranks. The question remains can they find a way to get Fresno City Community College Willie Johnson in school and that is not completely known at this point. His grades from the fall semester will have an impact on whether he can get in school or not.
It is not getting into school that is the issue with Gerald Riggs and Aaron Kirkland it is staying in school that is the concern. Both will need really good spring semesters to stay on track and be eligible. NCAA rules only allow you to have six hours in the summer to count towards your fall eligibility so you cannot pull a Donte Jones (former Mississippi State basketball player) and complete 30 hours in the summer to be eligible for the fall.
With the quarterback recruiting becoming an even bigger concern, Tennessee will re-evaluate Andre Woodson the quarterback from Kentucky who is starting to look around again and also a name to watch is Brandon Sims from South Carolina.
Speaking of South Carolina, Tennessee is also gathering as much information as they can about Demetrius Summers. Summers is one of the nations best tailbacks that many in the country have been very cautious of. However, Tennessee is digging to see why because now with Riggs academic struggles, Keldrick Williams’ transfer, Tinsley’s fumbles and lack of durability and Jabari Davis’ lack of speed suddenly a tailback seems to be a position the might have a need for in this recruiting class.
Don’t be surprised if you hear the name Bill Grimes with Tennessee in recruiting. Grimes is kind of a big receiver, h-back guy who plays in Douglasville, Georgia at a high school that is just three years old. Grimes has done a good job of selling himself to Tennessee. I don’t know if the Vols will ever offer, but don’t be surprised if they start calling and evening recruiting him some.
Tennessee is also hotly pursuing Terry Hunter of Wendell, North Carolina. Hunter is committed to UNC, but will visit on the 17th. He showed up big time in the Shrine Bowl game.
Did Tennessee ever have a shot at Mario Williams? Apparently so. Williams’ mom supposedly told some people that when her son left for the Countdown to Signing Day show she thought that he was going to announce Tennessee.
Constantin Ritzmann’s rehab continues to go well and he has gained some weight. He looks a good bit broader in the shoulders than he did before the knee injury. However, Kevin Burnett is not gaining any weight. In fact he has lost weight and in well below 230 right now. Burnett’s goal is to be at 240 next August. While he is not gaining any weight, he has grown a quarter of an inch. Burnett told me he wants to be in the shape he was in when he arrived as a true freshman. Burnett said that was the best shape he has ever been in. Fellow linebacker Kevin Simon seems to be recovering really well from the ankle surgery. Simon is doing some running and was actually seen doing some cutting on the turf at the Georgia Dome. He looks to be doing fine.
While I guess it is not completely official yet, Jason Witten did say his good byes in the Tennessee locker room Tuesday night to fellow players and to trainers, doctors and a lot of other support staff members.
Fulmer and his staff met for a couple of hours on Thursday to get ready for recruiting and the off-season program. Fulmer and his staff will go to the coaches convention this weekend and be there through the first part of the week. You have to think if Fulmer is going to make some changes they could come as early as this weekend. The rumors continue that Fulmer might be looking at making some changes on the offensive side of the ball, but we will see if that comes to or not.
Apparently, Tennessee defensive tackle Andre Taylor who has not played a snap all year did not see the Peach Bowl game in person. Taylor was on the trip, but did not make the game because he overslept and did not make the bus in time.
Also, at the half Tuesday night one offensive player, Troy Fleming, actually walked out of the locker room with his cell phone to make call while the coaches were in their locker room making changes. It is not known whether or not Fleming had some kind of emergency. Perhaps he did. You would hope he had an emergency and not so little respect for the game and his team that he would just make a personal call at a time like that.
Also, senior captain Omari Hand missed the Peach Bowl team picture last week at the Georgia Dome because he missed the bus for practice. Hand was under the weather and fell asleep between meetings and practice and missed the bus. Someone went and got him and he was there in time for practice. Hand also apparently missed curfew Saturday night but by just a few minutes. Hand was out with a family member and got caught in traffic trying to get back to the hotel. He called and let Tennessee know he would be late. Fulmer looked into everything to see what happened and did not let him go out at all the next night and elected not to suspend him.
It certainly seems that many were just relieved to put this year behind them. In talking with Kevin Burnett, I got the feeling that some things were just not going to be allowed by next year’s team that was allowed by this year’s team. However, right now that is just talk we will have to see if it comes true.
Burnett said he will sit down with Casey Clausen and talk a lot about the direction of this team. Burnett was clearly miffed at the way things had transpired this season. Burnett said going back to the Peach Bowl would not be an option for this team. Again, it is all good talk and we will see if there results and action.
It is completely clear, that Fulmer’s tenure is at a crossroads. He has had a good ten year run, but now the question is will is just be a run or does it go from being a run to become something legendary. Fulmer has to get control and make some philosophical changes. After ten years on the job, you still wonder under Fulmer what Tennessee is especially offensively. If you hang your hat on running the ball then there should be no year where you cannot run the football if that is what you have to do to be successful offensively. Spurrier never had years where he did not have a quarterback who could throw the ball effectively.
It is not a guarantee that defensive linemen Jared Hostetter will be here at mid-term. Hostetter has to get through the clearinghouse and get a couple of academic things corrected before he can get here. Right now it is not a guarantee that he will be here in a couple of weeks. Steven Jones will be here and of course Jon Poe has already been here and was in Atlanta.
Tennessee’s staff meeting on Thursday did not include offensive line coach Mike Barry. Barry was scheduled to be in Tampa on Wednesday to see his son. So he left Atlanta Wednesday morning and did not come back to Knoxville like the rest of the staff. In that meeting, one of the main topics that was discussed was discipline and how is needed to improve on and off the field. Now the question still remains how Fulmer goes about doing that. The rest of the meeting was devoted to recruiting. Also, Fulmer apparently met individually with both his coordinators John Chavis and Randy Sanders.
On the recruiting front, the waiting game continues for quarterback Zach Richardson. Richardson is not getting a lot of attention from anyone but is still scheduled to visit Tennessee the last weekend.
I am not sure where Fulmer will head when the dead period ends after the coaching convention. He was going to Cincinnati to see Ray Edwards, but now that Edwards is committed to Purdue and it looks like a visit there is a waste. Also, the visit to San Diego and Kovalcheck looks like it will not happen. I expect he will commit to Arizona in the next couple of days.
Tennessee is not giving up complete hope on JaMarcus Russell. They are continuing to try and get him to visit in January on the weekend of the 17th, but it does not look like their chances are real good of that happening.
They are continuing to search the junior college ranks for a wide receiver and might even look for a quarterback in those ranks. The question remains can they find a way to get Fresno City Community College Willie Johnson in school and that is not completely known at this point. His grades from the fall semester will have an impact on whether he can get in school or not.
It is not getting into school that is the issue with Gerald Riggs and Aaron Kirkland it is staying in school that is the concern. Both will need really good spring semesters to stay on track and be eligible. NCAA rules only allow you to have six hours in the summer to count towards your fall eligibility so you cannot pull a Donte Jones (former Mississippi State basketball player) and complete 30 hours in the summer to be eligible for the fall.
With the quarterback recruiting becoming an even bigger concern, Tennessee will re-evaluate Andre Woodson the quarterback from Kentucky who is starting to look around again and also a name to watch is Brandon Sims from South Carolina.
Speaking of South Carolina, Tennessee is also gathering as much information as they can about Demetrius Summers. Summers is one of the nations best tailbacks that many in the country have been very cautious of. However, Tennessee is digging to see why because now with Riggs academic struggles, Keldrick Williams’ transfer, Tinsley’s fumbles and lack of durability and Jabari Davis’ lack of speed suddenly a tailback seems to be a position the might have a need for in this recruiting class.
Don’t be surprised if you hear the name Bill Grimes with Tennessee in recruiting. Grimes is kind of a big receiver, h-back guy who plays in Douglasville, Georgia at a high school that is just three years old. Grimes has done a good job of selling himself to Tennessee. I don’t know if the Vols will ever offer, but don’t be surprised if they start calling and evening recruiting him some.
Tennessee is also hotly pursuing Terry Hunter of Wendell, North Carolina. Hunter is committed to UNC, but will visit on the 17th. He showed up big time in the Shrine Bowl game.
Did Tennessee ever have a shot at Mario Williams? Apparently so. Williams’ mom supposedly told some people that when her son left for the Countdown to Signing Day show she thought that he was going to announce Tennessee.
Constantin Ritzmann’s rehab continues to go well and he has gained some weight. He looks a good bit broader in the shoulders than he did before the knee injury. However, Kevin Burnett is not gaining any weight. In fact he has lost weight and in well below 230 right now. Burnett’s goal is to be at 240 next August. While he is not gaining any weight, he has grown a quarter of an inch. Burnett told me he wants to be in the shape he was in when he arrived as a true freshman. Burnett said that was the best shape he has ever been in. Fellow linebacker Kevin Simon seems to be recovering really well from the ankle surgery. Simon is doing some running and was actually seen doing some cutting on the turf at the Georgia Dome. He looks to be doing fine.
While I guess it is not completely official yet, Jason Witten did say his good byes in the Tennessee locker room Tuesday night to fellow players and to trainers, doctors and a lot of other support staff members.
