The first few days of SEC Media Days down here in Atlanta have been pretty ho-hum. For coaches, the talk has centered around Name, Image & Likeness and the direction of college football in regards to conference realignment.
There’s been no future scheduling announcement, nor will there be (Greg Sankey said as much on Monday). There’s been no Nick Saban – Jimbo Fisher spats, though Fisher takes the stage Thursday – and there’s been no ground-breaking quote given that really moves the needle on a viral level.
Sure, there’s been tons of ‘talk abouts’ questions from fans posing as media. There was even a credentialed media member telling Arkansas’s Sam Pittman his record in covering the spread. What?
But Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers get going on Thursday. Fans, media and radio personalities alike are intrigued to hear from the ‘buzzing’ program around the SEC. Here’s a couple of things to be on the lookout for in press settings as Tennessee’s Heupel, Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman and Tre Flowers take to the podium.
NIL love, or lack thereof
What will we see/hear in regards to Name, Image & Likeness from the Tennessee brass? Over the course of the week, every coach has been asked about the subject and every coach has pretty much said that the idea behind NIL was a good thing, but that it’s got to be fair.
Saban has called for ‘fair and competitive balance’ NIL in the SEC. Lane Kiffin suggested a salary cap. Kirby Smart wonders how the inducements will play out over time with consistent promises to recruits in order to get them to their campus.
We haven’t seen a coach straight-up back or endorse their program’s collective yet at SEC Media Days – on the main stage at least. We have seen some players (like Vanderbilt’s Mike White) give a shout out to the clothing brand they are repping that day (NIL deal). Will we see any of this from Hooker, Tillman and/or Flowers?
Don’t expect Josh Heupel to publicly endorse the Spyre Sports group. Not because he’s against NIL, but you just haven’t seen any of Tennessee’s coaches do that right now. With the Vols still entangled in what should be the final stages of an NCAA investigation, Tennessee is flying under that radar while other programs around the SEC have steered into the that arena (Napier, Kirby, Auburn AD) in recent weeks.
The Defense
We all know Tennessee was fun to watch last season, but really, it was one-sided. TFLs aren’t always sexy, but 70-yard touchdowns are. The Vols were a fun and exciting team to watch play offense last fall and I don’t expect much to change on that regard in 2022 – despite losing three key pieces.
The defense has got to come along for Heupel and coordinator Tim Banks in year two, thus, expect a lot of questions from the national and non-local media to be on that. Who will play in the secondary and where will they play? What are newcomers Andre Turrentine and Wesley Walker adding to the room? Will Christian Charles be a factor this season? Those types of questions.
With Tre Flowers being the lone defensive representative, he’ll be put on an island in coming up with the tough answers. He, himself, needs to improve on the field and there needs to be competition created there.
What steps have the Vols taken in generating a four-man pass-rush. These are some defensive questions I expect to be asked tomorrow for Heupel and players.
Offensive questions
With your quarterback and star receiver on hand, Tennessee will surely be asked about the three glaring holes on the offensive side of the football right now. The Vols need a left tackle and must have two capable wide receivers – all in replacing Cade Mays, Velus Jones and JaVonta Payton.
How did the left tackle competition progress throughout spring and is the staff confident enough to move Darnell Wright back to the right side? Can a combination of JJ Crawford, Dayne Davis and newcomer Gerald Mincey handle that one spot? Can Tennessee protect Hooker in better this year by limiting pressure from the edges?
The Vols also have to find two replacements at wide receiver. We think those two guys will end up being Jalin Hyatt and Bru McCoy, but who else? Is Jimmy Holiday a guy who can be counted on. Is it last chance time for Jimmy Calloway? What about freshmen Squirrel White, Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod? How has the offseason work (and group trip to Nashville) gone for the offensive skill guys? I’m interested to hear from both Hooker and Tillman on this.
Closing the Gap
Not that it’s a competition you want for second place in the division, but [at the end of the day] most in the college football landscape believe the East is anybody’s to gain – behind Georgia. The buzz around Radio Row down here in Atlanta this week is, ‘who is the third-best team in the SEC, behind Georgia and Alabama?’ You can make the case that it’s Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida – hell, even South Carolina is getting some run this offseason.
I’ll probably do a podcast show (Locked on Vols) – or maybe another blog deal – on how I voted this year, but the Vols, Wildcats, Gators and Gamecocks will all get love behind Georgia in the East when the all-conference teams are announced on Friday.
BUT, is the gap closing for Tennessee? How does Heupel and players answer this question?
Tennessee started off hot against both Alabama and Georgia. Tennessee started off hot against everyone in the first quarter, but really took it to those giants when mostly everyone else did not. The Vols hung around in Tuscaloosa until the fourth quarter and gave the Bulldogs a fight in the first half.
At the end of the day, however, it was still a lopsided loss on the scoreboard in favor of your rival. When is that going to change? I’m not calling a Tennessee win over Alabama or Georgia this year – but can we see that gap closing at all?
Florida is also in this conversation. If not now, then when? How does Tennessee respond to these types of questions from media personnel on Thursday?
Quarterback love
Just like several teams can make a case for being third in line behind Alabama and Georgia for the SEC, several quarterbacks can be argued to be the second-best behind reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young.
Hendon Hooker, KJ Jefferson, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson, Spencer Rattlier and Stetson Bennett to name a few. Who falls in line behind Young at the top? No one will straight-up ask Hooker that question, but there will be questions asked to him about the position around the league.
I’ve asked several quarterbacks this week about the strength of the position this season and their relationships with the other signal-callers from the East and West. It’s sports today – eye roll – but they are all friends. Most of them know each other from camp days or the Manning Passing Academy and have even kept in touch via a group text.
What does Hooker say about his position group? Because his fellow field generals have been complimentary of him this week.
Its just talk. No games are won or lost at SEC Media Days. However, it’s the unofficial start of the college football season and the Tennessee Vols are about to take stage. Should be a really good media turnout – I’d imagine – with several more personnel coming in for the day.
There’s been no future scheduling announcement, nor will there be (Greg Sankey said as much on Monday). There’s been no Nick Saban – Jimbo Fisher spats, though Fisher takes the stage Thursday – and there’s been no ground-breaking quote given that really moves the needle on a viral level.
Sure, there’s been tons of ‘talk abouts’ questions from fans posing as media. There was even a credentialed media member telling Arkansas’s Sam Pittman his record in covering the spread. What?
But Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers get going on Thursday. Fans, media and radio personalities alike are intrigued to hear from the ‘buzzing’ program around the SEC. Here’s a couple of things to be on the lookout for in press settings as Tennessee’s Heupel, Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman and Tre Flowers take to the podium.
NIL love, or lack thereof
What will we see/hear in regards to Name, Image & Likeness from the Tennessee brass? Over the course of the week, every coach has been asked about the subject and every coach has pretty much said that the idea behind NIL was a good thing, but that it’s got to be fair.
Saban has called for ‘fair and competitive balance’ NIL in the SEC. Lane Kiffin suggested a salary cap. Kirby Smart wonders how the inducements will play out over time with consistent promises to recruits in order to get them to their campus.
We haven’t seen a coach straight-up back or endorse their program’s collective yet at SEC Media Days – on the main stage at least. We have seen some players (like Vanderbilt’s Mike White) give a shout out to the clothing brand they are repping that day (NIL deal). Will we see any of this from Hooker, Tillman and/or Flowers?
Don’t expect Josh Heupel to publicly endorse the Spyre Sports group. Not because he’s against NIL, but you just haven’t seen any of Tennessee’s coaches do that right now. With the Vols still entangled in what should be the final stages of an NCAA investigation, Tennessee is flying under that radar while other programs around the SEC have steered into the that arena (Napier, Kirby, Auburn AD) in recent weeks.
The Defense
We all know Tennessee was fun to watch last season, but really, it was one-sided. TFLs aren’t always sexy, but 70-yard touchdowns are. The Vols were a fun and exciting team to watch play offense last fall and I don’t expect much to change on that regard in 2022 – despite losing three key pieces.
The defense has got to come along for Heupel and coordinator Tim Banks in year two, thus, expect a lot of questions from the national and non-local media to be on that. Who will play in the secondary and where will they play? What are newcomers Andre Turrentine and Wesley Walker adding to the room? Will Christian Charles be a factor this season? Those types of questions.
With Tre Flowers being the lone defensive representative, he’ll be put on an island in coming up with the tough answers. He, himself, needs to improve on the field and there needs to be competition created there.
What steps have the Vols taken in generating a four-man pass-rush. These are some defensive questions I expect to be asked tomorrow for Heupel and players.
Offensive questions
With your quarterback and star receiver on hand, Tennessee will surely be asked about the three glaring holes on the offensive side of the football right now. The Vols need a left tackle and must have two capable wide receivers – all in replacing Cade Mays, Velus Jones and JaVonta Payton.
How did the left tackle competition progress throughout spring and is the staff confident enough to move Darnell Wright back to the right side? Can a combination of JJ Crawford, Dayne Davis and newcomer Gerald Mincey handle that one spot? Can Tennessee protect Hooker in better this year by limiting pressure from the edges?
The Vols also have to find two replacements at wide receiver. We think those two guys will end up being Jalin Hyatt and Bru McCoy, but who else? Is Jimmy Holiday a guy who can be counted on. Is it last chance time for Jimmy Calloway? What about freshmen Squirrel White, Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod? How has the offseason work (and group trip to Nashville) gone for the offensive skill guys? I’m interested to hear from both Hooker and Tillman on this.
Closing the Gap
Not that it’s a competition you want for second place in the division, but [at the end of the day] most in the college football landscape believe the East is anybody’s to gain – behind Georgia. The buzz around Radio Row down here in Atlanta this week is, ‘who is the third-best team in the SEC, behind Georgia and Alabama?’ You can make the case that it’s Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida – hell, even South Carolina is getting some run this offseason.
I’ll probably do a podcast show (Locked on Vols) – or maybe another blog deal – on how I voted this year, but the Vols, Wildcats, Gators and Gamecocks will all get love behind Georgia in the East when the all-conference teams are announced on Friday.
BUT, is the gap closing for Tennessee? How does Heupel and players answer this question?
Tennessee started off hot against both Alabama and Georgia. Tennessee started off hot against everyone in the first quarter, but really took it to those giants when mostly everyone else did not. The Vols hung around in Tuscaloosa until the fourth quarter and gave the Bulldogs a fight in the first half.
At the end of the day, however, it was still a lopsided loss on the scoreboard in favor of your rival. When is that going to change? I’m not calling a Tennessee win over Alabama or Georgia this year – but can we see that gap closing at all?
Florida is also in this conversation. If not now, then when? How does Tennessee respond to these types of questions from media personnel on Thursday?
Quarterback love
Just like several teams can make a case for being third in line behind Alabama and Georgia for the SEC, several quarterbacks can be argued to be the second-best behind reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young.
Hendon Hooker, KJ Jefferson, Will Levis, Anthony Richardson, Spencer Rattlier and Stetson Bennett to name a few. Who falls in line behind Young at the top? No one will straight-up ask Hooker that question, but there will be questions asked to him about the position around the league.
I’ve asked several quarterbacks this week about the strength of the position this season and their relationships with the other signal-callers from the East and West. It’s sports today – eye roll – but they are all friends. Most of them know each other from camp days or the Manning Passing Academy and have even kept in touch via a group text.
What does Hooker say about his position group? Because his fellow field generals have been complimentary of him this week.
Its just talk. No games are won or lost at SEC Media Days. However, it’s the unofficial start of the college football season and the Tennessee Vols are about to take stage. Should be a really good media turnout – I’d imagine – with several more personnel coming in for the day.
