What about Rick Barnes basically saying TN was a possibility even before he was fired at Texas? He was aware and had conversations with Dave Odom who is a part of Todd Turners search firm. Odom had done his due diligence and new there was a chance something would open up for TN. When Coach Barnes went to the podium for his Texas fair well address he was asked if he would coach again and he said sooner than most of you guys think. The wheels were in motion. That is why this thing went fast. Dave Hart did not have a phone conversation with another candidate. He targeted Rick Barnes as his coach as soon as last Friday when Tyndall was let go. There was some background stuff done even before that.
What about what is ahead for the basketball program going forward? Recruiting and getting some immediate help. Is there a SR somewhere who can transfer in? Is there some JUCO guys out there? Need some guys in the post and the point guard position. One thing Coach Barnes has to do is get immediate roster help. It is late in the game. Spring signing period is here but everybody he had at Texas signed in the Fall. There is not a lot out there to find. Maybe some JUCO's out there. Got to find point guard help. Also we will wait and see about the current players who will stay around. Individual meetings will take place with the players starting today.
Dave Hart seemed pretty locked in on Barnes very quickly? This is my 7th basketball introductory press conference in my 21 years and of all of them this the first time TN introduced a coach who was there first choice. There was no turn downs. There was no squabble over money. No one was saying " I may not be the first choice but I'm the right choice. This goes back to Hart knowing what he was looking for. He had a past history with Barnes. Interviewed him years ago when he was an Associate AD at ECU. Knew each other when they were at the ACC. When he knew Rick Barnes was going to be available that was the only person he was going to go hire. It offered stability. Instant credibility with the fans and recruits. Credibility nationally the way you saw the basketball community react yesterday. I don't think Dave Hart was going to go to the podium with an up and comer and leave Rick Barnes sitting on the sidelines. Barnes was out of a job at Texas because he elected not to fire his staff. Barnes wife is a graduate of TN. Barnes is from Hickory NC. The stars seemed to fall in line for once for TN when it came to a basketball search.
John Lucas was a key recruiter for Barnes will he join the staff? Don't know if that will definitely happen. Would not rule it out. Lucas has some opportunities maybe outside of coaching but in the basketball world. With his dad and ties to Houston Lucas was very good for Barnes. The question is could Lucas have the same effect for TN with his ties to Houston. Lucas was not a full time bench coach. He was a special assistant to Barnes. Barnes will visit with Al Pinkins. Al has a lot of ties in Southeast in recruiting. He has ties to Memphis. He is recruiting a 5 star in Chattanooga. Barnes will bring in Coach Lanier who was at Texas and FL. He will bring in Coach Ogden. We will see who his 3rd coach will be. Then we will see who his video guy and operations guy.
Do you feel like Tyndall sold Hart a false bill of goods? There was a trust factor there. Where was the trust? What we learned from the letter of termination. We will see how it all pays out when Tyndall goes before the NCAA committee of infractions without the backing of a university. When Tyndall met with the NCAA the second time he admitted he deleted an email account that go all the way back to Moorehead State. It was an active account. We don't know what was on those emails. There is certainly a school of thought that there was nothing damaging to Tyndall but with the letter of termination it certainly looked bad. When TN met with NCAA on Thursday evening the day before Tyndall's firing that wasn't a phone call. Dave Hart, Jimmy Cheek, John Gilbert and some brass like Joe Scroggins got on a plane and flew to Indy and sat down with the NCAA face to face and discussed what was going to be in the letter of allegations. That is when the made the final decision to fire Tyndall. I think it was already in motion to do so.
Spring Football:
Josh Malone. What can we expect from him down the road? Consistency is obviously his main stay. Has to be consistent in his route running. Josh was really beat up last year. Had the shoulder problem and then battled a hamstring 2nd half of the season. Never really got out of the gate and he took some criticism for it. He has a good chemistry with Dobbs. Had a big catch from Dormady yesterday on a deep ball. That was a confidence builder for him as well as Dormady. Focusing on his technique. He has gotten more comfortable with Coach Z and frankly he is getting past his freshman year. He is settling in for his second spring practice. Learning the work ethic and what it is all about and what he needs to focus on. Impressed with his maturity. He has always been a mature guy but I was impressed yesterday in the way he talked ball. Talked about improving his game.
Visitors yesterday at practice including Brady Hoake? Butch has known him for a while. He also knows Debord which goes back to his Michigan days. Brady is seeing a lot of different schools. Kind of bouncing around checking things out. Wanted to see TN practice. Took notes. One thing about Butch and his staff there is a ton of transparency. They have had the Clemson coaches over. They have talked to coaches within the league. They have talked to the Miami Dolphins. Have had other NFL guys around. They just like to talk ball. Went and saw Gruden and his QB deal. You never know who may be passing through at a TN practice.
Did Debord have to learn new terminology or is he using stuff from his time as an OC elsewhere? Is this new or same exact offense? (Frank "rambling fever" Wycheck) nothing is never exactly the same when you have two different people. Remember Butch was Debord's OC at Central Mich. Roles have reversed. A lot of premise of that offense stems from that time. Butch has tweaked it over the years. Debord has tweaked and adjusted some things. The overall premises and concepts is very similar. Terminology is similar. There are some principals that Debord will add that is different. Particularly with some inside runs and interior zones. Different physical stuff in the run game that he brings to the table. Some down field throws. More vertical shots. ( That's what I'm talking about). Flip side Debord will do stuff with the slot and quick throws that he has not used in the past. That has been what Butch has been about. May end up being a hybrid but the core values where established years ago. Transition has gone extremely well.
Ethan Wolfe? Jason Witten had a nice career at TN but Wolfe is a guy that can do a lot of those things that you see in a traditional TE. Don't have to flex Wolfe out to make him a part of the passing game. They will some. Some of the run stuff and play action that Debord is putting in they can keep Wolfe inside. Debord has an history of using the TE.
Josh Dobbs has become a better practice player? It is the whole reason why he didn't start the season last year. Josh has matured greatly. Starting to make the routine throws. Josh didn't have a good spring last year outside the spring game. Now that he has a taste of success, the bowl win, what he has done this winter, his relationship with Debord he has taken full ownership with this team. He has come to practice and not had a bad competitive day. As a the result of that the passing element of this offense will grow this spring.
That's all folks! Go Vols!!!!!
What about what is ahead for the basketball program going forward? Recruiting and getting some immediate help. Is there a SR somewhere who can transfer in? Is there some JUCO guys out there? Need some guys in the post and the point guard position. One thing Coach Barnes has to do is get immediate roster help. It is late in the game. Spring signing period is here but everybody he had at Texas signed in the Fall. There is not a lot out there to find. Maybe some JUCO's out there. Got to find point guard help. Also we will wait and see about the current players who will stay around. Individual meetings will take place with the players starting today.
Dave Hart seemed pretty locked in on Barnes very quickly? This is my 7th basketball introductory press conference in my 21 years and of all of them this the first time TN introduced a coach who was there first choice. There was no turn downs. There was no squabble over money. No one was saying " I may not be the first choice but I'm the right choice. This goes back to Hart knowing what he was looking for. He had a past history with Barnes. Interviewed him years ago when he was an Associate AD at ECU. Knew each other when they were at the ACC. When he knew Rick Barnes was going to be available that was the only person he was going to go hire. It offered stability. Instant credibility with the fans and recruits. Credibility nationally the way you saw the basketball community react yesterday. I don't think Dave Hart was going to go to the podium with an up and comer and leave Rick Barnes sitting on the sidelines. Barnes was out of a job at Texas because he elected not to fire his staff. Barnes wife is a graduate of TN. Barnes is from Hickory NC. The stars seemed to fall in line for once for TN when it came to a basketball search.
John Lucas was a key recruiter for Barnes will he join the staff? Don't know if that will definitely happen. Would not rule it out. Lucas has some opportunities maybe outside of coaching but in the basketball world. With his dad and ties to Houston Lucas was very good for Barnes. The question is could Lucas have the same effect for TN with his ties to Houston. Lucas was not a full time bench coach. He was a special assistant to Barnes. Barnes will visit with Al Pinkins. Al has a lot of ties in Southeast in recruiting. He has ties to Memphis. He is recruiting a 5 star in Chattanooga. Barnes will bring in Coach Lanier who was at Texas and FL. He will bring in Coach Ogden. We will see who his 3rd coach will be. Then we will see who his video guy and operations guy.
Do you feel like Tyndall sold Hart a false bill of goods? There was a trust factor there. Where was the trust? What we learned from the letter of termination. We will see how it all pays out when Tyndall goes before the NCAA committee of infractions without the backing of a university. When Tyndall met with the NCAA the second time he admitted he deleted an email account that go all the way back to Moorehead State. It was an active account. We don't know what was on those emails. There is certainly a school of thought that there was nothing damaging to Tyndall but with the letter of termination it certainly looked bad. When TN met with NCAA on Thursday evening the day before Tyndall's firing that wasn't a phone call. Dave Hart, Jimmy Cheek, John Gilbert and some brass like Joe Scroggins got on a plane and flew to Indy and sat down with the NCAA face to face and discussed what was going to be in the letter of allegations. That is when the made the final decision to fire Tyndall. I think it was already in motion to do so.
Spring Football:
Josh Malone. What can we expect from him down the road? Consistency is obviously his main stay. Has to be consistent in his route running. Josh was really beat up last year. Had the shoulder problem and then battled a hamstring 2nd half of the season. Never really got out of the gate and he took some criticism for it. He has a good chemistry with Dobbs. Had a big catch from Dormady yesterday on a deep ball. That was a confidence builder for him as well as Dormady. Focusing on his technique. He has gotten more comfortable with Coach Z and frankly he is getting past his freshman year. He is settling in for his second spring practice. Learning the work ethic and what it is all about and what he needs to focus on. Impressed with his maturity. He has always been a mature guy but I was impressed yesterday in the way he talked ball. Talked about improving his game.
Visitors yesterday at practice including Brady Hoake? Butch has known him for a while. He also knows Debord which goes back to his Michigan days. Brady is seeing a lot of different schools. Kind of bouncing around checking things out. Wanted to see TN practice. Took notes. One thing about Butch and his staff there is a ton of transparency. They have had the Clemson coaches over. They have talked to coaches within the league. They have talked to the Miami Dolphins. Have had other NFL guys around. They just like to talk ball. Went and saw Gruden and his QB deal. You never know who may be passing through at a TN practice.
Did Debord have to learn new terminology or is he using stuff from his time as an OC elsewhere? Is this new or same exact offense? (Frank "rambling fever" Wycheck) nothing is never exactly the same when you have two different people. Remember Butch was Debord's OC at Central Mich. Roles have reversed. A lot of premise of that offense stems from that time. Butch has tweaked it over the years. Debord has tweaked and adjusted some things. The overall premises and concepts is very similar. Terminology is similar. There are some principals that Debord will add that is different. Particularly with some inside runs and interior zones. Different physical stuff in the run game that he brings to the table. Some down field throws. More vertical shots. ( That's what I'm talking about). Flip side Debord will do stuff with the slot and quick throws that he has not used in the past. That has been what Butch has been about. May end up being a hybrid but the core values where established years ago. Transition has gone extremely well.
Ethan Wolfe? Jason Witten had a nice career at TN but Wolfe is a guy that can do a lot of those things that you see in a traditional TE. Don't have to flex Wolfe out to make him a part of the passing game. They will some. Some of the run stuff and play action that Debord is putting in they can keep Wolfe inside. Debord has an history of using the TE.
Josh Dobbs has become a better practice player? It is the whole reason why he didn't start the season last year. Josh has matured greatly. Starting to make the routine throws. Josh didn't have a good spring last year outside the spring game. Now that he has a taste of success, the bowl win, what he has done this winter, his relationship with Debord he has taken full ownership with this team. He has come to practice and not had a bad competitive day. As a the result of that the passing element of this offense will grow this spring.
That's all folks! Go Vols!!!!!
