In the SEC East, I’m not sure which is bigger, the talent gap between Georgia and the rest of the division, or…
… the bravado gap.
Category Archives: Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Make Urnge Great Again
A new Tennessee bill is being called a “gamechanger” for college Name, Image and Likeness deals.
The bill, SB2392, makes changes to how NIL groups can work with college coaches and athletic departments. Under the new rules, groups like Spyre Sports Group can be more hands-on with athletes and athletic officials, like participating in the recruiting process. The bill changes previous rules that forbade NIL groups from participating in recruiting. Now, an NIL group could even be endorsed by athletic officials, like University of Tennessee coaches Josh Heupel, Rick Barnes and Tony Vitello.
We’ve gone from prohibiting NIL compensation to be allowed in the recruiting process to opening the door and inviting it in for recruits in, what… less than 18 months?
WVLT News spoke with Spyre Co-Founder Hunter Baddour, who is excited for the bill, saying “it’s a gamechanger.” Under the bill, athletic departments could even host events aimed at connecting donors with NIL, something that was not allowed before.
Ultimately, the bill means more NIL involvement at the college level, something that should mean more opportunities for student athletes.
If you think that’s why they’re passing this, you need to think again.
The company you keep
Urnge glory:
Nice work, if you can get it
Honestly, the only difference between this drivel…
These Vols figure to be really good come the fall. Maybe not College Football Playoff good. After all, Alabama is still on the schedule. And defending national champion Georgia. And there’s an early road test at Pittsburgh, though the small-handed quarterback extraordinaire Kenny Pickett will be on some NFL roster by then.
But take away the Bama game, and maybe Georgia — though Bama will be played in a newly refurbished Neyland Stadium — and the Big Orange should be favored in every other contest…
An unexpectedly strong 7-6 record a year ago no doubt fuels a hope, if not expectation within Big Orange Country that this season could produce a 10-2 mark or better. [Emphasis added.]
… and your typical fan message board comment is that the author of the above presumably gets paid to write that stuff.
If this dude thinks the Vols are going to enter the Georgia game — in Athens! — as favorites, let’s just say I’d be willing to take that bet. Although you have to admit that national championship sort of pales in comparison with an unexpectedly strong 7-6 season. Sheesh.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Look who’s having a stupid contest.
Georgia fan: Gee, the latest bunch of recruiting violations UGA was hit were stupid and petty.
Tennessee fan: Hold our beer!
On Oct. 16, before UT played a home game against Ole Miss, fans packed the Vol Walk pathway, where players and coaches make their traditional trek from Gibbs Hall to Gate 21 of Neyland Stadium.
Recruits were at the football practice facility and overseen by UT’s recruiting support staff. They were supposed to watch Vol Walk from a parking lot overlooking the route. But congestion from the huge number of fans hemmed in the recruits and botched that plan.
“After getting stuck at the top of the street where buses would unload the football team in approximately 5-10 minutes, and being unable to get back to an area away from the street because of directions from police officers working crowd control, (the assistant director of recruiting) made the decision to direct the prospects toward the stadium as quickly as possible,” the university report said.
“At that point, because of the number of fans, this involved walking down the street and created an impermissible gameday simulation.”
So rather than watch Vol Walk, recruits participated in it — or, at least, a preview of it before the team did the real thing.
Yes, there are sanctions for that.
UT took action and self-imposed sanctions: rules training for its staff; reduction of recruiting contact opportunities by one; designed different route for recruits around Vol Walk to avoid a repeat occurrence; and coach Josh Heupel was notified that a similar violation may result in his suspension for one or more games, which is standard language for deterring future infractions.
The SEC further ruled that UT could not have in-person off-campus contact with the involved recruits for 14 days, beginning Dec. 8, and the assistant director of recruiting could not engage in recruiting activities from Dec. 10-12.
And the NCAA required UT to suspend the assistant director of recruiting for one game, and the football program reduced its recruiting evaluation days by two.
Dumb and dumber: Tennessee and the NCAA, a meteor recruiting violation.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange, Recruiting, The NCAA
Greatest moral victory evah!
Finebaum is “officially” recognizing Tennessee as finishing 8-5 this season.
That and five bucks should get your typical Vol fan a burger and large fries at their neighborhood Dairy Queen. LOL.
Bringing back fond memories
Tell me Willie Martinez coaches Tennessee’s secondary without saying Willie Martinez coaches Tennessee’s secondary.
Man, if you’re a Georgia fan, that’s like a bad acid flashback.
You can ask…
Woo, boy, in today’s installment of “we know what you are, we’re just haggling over the fee”…
“Good” and “fine”: the grudging sounds of moral victory
Tennessee was fine. Georgia was fine. What we saw was an appropriate result for both of those teams being fine.
Vegas told us three scores should have separated these teams in this game, and three scores ultimately separated these teams in this game. Neither team was great. Neither team was terrible. Both teams were more or less themselves.
Velus Jones, UT wide receiver:
“They (Georgia) are a good football team, but we’re a good football team as well,” said Jones, who caught eight passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. “That just shows how close we are to putting the whole thing together.”
It’s always impressive to see what a meaningless score in garbage time does for a team’s confidence.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
Lit, baby.
You know what stuns my senses?
“The matchup that I’m most looking forward to today is Georgia versus Tennessee,” Howard said on SportsCenter. “This game is taking place in Knoxville. Georgia comes in there with the No. 1 defense in the FBS. I mean, just destroying offenses, but this is going to be most complex offense that Georgia has faced all season.
“Josh Heupel loves to run an up-tempo offense — give them a lot of different looks. And the quarterback Hendon Hooker is playing very well at this point. So, I think this is going to be a huge challenge for Georgia’s defense. It’s going to be lit in Knoxville today.”
How supposedly sharp pundits can push some sort of “lit” narrative about today’s game without mentioning that Tennessee’s defense has yielded almost 1700 yards in its last three games against SEC competition, including 612 yards at the hands of Kentucky last week — 50 yards more than any other team the ‘Cats have played this season.
And today they’re going up against a Georgia offense that’s seventh nationally in yards per play and all we get is crickets about it? Now, that’s stunning.
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