Tradingo Blog

The Truth About Derek Dooley’s Recruiting
By Scott Felts, Tradingo Sports Editor

I feel like I am constantly having to use this space to explain to Tennessee fans just how lucky they have got it. I feel like I am constantly having to teach Tennessee fans the basics of college football or college football recruiting so that they will appreciate the job that Derek Dooley has done since taking over a job that most coaches in college football would not ever even embark on.

Dooley was hired with eighteen days to recruit for the 2010 recruiting class. Last season, Dooley was coming off of a losing season and a bowl loss and this season, due to a myriad of injuries and one of the toughest schedules in college football, Dooley comes off another year where the Tennessee Vols lost more games than they won.

In 2010, the Vols finished 16th in recruiting on Scout.com and 9th on Rivals.com which are considered the top two recruiting services by many in college football. In 2011, the Vols finished 10th on Scout and 13th on Rivals.

I took the top twenty teams on those two sites for those two years which ended up being twenty-nine teams, and included the current 2012 rankings from each of those sites as of midnight on Tuesday January 17th and averaged the rankings for those teams while Derek Dooley has been head coach at Tennessee.

I also have the combined three-season record for each of those teams from the 2009-2011 seasons which were the seasons that preceded the recruiting efforts for the three classes that Dooley has had to recruit. As you look at these numbers, remember that Derek’s first year consisted of only eighteen days to hold the class together and add to it, and that this season, he is coming off of a losing season and either has had to, or still has to replace a defensive coordinator and five assistant coaches that have all left for other jobs or retirement.

1. Texas 2.67 (26-13)
2. Alabama 3.17 (36-4)
3. Florida State 7.17 (26-14)
4. LSU 7.33 (33-7)
5. Auburn 8.17 (30-10
5. Florida 8.17 (28-12)
7. USC 10.00 (27-11)
8. Oklahoma 10.33 (30-10)
9. Ohio St. 11.83 (29-10)
10. Oregon 12.00 (34-6)
11. Georgia 13.67 (24-16)
12. Notre Dame 13.83 (22-16)
13. Tennessee 14.17 (18-20)
14. Clemson 14.83 (25-16)
15. Michigan 15.83 (23-15)
16. California 17.00 (20-18)
17. South Carolina 18.33 (27-13)
18. Miami 19.00 (22-16)
19. Texas A&M 19.17 (22-17)
20. UCLA 26.67 (17-22)
21. Oklahoma St. 28.00 (32-7)
22. Penn St. 28.17 (27-12)
23. Arkansas 28.67 (29-10)
23. Mississippi 28.67 (15-22)
25. Washington 29.17 (19-19)
26. Nebraska 29.67 (29-12)
27. North Carolina 33.83 (23-16)
28. Texas Tech 34.00 (22-16)
29. Pittsburgh 36.33 (24-15)

A few things jump out when you look at that list.

Derek Dooley has out-recruited power-house programs such as Michigan, Miami, UCLA, Penn St and Nebraska.

Derek Dooley has out-recruited thirteen programs just on this list that have had less losses than Tennessee has had wins in the past three seasons including SEC programs South Carolina and Arkansas.

Derek Dooley has out-recruited six programs just on this list (16 programs total) that have either played in their BCS conference championship game, or won at least a share of their BCS conference championship in the last three seasons.

There are only three teams with a losing record the past three seasons with an average recruiting ranking in the top 23 and Tennessee is tops with a ranking of 13th in the country.

While Tennessee is ranked 6th in the SEC in recruiting during Dooley’s tenure, the SEC teams that are ranked ahead of Tennessee are a combined 151-49 (an avg of a 30-10 record) while Tennessee has posted an 18-20 record.

What those last two tidbits show you, is that regardless of Tennessee’s poor record and regardless of outside factors such as heavy turnover of the coaching/recruiting staff, Derek Dooley, who has been the constant during the period has absolutely done an amazing job of recruiting to Tennessee. Derek Dooley has gone into living rooms and brought classes of athletes to Tennessee or commitments from athletes to Tennessee that the two best recruiting services believe to be in the top 13 in the entire country, during what is absolutely the worst time in Tennessee Football modern history.

Dooley and Tennessee can’t do anything about the recruiting classes at other SEC schools directly. The SEC is going to recruit well. The teams ahead of Tennessee in the rankings from the SEC with less losses than Tennessee has wins, should, by all intensive purposes be killing Dooley on the recruiting trail. Some of you will say that they are. But for my money, a coach with an 18-20 record, being only 11 slots behind a coach with a 36-4 record and two National Championships, is not “getting killed”.

He’s doing a damn fine job, and if given the opportunity, without uninformed, so-called fans creating expectations that have been unrealistic, will begin doing as damn fine a job on the football field as he is doing in the living rooms of high school recruits sooner rather than later.

But for those of you that understand this, and appreciate the job that Derek Dooley has done as a recruiter in his short time at Tennessee, don’t worry; for as those wins in living rooms turn into wins on the football field, the fans that are vocal now about Dooley not being the right man for the job at Tennessee will have to answer for their ignorance and for the rest of us, well for the rest of us, the truth shall set us free.

Five Quick Names For Tennessee WR Coach
by Scott Felts

The press release hasn’t even been issued yet, but we now know that Charlie Baggett will not coach at Tennessee next season. This means that for the seventh time in nine seasons, and the fifth season in a row, there will be at least one coaching search for the University of Tennessee.

Baggett has been the Vols’ wide receiver coach for the past two seasons. Dooley could move a very versatile Darrin Hinshaw from QB’s to WR’s and allow Chaney to work with the QB’s but in talking to a few people, I don’t believe that is the direction Dooley will go.

Look for Dooley to “go get a guy” and if previous searches with Dooley are any indication, do not expect it to happen overnight. Also, from what I am hearing, there is a “decent possibility that this won’t be the only hire that Derek has to make this offseason”.

These aren’t names that have come to me from within the program, but they are names that I have researched and believe could be in play. As we spend more time searching, there may be more names emerge, but I wanted to get a quick list of guys out to you to be reading over.

In no particular order, here are the Blazer Chronicles Top Five WR Coach Possibilities for Derek Dooley.

Tee Martin- Currently the University of Kentucky WR Coach/Passing Game Coordinator- Martin began his coaching career as the passing game coordinator at Morehouse College in Atlanta during 2006.

Martin was a coach for the Elite 11 Quarterback Camps (2007-08), Nike football training camps (2007-08) and the Nike Combine Tour (2008). He has mentored and evaluated more than 1,000 quarterbacks, including more than 30 Division I signees. He also created the “Dual Threat” Quarterback Camp and Academy in Atlanta in 2008.

Martin joined UK from the University of New Mexico, where he was quarterbacks coach during the 2009 season.

Off the field, Martin made has a huge impact in recruiting and was tabbed as one of the top-25 recruiters in the league by ESPN.com. in 2010.

Obviously he will be on many Vol fans’ short list. Martin would return to Tennessee in a heartbeat, but why would Dooley reach out to him other than to placate the Tennessee fan base? I love what Tee Martin did for this university and will always cherish him as a VFL, but would it be a smart move to go from a WR coach that has coached 10 1,000 yard receivers, has been successful in both college and the professional level and has coached the same number of years that Tee Martin has been alive?

Conroy Hines- Offensive Coordinator at Ryan High School in Denton Texas- Hines coached with Derek Dooley at Louisiana Tech. Dooley has shown that he likes to bring guys in that he has worked with or against. Hines was hired at North Texas in 2010 before new coach Dan McCarney replaced him with a guy he was more familiar with. Prior to North Texas, Hines was at Louisiana Tech where he coached various positions as an offensive assistant from 1992 to 2009. Hines was an offensive graduate assistant in 1992 and 1993, and was promoted to tight ends coach, where he stayed from 1994 to 1998.

In 1998, he moved to wide receivers coach for two years, and was promoted again in 2001 to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2006, Hines again coached wide receivers for the Bulldogs, where he stayed until leaving shortly before Derek Dooley did.

A native of Monroe, La., Hines graduated from Neville High School and attended Louisiana Tech, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business management in 1989. He also earned two master’s degrees from the school, in business in 1991 and education in 1993.

Here is a link to a video of Hines, mic’d up at North Texas…. http://youtu.be/O26UocuhQd8

Frank Scelfo- Outgoing QB’s coach at Arizona- Scelfo is another guy who coached at Louisiana Tech under Derek Dooley. He was Dooley’s Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2007-09, and was Tulane’s offensive coordinator for eight years before his tenure at Louisiana Tech. He coached tight ends and was recruiting coordinator for the Green Wave for the three years prior.

Before joining the college ranks, he was a noted prep coach in Louisiana and Texas for 14 years including a final year at Houston North Shore in 1995.

His coaching tendencies have emphasized wide-open aerial assaults such as the decade spanning the late 1990s and early 2000s at Tulane, where they enjoyed an undefeated season, Conference USA title and Liberty Bowl championship in 1998.

While Scelfo doesn’t have direct WR position work on his resume in college, he certainly could coach the position and will more than likely be looking for a job with the changes going on at Arizona. Dooley would also have someone on staff that was a successful offensive coordinator in the event Jim Chaney left or needed to be replaced.

Erik Campbell – Current Wide Receivers Coach, University of Iowa- Now, if you want a guy that comes closer to matching up to Baggett’s numbers in 1,000 yard receivers and is well respected in the college game, look no further than Campbell who was selected as the top wide receivers coach in college football by CBS Sports.com in 2008.

An excerpt from that article says, “Do the names Braylon Edwards, Mario Manningham, Adrian Arrington, Amani Toomer, Steve Breaston and David Terrell ring a bell? Those are receivers Campbell coached during his 13 seasons at Michigan. There were more — so many that Michigan (and Campbell) produced a 1,000 receiver eight consecutive seasons from 1998-2005. During that time, Edwards became the first Big 10 player to post three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.”

Erik Campbell just completed his third season as wide receiver coach at Iowa. He also coached the tight ends in his first two years on the Iowa staff. He joined Iowa after serving as an assistant coach at Michigan for 13 seasons where he also served as assistant head coach for five seasons.

At Michigan, he was responsible for the wide receivers and worked with the team’s punt returners for 13 seasons. Campbell added the title of assistant head coach prior to the start of the 2003 season. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Campbell coordinated the successful Women’s Football Academy, put on annually by the coaching staff, which helped raise over one million dollars for the University of Michigan Cancer Center.

Campbell served as a student assistant coach at Michigan in 1988 before beginning his full-time coaching career as an assistant coach with the U.S. Naval Academy. He spent two season’s coaching running backs for Navy (1989-90), before accepting a position at Ball State University as the running backs coach (1991-93). Campbell coached one season at Syracuse (1994) before returning to Ann Arbor as the Wolverines’ wide receivers coach.

Campbell earned his bachelor of general studies degree from Michigan in 1988.

Charlie Williams- Currently University of North Carolina Wide Receivers Coach- Williams is another guy who may be looking for a job soon. North Carolina should be looking for a full-time coach to replace Butch Davis, and Williams may be on the way out. He brings a lot of years experience both in college and pros to the discussion, but no ties to Dooley that I can tell.

Williams, has been at North Carolina since 2007, and has served all five seasons as North Carolina’s wide receivers coach. This is his 26th season overall.

Williams came to Carolina after serving as the University of Arizona’s wide receivers coach from 2004-06.

Williams spent six seasons as receivers coach with Tony Dungy and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996-2001, tutoring standout performers such as Keyshawn Johnson, Reidel Anthony and Jacquez Green.

Prior to his NFL stint, Williams was wide receivers coach for three seasons at Miami, two under Dennis Erickson and one under Butch Davis.

Williams also coached one season for Lou Holtz at South Carolina in 2003.

A native of Long Beach, Calif., Williams began his coaching career at Long Beach City College in 1984. He worked two years at New Mexico State (1986-87), four seasons at TCU (1988-91) and one year at Minnesota (1992) before joining the Miami program.

SEC Bowl Projections: Urban Liar Edition
by Scott Felts

Really Urban? Really? What was it that healed you? Was it Tebow’s success in the NFL? Was it the fact that once again, he was getting more press than you? Urban doesn’t care about his players. Urban doesn’t care about his teams. Urban sure as hell doesn’t care about his family. He’s a liar and he is as much a cancer in the game of College Football as Lane Kiffin.

Back to the SEC.

Well, Tennessee fans I won’t be including the Vols in my bowl projections, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t care about where other SEC teams are going and who they are playing. Those games and the outcomes of them can affect the Vols’ recruiting, so they should matter to you. After a big weekend for the SEC, let’s look at where the Blazer Chronicles thinks the SEC teams stack up.

Allstate BCS National Championship Game (BCS vs. BCS) – January 9, 2012
Obviously, LSU has to beat Georgia in the SEC CG. The only way Alabama doesn’t make the National Title Game is if Oklahoma State destroys Oklahoma in such a way that voters use that as an excuse to keep two SEC teams out of the title game. I don’t think this can happen, but if people are looking for an excuse, and Oklahoma State wins BIG, some will try it.

LSU vs. Alabama

Allstate Sugar (BCS vs. BCS) – January 3, 2012
Houston vs. Arkansas

If the games were set today, this would be the Sugar Bowl match-up. Houston qualifies because they moved ahead of Boise State, and as the highest ranked non BCS auto-qualifier, the BCS MUST take them. Both teams have a game this week. Boise faces New Mexico in a game they should have NO problem with. Houston faces Southern Miss who is 10-2. If Houston loses, they are out. If Houston struggles and Boise rolls, the Broncos could sneak back ahead and automatically take the Cougars spot. Note though, even if that happens, an undefeated Houston team could make the BCS along with Boise St.

Arkansas WILL drop out of this slot, without even playing. When it comes to selecting at-large teams to fill slots, BCS rules state that the only way three teams from the same conference can play in BCS bowls is if the number one and number two teams in the BCS standings are from the same conference as the third team AND both of those teams are NOT Conference Champions. Obviously either LSU becomes a conference champion and moves into the BCS National Championship, which will drop Arkansas, or LSU loses, and Alabama plays Oklahoma State or Stanford for the title. Either way, the Hogs will not go to a BCS bowl. (This is something I learned this week. I didn’t realize 1 and 2 both had to be non-champions for a third conference team to make it. Now, you have learned something from reading this blog too.)

When this changes, look for Michigan to take on Houston or Boise State in New Orleans.

AT&T Cotton (Big 12 vs. SEC) – January 6, 2012
This is where Arkansas will fall and they will play the team that would have played in the Big Twelve Championship Game against one of the Oklahoma schools, if that conference still played a championship game.

Arkansas vs. Kansas St.

Capital One (Big Ten vs. SEC) – January 2, 2012
This game is generally reserved for the SEC CG loser. This year however, I think that distinction will be hung on the Big Ten representative. Michigan State plays Wisconsin for the Big Ten title. Both of those teams are 10-2 and are low enough in the BCS standings that the loser will drop out of the mandatory top 14 needed to be selected as a BCS at-large.

As for the SEC, if Georgia wins the SEC CG and takes the automatic bid, and Alabama slides to number one and into the National Championship, then the Capital One Bowl will be ALL OVER an LSU team with one loss. I don’t see that happening though. Georgia last played in the Capital One Bowl in 2008. South Carolina has NEVER played in that game. The Capital One committee has some Gator fans on it. Think they might want to see Steve Spurrier? Yea, me too.

South Carolina vs. Michigan State

Outback (Big Ten vs. SEC) – January 2, 2012
The Outback Bowl officials should be very excited about it’s Big Ten selection this season. They will have a chance to have a nationally recognized program in their game that they too have never had the opportunity to select. It’s one of the few positives to the conference re-alignment.

As for the SEC selection, there isn’t much to choose from this year. Only 7 SEC teams that won’t be gobbled up my the BCS are bowl eligible, and for the Outback committee, the decision will be made for them. Bowls can pick teams “out of order” when they have similar records. (Such as Georgia’s predicted 10-3 record vs. South Carolina’s 10-2.) But the Outback Bowl will have whichever of those two teams aren’t selected by the Capital One Bowl because the next best team in the conference is Auburn, who is 7-5. The only way they get a “choice” is if LSU and Arkansas fall to the Capital One/Cotton combination, and then they can choose between South Carolina and Georgia. That won’t happen either though.

Georgia vs. Nebraska

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl (Big Ten vs. SEC) – January 2, 2012

The Gator Bowl committee is full of Florida Gator supporters. Ohio State just hired Urban Meyer (Who won’t coach in the bowl game), but still. This one picks itself.

Florida vs. Ohio State

Chick-Fil-A Bowl (ACC vs. SEC) – December 31, 2011
Auburn is the next best team in the SEC for the Chik-Fil-A Bowl to select, at 7-5. The ACC Championship game loser usually comes here. That should be Clemson this season. The last two times the Bowl selected these two teams together (after the ’97 and ’07 seasons), these teams played to a 4 point and 3 point overtime contest (Both Auburn wins). The Chik-Fil-A committee loves close games.

Auburn vs. Clemson

Franklin American Mortgage Music City (ACC vs. SEC) – December 30, 2011
The bowl committee is full of people that want fans to travel into the city and spend money. Two SEC teams left to choose from. One is across town, one is in Mississippi. Yeah, this one half picks itself too.

As for the ACC representative, the committee COULD pick the Tar Heels to return to Nashville, OR they could select a team that has NEVER played in their bowl to match up with the SEC team that has NEVER played in their bowl. See a pattern?

Mississippi St. vs. North Carolina St

AutoZone Liberty (C-USA vs. SEC) – December 31, 2011
There is only one SEC team left to pick from, so the Liberty Bowl has it easy there. It will be the bowl’s sixth different SEC team since the bowl tied back in to the SEC. It’s also a team that has NEVER played in the bowl. That should make them happy. Normally the champion of Conference USA plays in this bowl. However, if Houston defeats 10-2 Southern Miss, the Cougars will be in the BCS and Southern Miss would be the second straight 10-3 Conference USA team to play in Memphis. If Southern Miss upsets Houston, I’m not sure if the bowl CAN by-pass the champion to take a 12-1 Houston squad, but if they can, they will. I don’t think they will have to worry about it.

Vanderbilt vs. Southern Mississippi

BBVA Compass Bowl (Big East vs. SEC) – January 6, 2012
Sorry Birmingham…..not enough SEC teams for you. They will select a Sun Belt team to take the SEC slot….ouch.

There ya have it; my SEC Bowl projections as of 9pm on November 28th. This time next week, we will know how right or wrong I am.

Vols Have a Lot to be Thankful For
by Scott Felts

On the surface, the 2011 version of the Tennessee Volunteers don’t appear to have much to be thankful for. Coming into the season they had to dismiss a big defensive lineman with more promise than purpose that would have however, provided needed depth. Then, one week before the season started the most talented athlete on the team, Janzen Jackson was kicked off for repeated violations of team rules. Veteran linebacker Herman Lathers who led the 2010 Vols in tackles never made it back to the field following a broken ankle suffered in the summer. Stud wide receiver Justin Hunter went down for the season on the first drive against Florida. QB Tyler Bray broke his thumb in a loss to Georgia and missed a five game stretch that saw the Vols play four teams that this week sit in the top twelve in the nation, including the top three teams in the BCS. Another key injury hit the secondary when Brent Brewer was lost for the season with an ACL tear.

Ok, so maybe the Vols 2011 problems go deeper than just “the surface”.

That doesn’t mean however that the Vols can’t be thankful for some things from 2011 heading into the final regular season game of the season in Lexington Kentucky where the Vols need a win to become bowl eligible and earn the much needed extra practices that come with that trip.

The Vols win over Montana in the season opener was the seventeenth consecutive home opening day victory at Neyland Stadium.

Curt Maggitt (SLB) and A.J. Johnson (WLB) became the first freshmen to start at any linebacker position for Tennessee since freshmen eligibility was reinstated in 1972.

Tyler Bray’s 405 total yards against Cincinnati marked the first time a Vol quarterback eclipsed the 400-yard mark since Peyton Manning threw for 523 yards against Kentucky (11/22/97). Bray and Manning are the only two quarterbacks in Tennessee history to throw for 400 yards in a single game. Manning did it three times. Bray’s completion percentage of 82.9 (34-41) is the highest in Tennessee history with 30 or more completions, breaking Peyton Manning’s mark of 77.5 set against Georgia in 1997 when he was 31-40.

Against Georgia, Tyler Bray eclipsed the 200-yard passing mark for the 10th-straight game, but his streak of 10-consecutive games with two or more TD passes came to an end. That streak was tied for sixth in UT history (Andy Kelly – 11/10/90-10/12/91) and was second in NCAA FBS to Boise State’s Kellen Moore (17 Consecutive at the time).

With 13 tackles against Alabama and 11 against LSU, linebacker A.J. Johnson became just the second true freshman in Tennessee history with two 10-plus tackle games. Eric Berry is the only other player to accomplish the feat with games of 14 tackles vs. Kentucky and 12 tackles vs. South Carolina in 2007. Johnson’s 13 tackles against Alabama rank as the second-most by a Tennessee true freshman, behind only Eric Berry’s 14-tackle game vs. Kentucky in 2007. Johnson now holds two of UT’s top-four tackle games by a true freshman, joining Berry’s two efforts, and a 12-tackle game by Reggie White against Virginia in 1980.

Also against Alabama, Michael Palardy’s career-long 52-yard field goal in was the longest by a Tennessee kicker since Jeff Hall made a 53-yarder against Oklahoma State on Sept. 30, 1995.

Against South Carolina, A.J. Johnson became the first Tennessee true freshman to record three 10-plus tackle games.

Derrick Brodus, a redshirt freshman from Maryville, who played high school football at Alcoa, became the 19th Vol rookie to play in 2011 when he booted the opening kickoff against Middle Tennessee State.
Brodus, made three PAT’s in the first half and added a field goal. Not scheduled to dress for the game, injuries to Michael Palardy (Thursday) and Chip Rhome (pregame) pressed Brodus into action. The coaching staff had to call Brodus less than an hour before the game started, and arrange a police escort for him to Neyland Stadium.

Against Vanderbilt, Da’Rick Rogers cracked the 1,000-yard receiving mark for the season (1,002), becoming the sixth Vol to do so, and the seventh time it has been achieved. Rogers recorded his sixth 100-yard receiving game of the season, becoming just the fourth Vol to achieve that feat, ever.

Against Vanderbilt, Eric Gordon ended the game by intercepting a Jordan Rodgers pass and returning it 90 yards for the game-winning score. Gordon’s return for a touchdown in overtime was the first defensive score in OT since Sept. 9, 2005, when Ohio DB Dion Byrum picked off Tyler Palko of Pittsburgh.

Senior linebacker Austin Johnson picked off his fourth pass in the past five games against Vanderbilt, his total of four INTs this season is the most by a UT linebacker since Jackie Walker had five in 1970.

Against Vanderbilt, A. J. Johnson moved further into second place on Tennessee’s all-time true freshman tackle-leaders list with 71 this season. Only Eric Berry (86, 2007) is ahead of Johnson on that freshman tackles list. Berry played in twelve regular season games, an SEC Championship game, and a bowl game that season.

All of these stats are things that Vol fans, players and coaches can look at and be thankful for in 2011. However there is something more important than these stats and the promise that they show. The thing that the 2011 Vols should be most thankful for isn’t the stat line or the win/loss record. It isn’t the thrill of an overtime win, or a bowl game destination should they win against Kentucky on Saturday.

The thing that the 2011 Vols and their fans should be most thankful for is the journey that was 2011.

American poet Don Williams Jr. wrote “The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.”

The Vols should be thankful for the lessons that came from the journey. In 2012 and beyond, it will be those lessons that are the reason for success. It will be those lessons, not the destination that enables Coach Dooley to build a foundation of winning.

Be thankful Vol fans. It’s been a hell of a journey filled with twists, turns and plenty of lessons, and it’s not over yet.

Dooley and Vols look for “John Hancock” moment at Arkansas
by Scott Felts

John Hancock served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is remembered for his large and stylish signature on the United States Declaration of Independence, so much so that the term “John Hancock” has become, in the United States, a synonym for “signature”. According to legend, Hancock signed his name largely and clearly so that King George could read it without his spectacles.

Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers (4-5, 0-5) will travel to Fayetteville Arkansas to play the 8th ranked Razorbacks (8-1, 4-1) on Saturday and will be looking for more than their first SEC win of the season.

Every new coach that succeeds at his new school has a “signature win” that lets the team, the fan base and the college football world that he is “the guy” for the job and that his team is on its way back to the top. Derek Dooley is still looking for that win.

Last season’s near win at LSU might have been that win, so too the Music City Bowl in Nashville could have served that purpose well. Unfortunately for Dooley and the Vols, both games were losses and a slew of injuries in 2011 have made sure that the big win that Big Orange fans crave, remains at arm’s length.

Saturday’s opponent offers an interesting opportunity for Dooley and the Vols. The Arkansas program has provided several recent coaches their signature wins and even a close call for Vanderbilt’s James Franklin just two weeks ago.

The 2005 Florida Gators had their share of wins for new coach Urban Meyer including defeating 4th ranked Georgia in a close game in Alltel Stadium that many would have seen as a signature win. Florida owns Georgia recently however, and even though the Gators won that game, it was the Bulldogs that represented the East and eventually won the 2005 SEC Championship.

In 2006, the Gators defeated Tennessee in Knoxville, but for the same reasons Georgia can’t be a signature win for a new Gator coach, the win against a Tennessee team that ended up losing four games in 2006 can’t be looked at that favorably either. Later that season the Gators defeated 9th ranked LSU but then fell to 11th ranked Auburn the following week. Questions still remained for the Gators until the SEC Championship game when the Gators beat 8th ranked Arkansas 38-28 on way to their first SEC Championship since 2000 and eventual National Championship win against Ohio State.

Gene Chizik got his signature win in his second season with the Auburn Tigers during their undefeated run to the National Championship. Auburn had begun the season 6-0, including a win over then 12th ranked South Carolina which many would argue could have been that win for Chizik, but the eight point victory over a Gamecock team that hadn’t yet proven itself still made many on the plains nervous when the 12th ranked Arkansas Razorbacks rolled into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Chizik and the Tigers answered the critics however with a 65-43 romp that let everyone know Auburn was for real and their QB Cam Newton was the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.

When Nick Saban joined Alabama in 2007, he didn’t have as much to prove as Chizik and Meyer. Everyone knew Saban was a winner, having won a National Title at LSU before his stint in the NFL. Alabama simply wanted Saban to win, and even though 2007 saw the Tide lose four of their last five games to finish 6-6, it was the 3-0 start (the fifth Alabama coach since 1900 to start 3-0), which concluded with a 41-38 win over 16th ranked Arkansas that propelled the Tide to a 6-2 start and set the stage for Saban to recruit well and finish the 2008 season 12-0 and win an SEC and National Championship in 2009.

Now, I’m not saying that a win over Arkansas on Saturday will lead to a 2012 National Title for the Vols, but recent history does show that it takes a big signature win to get a program back on track and reach that level.

If Tennessee wins at 8th ranked Arkansas and finishes the 2011 season with wins against Vanderbilt, Kentucky and a bowl opponent still to be determined, the 8-5 record would certainly make Vol Nation much more comfortable going into 2012.

The Arkansas Razorbacks program has certainly done its share to build up SEC programs and new head coaches. In fact, every Vol fan remembers the Razorbacks role in the Vols’ 1998 National Championship season. The “stumble and fumble” moment could be considered as garish and bold as a large fanciful signature on a document declaring Independence from your former King.

What’s one more “John Hancock” moment between old friends?

70 Straight Games of Big Orange Memories and the lessons they taught me.

By Scott Felts

Tennessee Football may not be exactly where a lot of fans want it to be, but on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium this fan will be exactly where he wants to be. Wins aren’t coming in as many bunches as we would like, but when it really comes down to it, there aren’t many better places to be on a fall night in hills of Tennessee than Neyland Stadium watching the Vols play.

A lot of friends and coworkers probably don’t understand why I make such a fuss over Tennessee Football. They don’t understand how someone could put “a game” ahead of so many other things in life. Simply put, they probably think I’m crazy.

My thought however is that Tennessee Football is more than just “a game”. Tennessee Football, and in particular Tennessee Football inside Neyland Stadium only happens for seven to eight Saturdays a year. Tennessee Football is something that brings friends together, it brings strangers together and it serves as an outlet of both emotion and energy.

All year long that energy and emotion builds up, and you only have seven to eight chances to get rid of enough of it to survive until the seven to eight opportunities next year. You only have those seven to eight chances to meet new friends that may sit around you, or tailgate next to you. You only have each of those few chances to spend time with those close to you, doing something that you both love.

It is in those chances that I learned to enjoy every day, even the bad ones, like I savor every play. When that interception comes in the fourth quarter, are you even thinking about that argument from two days earlier? When Rocky Top roars after a touchdown are you thinking about that deadline at work?

Use Tennessee Football for more than “a game”. Use it as a lesson for how to live your life. If you can suspend the importance of those issues for seven to eight Saturdays a year, why can’t you change the way those and any other number of things affect you the other 357 to 358 days a year?

A friend of mine recently lost his nineteen year old daughter to illness. As I sat down to write this article, it was only going to be about stats and scores and wins and losses. But as I sit here typing, I realize that Tennessee Football is more than all of that. Tennessee Football is an opportunity to share time with loved ones doing something that brings smiles to children’s faces and tears to old timer’s eyes. Tennessee Football is a moment in time that can’t be faked. No matter how many straight games you go to, each moment stands on its own and unfortunately can’t be duplicated.

Don’t you think that if it could, my friend would go to every game wanting to see Tennessee play UT Martin and win 50-0? That’s the first Tennessee game he and his daughter ever went to together. It was also the last. I was lucky. I was able to see that moment. I was able to see a father spending a beautiful fall day with his little girl. I was able to see a father struggle and be in pain to keep up with an excited tour guide named Scott all so he could share that moment with his little girl. I was able to take their picture as they embraced and smiled as only a father and daughter do when they are together. I was able to go to a Tennessee Football game.

Seventy straight games.

Wins over Florida, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Arkansas and more.

Overtime thrillers and last-second chillers.

Three head coaches and more players than I could begin to count.

But most importantly, one father and one daughter; sharing one moment that may not be able to be repeated, but will certainly be remembered….forever.

It’s the 94th installment in one of the SEC’s and college football’s greatest rivalries. Called the “Third Saturday in October” even if it’s not always played then, the annual matchup between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Crimson Tide of Alabama is one of those Grandpa Games. It’s one of those games that you probably heard about first from your grandfather.

Great coaches like Robert Neyland, Bear Bryant, Johnny Majors, Gene Stallings and Philip Fulmer have walked the sideline of this annual matchup. Played every year since 1928 except for the World War 2 season of 1943, this game is a measuring stick for players, coaches and fans alike. Tennessee trails in the all-time series which stands at 48 wins for Alabama, 38 wins for Tennessee and 7 ties. The only time Tennessee has led the series was after the 20-7 win in 1960 which gave Tennessee a 19 win-18 loss and-6 tie advantage.

This year’s matchup will be played in Tuscaloosa Alabama for only the 10th time. Tennessee and Alabama played in Knoxville for the first time in 1909, a game won by the Crimson Tide. The series in Alabama’s home state was played mostly in Birmingham with the Crimson Tide holding a 21-16-5 edge at Legion Field.

There were many storylines surrounding the series in its early years from 1901 to 1914. The first matchup was won in 1901 by Alabama and fans of both teams were so unruly the series was suspended for two seasons. Riots toward officials after the game in 1909 brought another suspended period and the start of the game was suspended due the protested use of an Alabama player who had played professional baseball in 1914. That game, won by the Volunteers proved to be the last in the series until 1928 when both schools were announcing to the nation that they were programs to be feared.

The series had become a ping pong match of late with no team being able to post three straight wins until Alabama won the last game played in Tuscaloosa and then added last year’s win in Knoxville. The Crimson Tide are looking to win five in a row in the series for the first time since the Vols did it from 97 to 2001 as part of a seven game win streak. Since the series restarted in 1928 the teams have traded three game win streaks or more, 10 times with the longest win streak being owned by the Crimson Tide at 11 from 1971 until the Vols 35-28 win in 1982.

The end of that game in 1982 saw the goal posts tumble at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee had sent the message that they were no longer the whipping boys for the Crimson Tide. The World’s Fair was in town that season and after the game jubilation from the Vol faithful was unmatched by even the happiest child that’s ever been on a fairground midway. This one game was so important for the Tennessee Volunteers that the radio broadcast by legends John Ward and Bill Anderson were playing on the Volunteer Network’s phone lines when callers were placed on hold during the 1986 season. Tennessee overcame deficits of 11 and 9 points and held off three passes into the end zone during the final minute to win the game.

This series is played by men with intensity and desire that most people would find hard to understand. A classic example of such willpower comes from the 1913 game where some say Tennessee tackle S.D. “Bull” Bayer bit the ear off of opposing Crimson Tide tackle W.T. “Bully” Vandegraaff. According to Bayer however, Vandegraaff’s ear had a nasty cut at its top, bleeding and dangling from his head. The ear got caught on Bayer’s pants and Vandegraaff was so incensed that he jumped to his feet and attempted to rip the ear from his head. Teammates stopped Bully however and after a manager bandaged what was left of the ear, Bully stayed in the game. Bull later remarked that he had never seen anything like it again in his years of football. His opponent wanted to rip the ear from his own head so that he could stay in the game against Tennessee.

As we near this weekend’s matchup and talk of this season’s teams flow from the mouths of broadcasters and fans do yourself a favor and stop to realize just what this game means. It means more than this weekend’s final outcome. It means more than passing stats and head coach’s records. THIS game, the third Saturday in October that will be played on 2011’s fourth Saturday in October is a microcosm of tradition and emotion.

As Al Browning wrote, “It is a war of fierce intensity and many intangibles make it more colorful than the leaves that wave in the cool breezes when games are played in Knoxville and more hospitable than the annual pregame gathering of fans from both programs near Denny Chimes on the quadrangle when games are played in Tuscaloosa. There is pride, at times too much. There is respect. And, of course, there is tradition, loads of it.”

Death of a Fan Base: Tennessee’s Fans, Not Coach, Are Ones On The Hot Seat
by Scott Felts

I haven’t sat down to write about the Vols since November first of last season. That makes me, part of the problem. Granted I have been to sixty seven straight home games. I have my vehicle covered bumper to bumper in Tennessee checkerboards and orange and white and I did once propose marriage in the north end zone of Neyland Stadium. But in my opinion I’ve felt my fandom slip in the past few seasons. Chances are, if you’ll be big enough to admit it, yours has too.

As Tennessee fans, we have experienced six years of absolute hell. More years than that to be honest, but every article has to have a starting point, and I choose the season that saw the Vols have a 5-6 record for the first time in 17 years as mine. The average attendance in 2005 was second in the country for Tennessee at 107,593.

Maybe this is where your fandom started to slip. Maybe it was your friend or brother who started to falter first. Maybe the guy down the street that always had the Tennessee flag up, stopped hanging it. In 2006 Tennessee’s attendance dropped to 105,789 and fell to third in the country.

Maybe it was after that. Maybe you hung on just a few more years until the really bad things started happening. After all, the Vols were in the SEC Championship Game in 2007, leading in the fourth quarter. If you waivered in 05, chances are you stepped it back up in 2007. Attendance at Neyland didn’t show that though. It dropped again, this time to 103,918 and forth in the country.

So, let us look to 2008, November 3rd to be exact. Phil Fulmer and Mike Hamilton sit at a table underneath Neyland Stadium and announce that Fulmer will not return as head coach in 2009. After a 152-52 record, 2 SEC Championships and a National Championship, Tennessee lost its favorite son. It also lost more fans. 101,448 was the average attendance in 2008.

Late 2008, December 1st to be exact, Tennessee announced the hiring of Lane Kiffin. Excitement was at an all-time high in 2009. Fans were pouring back into the fold for Tennessee right? They might have been scooping up visors once only worn by arch nemesis Steve Spurrier, but they weren’t coming to football games. The average attendance at Neyland dropped under 100,000 for the first time since that many seats were available, to 99,220 and fifth in the country.

Is this when you started slipping? Was it the two blocked kicks at Alabama on October 24th 2009? How about when the NCAA first started investigating the University for “Hostess Gate” on December 8th 2009?

Maybe football wasn’t even the final straw. On January 1st 2010, just hours after the football team lost to the Virginia Tech Hokies, four Tennessee basketball players were arrested on multiple drug and gun related charges.

Eleven days later, Lane Kiffin leaves Tennessee and takes most of his coaching staff with him. They try to take recruits that haven’t yet made it to class in Knoxville. Between players that left when Fulmer did, were ran off by Kiffin, and then left after Kiffin, the Vols football team has more holes in it than a John Chavis third down defense.

Three days after Kiffin leaves, Mike Hamilton hires Derek Dooley from Louisiana Tech after reportedly being turned down by several coaches at other schools. Dooley, a likeable southern gentleman with a coaching pedigree has only seventeen wins and twenty losses in his head coaching record when he joins the Tennessee family. Many fans jump ship at this point, while others stay on board, but plan their mutiny.

Early in the 2010 football season, basketball coach Bruce Pearl holds a press conference to announce he has lied to the NCAA. He is self-punished by the school, fined and even cries at his press conference, four days before committing another violation which ultimately seals his fate and leads to his eventual firing.

All during this time, the Tennessee baseball team, once able to make trips to the College World Series, can’t make it to the SEC Tournament and eventually loses its head coach because of the futility.

The 2010 Football Vols close out the season well and make it to a bowl game which they lose after the referees restart the game, giving North Carolina a chance to kick a field goal which sent the game into overtime. Average attendance did climb in 2010, all be it meagerly to 99,781, up 561 per game, but now 6th in the country and second in the SEC for the first time in many years.

So far this season the Vols have been over 100,000 fans only once and the 87,758 on a beautiful day October 1st is the lowest total fans to attend a game since the early 1990’s. The current per game average for this season is 94,770.

What do all these numbers mean? I know the country is in a financial crisis. I know there are people out of work, but I also know that doesn’t stop fans from going and seeing something that they are passionate about if they are still as passionate as they were ten years ago.

A lot has happened for Tennessee fans in the last six-plus years. There has been so much that the current players and coaching staff have had to and still have to overcome. But there is also something that hasn’t happened as much, and that is winning games. It’s not happening on the football field, the baseball diamond, and this season, it won’t happen as much on the hardwood.

There are new coaches in all three sports. There is a new Athletic Director. Hell, there is even a new school President. Now is not the time to put any of them on the “hot seat”. It took years to get Tennessee into this mess, and it is going to take years to climb back to the top.

This is where the line gets drawn. This is where you need to decide right now where you are as a fan. Each and every one of you reading this, and the thousands that won’t ever see it are the ones whose seats are hot. This is when you decide if you are ready to ride out the tough times and enjoy the fruits later on, or if you want to move on to a school or team that is winning games now, because let us be honest, there are a lot of “fans” that will only put that sweatshirt on after a win. There are a lot of “fans” that will only drive to Knoxville when the game seems winnable. There are a lot of “fans” that not only aren’t “Giving Their All”, but they are simply giving up.

The Volunteers got their name because Tennesseans were willing to go to war for somebody else. Tennesseans were willing to march halfway across the country and fight Mexico so that Texas could join the United States and people there could have what Tennesseans had.

Don’t worry about whether the coach deserves his salary, or the players deserve their playing time. Worry about whether you deserve to call yourself a Volunteer. Will you go to war figuratively for Tennessee? Will you, through the way you support your team show other team’s fans what we have here in Tennessee? Will you “Give Your All” for Tennessee or will you just give up?

That fire you see isn’t burning to send a message to your coach. That smoke that you smell rolling through the Smokey Mountains isn’t for your coach. That heat you feel isn’t on his seat, it’s on yours. Don’t get burned Vol Nation. Stand up, be proud and be most of all, be Volunteers!

Stokely Athletic Center Seatbacks!

Vol fans, here is your chance to own a piece of University of Tennessee history!

Seatbacks removed from Stokely Athletic Center that saw the likes of Pat Summitt, Ray Mears, Ernie & Bernie, as well as, Elvis and many more are available to you for 50% off. Originally sold for $119, seatbacks are available Thursday April 21st and April 22nd for a price of $59.50. Offer limited to the first 750 fans that purchase.

Do not miss you chance at this limited offer!

Enter Coupon Code: BIGDUNK when you get to the checkout

While on Tradingo.com, be sure to check out the seats on the Stokely Store and bleacher seats from Neyland Stadium on the Big Orange Store.

Seatbacks are perfect for:
1. Gift for that Vol & Lady Vol fan
2. Placing in a shadow box
3. Mounting on a wall
4. Mother’s Day Present
5. Father’s Day Present
6. Take to games to get autographed by your favorite Vol or Lady Vol players and coaches

Note: Proceeds of all sales support University of Tennessee Athletics

GO VOLS & LADY VOLS!!

The Stokely Athletic Center is a historic on-campus facility at the University of Tennessee.

Prior to the opening of Thompson-Boling Arena in 1987, it was home to the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the Lady Vol volleyball team. It replaced Alumni Gymnasium, a 3,200-seat arena-auditorium built in 1931 which had hosted the SEC basketball tournament four times (1936, ’37, ’39 and ’40).

Originally named the Armory-Fieldhouse, Stokely was built in 1958 to accommodate larger on-campus crowds. It originally housed 7,800 people in the elongated building, with permanent seating in the west end and temporary seating lining the rest of the arena, which was also used for the ROTC, indoor track, and other events.

However, by the mid-1960s the fieldhouse was already becoming obsolete for its size. A $500,000 gift from industrialist William B. Stokely was the impetus for an expansion to the final size of 12,700 in 1966, when the building was renamed for Mr. Stokely and his family.

Stokely was the home of many great UT teams, including several SEC titles. It also served as the home of the women’s basketball team from midway through the 1976-77 season until the end of the 1986-87 season, which was also the year of their first NCAA women’s basketball championship. The NCAA Mideast regionals were also hosted in the arena.

Probably one of more memorable basketball games played at Stokely didn’t even involve a Tennessee team. The NCAA Mideast Regional Final (AKA “The Dream Game”) was played there on March 26, 1983, with Louisville beating Kentucky 80-68 in overtime. It was the first game between the two since the 1959 NCAA tournament.

Stokely was also one of Knoxville’s premier concert venues during its heyday. The “King” Elvis Presley appeared at Stokely on April 8, 1972, March 15, 1974 and May 20, 1977.

Send in your fondest memory of Stokely for a chance to win a Stokely Single Arena Chair.