Tradingo Blog

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.