UTVols News and Opinions

Welcome to Coach Scooter’s College Football Diary! Here are the latest happenings in Big Orange Country, starting with the post season honors that have come tumbling in, to what the latest is on the recruiting front.

Sears and Meachem named to the AP All-America team

Tennessee’s Arron Sears and Robert Meachem continued receiving notice Tuesday as two of the nation’s best offensive players. Both were chosen 2006 All-America by the Associated Press, with Sears earning second-team honors and Meachem tabbed for third team.

An All-America offensive tackle from Russellville, Ala., Sears also was named the Jacobs Award winner, which goes to the best lineman in the SEC.

“The Jacobs Award goes to the best lineman in the SEC, and that is a great accomplishment for me,” Sears said. “I had an OK year by my standards, but I guess the coaches thought I played pretty well.”

Meachem set a Tennessee season record this year with 1,265 receiving yards on 67 catches thus far and hauled in 11 touchdown passes. The Tulsa, Okla., junior leads the SEC and is third nationally with a 105.4-yard receiving average.

Six Vols named to the All-SEC team

Tennessee landed six players -- two offense, two defense and two special teams -- on the Coaches’ 2006 All-Southeastern Conference squad, it was announced Tuesday.

Senior offensive tackle Arron Sears and junior wide receiver Robert Meachem represented the Vols offense with first-team selections. Sears was named to the first team for the second consecutive year. Senior placekicker James Wilhoit and sophomore punter Britton Colquitt also earned first-team honors, while defensive backs Jonathan Hefney, a junior, and Jonathan Wade, a senior, were second-team picks for the defense.

Sears earned his second consecutive double selection as a first-team, All-SEC selection by both the coaches and Associated Press. He also was named last week a first-team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association and Rivals.com, and is contending for the Jacobs Award as the SEC's top blocker.

Meachem, too, was a first-team All-America pick by Rivals.com and a first-team, all-league choice by the media. The junior from Tulsa, Okla., set a Tennessee season record this year with 1,265 receiving yards on 67 catches thus far and hauled in 11 touchdown passes. Meachem leads the SEC and is third nationally with a 105.4-yard per game receiving average.

Wilhoit and Colquitt matched their first-team, All-SEC special teams status by members of the media.

Colquitt leads the SEC and ranks eighth nationally with a 45.0-yard punting average. He has 16 punts downed inside 20 this year versus only four touchbacks. The sophomore from Knoxville was incredibly consistent in 2006, averaging at least 41 yards per punt in 10 of 11 games this season.

Wilhoit is the SEC's active scoring leader with 321 career points. His will finish his career second on UT's all-time scoring list and is five points from tying for sixth on the SEC chart. The Hendersonville senior also leads the league with a 7.7-point scoring average, having connected on 17-of-21 field goals and 41 extra-points.

Hefney has five interceptions in his last nine games to improve to third in the SEC. Tennessee's leading returning tackler from 2005 has taken over the team lead this year as well with 93 total hits, good enough sixth in the league. In addition, the Rock Hill, S.C., junior stands fourth in the SEC in punt returns with a 12.8-yard average.

Wade leads the SEC and is eighth nationally with 17 passes defensed. His recent interception against Vanderbilt was his fourth this season. A senior from Shreveport, La., Wade was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against South Carolina, where he had a hand in stopping three Gamecock drives.

Both Hefney and Wade also were named to the All-SEC second team by media representatives.

McNeil and Coker make the Sporting News Freshman All-America team

Tennessee has a couple of pretty good Freshman players, according to the Sporting News, as center Josh McNeil and tailback LaMarcus Coker were named to the 2006 Freshman All-America squad. McNeil was named to the second team, with Coker gaining an honorable mention nod.

Just this week, McNeil was the only player to be a unanimous selection to the SEC Coaches All-Freshman Team. McNeil made eight starts in 11 games, taking over the starting position in the fifth game of the season against Memphis. He was part of an offensive line unit that allowed only 17 sacks (third-fewest in the league) against 378 pass attempts (second-most in the league). The Collins, Miss., native was also named Freshman All-America by Rivals.com.

Coker, too, was an SEC Coaches All-Freshman choice after an explosive season. He finished the regular season as the leading freshman rusher and seventh overall among SEC ball carriers with an average of 66.0 yards per game. The Antioch native already owns two of the four longest runs in UT history, despite playing in only 10 games because of an injury. He was named second team Freshman All-America by Rivals.com.

McNeil, Coker and McCoy named to the SEC All-Freshman team

Tennessee redshirt freshman center Josh McNeil was the only player to be a unanimous selection to the seventh annual SEC Coaches All-Freshman Team as announced by the Southeastern Conference office. The Volunteers were one of seven league teams to place three players on the team as tailback LaMarcus Coker and linebacker Rico McCoy were also named to the squad.

All 12 schools were represented with Kentucky leading the way with four selections. SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Championship Game MVP Percy Harvin of Florida also received a spot on the annual listing.

McNeil made eight starts in 11 games, taking over the starting position in the fifth game of the season against Memphis. He was part of an offensive line unit that allowed only 17 sacks (third-fewest in the league) against 378 pass attempts (second-most in the league). The Collins, Miss., native was also named Freshman All-America by Rivals.com.

One of the most explosive runners in the conference was Coker who finished the regular season as the leading freshman rusher and seventh overall among SEC ball carriers with average of 66.0 yards per game. He rushed for a season-high 146 yards that included the third-longest rush in UT history when he broke free for an 89-yard TD. The Antioch native became first player in UT history to have two runs over 80 yards when he ran 87 yards for a score against Vanderbilt. He was also named second team Freshman All-America by Rivals.com.

McCoy saw his first collegiate action in the win over California garnering two tackles. He played in all 12 games, registering 36 tackles (27 solo). The Washington, D.C., native posted solid performances in the final two games of the season by making three tackles for loss against Vanderbilt followed by a career-high nine tackles and forced fumble versus Kentucky.

Vols resume practice under the “Saturday Night Lights”

Tennessee returned to the practice field Saturday for the first time since concluding its 2006 regular season with a 9-3 record. The Vols worked for 90 minutes inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center as preparations began for their Outback Bowl meeting against Penn State.

“It was good for us to get back to practicing again,” head coach Phillip Fulmer said. “Our coaches have been on the road recruiting and the players have been getting ready for finals, so I was glad to see them again as a whole.”

Fulmer also said he was eager to get the message across that the season-ending win over Kentucky was not very pretty.

“I came in the Sunday after that game and it looked about as bad as we’ve played all year,” Fulmer said. “Kentucky did some good things, but I was eager to get back to the practice field and get their attention. We had some difficulties with injuries and stuff, but we’re a better football team than we showed in the last ballgame. I’m challenging them to show that in preparation for Penn State during our time here in Knoxville.”

Fulmer said the Vols will work on an extended amount of fundamentals during their 10 days of campus workouts, holding what amounts to a mini-spring practice for the younger team members. Topping the agenda will be a full-contact scrimmage under the Neyland Stadium lights.

“Next Saturday night we’ll have ‘Saturday Night Lights,’” Fulmer said. “We’re going to have a good scrimmage at the stadium so that we will have played football before we get to the Jan. 1 ballgame. We did a really good job with that (two years ago) versus Texas A&M before the Cotton Bowl and I want the same type of mentality by getting better during this bowl time.”

Tennessee practices again Sunday before taking two days off for final exams. The Vols will practice once a day Dec. 13-20 before breaking for the Christmas holidays. The Vols will stage 10 single-day workouts before beginning their holiday break the afternoon of Dec. 20. The team reconvenes the night of Dec. 25 in Tampa, with practices at the University of South Florida set to begin Dec. 26.

Parker to miss bowl game; will return in the spring

Tennessee head athletic trainer Jason McVeigh reports that sophomore offensive guard Anthony Parker has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

“He will not play in the bowl game,” McVeigh said. “He is expected to make a full recovery and, although he may not be ready by the start of spring practice, he should be able to participate on a limited basis at some point during spring drills.”

Tennessee is slated to begin 2007 spring practice in late February, with the Orange and White Game scheduled for March 31.


Charlie Daniels to perform at the Outback Bowl

Game officials announced Monday that legendary country superstar Charlie Daniels will perform the National Anthem at the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day. The college football bowl game will matches Tennessee against Penn State in front of a sellout crowd at Raymond James Stadium.

“The Outback Bowl has a reputation for its dazzling DeBartolo Pregame Show that includes college bands, dancers, military fly-bys and sky divers,” Outback Bowl President/CEO Jim McVay said. “Charlie Daniels’ addition as our anthem singer makes our presentation even more spectacular for the fans.”

Daniels, known for his fiddle playing, has been a music icon for more than 40 years and has become an integral part of the American popular culture. CDB music, as Daniels likes to call it, is an exhilarating mixture of rock, country, bluegrass, blues, and gospel. Although geared to the mindset of the southern lifestyle, Daniels strikes a chord with all Americans since his music at times can be rebel rousing with the spirit that embraces the American ideal.

Although having the CDB will be great for Vol fans, Aunt Molly contracted a case of the RA (Red Ass) because she wanted Con Hunley to perform at the bowl game. "Nothing against CDB, but I have had a crush on Con Hunley ever since he performed on the Jerry Lewis Telethon in '78," she told me through the tears on the phone earlier today. This ought to be an interesting Christmas with the family when we go to Knoxville for Christmas...

(Thanks – John Painter, UT SID Office, Inside Tennessee.com)

Vol Recruiting

The Irish are Coming! The Irish are coming! It was reported that Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis was in Knoxville to look over prized prospect Harrison Smith of Knoxville Catholic. While Coach Weis did not leave with what he came to town for, which was a commitment from Smith, the news was not all happy for the Vols because the safety did not tell him no either.

I have seen Smith play and I can tell you he has great size combined with great speed and that is a plus in any defensive backfield. He personally tore up Kingston to the tune of 192 yards rushing, including a 93 yards touchdown run in the Irish 28-7 victory. Word is Smith likes the Irish over the Vols, but anything cane happen in the recruiting process, so stay tuned.

Scout .com Recruiting Rankings as of 12/12/06

Team Rankings

Rank School
1. Texas
2. Florida
3. Georgia
4. Michigan
5. Georgia Tech
6. Virginia Tech
7. USC
8. Auburn
9. West Virginia
10. Tennessee

The Vols picked up a verbal commitment from a couple four star players as four star players DeAngelo Willingham (College of the Desert), who is a cornerback and wide receiver Kenny O'Neal told Coach Fulmer they would be wearing the orange and white this fall.

Keep an eye on Marvin Austin, a five star defensive tackle from Washington D.C., who I have mentioned before. The Vols have made him an offer and are battling schools such as: Florida State, USC and Maryland for his services. Also high on the Vols radar is Chris Donald, a five star strong side linebacker who appears to have UT high on his radar. Word has it he is more than just a casual observer to what is going on in Big Orange Country. Both players are ranked #1 at their positions on the national level.

Another player ranked first nationally is Creekside High (Fairburn, GA) cornerback Eric Berry. He also plays QB so it might be possible Coach Fulmer and the staff has given him a look at both positions to see which one he would settle into if he comes to Knoxville. His interest level in Big Orange Country is high, however, Auburn, Georgia, Ohio State, USC, Florida, and Miami (Fl) are also interested. It could be quite a coup to get him to Knoxville with that kind of competition hovering around.

The news is better on Rivals.com as Jamie Newberg’s site has the Vols ranked fifth, and have two five star players heading to Knoxville. The players are Brent Vinson, an Athlete prospect from Chatham, Virginia, and Kenny O’Neil, a wide receiver from San Francisco.

Here are the updated recruiting rankings on Rivals.com as of 12/12/06:

School
1 Texas
2 LSU
3 Georgia
4 Florida
5 Tennessee
6 Notre Dame
7 Michigan
8 Auburn
9 USC
10 Nebraska

All right Vol fans, keep one eye on the Outback Bowl, and the other on recruiting. If all falls right, UT can have another ten win year and a high finish in recruiting, and that would be a tremendous capper to a season nobody thought was going to be very strong. Until next time Vol fans, rub those orange and white rosary beads, repeat your game maxims, and never take Coach Fulmer’s name in vain. Go Vols!