Monday, January 15, 2007
Coach Scooter's College Football Diary Vol. 28
Well, not the way we would have liked the magical 2006 season to have gone as the Vols dropped a tough one to their old bowl game nemesis, Penn State, 20-10, in the Outback Bowl. Let's face it, out offensive and defensive lines were young, injured and not as good as the Lions, and that is what wins or loses games. Next year, the Vols should have healthy lines, and be deep too, so things in Knoxville are looking up, especially with another great recruiting class coming in.More on the bowls later, as breaking news came to Coach Scooter last night.
Tennessee Says Top Defender Is No Longer Enrolled
Demetrice Morley, one of more than two dozen high school athletes who exploi
ted loopholes in National Collegiate Athletic Association rules to qualify for a football scholarship, is no longer enrolled at the University of Tennessee.Morley's improbable jump in grade point average put him at the center of a scandal at University High School, a correspondence school in Miami that was found to be a diploma mill.
Morley, a sophomore starting safety, played in Tennessee's 20-10 loss to Penn State in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, but the university said in a news release Friday that he was no longer enrolled and was dismissed for not meeting the university's academic requirements.
"We have university standards that have to be met, or there will be consequences," Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said in a statement. "Our athletes have a tremendous support system at the University of Tennessee. The bottom line is he was not accountable for his own actions when he had every chance to succeed."
Attempts to reach Fulmer yesterday were unsuccessful.
Morley was considered the top player in talent-rich South Florida when he signed with the Volunteers in 2005. This season, he had 51 tackles and 2 interceptions.
(Thanks, NY Times)
Well, on a more positive note, congrats to Robert Meachem, consensus All-America wide receiver. We will miss you, Bobby!
Coach Scooter's Bowl game recaps
Best game - Hands down the Boise State-Oklahoma game was one of the most thrilling college football games I have ever seen. This contest had more twists and turns than Cake dancing with Babs in Everyone's All-American, which, by the way, is an all timer for college football movies. This should be mentioned as an all timer for college football games too.
Play the lottery, Urban - To Urban Meyer, who everyone is now touting as the world's greatest coach of the world's greatest college football team. The papers here in Atlanta wrote about how Florida will never lose another game in any sport and the rest of the SEC will drop out of the confrence because the Gators will be too good forever. Gee, it was one game against a Big Ten team that was flat. And everyone forgets the only reason why the Gators got in the game was USC's improbable loss to UCLA (And after watching the Trojans in the Rose Bowl, I don't know how they lost that game), and the efforts of Urban Cryer, who wined and complained until everyone got tired of hearing him complain so they voted his team into the title game. Here's a little secret, Urb, you won't win em' all, so enjoy this ride while it lasts, because it never does, especially in the SEC. By the way, I still can't figure out how the media came up with the Gators being champions in football and basketball in the same calendar year. The basketball Gators won the title in April of 2006, while the football Gators won the title in January of 2007. You figure it out.
Biggest dissapointment - Michigan, hands down. All the scribes who said the Wolverines didn't deserve to play for the national title were right. After seeing them mail it in against USC, they didn't deserve to play for the state title either.
Nice surprise - Taylor Bennett of Georgia Tech. When Reggie Ball was suspended, Sweetie was worried the Jackets wouldn't have a chance against West Virginia. I told her Bennett was much better than Ball and he would give them more of a chance to win rather than the walking nimrod who couldn't win a game down the stretch. Well, Coach Scooter was right, and even though Tech lost a close one, Sweetie was so happy with my prediction, as well as Bennett's play, she took me to Krispy Kreme after the game was over.
Team you don't want to play - USC. Speaking of a team that might not ever lose again, the Trojans are loaded again in 2007, so look out. They looked like my PS3 NCAA 2006 football game with me being the Trojans and the computer being Michigan set on the junior varisty level.
Best coach - Boise State's Chris Peterson's brilliant and creative game plan was a thing of beauty to watch.
How did they ever lose two? - LSU was the team nobody wanted to play towards the end of the 2006 season. It is a wonder the Vols lost on a last second TD pass after watching the Tigers mow down Arkansas and Notre Dame to finish in the top 5. They will be rough on everyone next year.
Best Bowl Game Commercial - I loved the Taco Bell ads with Carmen Electra. However, the chick I was digging was the one on the chair eating the burrito. She was much hotter than Carmen Electra, especially knowing she was once married to Dennis Rodman. The Dude made the right call by not taking Carmen bowling, and instead eat Taco Bell with the hottie inside. Good work my friend...
Recruiting
The Vols were still third on the Scout.com webpage, behind Florida and Texas. On Rivals.com, the Vols were second behind Texas. 
The Vols got a commitment from William Brimfield on January 14th. Brimfield, who de-committed from North Carolina, is a three star defensive tackle from Neeses, SC.
All right, Vol fans, that's it for this week. Join me next week for an updated look recruiting. Until then, Go Vols!!
