ESPN Shows the Vols Some Love; Brock Huard Praises Neyland Stadium

Jul 17, 2013; Hoover, AL, USA; ESPN prepares to talk with Texas A

Tennessee fans are used to being slighted by ESPN.

The leading sports network will often times leave the Vols out of that top tier of SEC teams. As a result the Vols see less coverage on ESPN.

On Wednesday, at SEC Media Days, as Butch Jones was prepared to take center stage, ESPN turned their full attention to the Volunteers.

Most of the talk about Tennessee was very positive, although David Pollack had some doubts about Tennessee’s possible recruiting success in Georiga, but I digress.

College football insider Brett McMurphy said he believes Butch Jones, in the long run, will be the most successful of the new SEC coaches that were hired this off-season. McMurphy also said he thinks Jones will return the Vols to national prominence and compete for national championships.

McMurphy wasn’t the only analyst praising the Volunteers. Former University of Washington quarterback Brock Huard also had some encouraging words to say about Tennessee and where they stand in the SEC.

"There is no doubt in my mind that they’re [Tennessee] in the top third of the SEC."

Later in the broadcast Huard was asked rather Tennessee or Georgia could impress a recruit more, he went with the Big Orange.

"I  think you’re more wowed by Tennessee (over Georgia)………That place [Neyland Stadium] in unbelievable…100,000 plus in that orange, it’s right at the top of the SEC"

Huard also stated that he believed the Vols were right on par with what Florida has to offer.

The comments were responsible for a brief, tense moment, since former Georgia defensive end David Pollack was seated right beside Huard. He appeared to disagree with the notion that his alma mater wasn’t up to par with Tennessee. Other than that brief moment, Pollack had mostly positive things to say about Butch Jones and Tennessee.

ESPN may have been forced to give the Vols some coverage on Wednesday, but overall there was a very positive feeling surrounding the Vols on the network’s coverage.

Maybe this is a sign of things to come.

For more on the Vols make sure to follow along on Twitter @vols_zach and @AllforTennessee