Today On Rocky Top: Vols Eliminate APR Issue
By Zach Ragan
Oct 14, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones speaks with media during the announcement that the Tennessee Volunteers and Virginia Tech Hokies will play a football game on Sep. 10, 2016 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
"The biggest news from Tennessee’s Tuesday practice may not have been related to football at all.The NCAA’s academic progress rate (APR), is in layman’s terms, a way for the NCAA to track how well schools are keeping athletes enrolled and in good academic standing. Schools earn points when players stay in school and stay eligible. They lose points when they leave in poor academic standing.Each summer the NCAA releases APR data for every school. In June, the Vols’ scores from 2008-09 through 2011-12 were released. They scored a 924. The NCAA’s threshold for participating in postseason play is 900, but next year will rise to 930. The Vols’ bowl eligibility for next season was in doubt, pending the 2012-13 score.After practice on Tuesday, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones put those doubts to rest.“I’m really, really proud to tell you we’ve been informed by the NCAA that we have made the APR,” Jones said. “And we’ll have no APR issues moving forward. This is an issue since Day 1 since we walked in here as a coaching staff, that our opponents have used against us in the recruitment process. We were informed by the NCAA that we made that.”"
From the Times Union
"Tennessee coachButch Jones remembers when he thought he might be coaching Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk instead of trying to stop him.Jones recruited Mauk during his stint as Cincinnati’s coach. Mauk was a record-setting quarterback at Kenton (Ohio) High School, about 130 miles northeast of Cincinnati. His older brother Ben had played for the Bearcats under Brian Kelly, who preceded Jones as Cincinnati’s coach before leaving for Notre Dame."
From Rant Sports
"Josh Dobbs will make his first career start for Tennessee this weekend at Missouri after the true freshman came in the second half in the Volunteers’ loss at Alabama after Justin Worley was injured.Worley will be out for a month after surgery on his thumb which made the decision to start Dobbs an easy one considering the other options, Riley Ferguson (likely redshirting) and Nathan Peterman, are recovering from injuries."
From Bleacher Report
"The Tennessee football program already was teetering on the brink of making a coaching move when Missouri rolled into Knoxville last year.A four-overtime, 51-48 victory by the Tigers put yet another nail in Derek Dooley’s ultimate big orange coffin. Mizzou quarterback James Franklin found then-freshmanDorial Green-Beckham for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 47 seconds left to send the game into overtime.After regulation ended, neither team could stop the other. Both scored touchdowns on their first three extra-session possessions. Neither could complete the necessary two-point conversion in the third overtime.The Vols failed on fourth down in the fourth overtime, and Missouri’s Andrew Baggettkicked a field goal for the win."