Today On Rocky Top: Vols Working To Improve Pass Rush
By Zach Ragan
Oct 19, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Danny O
From WDEF
"Tennessee has posted the fewest sacks in the Southeastern Conference each of the last two years and has averaged only 17 sacks over the last three seasons. Now the Volunteers must replace all four starting defensive linemen from last year’s team.Last year’s results underscore the necessity of an improved pass rush. The Vols had 14 sacks in their five wins and only four sacks in their seven losses.Tennessee doesn’t have anyone who recorded more than 1 ½ sacks last season or who has more than 4 ½ sacks in his career.The Vols believe they’ll have an improved pass rush this year. The return of linebacker Curt Maggitt from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and the potential of sophomore defensive end Corey Vereen offer cause for optimism."
From The Times Free Press
"The date was March 4, 1980. As many college kids did in those days, my friend Ben phoned his parents in Naples, Fla., that Sunday to converse while the rates were low.His father asked him how his weekend had gone. Ben said it had been nothing special, that he’d just hung around Centre College’s Danville, Ky., campus catching up on some schoolwork.A long silence kidnapped the other end of the line, followed by the following question: “So that wasn’t you I saw at the SEC tournament last night? Because it sure looked a lot like you.”Busted. But what fun. Having been mere fans at the renewal of the SEC tourney inside that same Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in 1979, my college buddies and I turned it up a notch that following spring.Read More at The Times Free Press"
From The Times Free Press
"Danny O’Brien learned plenty during his first season of playing in the Southeastern Conference in 2013.The Tennessee defensive tackle probably took more from his offseason arrest.One of the few returning players with experience at a premium position in the nation’s toughest conference, O’Brien is an important player for the Volunteers this spring, and the third-year sophomore said following Tuesday’s practice that he learned an important lesson following his arrest at a party last month.“Honestly, I’ve looked at it as a whole entire learning experience,” O’Brien said in his first interview since the incident. “I’m glad it happened. It taught me a life lesson that I’ll know forever. A lot of the stuff that went on in the media and stuff like that, I tried to block that out. Now we can just focus on playing football and getting past all that.”Read More at The Times Free Press"