Today On Rocky Top: Year Of Change For Vols

Nov 30, 2013; Lexington, KY, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Devrin Young (19) catches a pass against the Kentucky Wildcats in the second half at Commonwealth Stadium. Tennessee defeated Kentucky 27-14. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

From The Daily News Journal

"Down the hall from coach Butch Jones’ office at the Neyland Thompson Center is a large interior room where Tennessee’s future is plotted and imagined.Whiteboards climb to the ceiling. Tennessee’s roster is arranged by magnetized name cards, sorted by position. Recruits occupy the adjacent wall. Other SEC teams are monitored on a third wall.Staff members jot notes and ideas with dry erase markers, drawing arrows to connect players and positions.This is the nerve center of Tennessee football, and for the last 12 months it has been a war room of sorts for Jones’ rebuilding of the program."

From Bleacher Report

"The fall of Tennessee’s football program didn’t happen overnight.Instead, a series of poor decisions dating back to the Volunteers’ heyday during the late 1990s and early 2000s contributed to the current state of the program. The result is that a team which was once one of the nation’s strongest is 33-41 since 2008 with one winning season and four head coaches."

From Fox 17

"A person familiar with the situation says Duke offensive coordinator Kurt Roper has agreed to take the same position with Florida.    The person spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday night on condition of anonymity because the hiring has not been announced.    ESPN was the first to report the selection."