Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report

Today On Rocky Top: Vols Years From Where They Need To Be

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From Bleacher Report

"From the way he rushes restlessly around practice to the meticulous mapping out of every offseason day, it’s obvious Tennessee football coach Butch Jones doesn’t like to wait.Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Vol Nation, long-dormant football programs aren’t rebuilt overnight.The second-year top Volunteer has a plan with a purpose and the promise of prominence. But from behind the desk of his posh Anderson Training Center office, he told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview last week that the blueprint’s fruition will require the one resource that runs narrower than a Rocky Top mountain stream:Patience.“I know we live in an instant-gratification society—I’m as impatient as anybody,” Jones said. “But we’re a work in progress. We’re going to be the youngest team in the country playing a top-five schedule in the country, and that’s why it’s important to focus on the task at hand and the process.Read more at Bleacher Report"

From The Times Free Press

"Butch Jones is in his 18 month as Tennessee’s football coach.His first season with the Volunteers ended 5-7 and short of a bowl game and included an upset of South Carolina for the program’s first win against a ranked opponent since 2009.Off the field, Jones has helped Tennessee navigate its way out of an Academic Progress Rate mess that was dangerously close to incurring similar penalties to the ones levied on Oklahoma State this week.The Vols continue to recruit well and have followed up a top-five 2014 class with a solid start to 2015.It looks like Jones has Tennessee, a program that’s had six losing seasons since 2004, heading in the right direction, and the fan base seems to be believing, based on the crowd of more than 68,000 that showed up for a practice masquerading as the Orange and White Game and the impressive turnouts for three Big Orange Caravan stops so far.What Jones’ teams do on the field always will be the truest barometer, and his second season provides a chance for the program to take its next step.Read more at the Times Free Press"

From the Columbia Daily Herald

"The Columbia American Legion Post 19 “First Pitch” banquet on Saturday, May 31, will have a “Big Orange” flavor.Bob Kesling, the play-by-play voice for the University of Tennessee sports network, will be the guest speaker for the 6 p.m. event at the American Legion building at 812 Nashville Highway.Kesling was named the director of broadcasting and lead play-by-play voice of the Vol Network in July of 1999 and is heard on Tennessee football and basketball on 70 plus station Vol Network.In addition to coaches TV shows, he also does play-by-play for Tennessee baseball and Lady Vol basketball on the Vol Television Network carried by Fox Sportsouth. Kesling serves as the host for the Vol Network’s weekly hour long state-wide radio call-in show Vol Calls and the Big Orange Hotline during the football season.There will be a “meet and greet” session at 5 p.m. with Kesling present to talk Vols sports with those who qualify for the opportunity.Table sponsorship will be available eight and the cost is $400. Two people from each sponsored table will have a chance to share time with Kesling. Refreshments will be provided.Read more at the Columbia Daily Herald"