Dark Cloud Hanging Over Vols?
By Zach Ragan
It hasn’t been a good week for Vols football.
But if you’re a Twitter user or someone that frequents message boards, you already knew that.
On top of Tennessee losing another game in which they led by double digits, the Volunteers are also dealing with “punch gate”.
Reports surfaced this week of an alleged altercation during fall camp between Butch Jones and offensive lineman Mack Crowder.
Jones was asked about the altercation on Monday and responded that the allegations were “absolutely ridiculous”.
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Crowder’s father declined to comment about the allegations to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Wes Rucker of 247Sports says, according to sources, that something definitely happened at a practice before the season, but couldn’t confirm what exactly went down.
I hate to speculate on the nature of what happened, but to me it sounds like a typical heated practice moment. These things happen.
If it was something as serious as some are making it out to be, it would’ve been dealt with. In this day and age, with social media and all the people that are present for an entire practice, it would be nearly impossible to bury something that serious. It would also be incredibly stupid.
I’m sure we’ll learn more in the coming days. It’s a situation worth monitoring, but I tend to think it’s something that will soon go away.
Vols Hit The Practice Field
Saturday’s game against Georgia is essentially a must-win for the Volunteers at this point (as have been the past few games).
It’s going to be very interesting to see how Tennessee responds to the adversity currently facing them.
There were mixed reviews as to how the players responded on Tuesday. Some media members that were present for the open portion of practice said the mood was very “subdued” and different than usual.
Really weird vibe at practice today. Body language wasn't great. Butch, for the first time I can remember, wasn't on the mic. Eerily quiet.
— Reed Carringer (@ReedCarringer) October 6, 2015
Just wrapped up with some assistant coaches after practice, one I have to say noticeably lacked energy when we were there.
— Patrick Brown (@pbrown247) October 6, 2015
Wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni, however, had a different view of how practice went.
AZZANNI: I thought today was one of our best Tuesday practices in a while. Yesterday was outstanding as well.
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) October 6, 2015
Keep in mind that the media doesn’t see all of practice, just a small portion. But also keep in mind that there’s no way that anyone associated with the football program is going to say anything but positive things about the team right now.
This is an incredibly important week for the Vols. How they respond this week will say a lot about the future of the program. If Jones and his staff can get the team to keep their focus and intensity, then they might be able to turn the corner sooner rather than later.
Saturday against Georgia could tell us more about the state of Tennessee football than anything we’ve seen so far this season.
Whether that turns out to be good or bad remains to be seen.