Today on Rocky Top: Peyton Manning Coaching, Rick Barnes Scheduling, Softball Postseason

Rick Barnes’s scheduling goals for Tennessee basketball and Tennessee softball beginning postseason play headline the Vols’ news on Rocky Top for Thursday.

Happy Thursday to all of Vol Nation. The summer is inching closer and closer, and one of the signs of that is the heart of the postseason on the college diamond.

That diamond is obviously softball in this scenario, which is part of the Tennessee Vols’ news for Thursday, May 12. There’s also some news about how Rick Barnes wants to schedule opponents due to his perception of where Tennessee basketball should be.

But let’s start with some Peyton Manning news.

Is Peyton Manning’s future back in Knoxville? – Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report

"I keep hearing that Peyton Manning wants to coach his alma mater. Over and over, I hear it from NFL people I trust. I don’t know if it’s accurate. It seems too neat and tidy to be true.One thing is certain: Manning doesn’t seem to be in too big a hurry to be a television analyst."

Tennessee softball begins SEC Tournament vs South Carolina Gamecocks – UTSports

"The regular season has come to an end which means it’s time for postseason softball as Tennessee prepares to begin SEC Tournament play Thursday at noon ET in Starkville, Miss.The third-seeded Volunteers with take on No. 11 seed South Carolina in the quarterfinals after the Gamecocks upset No. 6 seed Missouri on Wednesday."

Rick Barnes wants Vols Basketball to play a Top 10 schedule – Wes Rucker of 247Sports

"Barnes said adding programs like North Carolina, Gonzaga, Georgia Tech and others — and others are coming — to the schedule was never an option in his mind. He said it was a necessity for the Vols, even if their roster wasn’t initially up to that standard.“We want to be a national program,” Barnes told the crowd at Tuesday’s annual Big Orange Caravan stop in the Nashville area. “To be a national program, you’ve got to play national teams.”"