Tennessee Vols Morning Report: Peyton Manning Senate Rumors, Spring Practice, Lady Vols

Peyton Manning Senate rumors, spring practice, and the women’s Tennessee Vols in the NCAA Tournament lead the Volunteers news for Monday, March 20, 2017.

Happy first day of Spring everybody. The Tennessee Vols are flooding the news sites, and their men’s basketball team is not even in the NCAA Tournament!

As we get set to bring you the news on Rocky Top for the vernal equinox day, we have to recap lots of sporting events that took place over the weekend.

That includes baseball and softball plus other alternative sports.

Then we have the Lady Vols still in the heart of the NCAA Tournament. But of course, with football as king, there’s a lot of that to get to this week as well.

It centers around the start of spring practice and news about one legendary former Vol.

Let’s start with that rumor.

Peyton Manning a rumored candidate for Senate – Michael Collins, USA TODAY Network

Tennessee Vols legend Peyton Manning has been in the news as a potential candidate to replace Lamar Alexander’s senate seat in 2020. They are just rumors floating around at this point, but it would be an interesting post-football career for the Hall-of-Fame quarterback.

"“Everybody likes Peyton Manning, including me,” the senator said, chuckling, from his Senate office just across the street from the Capitol.One of the advantages of a six-year Senate term is you don’t have to worry every two years about whether you’re going to run for re-election, Alexander said."

Vols OC Larry Scott stressing chemistry ahead of spring – Ryan Callahan, GoVols247

Tennessee football head coach Butch Jones pretty much changed around his entire offensive staff this year. Only Robert Gillespie is in the same position. As a result, with spring practice set to begin, his group has a lot of work to do to develop some chemistry. New offensive coordinator Larry Scott stressed as much. Here is a quote from him in the story.

"“Chemistry is the number-one thing — for me, for Coach Jones, for us. You’ve got to have it in that room. We set out, (and) the whole object was to find the very best coaches that we can with very little egos, and to do that, you have to really do your homework and know what you’re getting yourself into.”"

George Whitfield praises Jarrett Guarantano – Grant Ramey, GoVols247

Redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano spent his spring break working with quarterback guru George Whitfield out in California last week. As he gets set to compete for the starting quarterback position, he drew specific praise from Whitfield in a tweet Sunday night.

"“Coolest surprise this wk? #Vols QB Jarrett Guarantano! Possessed a maturity respected by the vets. Arm talent is peerless. Loves his Vols!” Whitfield wrote."

Tennessee baseball swept by South Carolina – Mike Strange, Knoxville News Sentinel 

Dave Serrano’s team got hit with a dose of reality after their red-hot start to the season. They suffered a sweep at the hands of the Gamecocks over the weekend, and it culminated with a blowout loss specifically on Sunday.

"In the top of the fifth inning, No. 7 South Carolina paraded one batter after another to the plate and they all ripped hits off No. 24 Tennessee’s pitching.That impromptu batting practice session turned a tight game into a 10-2 Gamecock rout, completing a sweep on SEC play’s opening weekend."

Tennessee softball loses two of three to Arkansas – Mike Strange, Knoxville News Sentinel

Ralph and Karen Weekly’s team won the final game of the series, but they still suffered a shocking upset in losing the series to the No. 25 ranked Razorbacks. After the series, they are now 22-5 and 3-3 in the SEC.

"Arkansas won its first SEC softball series from Tennessee since 2002, but at least the Vols avoided a sweep.Brooke Vines drove in three runs and Matty Moss pitched a 7-inning relief gem for a 5-1 Tennessee win in Fayetteville, Ark."

Lady Vols to face Louisville in NCAA Tournament – Steve Bittenbender, Associated Press

After a win over the Dayton Flyers in the first round, the women’s Tennessee Vols will face the No. 4 seeded Louisville Cardinals in the second round of the tournament. As a No. 5 seed, they will be looking to reach another Sweet Sixteen, something they have only failed to do once ever since the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament began.

"Tennessee and Louisville have both navigated bumpy roads to reach the NCAA Tournament.Both schools aim to smooth things out when they meet in the second round.Tennessee’s roller-coaster season has featured big wins and questionable losses. Four days before the Lady Vols (20-11) beat Notre Dame — now a No. 1 seed in the Lexington Region — they lost at Mississippi. After winning their regular season finale at Mississippi State, a second loss to Alabama followed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament."

Tennessee Vols golf in 3rd place at Kingsmill Intercollegiate – UTSports

"Rhys Nevin is tied for third place after carding a 1-under 69 and the Tennessee men’s golf team is in third place at 6-over following Sunday’s first round of the Kingsmill Intercollegiate at Kingsmill Resort."

Tennessee Vols women’s golf finishes second at 3M Augusta Invite – UTSports

"The Tennessee Volunteers carded 298 in the final round of the 3M Augusta Invitational to finish runner up to No. 23 Purdue (878, +14) with a 54-hole total of 882 (+18) on Sunday."

Tennessee Vols men’s tennis falls to No. 12 Georgia 4-3 – UTSports

"The Tennessee men’s tennis team fought back but finished one point short Sunday in a 4-3 loss to 12th-ranked Georgia at Barksdale Stadium.The Vols (9-8, 1-4 SEC) lost the doubles point and fell behind 3-0 before chipping away against the Bulldogs (9-6, 5-0 SEC)."