Tennessee Vols morning report: Lane Kiffin speaks, updates with coordinators
Lane Kiffin comments on leaving the Tennessee Vols and updates regarding coordinators lead the Volunteers news for Friday, Oct. 27, 2017.
Happy Friday! It’s time for the final weekend of October, and as everybody gears up to have fun with Halloween related stuff, Tennessee Vols fans could be ready to witness something much more scary: the prospect of going 3-5 on the year and losing to Kentucky.
As we get set to bring you the news on Rocky Top for today, updates regarding the football personnel ahead of the game are among out top stories. Other sports earn mentions too.
For instance, the men’s and women’s basketball team both have stories of their own. The soccer team is also relevant today.
But we actually begin with none of this. Instead, we’ll focus on a former coach for the Tennessee Vols football program and his exit from Knoxville.
Lane Kiffin talks about leaving Tennessee Vols – 3HL, 104.5 The Zone
Former Tennessee football head coach Lane Kiffin, who now leads Florida Atlantic, talked in an interview about his decision to leave Tennessee. Kiffin’s team will be right up the road facing the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Saturday. He dodged a question about possibly being interested in Tennessee again. But he did speak on the way he left Knoxville.
"“It was really crazy, how it got blown up to be a negative thing about the press conference. When coaches leave places — and I was advised not to by representatives there — you’re not going to have a press conference. You just leave. That’s what you do. You leave and have a press conference at the new place.”"
Butch Jones will not change play-calling – News Channel 9, WTVC
Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator has taken some serious heat for his play-calling so far this season. However, Butch Jones said he will not change those duties for the final five games of the season, despite the team being 3-4 and 0-4 in the SEC with no offensive touchdowns in two and a half games. Here’s a bit of what he said.
"“I evaluate everything every single day in our program, starting with me first and foremost, our coaches and obviously our discipline to execute. But again, no, not at all. I see some progress, but unfortunately, you don’t see it on game day.”"
Bob Shoop reviews Tennessee Vols defensive ends – Patrick Brown, GoVols247
The underwhelming performance of Jonathan Kongbo through seven games and the suspension of Darrell Taylor has resulted in the Tennessee football defensive ends not living up to the hype they had at the beginning of the year. Shoop, however, noted their struggles along with Kyle Phillips could be playing too many snaps.
"“I think when Jonathan and Kyle are on, and all those guys, they’re on. And when we get worn down, which happened, when you’re playing a team like Alabama, the wear-down factor happens a little bit earlier than when you’re playing someone else, and that wear-down factor for us probably came with three or four minutes in the first half.”"
Tennessee Lady Vols ranked No. 18 in preseason coaches poll – Coaches Poll online
Holly Warlick’s team had the No. 1 recruiting class in the offseason and returns two of its top three scorers. However, that wasn’t enough to put the Lady Vols in the Preseason Top 10 this year. They came in fourth among SEC teams behind South Carolina, Mississippi State and Missouri.
"The USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at Division I schools. The panel is chosen by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The members represent each of the 32 Division I conferences that receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament."
The Tennessee Vols basketball team just added an exhibition game. And it’s against Rick Barnes’s former program, the Clemson Tigers. The two teams will square off at Clemson on Sunday, Nov. 5 as part of a charity event: the proceeds will go to benefit hurricane relief.
"The game will tip at 12:30 p.m. ET at Littlejohn Coliseum and admission is free. Fans are encouraged to make donations to benefit the Salvation Army’s relief efforts in Florida and Texas, after both states were hit hard by hurricanes in recent months."
Tennessee soccer wins season finale – UTSports
The No. 19 ranked Tennessee Vols soccer team defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks on the road 3-2 to win their season finale. With the win, Tennessee was able to end a two-game losing streak. They won off a game-winning header by junior Khadija Shaw, her 14th goal of the season.
"The Vols (14-3-1, 6-3-1 SEC) fell behind twice and matched the Arkansas (9-9-1, 4-5-1) both times with goals by junior Rylie O’Keefe in the first half and redshirt freshman Erin Gilroy in the second half."
The USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll is conducted weekly throughout the regular season using a panel of head coaches at Division I schools. The panel is chosen by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The members represent each of the 32 Division I conferences that receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.