Tennessee Vols morning report: Spring practice continues, Randy Sanders
The Tennessee Vols football continuing spring practice and Randy Sanders lead our Volunteers news for Wednesday, April 4, 2018.
April is here, but in parts of the country, it still seems like late February won’t go away. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Vols keep chugging along with spring activities, which are all now in full swing and lead our morning report.
As we get set to bring you our updates on Rocky Top, today’s news centers around spring practice in football. We also have more updates on Randy Sanders to get to, and that’s a very interesting story.
With basketball season just ending, a few recaps and early previews also are making news. And we have baseball and softball recaps. But let’s start with spring practice.
Tennessee football completes seventh spring practice – Patrick Brown, GoVols247
The Tennessee Vols have reached the midway point of 2018 spring practice after their seventh one Tuesday. In this practice, Jeremy Pruitt’s quotes make it clear that the offense was the dominant force, and he doesn’t want music playing while he’s coaching. Here’s a bit of what he said about the offense.
"“They’ve done a good job of playing as a unit. They have a good competitiveness about them and overcome some adverse situations and really improved, I felt like, again today.”"
Randy Sanders allegedly struck player – Citizen Tribune
Details of former Tennessee football offensive coordinator Randy Sanders’s suspension as ETSU head coach are beginning to surface. According to reports, he allegedly struck freshman player Tyree Robinson’s helmet during practice.
"The alleged incident reportedly took place when Robinson “failed to take a knee during a drill.” As of now, no other details of what happened are available. Sanders did coach the team’s scrimmage on Saturday, but word of his paid leave came down on Monday. ETSU’s spring game is scheduled for Thursday."
Basketball has high expectations – Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel
Tennessee basketball finished the year ranked No. 16 in the Coaches’ Poll. Now, the Vols enter next year with high expectations. Multiple early predictions have them in the Top 10 to begin 2018, including Sporting News, ESPN, and CBS.
"Tennessee ranked as high as No. 5, buoyed by the expected return of all but one player from its SEC co-championship team. The Vols landed in the top 10 of five major publications after making noise with a 26-9 season, their first NCAA tournament bid in four years and a first-round win."
Tennessee baseball defeats Belmont – UTSports
After being swept on the road by the South Carolina Gamecocks over the weekend, the Tennessee Vols got back on track on the diamond Tuesday by beating the Belmont Bruins 9-2 in a midweek match-up. With the win, Tennessee moves to 18-12 on the year.
"Five Volunteers drove in runs while freshman pitcher Sean Hunley improved to 5-0 on the year after putting forth another solid performance on the mound."
Lady Vols defeat Tennessee State – UTSports
The No. 8/12Tennessee Lady Vols softball team shut out the Tennessee State Tigers 3-0 Tuesday to improve to 32-6 after losing five of their last six. TSU fell to 3-32.
"UT broke the scoreless tie in the fourth. Aubrey Leach led off the inning with a walk and then stole second before Jenna Holcomb laid down a bunt and beat out the throw to put a pair of runners on base with zero outs. Chelsea Seggern then drove a high fly ball to center field which allowed Leach to tag up from third as the Lady Vols grabbed a 1-0 lead."