Tennessee Vols morning report: Football staff made official

Amidst a ton of Tennessee Vols events, the football staff being made official leads our Volunteers news for Monday, Feb. 24, 2020.

We are entering Leap Week, which comes around once every four years. As the final week of February hits, we kick things off with a ton of news that the Tennessee Vols gave us to cover over the weekend.

Our morning update on Rocky Top is loaded with recaps of things that happened and continuing coverage of one event. However, a football story that made certain reports official on Friday is actually what leads the way for us.

Outside of that, it’s all recaps. Some of them are major pleasant surprises, but a couple of them are major disappointments as well. Men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball, swimming and diving, men’s and women’s tennis, track and field and women’s golf are all on the slate. Let’s start with the football news.

Jeremy Pruitt makes new staff hires official – WBIR.com

On Friday, the Tennessee Vols football program officially confirmed the hires of Shelton Felton and Jimmy Brumbaugh. Head coach Jeremy Pruitt announced that Brumbaugh would be the new co-defensive coordinator while replacing Tracy Rocker as defensive line coach, and Felton would coach outside linebackers.

"Brumbaugh is coming from a two-year stint at Colorado as the Buffaloes’ defensive line coach. UT boasts his work improved Colorado’s national ranking in rush defense.…Felton is returning to UT after spending a year as the outside linebackers and defensive line coach at Akron. Pruitt said Felton formerly served as a quality control analyst for the Vols during his first season as head coach in 2018."

Rick Barnes recaps Auburn loss – Grant Ramey, GoVols247

Another late-game collapse cost the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team Saturday, as they fell 73-66 on the road to the Auburn Tigers despite leading by 15 in the second half at one point. With the loss, they fell to 15-12 and 7-7 in the SEC and next visit the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday. Here’s a bit of what Rick Barnes said about the game.

"“For 27, 28 minutes, I think we played the way we think we’re capable of. But it’s not a 28-minute game. It’s a 40-minute game. Until we understand that, and realize that ball security has hurt us all year, it will be much the same going forward.”"

Kellie Harper recaps Vanderbilt win – Ben McKee, RockyTopInsider

A five-game losing streak for the Tennessee Lady Vols came to an end. Now, they only beat a bad Vanderbilt Commodores team 67-63, but it improved them to 18-9 and 8-6 in the SEC. Up next for them is a home game Thursday against the Ole Miss Rebels. Here’s a bit of what Kellie Harper said about this game.

"“Well, I knew this was going to be a tough game, and I’m obviously really excited to get back in the win column. Vanderbilt withstood some of our runs and made their runs, and it was tough. It was a tough game, but I’m proud of our team.”"

Baseball dominates at Round Rock Classic – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com

In what may be the most impressive regular season weekend in Tennessee Vols baseball history, Tony Vitello’s team won the inaugural Round Rock Classic Championship. They did it by beating the top-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders on Friday, the Houston Cougars on Saturday and the No. 25 ranked Stanford Cardinal on Sunday.

"The Vols will now return home to begin a 10-game homestand. The homestand will start with midweek games on Tuesday and Wednesday against Northern Kentucky and UNC Asheville."

Softball has disastrous outing at Tampa Tournament – WVLT

Ranked No. 12 in the nation going in, the Tennessee Lady Vols softball team collapsed in their five-game Tampa Tournament over the weekend. They opened things up with a win over the FIU Panthers Friday but then lost four straight, two to the UCF Knights and two to the USF Bulls, to fall to 7-6 on the year.

"The Orange and White prepare for the home opener on Wednesday at 5 p.m. (ET) against UT Martin at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ and Brian Rice will be on the call on UTsports."

Swimming and Diving captures SEC Title on women’s side – SECSports

SEC Championships came to an end on Saturday for Swimming and Diving, and Tennessee came in first place on the women’s side. The men, meanwhile, came in at No. 6.

"The Lady Vols earned their first-ever SEC title in women’s swimming & diving with a final score of 1,108 points. Florida came in second with 1,079.5 points. The Gators won their eighth consecutive and 41st overall title in men’s swimming & diving with a total score of 1,194 points. Texas A&M finished second with 975.5 points.The Commissioner’s Trophy, which is awarded to the student-athletes who score the most individual points at the championships, went to Erika Brown of Tennessee for the women and Zane Waddell of Alabama and Shaine Casas of Texas A&M for the men."

Men’s tennis shuts out Georgia Tech – Josh Lane, UT Daily Beacon

After a two-week layoff, the No. 10 ranked Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 4-0. Up next for UT is the first game of SEC play, which will be against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens this Friday.

"Tennessee is now 11-1 and has won five matches in a row. This record to start the season is one of the best in team history."

Women’s tennis wins both games of Friday doubleheader – UTSports

Ahead of their start to SEC play this Saturday at the Georgia Bulldogs, the No. 26/19 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols tennis team won both games of a doubleheader Friday. Those wins improved them to 9-1 on the year.

"The Lady Vols (9-1) opened the day with a 5-0 win over Cincinnati (6-4). UT followed with a 4-1 win over UT Chattanooga (5-3). The Lady Vols took the doubles point against Cincinnati, but lost it in a split decision to UTC."

Track and Field earns multiple medals at Virginia Tech Challenge – FlashResults

With just six athletes competing in the event, the Tennessee Vols track and field program earned four top-three finishes at the Virginia Tech Challenge this past weekend. Up next for the program will be SEC Indoor Championships, which begins on Friday in College Station, Texas.

Women’s golf in eighth place at Westbrook Invitational – BirdieFire

The first day of the Westbrook Invitational, which is hosted by the Wisconsin Badgers but takes place at the Vistas Golf Course in Peoria, Ariz., the Tennessee Lady Vols golf team came in at No. 8 while shooting 572, or four-under par for the day. Tournament play resumes Monday, which will be its final day.