Interviews with former, current and future Tennessee Vols, including a weekend commitment, lead our Volunteers news for Monday, March 30, 2020.
Welcome to the final Monday of a March nobody is soon to forget. As the coronavirus outbreak still dominates the news, the Tennessee Vols had their own bit of news over the weekend, including numerous athletes and administrators releasing PSAs about social distancing.
Since we already covered that, our morning update on Rocky Top involves specific interviews with current, former and future football and men’s basketball players. All of them are dealing with setbacks due to the cancelations from COVID-19.
Different guys spoke out with different outlets over the weekend, and one of them dominated the news by committing to UT on Friday, which we covered then and will rehash now. In fact, let’s begin our morning report with that.
E.J. Anosike transfers to Tennessee basketball – Jeff Borzello, ESPN.com
The younger brother of former Tennessee Lady Vols forward Nicky Anosike, who was part of Pat Summitt’s last two national title teams, is joining the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball program. Sacred Heart Pioneers graduate transfer E.J. Anosike announced he would join UT on Friday.
"Anosike, a 6-foot-6 power forward, averaged 15.7 points and 11.6 rebounds last season. One of the reasons he picked Tennessee was the success he saw Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield — two forwards with unique size and skill sets — have a couple of seasons ago in Knoxville."
John Fulkerson hosts Twitter Q&A session – Wes Rucker, GoVols247
Redshirt junior forward John Fulkerson, who had a breakout season with Tennessee basketball this past year, hosted a Q&A session Friday with the hashtag #AskFulky that was posted on the program’s Twitter account. Fulkerson answered a range of questions from fans. Here’s what he said about his favorite memories with UT so far.
"“I have a ton of good memories ever since I’ve been at Tennessee, but if I had to narrow it down to one or maybe even two, I would say being ranked No. 1 on last year’s team for, what, five weeks? That was really, really fun. And then also last year beating the No. 1 team, Gonzaga, in Phoenix, that was a really, really fun and and great experience.”"
Tyler Baron talks football program’s progression – Eric Cain, VolQuest.com
Four-star edge rusher Tyler Baron, a local commitment in the Tennessee Vols football program’s 2020 class, spoke over the weekend about the trajectory of the program and his decision to commit to UT out of Knoxville Catholic. At 6’4″ 250 pounds, he figures to have an immediate impact this fall. Baron talked about the recruitment process.
"“When it came down to it – it was a comfortability thing for me,” Baron said. “I was really comfortable with the teammates and coaches at Tennessee. Plus, I know about the environment at Neyland Stadium and here in Knoxville.”"
Darrell Taylor joins The Nation – The Sports Animal
After a stellar final two seasons as Tennessee football’s premiere edge rusher under Jeremy Pruitt, Darrell Taylor is now looking ahead to the upcoming NFL Draft. He spoke with Chris Low and Austin Price in a radio interview over the weekend. Here’s a bit of what he said about going through the draft process amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.
"“It’s pretty crazy because I’ve never seen anything like this, but I just think it’s a chance for me to get my body right. I just had surgery, so I think it’s a good chance for me to make sure my body is healthy and everything before I enter the NFL>"