Tennessee Vols morning report: Henry To’o To’o on football podcast debut
Rising sophomore linebacker Henry To’o To’o on a Tennessee Vols football podcast debut leads our Volunteers news for Tuesday, April 21, 2020.
Easter is over, the NFL Draft is coming up, and May is just around the corner. However, the combination of cold weather and coronavirus has everybody forgetting about summer nearly arriving, and it has changed how we’ve covered the Tennessee Vols as well.
Our morning update on Rocky Top still has some interesting news, though. We lead with a new podcast that debuted related to the program and the first player to actually go on that podcast. It’s something to keep people intrigued during this time.
Meanwhile, more basketball predictions are coming through, and UT got another boost in one of those on Monday. Finally, another interesting figure crashing an online class made news, and we’ll cover that as well. Let’s start with the podcast.
Henry To’o To’o on ‘The Slice’ podcast debut – UTSports
As the Tennessee Vols football program debuted a new podcast Monday, sophomore linebacker Henry To’o To’o was the first player to go on. To’o To’o emerged as a starter last year alongside Daniel Bituli, and with Bituli gone, he is set to become the leader of the defense. Here’s what he said about dealing with COVID-19 over the past few weeks.
"“I’m trying to stay active and working out with my dad. Doing push-ups at night, doing sit-ups at night, trying to get as much active movements as I can. Doing the workouts that (strength coach) A.J. (Artis) has been sending us. I try to find the little things, do pull-ups on my door, kind of crazy things, just to keep me going.”"
Men’s basketball No. 13 in way-too-early top 25 – Jeff Borzello, ESPN.com
Expectations continue to roll in for the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball program, and they got another boost on Monday. An ESPN way-too-early early top 25 had the Vols ranked No. 13 in the nation, the highest ranked of any SEC team. Closest to them from the conference were the Kentucky Wildcats at No. 15, but it’s clear expectations are rising for Rick Barnes.
"Three double-figure scorers are back, with Santiago Vescovi at point guard and John Fulkerson and Yves Pons up front. Freshman Josiah-Jordan James returns as a do-everything starter with size and playmaking ability. Then there’s the incoming freshman class, led by five-star guards Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson. Springer brings toughness and playmaking to the backcourt, while Johnson is an amazing athlete. There are also transfers: Victor Bailey Jr. (7.4 PPG) is eligible after sitting out after his transfer from Oregon, and the Volunteers added Sacred Heart graduate transfer E.J. Anosike (15.7 PPG, 11.6 RPG) this spring."
Jon Gruden crashes online course – Wes Rucker, GoVols247
Everybody is over the Grumors. Jon Gruden now has nothing to do with the program. Also, classrooms and online coursed don’t really deal with athletics. But the Oakland Raiders head coach dropping in on a UT online class, which was posted to UT Knoxville’s official Twitter account, is still newsworthy relative to the Vols. Here’s a bit of what Gruden said to the class.
"“I’m a little confused. Thank God my wife helped me out here. Some of my best memories are right down there at Cumberland Avenue.”"