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Tennessee Vols morning report: Wanya Morris on ‘The Slice’

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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A star Tennessee Vols offensive lineman leads our June 9, 2020 Volunteers news.

Summer enrollees continue to get acclimated to the Tennessee Vols football program as Jeremy Pruitt and co. prepare for the season. They just arrived over the weekend, after all, and we have a bit more football news to cover today.

Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with our weekly update on which player is on the football program’s flagship podcast. This week, it’s a rising star for UT who started all of last season as a freshman and provides the Vols numerous reasons for hope in 2020.

We also have specific news stories to get to, including where a former basketball player is transferring to and the return of a former softball player now as an assistant coach. Let’s start with the football news, though.

Wanya Morris featured on ‘The Slice’ – UTSports

Rising Tennessee Vols sophomore offensive lineman Wanya Morris was featured on the eighth official episode of the football program’s podcast, “The Slice.” Last year, Morris was one of the most productive freshman and joined Darnell Wright as two true freshmen to make a huge impact at the tackle positions.

"Morris, a native of Savannah, Georgia, enters his sophomore season having proved to be one of the top true freshmen offensive linemen in the nation, starting 12 of 13 games at left tackle and collecting SEC All-Freshman accolades and True Freshman All-American honors from 247Sports in 2019.“(The coaching staff) just showed me how real they were as people, and they were just honest,” Morris said."

Jalen Johnson transferring to Wake Forest – @The_Jalen_, Twitter

Former Tennessee Vols basketball guard Jalen Johnson is transferring again. Johnson was initially heading to the ETSU Buccaneers. However, with Steve Forbes leaving that program to take the head coaching job with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Johnson, who is from the area in High Point, N.C., followed him there. Here’s a bit of what his post said on the matter.

"“This past spring I developed a great relationship with Coach Forbes. After he and his staff left ETSU and went to Wake Forest, I met with my family about my final year of college eligibility. After much thought and discussion, I have decided to come home.”"

Softball hires new pitching coach – Justin McLeod, Justin’s World

After one year as head coach of the Belmont Bruins in which her team went 5-14, former Tennessee Lady Vols pitcher Megan Rhodes Smith is returning to Rocky Top as the program’s pitching coach. Smith pitched for UT from 2005 to 2008, helping them to three straight Women’s College World Series appearances.

"Prior to taking the helm at Belmont, Smith spent six seasons as the pitching coach at Lipscomb and was part of the coaching staff that led the Bisons to the NCAA tournament in 2014 and ’19. She shepherded four pitchers to all-conference honors, and her pitching staff led the ASun Conference in strikeouts in back-to-back seasons of 2016 and 2017."

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