Tennessee Vols morning report: Football offensive staff introduced
Another heavy news day surrounded the Tennessee Vols. Numerous sports are either in play or about to begin, but the football program continues to make all of the major news in the offseason because of the coaching change.
Our morning update on Rocky Top continues with that transition, as numerous staff members were introduced on Wednesday. That’s not the only press conference we will cover either. The postgame from a huge men’s basketball win will also make the news.
Beyond football and men’s basketball, women’s basketball made news with a watch list, and baseball and men’s tennis also have individual recognition stories for us to cover. Speaking of tennis, we have a recap of a tennis match and a preview of another one. SEC Championships in another sport and TV schedules in baseball also make the news. Let’s start with football.
Josh Heupel introduces offensive staff – Dan Harralson, VolsWire.com
Two days after the Tennessee Vols football offensive staff was confirmed, new head coach Josh Heupel introduced all five members to the media Wednesday. You can see the full press conference by clicking on the Knoxville News Sentinel YouTube page here. Kodi Burns, Glen Elarbee, Alex Golesh, Joey Halzle and Jerry Mack all spoke. Here’s a bit of what Heupel said.
"“Awesome to get an opportunity to be able to talk about offensive staff, the men that we’ve collected that will help lead our program here in the future,” Heupel said. “Guys that are energetic, passionate, they’re great teachers of the game – more importantly, they’re going to invest in our young people off the field.”"
Rick Barnes recaps win over South Carolina – Grant Ramey, GoVols247
Wednesday night, the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team dominated the South Carolina Gamecocks 93-73 without Josiah-Jordan James to improve to 15-5 on the season and 8-5 in the SEC. USC fell to 5-10 on the season and 3-8 in the SEC. Rick Barnes said James is expected back Saturday. Here’s a bit of what he said about the win.
"“I thought they were very comfortable on the offensive end doing what they were doing. Second half, I thought we did a little better job guarding the ball and trying to let them feel us a little bit more. And they were down some guys. There’s no doubt that fatigue could have set in because they were down two key guys, and that hurts anytime.”"
John Fulkerson, Victor Bailey discuss South Carolina win – Rob Lewis, VolQuest
Wednesday’s win over South Carolina was a major regroup after Tennessee basketball’s 78-65 loss at the LSU Tigers Saturday. A big reason was the resurgence of Victor Bailey Jr. and John Fulkerson, who were in a slump but had 29 and 19 points respectively. Baley was 7-of-10 from the three-point line and had four assists and a block. Here’s a bit of what he said.
"“It’s always good to see some shots fall. My teammates were hyping me up. Coach was telling me to shoot it. It always feels good to see some balls go in the hoop.”"
Fulkerson, meanwhile, was 7-of-12 from the field and had six rebounds, three assists and two steals on the night. Here’s a bit of what he said about his play.
"“It felt great. I want to credit my teammates and coaches for keeping faith and confidence in me to get the job done, while pushing me to be my best.”"
Kellie Harper a Coach of the Year candidate – NaismithTrophy.com
As the Tennessee Lady Vols get set to host the South Carolina Gamecocks Thursday night with a 12-5 record and 6-3 record overall despite being on a two-game losing streak, Kellie Harper got a bit of recognition Wednesday. She became one of 15 coaches added to the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s Coach of the Year 2021 Late Season Watch List.
Baseball outfielder/pitcher earns Preseason All-American – Sportswriters.net
Entering his sophomore season with the Tennessee Vols baseball team, outfielder/pitcher Drew Gilbert was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) preseason All-American team. Gilbert made the second team as a utility player.
"Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association’s official Web site, www.ncbwa.com. The preseason All-America squads are considered the first step toward the eventual selection of the 2021 Dick Howser Trophy presented by the Game Headwear and voted upon for 24 seasons by members of the NCBWA."
TV schedule announced for baseball – SECSports
With Tennessee baseball set to begin its season Friday, the SEC revealed this year’s TV schedule. UT will play nine games either on the SEC Network or ESPNU.
"A total of 93 Southeastern Conference baseball games are slated to be televised during the 2021 season, it was announced Wednesday by the SEC.SEC Network will air 75 games, including Florida’s home opener against Miami on Friday. Sixteen games are slated for ESPNU throughout the season and two on ESPN2."
Men’s tennis earns both SEC weekly awards – SECSports
After beating the No. 3 ranked TCU Horned Frogs and No. 5 ranked Texas Longhorns last week, the Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team swept the weekly SEC awards. Graduate student Luca Wiedenmann earned his first SEC Player of the Week award, and Johannus Monday earned his fourth straight SEC Freshman of the Week Award.
"On Friday in the quarterfinal round, despite the team loss, Wiedenmann had just forced a third set against No. 100 Josh Peck of North Carolina. On Saturday against third-ranked TCU, Wiedenmann rolled to a straight-set (6-3, 6-2) victory over Juan Martin to put the Vols up 2-1, before they eventually took the match and took down the Horned Frogs.…In singles play, Monday was the Vols lone point in its tough loss to North Carolina. There, he took down No. 55 Rinky Hijikata in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. After a hard-fought loss to Luc Fomba in Saturday’s win over TCU, the Hull native bounced back to knock off Texas’ Elior Spizzirri, 7-6(4), 6-4. After battling to a first-set tiebreak victory, Monday was down 4-2 with Spizzirri serving in the second, before reeling off wins in four straight games to clinch his match and put the Vols up 3-0 and on the brink of clinching match point."
Tennis defeats Charlotte – UTSports
Continuing their hot streak, the No. 3 ranked Tennessee men’s tennis program scored a midweek victory Wednesday over the Charlotte 49ers. They pulled away 5-2.
"The victory improved Tennessee (11-1) to 6-0 all-time against the 49ers (5-3). The Vols rolled through the doubles point, gathering their second doubles sweep of the season."
Women’s tennis to face ETSU – UTSports
On Thursday, the No. 19 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols tennis program will take on the ETSU Buccaneers. This will be the final non-conference match of the season for them.
"First serve between the Lady Vols (5-2) and the Buccaneers (4-5) is set for 11 a.m. ET inside the Goodfriend Tennis Center. All home matches played inside the Goodfriend Tennis Center will be conducted without fans per SEC COVID-19 protocols."
SEC diving, women’s swimming Day One ends – Karl Ortegon, SwimSwam.com
The first day of the SEC Diving and Women’s Swimming Championships came to an end Wednesday and will resume Thursday, lasting through Saturday. The Lady Vols’ swimming and diving program currently sits in fourth place.