Tennessee Vols morning report: 2021 NFL Draft recap
May has arrived, and the NFL Draft is in the books. Although one player fell and, once again, nobody was taken in the first round from the Tennessee Vols, UT was at least represented over the weekend once again.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with a recap of how players from Knoxville did fare in the draft. We’ll look at who was selected, who signed as an undrafted free agent and who is still out looking for a landing spot.
Beyond the draft, though, we have a recap of a baseball and a softball series to bring you, and track and field had a major event for us to cover this past weekend as well. Let’s start with the football coverage, though.
Two Vols taken in 2021 NFL Draft – Patrick Brown, GoVols247
On Friday, the first Tennessee Vols football player was taken in the NFL Draft, as the Los Angeles Chargers selected Josh Palmer in the third round. The Kansas City Chiefs the selected Trey Smith in the sixth round on Saturday. Bryce Thompson signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent. Brandon Kennedy was still unsigned as of Monday morning.
"The mock drafts, big boards, 40 times, positional rankings — they are no more. The 2021 NFL Draft is in the books — held live in Cleveland after being done entirely remotely a year ago and again dominated by the SEC, which set a new record with 65 players selected."
Baseball wins another series vs. Kentucky – UTSports
In a series that started last Thursday and ended on Saturday, the Tennessee Vols baseball team took two of three from the Kentucky Wildcats. This was their sixth SEC series win on the season, the first time since they reached that mark since 2005. They won 14-4 Thursday, lost 8-2 Friday and won 11-2 Saturday.
"The Vols (34-11 // 14-7 SEC) will have five days between games before a road trip to Missouri next weekend.…Tennessee continued its success in rubber games with Saturday’s win, improving to 4-1 on the year in such contests."
Softball sweeps Auburn – UT Daily Beacon
For the fourth straight time, the Tennessee Lady Vols won an SEC series. This time, it was a sweep, their first of the year, as they won all three games against the Auburn Tigers to improve to 38-8 overall and 11-7 in SEC play.
"The Lady Vols will stay on the road this week as they travel to Starkville, Mississippi, for a doubleheader against Mississippi State. Game one will be at 2 p.m. ET with the second following at 4:30 p.m."
Track and Field completes Tennessee Challenge – Ken Lay, VolsWire.com
The Tennessee Vols Track and Field program completed its outdoor regular season by hosting the Tennessee Challenge over the weekend. UT made history in the process with numerous wins and a few records set as well.
"At the meet, which featured some of the nation’s top schools and college athletes, the Volunteers and Lady Vols combined to win 15 events and several student-athletes set personal best records in their respective events. In total, 20 Tennessee student-athletes shattered previous career marks on Saturday."