The Future

No, that is not a Kelly Washington reference. Alright, it seems some change will be taking place here at UT Vols Football in the upcoming weeks. We start out with the Top Vol Blog Awards rolling out Thursday, May 15th. As for change to the site, we will reveal a new header for the site, made by the very talented Sabanocchio. We’re also thinking about making the switch to WordPress, which is another blog network that seems to have more functions and a better setup for a growing blog like ours. Relating it to the Top Vol Blog awards, 5 of the 6 are run in WordPress. We’d like to hear your feedback on this, either in the comments section or by email at volsfootball5@yahoo.com. You could help in making this decision easier and where we want to go as a site.

Weekend Links

Some links to check out for the weekend:
1% of 1% -Losers with Socks- This Gator is the epitome of class.
Bruce Pearl roast – Volnation Blog- A few jokes on Bruce Pearl, with B. Maze info and interview.
Chick Pic of the Day – Jennifer Aniston – The World According to Moondog- A few pictures of the ex-Friends star.
Way Too Early Prediction: Alabama ‘08 – Picture Me Rollin- They win one game and it goes to their heads. What’s up with that?
Are we having fun yet? – A Sea of Blue- Maggard has hit Vol message boards with his fancy radio show, and it seems he’s sucked the guys from there in too.
2008-2009 Vol roster is set; summer schedule – The BruceBall Blog- RBK tells us what to expect from him in the future.
A scare for all bama fans- Third Saturday in Blogtober- Bammer linebacker suffers minimal injuries in a motorcycle accident.
Vol Talk Message Board- I guess I’m semi-endorsed by the guys over there, or at least they are nice enough to put up with me. Check out RobVol and crew and tell ‘em I sent you.

Bobby Maze to Tennessee

It didn’t take long for Tennessee to find a replacement at point guard. The Vols picked up Bobby Maze on Wednesday. Maze said: “The plane landed and I breathed in that Knoxville air…You see those seats in the arena and how high they go up, and all the sellout crowds, the Jumbotron screens everywhere, the practice facility. You have every tool here to be successful.”

The junior college All-American was also looking at Cincinnati and Kentucky, but decided Tennessee was the place for him. “I wanted to play on a team where I had a chance to win a championship, and the players here at Tennessee are the best players you could want to play with.”

Maze flew in just yesterday and knew this was the place for him. He said he plans to enroll in first term of summer classes at Tennessee and take part in the Pilot Rocky Top Summer League.

He started his freshman year at Oklahoma, and played with Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College last season, where he averaged 20.7 points, 6.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. Not to mention a team leading 55 steals.

Maze is a great pickup for the Vols, after they lost starter Ramar Smith late last week. He will be expected to start right away, and perhaps give advise to incoming freshman Daniel West.

TVB-Final Update

Alright folks, were releasing the last update before we roll out the awards for the Top Vol Blog competition. So bloggers, it’s your last chance to beg the readers for the votes and readers, if you haven’t voted yet, what are you waiting for? Although there are more votes, nothing has changed as of yet in the order. Voting as of now stands at 125 total votes with Losers With Socks in the lead with 44 votes. Fulmer’s Belly is in second with 33 votes while Volnation’s Blog (21 votes) and Rocky Top Talk (19 votes) race for third. So here we are, we’ve got just 9 nights, 8 days left to vote. The next update will come May 15th when we roll out the buttons each blog has earned.

Eric Berry Graces Cover

Eric Berry lands the cover of Athlon Sports Magazine.

Duke Crews and Ramar Smith Dismissed

Just a day after the story of Chris Lofton’s triumphant victory over cancer was released, the basketball program at Tennessee took a shot back to reality. It was announced that sophomores Duke Crews and Ramar Smith have been dismissed from the team. Coach Bruce Pearl announced that the dismissal of both are not related and is more of a build up of incidents, more than it is one particular one. Pearl was quoted saying: “We just felt like — both the University of Tennessee and these student athletes — we’d be better served to move on.”

The dismissals are attributed to ‘violations of UT’s substance abuse policy and academic shortcomings.’ Vol fans most likely remember Duke Crews’s run-in with the law in September, when he was handed a 30-day suspension for violations of team rules. It was found out that prior to the suspension that he had failed a drug test. A heart condition left him out of the beginning of the most recent season, but he was cleared to play and by the end of the year starting to pick up his game.

It’s no secret that Ramar Smith has had academic trouble lately. The point guard from Detroit had problems just getting into Tennessee, when his SAT test was late to be validated. But, he was cleared to play, and late in his freshman year, Smith had played a major role in the Sweet Sixteen run. But, September of last year wasn’t such a good month for Smith either. He was in an accident when borrowing a teammate’s car and had fled before police arrived.

While the dismissal of these two isn’t exactly a shock, after the recent history of both and rumors involving academic problems for Ramar, it still hurts. The two had great potential and helped load a team that has talent to make another serious run. It had been reported, that the Vols have offered Bobby Maze a scholarship. Maze, a point-guard, started for Oklahoma as a freshman but he too was dismissed from the team. In the paint, however, it must be expected that Ryan Childress and perhaps even Brian Williams could see more time in 08-09, filling in for Crews. The Smith count for the Vols has dropped down to 1.

Chris Lofton: Cancer Survivor

We’ve all heard Chris Lofton’s story of overcoming the odds at Tennessee after being rejected by the Kentucky basketball powerhouses. But today, ESPN reported that Lofton overcame something other than his college basketball career, he overcame cancer. The diagnosis came just days after the Vols dropped the Sweet Sixteen game to Ohio State, concluding the 2006-2007 season. Lofton was randomly selected to submit to an NCAA-mandated drug test following the Long Beach State victory. Officials for the university were notified the day of the OSU game that results were positive, it was later discovered that what actually showed up on that test was a tumor marker. Chris underwent an ultrasound on March 26th, which confirmed that the star guard had cancer. Secretive surgery was scheduled two days later in the early morning, where Lofton’s parents were secretely taken into the hospital and Pearl arrived in what was described as “semi-disguised”. But Chris pushed on, and he decided early that it was something he would take straight on.

The 3-point artist fought through the surgery, radiation, distress, and recovery nearly single-handedly. Those that knew about the cancer prior to the recent breakout included: Lofton’s parents, the Tennessee coaches and medical staff and a handful of others. It was so closely kept a secret, that Lofton’s extended family didn’t even know he had this cancer. Lofton made it set in his mind, cancer wasn’t going to beat him. Chris continued the radition, and finally met an end to the treatment. He is now cancer free, but will have checkups for the rest of his life. He pushed through an early season slump and tried not to force anything. He will continue to try for an NBA career, which you can expect him to beat the odds. The kid has already beaten the toughest test of his life.

Top Vol Blog Update

The Top Vol Blog Contest is in full swing, with about 16 or 17 days left to vote. The current leader of the fan vote to date is no other than Losers with Socks with about 33% of the vote. Fulmer’s Belly is in second with 27% while Rocky Top Talk (17%) and The Volnation Times Blog (15%) battle it out for third place. Everyone, however, is still in the game because voting will continue until May 15th. So, if you haven’t voted yet, follow a link and vote today.

Tyler Smith is Staying

Tyler Smith announced this morning that indeed he will stay at Tennessee for his Junior year. Smith, a projected first round draft pick, was contemplating the choice of whether to stay with the Vols or go to the NBA. It was reported that he would only go this year if he had been projected middle to early first round, apparently, he didn’t get that. Here’s a quote from utsports.com: “For as long as I can remember I have wanted to play in the NBA. Since the end of the season, coach Pearl, my mother and I have sat down to talk about my future. I came to the conclusion that I want to be a Volunteer next year.” This announcement, along with the commitment of Scotty sets this team up for another great year in 2009. The Vols will be a real threat to win the SEC Title again, and make a possible Final Four run. Tyler Smith’s staying is bigger than Hopson’s commitment, in my opinion, and is something Volunteer fans everywhere should rejoice over. So get ready, because Tennessee basketball will make just as much noise in ’09.

Orange and White Game Recap

The white team offense got out to a quick start Saturday, going 74 yards in one play on a touchdown pass from Jonathan Crompton to Denarious Moore. The white team continued to pour it on, finishing the first quarter with two more touchdowns on a Lennon Creer run and Josh Briscoe catch. The orange squad came back got on the board in the second quarter with a 30-yard Devin Mathis field goal. The White team quickly answered when Gerald Jones threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Denarious Moore. The White would score again before halftime on another touchdown to Josh Briscoe, again from Jonathan Crompton. The second half was slower for obvious reasons, but included a Daniel Lincoln field goal for the White team. The orange team finished the second half with 13 points, which came from a Devin Mathis 45 yard field goal, Tauren Poole 8 yard pass from B.J. Coleman, and finally with 4:49 left in the game a Taka Koyano 41 yard field goal. The White team came away with a solid victory over the Orange 38-16.

The Vols running game was sparked by sophomore running back Lennon Creer who finished the day with 10 carries and 61 yards. Tauren Poole did well for the orange team, finished with 55 yards on 12 carries. The passing game was definitely there for junior Jonathan Crompton, who finished 13-of-20 with 266 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. BJ Coleman was the better quarterback for the orange team, who had a solid 9-of-13 for 80 yards and a touchdown. Denarious Moore and Josh Briscoe were the leaders in receiving, each finishing with two touchdowns. Quintin Hancock and Gerald Jones also had good numbers to their name.

Defensively, Anthony Anderson and Rico McCoy were the leader for the Vols. Anderson finished with 4 solo and 4 assisted tackles, while Rico 6 solo and 1 assisted. The surprise showing may have come from Nick Reveiz, who had 4 solo and 3 assisted tackles. Lamarcus Thompson intercepted an errant Crompton pass and returned it 34 yards. While Wes Brown caused havoc in the backfield finishing with 4 tackles for loss that totaled -27 yards. These included 2 sacks for -16 yards. Demetrice Morley and Eric Berry added to the defensive effort, each finished with an interception.

A Few Highlights