Let us applaud Dr. Daniel J. White, vice chancellor and director of athletics. He did something right.

Never, in my many years in sports, have I seen a team scene to rival Vol baseball players’ reaction to news of a new coach. They ran to surround and embrace Josh Elander. It was a very emotional gathering. He and probably some of them shed tears of joy that he got the job.

Dr. White’s decision was 100 per cent logical. There is no way to know if Josh can come close to doing what Tony Vitello did but he has the ideal background – eight years as Tony’s assistant, hitting coach, coordinator of recruiting, key link to the roster.

I don’t think Josh will ever be the rock star Tony was/is. He may not be as colorful as was Vitello in disagreements with umpires. He should be super solid in team leadership. He is respected. He knows the game.

His father says Josh was swinging a little plastic bat as a 1-year-old in Round Rock, Texas. He swung his way to assorted honors at Texas Christian University (All-American, all-conference academic, College World Series, U.S. national team).

Vitello and Elander go back a long way. Vitello was hitting coach of the Horned Frogs.

Elander, in the Atlanta Braves farm system, won the Hank Aaron Award and was minor league player of the year in 2013.

Interesting info: Josh won the national Pitch, Hit and Run competition at age 14 … he got to chase batting practice balls in the outfield prior to an MLB All-Star Game … Josh married his seventh-grade sweetheart, Brit … former Vol Garrett Crochet, a pretty good pitcher, said “Josh is a little bit more calm and collected than V. Elander has always been all-business.”

Heupel miracle needed to fix Vol defense

FOOTBALL: Josh Heupel does not do alibis. He never publically criticizes assistant coaches. He does not throw players under the bus, not even Boo Carter when he fails to chase a run-away receiver.

In almost all situations, Heupel can find a positive outlook.

He made me smile late Saturday night when he said Tennessee’s defense can, indeed, be repaired, that it is just a matter of fundamentals and focus and execution.

Coach, are we also talking about a miracle? How long will it take?

This team was together for 14 and a half spring practices. Coaches and players looked at how-to-do-it video and talked about the basics in May, June and July. They worked together on fundamentals, technique and strategy throughout August and almost every day since.

Results are not favorable.

Tennessee’s pass defense is 124th out of 136 teams in supposedly big-time college football. The overall scoring defense is 112th. It gives up an average of 30.9 points per game. Opponents are gaining more than 400 yards per Saturday.

Pressure on passers is going down instead of up. Believe it or not, there are more missed tackles. There are too many penalties but about average for Heupel teams.

Now and then the defense makes a really big contribution (think Edrees Farooq pick-six). More often, somebody busts an assignment and gives up a touchdown.

There are honest explanations. Tennessee plays on without its top two cornerbacks. Another went away. Other defenders have lost time to injuries. Some of that is bad luck but injuries happen in football. That’s where the “next man up” philosophy applies. Vol depth is questionable at some positions. Recruiting, the transfer portal and development are long-range solutions.

How is Tennessee 6-2, you ask, and hoping to make the playoffs? By outscoring opponents. The schedule has helped.

Be advised that points may not be in plentiful supply this Saturday night at Neyland Stadium, even with Joey Aguilar at the top of his game, receivers improving and the offensive line holding serve.  Oklahoma defense can be crusty at times.

Kickoff is set for 7:30. For some strange reason, tickets are plentiful from alternative sources but they are expensive.

Tennessee vs. Duke exhibition sells out Food City Center

BASKETBALL: Exhibitions are supposed to be learning experiences. Tennessee learned last night that Duke famous freshman Cameron Boozer is already a full-grown man. He scored 24 and took down 23 rebounds in the Blue Devils’ 83-76 victory at sold-out Food City Center.

Think about that sold-out part – on a Sunday night during football season. NBA people added to the crowd. There were 39 scouts and team executives.

Tennessee’s projected scoring leaders, 6-10 freshman Nate Ament and graduate transfer point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, did not shoot well. Ament got 14 points on five of 19. Gillespie scored 18 but missed 15 of 20 attempts. He hit three of 12 from long range. Ament missed his five tries from behind the arc.

Duke won on free throws, 25 of 27. Tennessee hit 10 of 14.

Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com