A reader said I almost never write anything good about Tennessee. I’ll try to do better.
Here’s a start: Uniforms were an improvement over the previous week.
Readers are very special. One just reminded me of a zesty August item, a Tennessee outlook quote from Hendon Hooker: “I’m expecting a national championship. I’m expecting a Heisman Trophy. I’m expecting the real deal.”
***
The second quarter was conveniently missing, edited out of Josh Heupel’s Sunday TV replay show. What a blessing! He didn’t have to explain how Florida scored 20 points and what Kamal Hadden was doing on Trevor Etienne’s 62-yard touchdown run.
***
Turf toe injuries are or are not serious, depending on who has one. The affliction is often painful for older people.
Texas-San Antonio’s Frank Harris, in his seventh season as a quarterback for the Roadrunners, is supposedly day-to-day in healing. That makes him questionable for the Saturday game at Neyland Stadium,
Harris injured the toe in the first half of the 20-13 UTSA victory over Texas State on Sept. 9. He missed the loss to Army.
You may have missed this tidbit from the offseason: UTSA star receiver Zakhari Franklin transferred to Ole Miss. Franklin was one of the top receivers in the country last season – 94 receptions for 1,106 yards and 15 touchdowns.
***
Defensive tackle Olasunkonmi Agunloye is in the process of missing several Virginia games. He recovered a Tennessee fumble in the season opener, joined a sideline celebration with teammates, broke into a dance routine and ruptured patella tendons in both knees.
***
While you were not looking, Butch Jones’ Arkansas State team won a game. It defeated Stony Brook, 31-7. The season opener still casts a long shadow over the former Tennessee coach. His team lost to Oklahoma, 73-0. The photo of a player consoling him went viral.
Jones is 6-21 with the Red Wolves. He is on borrowed time.
Butch was high and low at Tennessee. He had back-to-back nine-win seasons, beat Georgia twice and Florida once. In his departure campaign, the Vols were 4-8 with an 0-8 record in SEC play.
***
Troubled times continue for an almost Tennessee coach, Greg Schiano. At Rutgers, he is 7-21 against Big 10 competition.
Rutgers’ time in the big league has been a competitive and financial nightmare, compounded by a few salacious scandals. Football has gone 13-66 in league play. The athletics department is more than $250 million in debt.
On November 26, 2017, Tennessee was set to announce Schiano as coach of the Volunteers. An almost instant social media campaign (alumni, fans, state representatives, sportswriters and even gubernatorial candidates) shouted no way, never, forget it.
Chancellor Beverly Davenport flinched, then fled. Tennessee escaped a memorandum of understanding. Athletics director John Currie’s credibility took a hit.
If you are interested in what almost was, see Tom Mattingly’s excellent book, Empowered.
***
Arizona State dismissed former Tennessee linebacker Juwan Mitchell after an incident on the practice field.
Transferring has not gone smoothly for the strong man from Newark, New Jersey. He went to Fort Scott Community College. He moved to Butler Community College. He became a leading tackler for Texas.
After too many coaching changes, he came to Tennessee. He lost most of one season to injuries. He did not live up to expectations last year. He did not last long with the Sun Devils.
They have worse problems. For the first time since 1988, they suffered a shutout at home. Fresno State did it.
***
SEC media types diagnosed Tennessee’s roster problem in late July. They said the Vols have no all-conference players. On3 said amen. It named the top 10 players in the league without mentioning a Volunteer.
I understand. Which Vol is best in the SEC at his position?
Marvin West welcomes reader comments or questions. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com.