FreakNotes and Links: Aug 22

August 22, Tuesday (updating throughout the day)

• I hope everyone is having a great Tuesday. If you missed yesterday’s FreakNotes, check it out now.
• It’s almost surreal that we’re only 13 days from kickoff. Two weeks from today, we’ll be breaking down the Georgia Tech game and we’ll have a better idea about this team. — Countdown Thread
• Tennessee picked up its 22nd commitment in the 2018 class last night from Florida athlete/wide receiver Shocky Jacques-Louis. Tennessee assistant director of recruiting Brett Thiesen tweeted, “We just got some serious speed and playmaking ability! Feels good to have another from the sunshine state! Welcome! #DOM1N8.”
• Apparently, Tennessee tried to hire Matt Canada as its offensive coordinator. At least that’s what Ed Orgeron says. “The day we got him here, we knew Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee was all after him. That’s not all of them. These schools were just dying to get him. So we had to move. And the guy was wanted, so we had to make the right offer,” Orgeron said. Butch ended up promoting tight ends coach Larry Scott instead.
• The AP poll came out yesterday (Tennessee was ranked No. 25 if you missed it) and I started thinking about how many consecutive years the Vols weren’t ranked, which was every year after Fulmer left up until two years ago. For those keeping score at home, that’s a total of six-straight seasons. Anyway, here is an interesting historical breakdown of where Tennessee started the AP poll and where it finished.
• Even though I’m a big basketball fan, it’s hard for me to think about hoops right now, with football season so close. However, Rick Barnes had a press conference this morning.
• I touched on it in yesterday’s FreakNotes, but Shaq Wiggins has been limited with a hip injury, according to Butch Jones. If you follow my posts in the forum, you know that I’ve been curious as to why Wiggins’ name has been regularly omitted by coaches and media when discussing Tennessee’s cornerbacks. This could explain it.
• There’s no football practice again until Thursday, due to classes starting tomorrow, so you’ll have to keep reading through and watching all the videos in the Practice 18 thread to get your fix.
• I hadn’t really thought about it this way, but former UT sprinter Christian Coleman is the only person to go 3-0 against Usain Bolt, who’s known as the fastest man alive.
• Barton Simmons wrote an article for CBS Sports listing one freshman from each team who will breakout in 2017. No. 1 on his list is Trey Smith from Tennessee. “An early enrollee, Smith has been a standout on the Tennessee offensive line since the day he stepped on campus. While the Volunteers have found some stability and experience on the offensive front, Smith has done enough not just to unseat an experienced starter but to make that offensive line better in his first year. Smith was a five-star and the No. 4 offensive tackle in the country per to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and he’s already living up to that billing.”