ForumsTo hear Derek Dooley explain it, the only thing missing from Neyland Stadium will be 102,000 screaming fans.
The Tennessee head coach described after Tuesday’s practice the schedule for Wednesday night’s “mock game,” an event officially marking the close of fall camp. Included on his checklist for all UT players and coaches is nearly every detail from the Vols’ arrival on campus the day of a game, to pregame routine, halftime arrangements and postgame responsibilities.
All in preparation for the Sept. 4 season opener against UT Martin.
“We’re going to do a walk-through of everything to get ready for the first game,” Dooley said. “We’re going to do a real dry run-through as best we can simulate, and that includes the message board and getting used to all the distractions.”
There will be a Vol Walk, a virtual pregame locker room schedule, reading of Gen. Neyland’s Game Maxims, running onto the field, halftime arrangements for seating talking to the team, followed by the postgame media setup — just as the team plans to do it 10 days later.
Mixed into the actual on-field practice schedule will be a set of game situations including substitutions, punt and field goal responsibilities, sideline adjustments and coaches’ communication on the headsets.
“We’ve got all these new faces on our team, so we’ve just got to try to simulate the environment as best we can,” Dooley said. “That will be our final hoorah before we recover physically and mentally and get ready for our first game.”
Dooley sounded Tuesday as if the Vols are ending camp on a positive note.
“We have had two really good days and I’m pleased with how it ended. I told the players on Sunday that it was very important that we pick one or two things and lock in to improve on these next two practices, because this is an easy time to say, ‘Let’s hurry up and get this over with.’
“And they really responded well so I was pleased with them. We had a good two days of practice and got better as a team.”
Dooley also announced Tuesday that 2010 signee Martaze Jackson has been admitted to UT just ahead of Friday’s deadline to enroll. The Demopolis, Ala., linebacker still must be approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse before he can begin practicing.
VOL CALLS KICKS OFF WEDNESDAY WITH NEW TIME SLOT FOR 2010
“Vol Calls,” the official statewide call-in radio show for University of Tennessee athletics, kicks off its 23rd season this week with a new Wednesday night time slot for the 2010 football season. The one-hour show airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. Central) from the Texas Roadhouse location across from West Town Mall in Knoxville.
The new move from Monday to Wednesday night provides more focus and more up-to-date analysis on Tennessee’s upcoming football game and allow UT head coach Derek Dooley to be on site and in attendance to answer questions for most of the shows during football season.
Bob Kesling, voice of the Tennessee Volunteers and UT’s director of broadcasting, serves as the show’s host and is joined by Vol Network veteran Brent Hubbs to answer questions and provide insight into Tennessee athletics. Once football season gets underway, Coach Dooley will appear on-site at the Texas Roadhouse during game weeks to answer questions and take calls for approximately 30 minutes. Kesling, Hubbs and Coach Dooley will be joined by former Vol standouts like Tim Priest, Jeff Francis and Pat Ryan among others as rotating special guests.
“Vol Calls” is the exclusive radio program where Tennessee fans can call in and talk with the head coaches of the Vols and Lady Vols. Fans can place a “Vol Call” anywhere in the United States by dialing 1-800-688-8657, or Tennessee customers of Verizon can dial #TENN. Patrons at the Texas Roadhouse may ask a question in person and will have the opportunity to register for prizes and tickets to UT home football games. Listeners also may submit questions in the coming weeks by going to UTsports.com.
“Vol Calls” runs for 35 straight weeks from Aug. 25 to April 21. Once football season concludes, the show moves back to its traditional Monday night slot to better accommodate basketball season. The program can be heard on approximately 70 stations that make up the Vol Radio Network across the state of Tennessee and the Southeast. The weekly program also can be heard online for free each week through UTsports.com.
Comments on this entry are closed.