FreakNotes: Countdown; SEC Coaches Hotseat Odds; Vols’ Hype Video

Tennessee Vols Football News

August 31, Thursday

• Good Thursday afternoon, everybody. We’re only FOUR days away from football. I can hardly wait. — Countdown Thread. If you need your college football fix, NOW, you’re in luck. Ohio State and Indiana play tonight on ESPN at 8:00 p.m.

Four days. #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/kZAF1NbKLk

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) August 31, 2017

• If you missed it, there was lots of good stuff in yesterday’s FreakNotes from Butch’s press conference, including the depth chart for Georgia Tech: FreakNotes: Updates from Butch; Kirkland and Tuttle; Richmond suspension
• If you haven’t already done so, be sure to get your picks in for our two contests this week. You could win an Amazon gift card. — The 14th Annual VolNation Pick Contests are Live!
• Vol Calls started last night. There’s a discussion thread, if you’re so inclined. — Vol Calls on Right Now!
• So, now there are odds on who will be the first SEC coach to be fired. Kevin Sumlin and Butch Jones are the overwhelming favorites. Saban and Smart are the two who have the most job security, according to the list.
• Around the SEC: Florida already has ten players suspended for the opener and it looks like more suspensions are imminent.
• I still don’t know if I believe that Tennessee is going to play two quarterbacks on Monday. Quinten Dormady is the guy right now, and unless the Vols put the game out of reach, I just don’t see Jarrett Guarantano getting many snaps. How many do you think he’ll get on Monday?
• ESPN released a cool video highlighting Monday’s primetime matchup between Tennessee and Georgia Tech.
• Housekeeping: I’ve added the ability to comment on posts using Facebook. Scroll down to the bottom to see it in action. Try it out and help me make sure it’s working properly.
• Select players and assistant coaches were available to the media this afternoon. You can watch full videos of those here: Coaches Media Availability: Aug. 31 | Player Media Availability: Aug. 31
• Tennessee is the 12th-most talented football team in the country right now, according to a 247Sports ranking metric. This year’s team is actually more talented than last year, according to Barton Simmons. Other SEC schools ahead of the Vols: Alabama (1), Georgia (4), LSU (6), Auburn (8).
• Anonymous quotes are all the rage lately, and SEC coaches have some harsh criticism of Butch Jones, off the record, of course. — “When you’re in your fourth year of a program and the defense is that bad, that ain’t good.” one coach said. “The thing about Tennessee this year, they don’t have a quarterback, they don’t have a running back and for all those guys they’ve signed, I don’t see any dominant, draftable players on the roster.”… “A part of me says Butch Jones has gone a good job. A part of me says no. I think he’s too concerned with what the media says than doing his job. If you win, the media doesn’t matter. If you lose, everything matters. I think he gets caught up in public opinion. I think he’s an insecure guy.” — And another one: “Tennessee hasn’t won 10 games in 10 years. No way they should go 10 years at Tennessee and not win 10-11 games. No way. That’s an indictment on the coaches, the school, the president. You have the resources, the fan passion, the stadium, the financial commitment. There’s no way. There’s just a bunch of excuses being made. Lane Kiffin leaving (for USC) was the biggest mistake of his life. Firing Phil Fulmer was the biggest mistake of Tennessee’s life.”
• Regarding that Jimmy Hyams article above, this article had another quote from an SEC coach saying Butch should be fired, but oddly I no longer see it in the original piece. — “Any time Vanderbilt beats Tennessee, they ought to fire the coach at Tennessee,” one coach said. “They fired Derek Dooley. They ought to fire Butch Jones. Vanderbilt should never beat Tennessee. There’s not an excuse on the planet for that.”
• It’s game week, so as you might expect, the information coming out of today’s practice was limited. Check out these notes and a couple of videos from today’s session. (h/t Fingers)