Last week, as you could probably tell, I was a little perturbed at the prospect of having to go thru another off season wondering what will come of our beloved football team this upcoming season. That didn’t get any better when I listened to resident experts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstriet call us a “non factor” for the 2008 SEC East race.
I still believe the 10 things I listed last week are relevant to our program as to what needs to happen to change the direction of this program, which at the very best is level at the present time.
But, what a difference a week makes, huh?
Since my last opinion on all things UT, we’ve been a little bit of a roll lately. Just goes to show that things are rarely as bad as they seem, and most certainly hardly ever as good. But whose going to argue with a little good karma heading in to the dreariest sports time of the year…..for me anyways.
Anyway, for those that haven’t been keeping up, here’s a snapshot of the things that have happened lately that should have all of Big Orange nation a buzz:
1. The Orange and White game. I’ve said this plenty, but it bears saying again, I’m not one to put a ton of stock in a spring game, however, I always want come away from it feeling like I did Sunday night. They looked good on both sides of the ball, the play makers made plays, no one got hurt, and the new offense got a shot of confidence heading in to the summer. Mission accomplished. The better news is that we had some folks that could/should be key contributors in the fall that didn’t even participate in spring drills, either because of injury or academics, and their impact won’t be known until August. It is hard for me to believe that getting these guys back will be a detriment though.
2. Scotty Hopson signs with Tennessee. Much has been made of this signing and the more I read about it and listen to opinions about this signing, the more excited I get. This was a big deal. It’s been 10 years since we’ve had a McDonald’s AA sign here, and he may very well be the most hyped basketball recruit to sign here. If all indications are correct, this should open the door to future recruits of this caliber. And hey, his signing had Bruce Pearl crying tears of joy. That’s enough for me.
3. Tennessee football got another shot in the arm when Damien Thigpen and Dominique Allen both committed to play football here. Damien, the 2nd 4 star recruit to sign, is a great athlete from the Commonwealth State, and Dominique is a home town product from Paris, TN; a self described “Tennessee boy”. Both commits add some early momentum to the 09 class.
4. And today the basketball team got just what the doctor ordered when Tyler Smith made it official. He’s coming back to Tennessee, which should give Tennessee plenty enough going in to next season to be more than competitive once again for the SEC title and post season tourney play.
So, yeah, what a week huh? As critical as many of us are about the athletic programs at UTK, I find it difficult to find any reason to have a negative thought at the present time. We’ve started the official off season with a bang, and one can only hope that this momentum continues in to the upcoming football and basketball seasons.
Hopefully, this great week is the impetus to what will be great seasons.
Go Vols.
3 responses to “The Rearview 4-24”
who cares what kirk and lee say they usually never picked Tennessee to win anything and Kirk is a ohio state alum and picked ohio state to win both of the national championships……… Tennessee will be a contender again for the sec east
JAKEZ IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY. THE VOLS WILL SUPRISE A LOT OF ESPN JOKSTERS THIS FALL.
kendrick, billy, it’s not that i care one way or the other what either say.
rather, it’s the events that have to happent to warrant such hype that have been lacking.
it’s not the hype itself i’m missing. it’s the reason for the hype. ie, winning the games that generate and create hype for hte rest of the season.