A former University of Tennessee player will be playing in the Super Bowl for the 15th consecutive season. This was more than any other school. (I saw this on ESPN over the weekend)

Michigan Football Forum: Get to know: Auburn University

Michigan Blog MZone has a great take on the Auburn Mascot/Mascots. Too Funny

Warren spurns Vols' advances, picks FSU - Tuesday, 01/31/06: "KNOXVILLE — For the second year in a row, Tennessee's football team has struck out with the state's top prospect.

Brandon Warren, a tight end/defensive end from Alcoa High School, announced last night that he would sign with Florida State."

Vols pick up football commitments - Friday, 01/27/06: "KNOXVILLE – Defensive end Victor Thomas of Olive Branch, Miss., and receiver/cornerback Stephaun Raines of Dalton, Ga., are the Tennessee football team's latest two commitments.

The Vols will find out about offensive lineman Ramone Johnson of Chicago this weekend. He's scheduled to announce between Illinois and Tennessee on Sunday.

Also, tight end Brandon Warren of Alcoa, receiver Tim Hawthorne of Homewood, Ala., and safety Brandon Heath of Palm Beach Lakes, Fla., are coming in for official visits this weekend, and all three are rated at least four-star prospects."

thedailytimes.com - Thirteen could be lucky number for UT

Jackson Sun - www.jacksonsun.com - Jackson, TN

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View from Rocky Top
"Tennessee defensive back Jason Allen, who would’ve been playing in [the Senior Bowl] were it not for a major hip injury last season, is walking around the Senior Bowl hotel. Speaking with scouts this evening, Allen is showing no ill-effects from his injury."

thedailytimes.com - Tennessee recruiters waiting on several prospects: "Tennessee is still trying to fill needs on both the offensive and defensive lines for its 2006 signing class. On the offensive side, the Vols will hear the impending announcement of guard Antonio Logan-El later this afternoon, while on defense they wait for defensive tackle L.T. Walker. Walker visited Rocky Top this past weekend and came away with a large smile on his face."

View from Rocky Top » Blog Archive » Former offensive coordinator Randy Sanders to coach Kentucky quarterbacks

Jackson Sun - www.jacksonsun.com - Jackson, TN: "KNOXVILLE - Tennessee's football team hopes it has found some of the dynamics it was missing on offense last season with its latest commitment, receiver Brent Vinson of Hampton, Va.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Vinson has great speed and nifty moves after the catch. He's rated by rivals.com as the 18th best athlete in the country and was also a kick returner in high school."

ESPN.com - COLUMNIST/FORDE - Forde: And One Saturday: "They've fallen in love with this 12-3 team that embodies everything the football Vols did not last fall: heart, grit, unity and dramatic overachievement."

UT hoops suddenly a hot ticket - Sunday, 01/22/06: "Playing to a packed house at what used to be an arena where home teams went to die, Tennessee's upset of Florida last night signaled that the Vols are, at long last, back in basketball business.

This is getting serious. Enchanted with pied-piper Coach Bruce Pearl, Vols fans are drinking the orange Kool-Aid and showing up in such numbers that UT officials have taken down the curtains that for so long obscured the empty upper reaches of Thompson-Boling Arena."

UT basks in win - Sunday, 01/22/06

VOLS LEAD SEC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL WITH 30 FOOTBALL STUDENT-ATHLETES :: Tennessee was third overall in the SEC with 46 student-athletes making the grade: "Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive released the 2005 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll Thursday and Tennessee led the way with 30 football student-athletes on the list.

This year's total marks the highest in program history for the third consecutive season, topping the 22 who were selected a year ago and the 20 who made the list in 2003. Under head coach Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee has had 214 SEC Academic Honor Roll qualifiers with no fewer than 10 each year."

Remember ..........this list includes VANDERBILT

Vinson commits to Tennessee: "Brent Vinson was relieved after he called Tennessee head football coach Phil Fulmer at 3 p.m. Monday to accept a scholarship to play football for the Volunteers.

'He had just been to the school earlier, but I didn't know for sure when he was there,' Vinson said. 'So I went ahead and called him back. It was a load off.'

Vinson, a receiver and cornerback, picked Tennessee over Florida, Virginia Tech and Virginia."

Rivals.com Football Recruiting - Back to the SEC?:

"Expect Dalton, Ga., wide receiver Stephaun Raines to pick Tennessee when all is said and done.

There was speculation in the Dalton Daily Citizen that Raines would not make his scheduled visit to South Carolina this weekend and would commit to the Vols.


Rivals.com
Stephaun Raines likely is heading to Knoxville.
A few nuggets in favor of the Vols: The speedy prospect's head football coach, Ronnie McClurg is a big-time Vols fan and Dalton is only around 110 miles from Knoxville.

Also, the Vols coaches did a good job of painting their program in a positive light while shedding some negative on others.

'The Tennessee coaches asked me how I liked it and gave me the pros and cons of the other schools,' Raines told the newspaper. 'They told what I could gain by going to school up there and things I would miss by going somewhere else.

'I told coach Fulmer that I need a little time to think about it. I want to get away, get away from all the glamour.'"

Big offensive tackle from San Diego fills big UT need - Wednesday, 01/18/06: "ennessee's football team filled one of its biggest recruiting needs yesterday with the commitment of offensive tackle Cody Pope of San Diego.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Pope said he was 'blown away' by his visit to Tennessee last weekend. He had previously given a soft commitment to Washington, but said he's now firm to the Vols. Pope is rated by Rivals.com as the country's 48th best offensive tackle prospect."

Dawson's Cunningham chooses Tennessee over Purdue - gainesvilletimes.com: "...kicker/punter Chad Cunningham has decided to follow in the footsteps of his father.

Cunningham, who originally committed to play football at Purdue University, visited the University of Tennessee this past weekend and gave his commitment to play for the Volunteers.

Chad's father, Rory Cunningham, played on the offensive line at Tennessee from 1978-1981."

Appalachian State University Athletics [ www.GoASU.com ]

thedailytimes.com - Hancock verbally commits to UT: "KNOXVILLE -- Looking to get out of the state of Florida, St. Augustine High School standout Quinton Hancock verbally committed to play football at Tennessee during his visit over the weekend.

``I committed to the coaches on Saturday,'' Hancock said Sunday on his way back to the Sunshine state.

A 6-foot-2, 182-pound wide receiver, Hancock chose the Vols over Maryland, Nebraska and Georgia Tech."

UT needs a flourish at finish - Monday, 01/16/06: "Over the years, few head coaches have closed the recruiting season the way Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer has.

He may need the best save of his career to avoid the lowest-rated class the Vols have signed since Fulmer took over in 1993."

Jackson Sun - www.jacksonsun.com - Jackson, TN: "One day after he was hit with an $800,000 civil lawsuit, Tennessee defensive tackle Tony McDaniel changed his mind and decided to turn pro after all. Coach Phillip Fulmer said McDaniel informed him of his change of heart yesterday."

WVLT VOLUNTEER TV Knoxville, TN: Clausen To Remain a Vol: "Knoxville -- Vols head football coach Phillip Fulmer has announced that Rick Clausen will stay with the program as a graduate assistant coach next year."

AccessNorthGa.com - News Articles: North Georgia's Sporting News Weather and News: "Fullback Cory Anderson and defensive tackles Justin Harrell, Turk McBride and Tony McDaniel also said they will stay."

UT puts on show - Thursday, 01/12/06: "For the second consecutive game, the Vols caught fire in the second half and romped past Georgia for an 89-76 win before a raucous crowd of 21,612.

It was the second largest crowd for a Southeastern Conference home opener in the history of 24,535-seat Thompson-Boling Arena, which opened during the 1987-88 season."

ESPN.com - NCF - The high price of supply and demand: "Going to a college football game is an expensive proposition, but the price on a ticket doesn't always reveal the full expense. As demand has exceeded supply, universities have come up with their answer to the personal seat licenses, popularized by professional sports teams: If you want the best seats in the house at your alma mater, chances are you'll have to pay for the rights -- often thousands of dollars a year -- to buy them."

Sears stays at UT for senior season - Wednesday, 01/11/06: "KNOXVILLE — Tennessee's football team won't land a more important recruit than the one it held onto yesterday.

Arron Sears, the Vols' first-team All-SEC offensive tackle, informed Coach Phillip Fulmer that he was returning for his senior season after going back and forth on his football future the last week."

UT football commitments

Top-ranked DE Warren looking at Tennessee: "Tennessee lost one verbal commitment from close to home, but might be about to gain another from nearby who just happens to be the top-ranked defensive end in the nation.

Numerous sources reported this week that Brandon Warren, a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder from Alcoa, might be wavering on his previous verbal commitment to Florida State. Warren, the Class 2A Mr. Football winner, is scheduled to visit Tennessee on Jan. 27, a week after making a final visit to Tallahassee. Warren told the Knoxville News-Sentinel that his family is pushing the Vols hard, hoping he'll play his college ball closer to home."

View from Rocky Top » Blog Archive » Scout.com: Vols Losing Recruiting Season as Well, but Could Still Finish Strong: "According to Scout.com (subscription required), Tennessee is losing the recruiting season, ranking 33rd nationally and ranking below No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Georgia, No. 9 LSU, No. 14 Auburn, No. 20 Mississippi, No. 21 Alabama and No. 27 Kentucky."

From View from Rocky Top

Former Tennessee Volunteer Coach Randy Sanders Talks about his Future

Tennessee football ticket holders asked for donations: "The university athletic department announced in 2004 that by 2006 there would no longer be any grandfathered tickets on the east and west sidelines behind the team benches. Athletic director Mike Hamilton sent letters last week to about 2,000 ticket holders reminding them of the policy and asking them to make a decision by Jan. 20. Season ticket order forms are due March 1."

WVLT VOLUNTEER TV Knoxville, TN: Fulmer Confident Sears Will Stay: "We're told Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer is confident that Aaron Sears will return for his senior season. Sears has been strongly considering entering the NFL draft. Sears was an All-SEC performer this past season. Sears' teammate Rob Smith announced his intentions earlier this week to turn pro.

More good news for the Vols. Redshirt freshman quarterback Jonathan Crompton has begun throwing. In fact, his doctor says he believes Crompton will be back to throwing at full speed by mid-February, which means he'll be 100 percent by the time spring drills roll around."

Vols have their eyes on several blue-chip prospects: "Wednesday night, Texas brought home a national championship.

This weekend, the focus of every elite Division I-A football program - Tennessee included - will remain fixed upon the Lone Star State.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl takes place Saturday in San Antonio, and the Vols have designs on several blue-chippers taking part in the showcase game."

Too bad it was the other UT

SI.com - NCAA Football - Vols' Smith leaving early for NFL, Harrell staying - Wednesday January 4, 2006 5:43PM: "Defensive tackle Justin Harrell has told Tennessee coaches he intends to return for his senior season. He will be the only returning starter from the defensive line next year."

Smith to declare for NFL - Wednesday, 01/04/06: "KNOXVILLE — Rob Smith, one of the most durable and dependable members of Tennessee's offensive line the past few seasons, has decided to forego his senior season and will enter the NFL Draft.

Smith, a captain last season for the Vols, said he's already informed Coach Phillip Fulmer of his decision to leave and that there's no chance he will change his mind."

Scout.com: New Year's resolutions: "Head football coach Phillip Fulmer: I resolve to coach no more games when both Peyton Manning and Steve Spurrier are in attendance. (Fulmer was 0-4 against Spurrier’s Florida Gators during Manning’s playing career and lost to Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks in 2005 with Manning on hand to see his jersey retired)."