IT was a tough film study this week without the Vol Colonel around. The ole VC is fighting a serious health issue and would really appreciate your prayers for him. In the meantime, we gathered as a concerned Tony Basilio Radio Show Family and broke down Kentucky.
Tennessee-Kentucky Film Study
'The pressure is on both teams this Saturday as Kentucky and Tennessee each look to secure a win to become bowl eligible. There are several similarities between the two teams. Each is lead by a second year head coach at their university. They play similar schemes both offensively and defensively. The current freshman classes of each have infused a lot of talent into the respective programs. The one glaring difference is that while UT has seen its fortunes turn the corner with the emergence of sophomore qb Joshua Dobbs, Kentucky is looking to avoid a fifth consecutive loss. An early 5-1 record had fans in the bluegrass state excited about what may come. Unfortunately, seven games in seven weeks has taken a toll on this team and last week they looked to be running on fumes. A packed house at Neyland will be looking to help the Vols continue their winning ways after coming off a historic come from behind victory in Columbia, South Carolina. This will be an abbreviated version of the film study preview as by now everyone is familiar with the Wildcats and their recent struggles.
Kentucky on offense
Kentucky runs a very similar offense to the Vols. Qb in the shotgun, one back, three wide receivers on most plays. They are lead by emerging star qb Patrick Towles. The grandson of former major league pitcher Jim Bunting has had a very nice year and will be a threat for future all SEC honors in years to come. He has a big arm and unlike most tall qb's, he is an effective runner. He can make all of the throws and is a legit NFL prospect. Like UT, the Cats run a version of the popular zone read. Freshman Boom Williams leads a committee of running backs that all have over 50 carries and average over 5 yards/ carry. For some reason, early season star JoJo Kemp has become awol from games. Something is going on as Kemp was almost unstoppable in the wildcat formation, yet rarely sees the ball now. Whatever the reason for his absence, it favors the Vols if Kemp stays in the dog house for one more week.
Towles spreads the ball around to his receiving corps using a short ball control passing game. This is reminiscient of Hal Mumme's 'Air Raid' offense from back in the day. Another mystery is why leading receiver Ryan Timmons has been relegated to the second team in favor of several freshmen. No other receiver has stepped into the go to role since Timmons' demotion. Towles does throw to his backs quite a bit so Reeves-Maybin and Randolf will have to have good games this weekend to avoid some of the chunk plays we have seen recently.
The Kentucky oline would best be described as average. Like the Vols, they have had a hard time keeping the qb off of the ground giving up 26 sacks on the year. Look for Maggitt and Barnett to be around Towles all afternoon long.
This version of the Big Blue has more playmakers than in the past with a number of players that can take it to the house via the ground or the air. Our defense will have to play better than the previous two weeks to contain this unit.
Kentucky on Defense
The Cats run a familiar 4-2-5 defense lead by veteran linebackers Bud Dupree and Josh Forrest. There is some talent here, but these guys are just gassed. Last week they could not get off the field on third down and have not forced a punt in five consecutive quarters. Dobbs should find room to run between the tackles as running qb's have been a thorn in the side of the Cats all season. Jason Hatcher and his running mate, fellow defensive end Za'Darius Smith will be tough covers for our tackles, but Dobbs escapability should help. This unit has given up more than 300 yards rushing in three of the last four games. We would expect both Hurd and Dobbs to put up big numbers Saturday.
The db's for Kentucky have also struggled of late. Hutson Mason looked like a Heisman candidate last week completing 18-21 passes and four touchdowns. Fatigue and thin depth surely have contributed to their generosity. UGa threw over coverage all game long with little interference.
Kentucky on Special Teams
Short kickoffs and inconsistent coverage units have yielded three touchdown returns in the past four games.
Take home message
This is a more than winnable game for the Vols at home this weekend.
Kentucky is tired, beaten up from a tough stretch of games, and has some internal issues affecting key players. The Vols will have to play a good game to win, however, as the Cats have enough playmakers to make this game interesting and they will not want to have to travel to Louisville to get their sixth victory.
Go Vols
Basilio Film Study Crew'
While the Cats aren't great, they do have SEC scholarship athletes. They are thin, tired and have trouble getting off the field on defense. My question is, how long does Kentucky hang around tomorrow afternoon in frigid Neyland Stadium? I tried to convince my film study crew that this game won't be close. I scouted UK last weekend and they are gassed. This should be a rather easy win for the Vols. I will agree to disagree with my radio family contributors.
Lot's of movement on the Donnie Tyndall/NCAA stuff to report.
Garry Parrish outed Wade O'Conner yesterday as DT's NCAA Deepthroat. I've been hinting around it for days and didn't have anything really concrete but I trust that Garry does. He's simply a great reporter. Here's some stuff I've learned along with a little analysis.
Wade O'Conner is the guy whose name I've been hearing since the weekend as the snitch. In fairness to Parrish, he's the ONLY name I've heard as the Southern Miss Deepthroat. O'Conner is a guy that was with Tyndall for years only to leave Southern Miss prematurely and not surface with Donnie when he got the job at Tennessee. After doing some digging, I learned last night that apparently there's some anger and perhaps some bitterness from O'Conner toward Tyndall over this. That's what I was told by two sources close to UT's staff last night.
The odd thing is that O'Conner and Tyndall seemed close until all of this, in fact Tyndall had O'Conner come to Knoxville this summer to do a motivational speech to his team. O'Conner works as a motivational speaker these days. Also, O'Conner was apparently at DT's wedding. I hope it wasn't O'Conner as one former coaching colleague of his was recounting Tyndall's generosity toward him in a few recent times of need. These two guys were really close at one time. The two sources I spoke with last night said Tyndall was 'shocked' when he learned that it was O'Conner behind this. I do believe UT's B-ball staff believes O'Conner is the sole mole. This is really a shame all the way around.
For his part, O'Conner was tepidly attempting to defend his honor on Twitter last night.
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For his part, Parrish wasn't backing down.
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Gary Parrish joins us today off the top on the show.
Tennessee basketball could be captive to personal animus turned into a sick game of gotcha. The only thing is we are all caught in the middle of this.
Donnie Tyndall's attorney is
Stu Brown, a former college hoops coach who now represents wayward coaches. He represented Bruce Pearl with Tennessee. He represented Kelvin Sampson and Mike Davis among others. Tennessee will have their own attorney ('s) present at the Tyndall/NCAA investigator interview.
One insider last night told me that NCAA is back on its game and being very aggressive in their investigations these days. This flies in the face of assumptions from the national media who see this as a time of leniency. With the media painting them as a toothless tiger over the bungled Miami mess, and the Penn State reach, et al, the NCAA is anxious to prove that they are still a force. My question is to what length will the NCAA enforcement arm go to prove they are still in the game? Is the NCAA targeting Tyndall to the point where they will give certain players immunity at Southern Miss if they cooperate against their former coach? That's been speculated elsewhere. The present environment of the NCAA seems to be geared heavily toward targeting coaches rather than previous institutions. So, what becomes of Southern Miss in all of this?
Insiders tell me that Dave Hart is not going to stretch himself out on this deal. I don't think he's going to go to the wall for Tyndall. In other words, the NCAA better come pretty close to striking out on this deal or UT will be head hoops coach hunting pretty soon.
That same insider last night told me that the investigative arm of the NCAA is trying to move faster than it did during Pearl Gate a couple of years back. How long will it ultimately take? Great question. But I'm told it's going to be quicker than in the past. It's a point of emphasis. Let's put it that way.
Here's the good news...Mike Hamilton isn't on campus to get run over on this deal. Then again, how plugged in will Hart be? Will he run from or fight for his coach at the end of this?
Meanwhile UT opens its season tonight and we will be live on the app discussing it on the Smartway/Dalton Bearing & Hydraulic Basketball Overtime! Get the App now if you haven't. You don't want to be locked out as the game goes final.
THINK THIS WILL BE A NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER EVERYWHERE IN CFB
Vols Should Join in the Fun
SINCE WE LAST SPOKE: 11-13-14
WHAT WE LEARNED IN WEEK 11:
NATION:
NEVER SAY NEVER Not that it’s the oldest rivalry but they did meet in Norman for the first time when I was a freshman in college (fall of 1974) which other than when measured in CFB years was a looooong time ago. Yet Baylor had NEVER won a game there. As a matter of fact until 2011 the Bears had never won a game versus Oklahoma PERIOD losing the first 20 games of the series. Never apparently doesn’t last forever as the Bears not only defeated the Sooners but did it in going away fashion outscoring their conference rivals 45-0 after the first quarter....
SEC
STATE OF ALABAMA In a football-crazy state with two nationally-ranked teams with very dissimilar fan bases the joy is at times unequally distributed. Saturday was one of those times where Alabama fans were given a double-dose of delight while Auburn faithful were dealt multiple miseries....
WHAT WE MUST SEE FROM VOLS vs KENTUCKY:
RUN THE CATS OUT OF YOUR YARD: Tennessee’s once feeble running attack has amassed 525 yards rushing in their last two contests and need to continue that ground assault Saturday. Kentucky allows almost 200 yards rushing/game which makes them 13th in the SEC in Rush Defense. The Vols can not only give their defense some much-needed late-season rest by pounding the ball but limit the Cat’s opportunities for interceptions of which they’ve amassed 13 this season (3rd best in SEC) turning three of those into TDs
....[more]
Keith Hatfield, who will be your way on Show Cause today @ 1 eastern, predicts the SEC in hoops.
Hatfield
'While I am fairly certain placing teams 6-13 in a hat and assigning their positions by random draw would be at least as effective as attempting to actually analyze their prospective order of finish, here are my SEC hoops prognostications. Call Show Cause today with any comments or complaints.
1. Kentucky.
2. Florida.
3. Arkansas.
4. LSU.
5. Georgia.
6. Ole Miss.
7. South Carolina.
8. Texas A&M.
9. Tennessee.
10. Auburn.
11. Missouri.
12. Alabama.
13. Vanderbilt.
14. Mississippi State.
I'll be at Clancy's Tavern & Whiskey House for the game this evening. Stop by for what should be a fun time.'
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'X', presented Smoothie King, has the scoop on the weekend visitors and a few other odds and ends.
'X' Says
'This weekend Tennessee is scheduled to welcome three official visitors to campus.
You should expect this weekend to be the last official weekend of any significance before official visit weekends get ramped up in December. With one more home date after this weekend, the only way I could see official visitors for the Missouri game is if there is no other weekend to get a visitor who is an early enrollee onto campus.
Let me give you the official visit list at this time and then a few comments
Darius Slayton, 6"1" 185 lbs and a three - four star (depending on your service of choice) wide receiver/ corner back from Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross, Georgia. Not sure whether Tennessee is looking at Slayton as a receiver or as a corner. My best guess is Slayton is being recruited as a wide receiver . This is based upon the recent news that Tennessee commitment Preston Williams suffered a season ending knee injury . An injury that is significant enough that he will likely be sidelined well into the 2015 season (see below) . On the other hand, Slayton is a long athlete that looks the part of the type of cornerback is trying to stock their roster with. Slayton, a teammate of Vol commitment Micah Abernathy, has interested from Georgia, South Carolina, Auburn, Florida, Clemson, and others.
Corey Dauphine, 5"11 185 lbs from Port Arthur Memorial High School in Port Arthur, Texas. Dauphine is a three star running back who is "committed" to Texas Tech. He publicly states he is "solid" to Texas Tech but is scheduled to visit Tennessee this weekend, Arkansas next weekend, may visit Florida, and Oklahoma and oh by the way many Texas people believe he winds up when all is said and done at Baylor. Dauphine is an electric looking running back for sure.
Ugo Amadi, 5'9" 175 lbs four star cornerback/athlete from Overton High School in the mid state. Amadi is rated as the 5th best 2015 prospect in the state. Tennessee has ran hot and cold with Amadi.... maybe to their detriment. In the spring, Amadi looked certain to be a VOL. Tennessee seemingly went in another direction, Amadi my guess is sensed this and committed to Ole Miss during the summer. However, Tennessee has continued to aggressively recruit Amadi. That has paid off because of course he will be here this weekend. Tennessee appears to really want Amadi as part of this class. Two things concern me here. First, if Amadi is in who is out? Spots in this class are at a premium. With other corner back/athletes committed who is dropped. Secondly, will Tennessee be able to overcome their spring fling with other similarly skilled athletes like Amadi?
My unsolicited comments.
Wide Receiver. As alluded to above, the
injury to commitment Preston Williams is a downer to the 2015 class.
Williams is a superb talent at wide receiver and while it is never a sure thing a high school senior will contribute as a true freshman it is highly probable Williams would have played early if healthy. The knee injury he suffered which requires surgery makes his available for next season at best in doubt. Williams will definitely be a part of the 2015 class but with the late season injury may be in line for a redshirt season to heal up. Now, it is my belief Tennessee wants one more wide receiver in the 2015 class . One that can and will play early.
Tennessee will go all in on mid state wide receiver
Van Jefferson who is presently committed to Georgia. I would expect Tennessee to get Jefferson onto campus prior to National Signing Day.
I would be shocked if Tennessee doesn't wind up in the thick of the chase for Van Jefferson.
Running Back. Tennessee is almost a certainty now to sign three running backs in their 2015 class. Question is who are the three? JUCO prospect Alvin Kamara will sign with Tennessee in December and be on campus in January. The question is who are the other two running backs that will be a part of this class?
Tennessee commitment Rocky Reid, a long time commitment, is heading to Athens Georgia this weekend. Can't imagine Tennessee is too happy about this but in all honesty Reid might be better suited for Georgia's offensive scheme than Tennessee's.
To be honest, I will be shocked if the Dauphine kid from Texas visits this weekend. He may but it would be a longshot to think he will leave Texas to play college football.
The names to keep in mind are North Carolina running back Bryce Love and Louisiana running back Kendall Bussey .
From my vantage point, the abilities of Kamara, Bussey, and Love are superior fits to Tennessee's offensive scheme when compared to the skills of a prospect like Rocky Reid. That is no disrespect to Reid. He is an excellent prospect but it is what it is.
Defensive Back. It is a good sign Amadi is visiting and he is a talent.
Tennessee's best recruiter outside of Jones is Tommie Thigpen who is Tennessee's lead recruiter for the mid state. Coach Jones and Coach Thigpen are equal partners in the pursuit of Amadi. We should know soon about Amadi as he is projected to be an early enrollee.
Lastly, I'm intrigued by a few 2016 prospects that will be visiting this weekend. One in particular is
Austin Parker a middle linebacker from Jackson Central Merry in Jackson, Tennessee. Though only a junior in high school, Parker looks like a prototypical college linebacker at 6"1" 235 lbs. I got tipped off to watch his film and it was well worth my time. As mentioned Parker will be on campus this weekend, Georgia, Alabama, and Auburn among others are evaluating Parker. He is sorta kinda under the recruiting radar right now. That will change once his tape gets seen and he begins to camp next year. One thing from the film is that it is hard to evaluate lateral speed and impossible to evaluate the kid's skills versus the competition. What is not hard to evaluate is he seeks out contact and can deliver a blow. I don't know if Tennessee or any other SEC schools will pursue Parker but he certainly passes the eye test.
In advance happy Xgiving
XOXOXO'
Young Gun John Reed follows Keith Hatfield today live on your Tony Basilio App/Stream at 3 eastern.
Jon Reed
'I know that I shouldn’t let the NCAA Playoff rankings upset me every week because it all usually works itself out by the end of the year. Its overall purpose is to make people upset and argue about it. I’m aware of that, yet here I am every week getting mad about something. This week it is Arizona State.
The playoff committee has the Sun Devils ranked at number 6. Yes, the same Sun Devils that lost by 35 at home to UCLA. Their big wins on the year are at home vs. Notre Dame and Utah. Look, I know we are all supposed to hate Ohio State and Urban Meyer, but the Buckeyes would beat Arizona State by at least two touchdowns. Give me a blowout road win over Michigan State. My real issue may be with preseason rankings. Remember when Texas A&M was a top 5 team in the country after beating South Carolina?
One of the things in sports that drives me the craziest is the recycling. The coaching profession suffers from it the most drastically with guys like Lovie Smith getting fired by the Chicago Bears to only get hired by Tampa Bay to make them suffer from the same problems he had in the Windy City. Sometimes it works out like with Andy Reid and Kansas City, but either way it just limits the discovery of untapped talent. Last night’s Buffalo game was a perfect example. We have more than enough evidence that Kyle Orton is a bad quarterback, yet there we were watching him throw the ball in the dirt over and over again as his team was essentially eliminated from the playoff picture. Give me some new blood in the league! Earlier this week Derrick Rose caused controversy by admitting that he is sitting games out this year with his future in mind. If this was a football story and a player had concerns about concussions and more gruesome injuries, we would all have more sympathy. However, when you are referencing your body’s future when the injuries are sprained ankles, you lose a lot of respect. The Chicago Bulls would probably want their max-contract, face of the franchise guy to play a lot more and talk a little less.
It has been fun this week to at least entertain all of the possible opponents for a bowl game in late December. I’m partial to a Music City matchup with Penn State, but I can’t deny the allure of a game with Cincinnati. That fan base has turned on Butch Jones, so there would be some much needed hostility surrounding the game. Watching Butch Jones try to twist and turn his way through interviews without offending anyone would be fun to watch. On top of that, Cincinnati would be a blowout win. That team is not very good and it appears Tommy Tubberville has had the sad realization that his current job with the Bearcats will be as good as it will be for him the rest of his career. Since the basketball team reached the Sweet 16, they lost a heartbreaker on a questionable charge call (it was a flop!!!), kept their coach from bolting for Marquette, watched the fan base’s most beloved coach ever get hired by a SEC school, had their coach leave out of nowhere, lost their best player, got turned down by the coach of Derek Dooley’s school, and have found themselves back in the middle of a NCAA investigation as soon as the football team had a significant win. It’s actually quite impressive .
Tennessee needs to win out and close the season with 8 wins heading into the off season. When you consider the returning talent, the top 5 recruiting class, and the way Josh Dobbs has played, it would be hard to find a recent time that has showed so much excitement and promise. Most Vol fans have forgotten what positive momentum feels like. Keep your cups on either way Saturday afternoon.
Follow @jon__reed on twitter and listen to Young Guns Friday from 3-5EST on the Tony Basilio Network where I’ll be taking your calls and discussing these topics and more.
Jon Reed'
Vols will honor the memory of Will McKamey tonight at the Naval Academy.
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John Cave Osborne, AKA JKO, of RTO really needs help.
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Christine Brennan thinks 'Lady Vols' needs to either be retired or not.
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What's TJ Yeldon's status heading into tomorrow's battle with Miss State.
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Is Mississippi State different? Can they navigate Bama tomorrow afternoon?
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I asked Dave from Knoxville to put together a college football playoff that would include this year's Vols. Oh well. This would take a longtime to get through. Looks like the NHL playoffs in April.
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Can TCU seal the deal down the stretch?
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NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. It's time to legalize sports betting.
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With the hoops season beginning tonight, join me and Keith for Smartway/Dalton Bearing and Hydraulic Baskeball Overtime. We will take your phone calls exclusively at the end of tonight's game.
Also, as soon as UT/UK goes final, we will be taking calls for three hours celebrating the Vols getting one more game closer to the postseason. If you haven't downloaded your Tony Basilio Radio Show app, do so now! Don't get locked out tonight or tomorrow. We want you around! Get the app here:
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