Happy Wednesday ...
Congratulations Blake Burke: 
What an amazing feat by him. Burke has hit safely in 27 straight games which ties Condredge Holloway's school record. Can you imagine that? A kid that struggled to look competitive at times is the leading hitter in the SEC and straight up flying. I was a complete naysayer on Burke coming into the season. Absolutely amazing turn of events with him this year. Hard work truly does pay off, and yes I was really wrong on him and am glad to admit it. You go Blake Burke and congratulations. Blake Burke goes for sole possession of the hit streak record Friday night in Lexington.
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From One Burke To Another! Tennessee HOF Chris Burke stopped by your Basilio Show for a recording of TLD Logistics Tennessee Baseball Extra Innings. This was one wonderful conversation. Please listen using the player on this page or here at this link ... Please share this with the Vol fan in your life and help us continue to grow.
Link
Adam Sparks With Some Interesting Stuff On Herring And The Portal: The KNS beat writer joined us yesterday and shared the following scoop.
Sparks Was Surprised About Herring Hitting The Portal: 'I had written 7 or 8 portal pre writes of guys I thought were jumping into the portal and Herring wasn't one of them. I think he's self aware. Pili is back and he's the starter. Telander is loved by Inge. Spillman has gotten a lot of praise but is that real. William Inge said he values speed speed and speed. Herring just wasn't great in coverage though he led Tennessee in tackles last year. He could play in the box for a Big Ten school all day. He would be great in the middle of the field.'
Will Caleb Herring Follow Elijah Into The Portal? 'Caleb is a better recruit and better player. I think he plays some this year and will inherit the James Pearce role. I wouldn't be terrified he's going into the portal. Elijah doesn't fit in Tennessee's defense but Caleb fits perfectly.'
How Many Vols Will Hit The Portal? 'My prewrites were heavy on secondary and wide receiver. I think two guys will get in. I'll settle on that number for now. The the thing hard to predict is the range of reasons for why a guy would jump are various.'
Who Would Adam Sparks Add In The Portal: 'I would go get a running back for depth but that could prove tedious. Will Seldon be healthy.'
Good Sign Or Bad Sign With Cade Tyson? Hubert Davis went to visit the young man last night in Nashville. Is this a good or bad sign for Tennessee? Will Tyson still visit UNC? I hear the answer is yes he will this weekend. Why did Hubert Davis feel the need to visit him in Nashville if he's coming in this weekend? I suppose it's extra face time with UNC's top target in the portal. Davis stopped off in Nashville after attending the event for the Wooden Award Banquet. UNC is going all in on Tyson who Tennessee feels good about right now. Carolina didn't have any visitors last weekend.
Igor Milicic Cuts List To 3: It's Tennessee, Nebraska, and Baylor in his final 3. He left campus yesterday after what Tennessee considered a very good visit with him. The rangy 5, and perhaps even stretch 4, is a guy that Tennessee hasn't had under Barnes. How will he hold on up on defense if he ends up here. He has to be pretty good defensively as he played his freshman year at Virginia. Hopefully, if Milicic commits, it won't scare off Awaka from recommitting to the Vols.
TLD Logistics Tennessee Baseball Report: Yesterday we visited with Darren Headrick play by play voice of Kentucky Baseball. Headrick is an all time great guy who's a Maryville native.
Headrick's Level Of Surprise With Kentucky's Start: 'On a 1 to 10 scale, it's a 7 or 8. I'm surprised. You don't see teams win 10 straight league games to stand at 14-1. It's so hard to get to that mark. So I'd be surprised with most teams getting there including this Kentucky team.'
Is Kentucky's Success Schedule Based: 'The first half of the schedule, Kentucky swept Alabama who beat the Vols. They also beat Georgia who featured Charlie Condon, who's the best thing going. Their one loss is at Missouri which is a hard and strange place to play. They've swept Ole Miss, Alabama, and at Auburn. This Kentucky team is off to a great start.'
Kentucky Wins Games By All Means Necessary: 'They do anything to win a game or series. They hit 11 home runs versus Auburn. They came from 7 back in a game over the weekend with the long ball. They want to put pressure on defenses. Mingione compares what they do to Josh Heupel at Tennessee and his philosophy of keeping the pressure on. He wants to put pressure on his opponent. He's going to make the defense make plays whether that's bunting or hitting the ball to gaps. It's all about pressure.'
Kentucky's Weaknesses: 'This team doesn't have major weaknesses but they have days where it doesn't go their way. This team doesn't have major weaknesses, but does have areas that need improvement.'
What Kind Of Scene Will It Be In Lexington? 'This weekend will have a regional or super regional feel. This Kentucky team plays with a chip on their shoulder. Kentucky wants to prove they belong.'
Kentucky Starting Rotation:
Friday Starter: Trey Pooser RHP 6-4 200 College Of Charleston transfer.
3-0 4.11 Era 4 Starts ... 10 appearances. Teams hitting .229 versus him.
Saturday: Travis Smith RHP 6-4 220 2-2 5.40 Era ... 5 starts 8 appearances ... Teams hitting 246 against him.
Then Dominic Niman LHP 6-3 220 Transfer C Connecticut State.
7-2 record. 3.40 Era. 9 appearances 9 starts.. Teams hitting .221 versus him.
Sunday: Mason Moore RHP 6-4 215 Junior
7-0 record. 9 appearances 9 starts ... Teams hitting .229.
Will We See A College Football Super League? Yes of course we will. Will it look something like what's being proposed here by some of the best and brightest in sports management? I love a lot of the ideas in this piece so much that we might chop this up today on the air. The concept of making college sports regional again needs to happen. This is why organization matters. Right now we have a complete mess on our hands that's serving no one but TV.
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As The Portal Turns: College Basketball's Portal Is Fixin' To Get Crowded: Jeff Goodman predicts that, as final checks clear for NIL, that a slew of high-level, high-priced basketball players are about to hit the portal. We're talking about close to a dozen high major all league, POY candidates from power 5 leagues. The fun never ends.
Deion Sanders Adds The Extra Point At Colorado: Colorado already had 6 players in the portal and then 5 star DB Cormani McClain entered last night. That makes an even 7. Of course McClain wasn't very good but that's beside the point.
Not That Key Lawrence: it was being reported that Keyshawn Lawrence of Ole Miss had jumped into the portal ... And he did ... But it wasn't that Keyshawn Lawrence. It was Keyshawn Lawrence a walk on with the same name as the well traveled ex Vol ... You can't make any of this up.
What's Up At Louisville? Tyler Baron joined more than a handful of players who jumped into the transfer portal. Baron apparently wants to go to Ole Miss where he originally committed before ending up at Louisville, who made him a Will Wade offer. He originally wanted $500,000. Louisville is leaking serious oil. Baron probably won't get anywhere near his asking price from Kiffin as Ole Miss is focused on getting a running back. Who will they poach? Should the Vols join them in the pursuit?
We have a lot to discuss today.
Tone
ICYMI from Tuesday: TLD Logistics Tennessee Baseball Report: More information online at tldlogistics.com & @Drive4TLD
Here's Matt Dixon filing a full report ...
Matt Dixon
'Voltellos Sweep LSU:
Tennessee picked up its first SEC sweep of the season this weekend over LSU at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Volunteers needed a late-inning rally on Saturday but never trailed in either the Friday or Sunday games.
Tennessee improved to 10-5 in SEC play and 30-6 overall.
The defending national champs fell to just 3-12 in SEC play and 23-15 overall.
Friday night
Billy Amick wasted no time in his return to the lineup. The Vols’ 3rd baseman hit a 2-run home run to left field on the first pitch he saw to give Tennessee an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning.
LSU had runners on the corners with two outs for Tommy White in the top of the 3rd when the Vols turned to AJ Causey, who was replaced by Chris Stamos in the Friday night starting role. White singled on a grounder up the middle to put LSU on the board but the Tigers would leave the bases loaded after Causey struck out Mac Bingham.
Tennessee added a run in the 3rd inning on a bases loaded walk to Dylan Dreiling but a double play that saw Blake Burke thrown out at the plate kept the score at 3-1.
The Vols added three runs in the 5th inning, including a Dreiling solo home run to take a 6-1 lead.
The Tigers scored two runs in the 9th inning and brought the tying run to the plate but lefty Kirby Connell closed it out for the 6-3 win.
In relief, Causey threw 4.2 scoreless innings and struck out seven to earn the win.
Saturday
The Tigers got on the board in the top of the 2nd when a throwing error on a bunt to 3rd base scored one.
Later in the inning with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs, Beam got back-to-back strikeouts, then a ground out to strand both runners, a theme LSU would repeat throughout the day. The Tigers would leave eight runners on base in the game and were just 1-of-10 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
LSU saved their ace for game two and Luke Holman took a no-hitter into the 6th inning.
Blake Burke’s infield single with one out in the 6th broke up the no-no and extended Burke’s NCAA-best hitting streak to 25 games.
Billy Amick then doubled down the left field line to put Vols on 2nd and 3rd with one out.
After a strikeout, the Tigers turned to lefty Griffin Herring, who gave up a 2-run single to Dylan Dreiling that put Tennessee on top 2-1.
Amick’s solo home run off the scoreboard in right field made it 3-1.
Nate Snead threw two shutout innings to close the game out. His 8th inning was extremely impressive, getting a 1st-pitch pop out and then back-to-back 3-pitch strikeouts.
Beam scattered eight hits over 6.2 innings but only allowed one unearned run. He struck out five and walked three but the punch outs came in critical ABs.
For the second game in a row, LSU brought the tying run to the plate in the 9th but once again didn’t produce as Tommy White popped out to give the Vols the series win.
Sunday
Tennessee broke out the brooms in their Sunday cream jerseys.
A Cal Stark 1-out single in the bottom of the 3rd was the Vols’ first hit of the game. After advancing to 2nd on a Christian Moore groundout, Blake Burke hit a 2-out, 2-run oppo home run into the left field porches to put Tennessee up 2-0.
It was Burke’s 12th home run of the season, 42nd for his career and extended his hitting streak to 26 games.
A 2-out single in top of the 4ht inning cut the Vols lead to 2-1.
LSU’s Hayden Travinski sent a 2-out, 2-strike pitch into the left field porches in the top of the 6th to tie the game at 2-2. In a game that saw an expanded strike zone for much of it, Tennessee’s dugout felt starter Zander Sechrist got squeezed during the game-tying AB.
But the Vols quickly retook the lead in the bottom of the inning.
Christian Moore led off with a solo HR into the LF porches to put the Vols back on top 3-2.
Then with two outs in the bottom of the 7th, C Mo added three much-needed insurance runs with a 3-run bomb to left field to make it a 6-2 game.
The home run was the 2nd baseman’s 2nd long ball of the game and a team-leading 15th for the season.
It also tied him with Burke for the most career home runs in program history with 42.
A Tommy White 2-run bomb over the porches cut the Vols’s lead to 6-4 in the top of the 8th but Stark got both of those runs back with a 2-out, 2-run bloop wind-aided double to shallow left center field to make it 8-4.
Aaron Combs got the final six outs to earn the save.
LSU entered the series finale hitting a league worst .198 vs left-handed pitches in SEC play.
Sechrist solid once again, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings while striking out five and walking one.
Big Orange Notes:
—
Billy Amick had missed eight games before game one of the series. His first-pitch home run on Friday night was just the start of a nice weekend at the plate. Amick hit .400 (4-of-10) with two home runs and a double.
—
Blake Burke’s 26-game hitting streak is tied for the 2nd longest in program history. Condredge Holloway had a 27-game hitting streak in 1975.
—
Kirby Connell made his 105th career appearance in Friday night’s game, which set a new program record. The high-leverage lefty has become a multi-inning reliever this season for a Tennessee pitching staff that doesn’t have the depth it had in recent years.
— Aaron Combs earned his first save of the season on Sunday. It was his best outing of the year and a very encouraging sign going forward.
— Tennessee hosts Bellarmine tonight before a weekend trip up I75 to face Kentucky. The Wildcats are a very surprising 14-1 in SEC play to date.
@Mattdixon3'
'X' Says
'X' Orange & White Game Report ...
It certainly was a beautiful spring Saturday in Knoxville. What a setting to celebrate the completion of another spring of practice football for the Tennessee Volunteers. The Orange & White game, fully scripted so as not to divulge any state secrets to the 12 opponents on the 2024 schedule, was largely as anticipated ….. uneventful. The best news is there were no major injuries on Saturday. Most of the players who had been nursing an injury didn’t even dress for the game.
Tennessee showed just enough of Nico on Saturday to sustain fan excitement until the end of July. The head coach sure has more courage than I do.
After Nico’s first pass play where the offensive line and DeSean Bishop decided not to block anyone, Nico would have spent the rest of the afternoon standing beside me if that was my dime and dance floor.
Takeaways from Saturday and Spring Practice Generally Nico still has plenty to improve upon. Sure, it’s a spring game I get it… Gaston Moore though looked more comfortable in getting the offense from one play to the next play compared to Nico. I expect him to be better at this in the fall.
The roster is better. The secondary is more athletic, the bodies are bigger and more athletic on both lines of scrimmage, and the wide receiver group, minus Squirrel White and Bru McCoy who both return for fall practice, looked bigger and more explosive.
A couple of non-descript things stood out to me in a spring game. Senior Omari Thomas, by all accounts Tennessee's best interior defensive lineman, chased down a running back 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
Back up offensive lineman Ayden Bussell left the game with a shoulder injury. An injury in a spring game usually signals the end of the afternoon for most players. Bussell returned to action a few plays later. I bet you that caught the attention of both the offensive line coach and the head coach.
Tennessee offensive specialists handled the ball without turning it over. With all the changing personnel parts of a spring game and the quarterbacks didn’t botch a handoff or throw an interception. The running backs and wide receivers secured the ball. Game execution was spot on.
I do not know what to make of the back-up running back situation. Coaches have been singing the praises of both backups all spring. I saw nothing from either Saturday that made me comfortable. What I did see were missed blocking assignments, tentative running, and lack of explosive plays. One of the storylines for the next few weeks is whether Tennessee pursues a running back in the portal.
Josh Heupel is quietly telling his media that Seldon is out until early September. My advice is to add a month to what he is saying publicly and that is when you can reasonably expect Cam Seldon to be healthy enough to return. We know from watching Jabari Small suffer through a lingering shoulder issue that you have to be careful with that injury literally from series to series.
Tennessee has an abundance of riches on the defensive line. You just have the feeling Tennessee might try and redshirt a couple of those interior players when more playing time is available in 2025.
The secondary is an unknown. The “group” is more athletic, but will the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach allow the players to play through some inevitable mistakes or will they play it safe.
If Keenan Pili is healthy, the defense will be plenty good enough. When healthy he is one of Tennessee's best defenders and one of the best linebackers in the conference. He also brings a calming influence on the younger linebackers. Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Telander is one of Tennessee’s most improved players this spring He took full advantage of being healthy and hitting it off with the new position coach. He made a strong case for starting beside Pili this fall.
Others Who Stood Out
Gaston Moore looks like a capable backup quarterback. I want Nico to make it through the season healthy. If he happened to miss a series or two, Gaston is capable of running the offense.
Mike Matthews doesn’t look like a freshman wide receiver. The long touchdown catch was nice, but I noticed his blocking on Saturday. He was a willing blocker and didn’t shy away from contact at all. The fact that he is a willing blocker and is explosive to boot almost guarantees him playing time next season.
Sham Umarov. Umarov looks like he is furthest along in terms of development of any of the other young offensive linemen. So much so that Umarov has jumped into the competition for the starting left guard position this fall.
Edwin Spillman and Boo Carter. Both true freshmen with a lot to learn. Both flashed here and there Saturday. Those plays should excite fans for their respective futures at Tennessee.
Portal Transfer Jakobe Thomas. His athleticism is something the secondary has been missing. He showed up a lot Saturday.
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Nathan Robinson. He has put in work in the offseason program. He looks like a completely different player physically than a year ago. Coach Garner will find a way to get Robinson into the rotation this fall.
Lingering Injury Questions You don’t take a chance with any injured player being counted on in the fall. The following injuries though seem problematic.
Tight end Ethan Davis. Davis is as talented a tight end prospect that has played at Tennessee in recent time. He can’t stay healthy. He was held out of the spring game as a precaution. He was injured in the spring game last year and he missed his first season at Tennessee recovering from shoulder surgery. Davis has missed more time with injury than he has practicing. I really want to see him healthy because he can be a difference maker. The tight end position is so important a position to the offense that keeping Davis healthy is a huge concern.
Right tackle John Campbell. Campbell is a key member of the offensive line. Him being healthy and available is important to the offensive. He hasn’t been healthy frankly since mid-season last season. He missed time leading up to the spring game with injury and he reinjured himself in warmups Saturday and was held out as a precaution.
Cam Seldon. His injury is the worst news of the spring. He is such a key piece to the offense. Josh Heupel is telling his media confidantes that Seldon is out until early September. My advice. Add a month. Therefore, you can reasonably expect Cam Seldon to be healthy enough to return in late September or early October. After watching Jabari Small suffer through a lingering shoulder issue for 3 seasons you hold your breath every time the kid takes contact.
Wrapping Things Up ... It's Portal Time In Tennessee:
The transfer portal opens Monday and I’m holding my breath. I do expect Tennessee players to enter the portal. With the money flying around in the NIL market, Tennessee needs to continue to manage its current roster.
I’m watching the defensive line including the pass rushers. Likely the deepest and best in the SEC. You can’t discount other programs who have depth issues at those positions coming after one or more of the experienced linemen with offers that would be hard to turn down.
And how active will Tennessee be when the portal opens? A running back or depth at linebacker isn’t out of the question. And ... how do they feel about Ethan Davis’s recent spate of injuries? Can you find an experienced tight end who can pick up the pace of this offense in a few months?
Tennessee didn’t solve its left guard position this spring. Sham Umarov had a good enough spring to surpass a couple of guys in the competition who were limited because of injury. Also returning offensive linemen Jackson Lampley, Cooper Mays, Andrej Karic, Larry Johnson, Javontez Spraggins, Masai Reddick, and John Campbell all missed some or all of spring practice. The coaches don’t seem to be worried. I should note though at least half of that group have been nursing one injury or another since coming to campus.
'X'
Orange Throat
'T Club Team:
Random musings as the Baseball Vols get an important sweep of the defending national champs and spring football ends on a high note:
THE FIGHTING VOLTELLOS ... Get an important sweep against a struggling LSU team to run their SEC record to 9-5, good enough for 4th place in the SEC but the schedule is getting ready to get more difficult as we are at the halfway point of the league sched. Tennessee's first five opponents went 23-50 in the first half but the next five foes have a 41-33 worksheet. The Vols go to Lexington next weekend to play the surprising league leading Kentucky Wildcats, sporting a 13-1 SEC record.
LINEUP WAS CLUTCH ... In three pretty tense and tight games against the Tigers. Billy Amick was back from his appendectomy and was 4-for-10 with two homers and a double. Christian Moore was huge yesterday with two homers and Dylan Dreiling was big again on Friday and Saturday.
FRANK ANDERSON'S PITCHING STAFF ... Came up big this weekend. Chris Stamos and A.J. Causey were strong on Friday. Drew Beam outdueled Luke Holman on Saturday and got a great save from Nate Snead. Yesterday, Zander Sechrist gave the Vols another quality Sunday start and Aaron Combs closed it out. This staff needs A.J. Russell down the road but this staff grew in this series.
HEUP'S FAST BREAK ATTACK ... Is back after a semi-hiatus in 2023. The most obvious reason is Nico with the joystick ... I mean football in his hands. He should be the best new starting QB in college football in the fall. The other reason is the wide receiver position, which is stacked and packed for the 2024 campaign. Dont'e Thornton has grown considerably with a year under his belt split out wide and new transfer Chris Brazzell is a good addition. Of course, Bru McCoy and Squirrel are known quantities and freshman Mike Matthews is the best high school recruit in the WR room since Heupel got the job.
NO NEW INCOMING YET ... On the UT basketball portal front. Darlinstone Dubar and Cade Tyson left town without shutting down their recruitment, although On3.com is projecting Dubar 100% to the Large Orange. Rick Barnes and staff are trying hard to retain Tobe Awaka though success seems far from certain at this point. Ohio State guard Roddy Gale (45th nationally) is visiting this week and Charlotte transfer big man Igor Milicic (#62) is interested in Tennessee.
CATS THROW A PEP RALLY ... In behalf of new basketball coach Mark Pope. Big Blue Nation packed Rupp arena yesterday afternoon to welcome the former Wildcat. The UK athletics department pulled out all of the stops by bringing back all of the program's former stars and Pope did not disappoint, giving a rousing speech. Now comes the hard part, building a roster that can win an NCAA tournament game for the first time in Pope's coaching career and then getting in the Final Four a year or two from now.
LADY VOL UPDATE... The 4th-ranked softballers took two out of three on the road at Mississippi State and still lead the SEC at 12-3.
Orange Throat'
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