Alabama shut out for the first time since 1970

No, I’m not talking about Alabama Baseball since that is the only active sport that could possibly get shutout (No way the softball team does). As a matter of fact, the Alabama Baseball team routed Auburn today 17-7 to take the series 2 games to 1. That wasn’t the issue of the weekend. The issue was, this is the first time since 1970 that no player from the University of Alabama was taken in the NFL Draft. That’s 38 years; that’s a long, long time. I have mixed feelings about all of this but more than anything it shows what Alabama has been missing over the past couple of seasons. Talent. And depth.

Oh. God. No!

Well, I just threw up in my mouth. Not a little, either. I mean, I honestly just had to get up out of my chair, run into the bathroom and gag myself.

The good news is Jerod Mayo catapulted up the draft board to go 10th overall. The bad news? HE WENT TO THE FRIGGIN’ PATRIOTS!!! HE’S PLAYING FOR BILL BELICHICK!!! IN NEW ENGLAND!!! HE’S NOW A CHEATER!!! WHY CAN’T I QUIT TYPING CAPITAL LETTERS OR EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!

nastyboys sports blog gives us the leader of the Evil Empire

OK, I really didn’t vomit, but the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach just won’t go away. This is not quite as bad as Eric Berry announcing he’s transferring to Alabama — which would be a Gouge-Out-My-Eyes-With-A-No.-2-Pencil on a scale of 1-to-Kill Myself. But this is easily a Curl-Up-In-A-Corner-And-Cry move. I mean, I just can’t believe it. I have to denounce my favorite Vol since Al Wilson? Really?

Some of you may not understand, but Vols fans do. Jerod Mayo is important to us. Forget the fact that he didn’t return for his senior season. The guy ran a 4.52 at the combine. He dominated last season. He was ready. If you watched any Tennessee games last year, you know that he was the Skittle in the turd that was the Vols defense during the early season.

When nobody could make a tackle early in the season, Mayo made 15 a game. At a new position. Because he was asked to move. Because he HAD to carry them.

Then, as a young defense matured and meshed to make a run to the SEC Championship game, Mayo willed the team to wins, making huge plays in every game down the stretch. He wore out the combo of Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, single-handedly beat Vanderbilt, owned Kentucky. Then, in a matchup against LSU and Ali Highsmith, he just made Highsmith look average.

But it goes even further than that.

When the Vols had only slim hope and no leg to stand on back in 2006, coming off a 5-6 season, who was it who dominated Cal with his breakout, four-sack performance? You became a natural leader that year, flying all over the field and becoming Al Wilson on a team that wasn’t as good as that 1998 team. Then, last year, you gave us 140 tackles and everything you had. I love you, man!

I’m biased, but Mayo was better than — is better than — Keith Rivers. When all is said and done he’ll probably be better than (Lord, forgive me…) Al Wilson. And now he gets to wreak havoc for the Patriots. The crybaby, hate-everything-they-stand-for Patriots.

THE PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This guy. My guy. Wahhhhhh!

He gets to run around and eat running backs for the AFC champs, making them even better. He gets to learn how to be dirty and grimy and worship Satan. He gets to high-five Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss and rub the head of — I’m swallowing puke right now — Tom Brady.

I just can’t live this way anymore. Life changed today.

Mayo matters to Tennessee. And while it looks good for the program for him to be picked that high and it’s certainly good in the pocket-lining category for Mayo, I just can’t get used to it. I feel like crying. Mayo now becomes the mortal enemy of Peyton Manning. Pulling for Mayo to succeed is almost inconceivable now. Well, pulling for him would be OK, but pulling for him to play for a winner is impossible.

That would be like burning a Ronald Reagan picture at the Republican National Convention.

Congratulations, Jerod. At 6-2, 230 pounds and a freak of nature, you will always, ALWAYS be one of my favorite Vols for the things you did. What you meant to me will never be forgotten. The orange No. 7 will be stamped on my heart forever.

But you have to be dead to me now. I hope we can still be friends. I just can’t trust you anymore. It’s me, it’s not you. We had a good thing, didn’t we, you and I? This hurts me more than it hurts you.

Don’t look back in anger … My sorrow consumes me.

Keep him away from the goats, Tom! I MEAN IT!

Is There a Draft in Here?

No, not that kind of draft.

I’m talking about the NFL Draft! Yes, it’s that time of year again, and I must admit that I always love watching it if I’m home on that Saturday — or at least having it on in the background. If you’re stuck inside, it’s good to have on the draft with a good book in hand, choosing to pay attention when your favorite team or teams come up with their picks or a player from your alma mater is announced.

Well, it’s not going to be a huge year for the Vols draft-wise, but I am looking for one player — junior all-world linebacker Jerod Mayo — to go in the first round. Whether it’s to San Francisco (who loves them some SEC linebackers after last year’s glittering selection of Tennessee native and Ole Miss star Patrick Willis) or the Tennessee Titans (who owe the Vols some good vibes after skipping on Robert Meachem last year) or another team, expect Mayo to get snapped up early in the day. He’s an electric talent, can fly, makes every tackle in his vicinity, showed the versatility to move inside and play either linebacker position last season, and he’s only getting better. When matched up against some of the better linebackers in the conference, Mayo proved he was the best. Expect him to go in a hurry, likely in the first 20-23 picks of the first round.

From there, it gets sketchy. There may not be another Vol taken on Saturday (first and second rounds). As a matter of fact, it would be down-right mouth-dropping if another was taken. The next two who are expected to go are tight end Brad Cottam and quarterback Erik Ainge. Joel over at Rocky Top Talk does a better job of breaking down these two Vols than we have time to do over here, so I’ll just let him do the dirty work with the links. Also, Wes Rucker with the Chattanooga Times Free Press hits Ainge with a strong article.

It’s funny that looking back at these two guys, UT fans probably don’t have a ton of fond thoughts. Personally, Ainge and me never really got off on the right foot. I respected his grasp of the offense, and I know that he made some big plays. That, along with his 6-foot-6 frame, should lead to a selection by some team in the third- or fourth-round. Ainge certainly had the tools, but after a disastrous sophomore year when he may have deserved most of the blame for the 5-6 season, we just never could make up. I never really could accept him as our leader.

Really, Erik, it’s my fault, I’ll admit. But when you had a chance to get back in my good graces and end your career on a strong note, you threw the two critical interceptions to single-handedly lose us the SEC Championship game, and then you were only mediocre in a win against Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.

I will pull for you in the NFL, and you will always be a Vol, but pardon me for not being able to completely forgive you for the kid gloves David Cutcliffe always had to equip you with or the mistakes you made with games on the line.

Then, there’s Cottam. The 6-foot-8, speedy freak of nature had all of the intangibles to be a Jason Witten-type tight end that went down in Big Orange Lore. Instead, he spent essentially his entire career mired on the depth chart or recovering from devastating injuries. When we finally got a glimpse of what might have been during his 59-yard jaunt against Kentucky that looked briefly like he was the fastest man on the field, it was enough to give us warm and fuzzies. But it was also enough to make us just a little angry that we didn’t get to know you better.

Good luck, guys. But when it comes to hero status that has been reserved for recent Vols such as Peyton Manning, Al Wilson, Gibril Wilson, Travis Henry, Albert Haynesworth, John Henderson, etc., you aren’t in that conversation. Still, there’s nothing wrong with being mentioned in the same breath as Kevin Burnett, Omar Gaither, Parys Haralson, Scott Wells, Donte Stallworth and guys like that who we’re still proud were Vols.

Finally, there’s one thing I don’t understand: Many experts have Chris Brown as a free agent possibility only. Huh? This guy did everything for the Vols as an H-back/tight end/fullback, and now the former five-star may not even get drafted? I realize he’s undersized at 6-1, 250, but gosh, the guy has great hands, tenacious blocking ability, is versatile and has a nose for the end zone. UT coaches are dumbfounded that Brown may not get drafted. He did so much for the Vols last year that they went out and tried to recruit to that position, a position that really doesn’t have a name because he’s such a Swiss Army Knife of a player. Now that Dave Clawson is the OC, there will probably be more of a true fullback in the Vols’ system, but I for one thought Brown’s versatility would have helped his draft status. Apparently, I was wrong.

Other Vols who could get drafted:

• Eric Young (a near-certain top-three rounder until an injury ended his UT career prematurely. This is a great kid who comes from nothing, so if you’re looking for an underdog to pull for to sign a big contract with somebody, pull for Eric. He’s a great guy and a great player who got a raw deal with the injury.)
• Jonathan Hefney (a safety that was expected to be a top few rounds pick until he returned for his senior year and stunk up the joint playing through injuries. Hefney is still a good player, but his measuring at 5-foot-7 surely aren’t going to help his chances.)
• Xavier Mitchell, Antonio Reynolds (these two defensive ends are essentially the same person as far as production goes.) They just never lived up to expectations — especially Reynolds. Mitchell and Reynolds had flashes of brilliance, but UT really needed them to have better careers than they had.
• Ryan Karl (OK, I spit out my Diet Dr. Pepper … seriously, the outside linebacker insists that he’s being contacted by some teams, and he may not be such a bad player to use a late-round pick on. Still, he probably lacks the size or speed to play on the next level.)

I’m sure I’m leaving somebody out, but that’s all I can think of. Good luck, Mayo! You were really the only one who made enough of an impact to be remembered as a Vols legend.

Alabama to sign JUCO PG Anthony Brock

TideSports.com has reported in this article (here) that the Alabama Men’s Basketball team has signed a JUCO point-guard out of Mississippi.  Anthony Brock, only 5′9″ still brings a spark to the Tide.  In his two year career at Itawamba Community College, Brock helped his team to a combined 57-10 record and back-to-back league championships.  His numbers are impressive:  18.5 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, and 3.4 steals a game. 

One of the major concerns going into next season (besides the futures of Richard Hendrix and Ronald Steele) is replacing 3-point sharpshooter Mykal Riley.  Riley led the team in 3-pointers last season, and while streaky, he is a major loss for the Tide.  So who does Alabama turn to next season for the 3-pointers?  Not Rico Pickett.  He’s gone.  Not Justin Tubbs, he’s gone too.  Who’s left?

Well if Ronald Steele decides to come back and is fully healthy as everyone says he is, then he will obviously carry some of the load for shots made behind the arc.  His younger brother, Andrew Steele, will also have to make contributions too.  However, after that there really isn’t anyone on the current roster that can consistently make decent efforts on 3-pointers.  Alonzo Gee has the ability, but is a drive-to-the-hole-first kind of player. 

Brock’s addition will only help in the 3-point production for next season.  Last season Brock shot an amazing 47% from behind the arc.  He’s also an excellent free-throw shooter, which is something else Alabama desparatly needs to improve on. 

Brock’s size is a bit of concern, however.  At only 5′9″ and 165 lbs. there are a lot of guards in the SEC that tower over him.  It will be very tough for him adjusting to not only the speed of the game at the SEC level, but also the more physical game play.  With that in mind, there are several guys of his height or less that have been successful in both college and in the NBA.  For instance, Drew Lavender from Xavier has enjoyed some success at the point-guard position and he can’t be anything over 5′9″. 

Time will tell if Anthony will be any good in the SEC.  However, he does seem like an excitement waiting to happen.  Welcome aboard Anthony, and Roll Tide.

 

 

(I couldn’t find a picture of the guy except his team photo.  Brock is in the middle on the front row (#5).

Tyler Smith is Sticking Around

Fear the Teardrop!

Considering you only play every other day during the NCAA basketball tournament, I’m not sure there has ever been a better two-day stretch in the history of Tennessee basketball than the past two days.

A day after consensus national top-10 player Scotty Hopson cemented his verbal pledge to Bruce Pearl and the Big Orange official Wednesday by signing on the dotted line, Tyler Smith held a press conference today and told the legions of Faithful that he is staying at UT for (at least) one more year.

The 6-foot-7 forward, who averaged 13.7 points per game last year but provided the type of all-around season that makes NBA scouts stand up and take notice elected to come back for his junior year. He’d been projected anywhere in the upper teens of the first round to the top part of the second round, and though many thought he’d solidly crack the first-round festivities, he will remain a Volunteer.

Smith was a first-team All-SEC performer and an honorable mention All-American one year after transferring from Iowa to the school he originally chose. He was, of course, granted a waiver on the NCAA’s policy making players who transfer from one Division I school to another sit out for a season due to the diminishing health of his cancer-stricken father. Billy Smith passed away before last season started, leading Tyler to get a tattoo of a pair of teardrops under one eye.

Though Billy Smith never got the opportunity to drive from Pulaski to watch Tyler suit up for the Vols, Pearl promised to act as a father figure to Tyler, vowing to help him make the right decisions. For that reason, many in Big Orange circles thought Tyler would at least test the NBA waters without hiring an agent. The reasoning behind it was … what could it hurt?

Instead, Tyler wanted to ensure that he’d be in Knoxville another year to be close with his young son and work more on his game. Many NBA scouts said if Smith — who played most of the year as UT’s power forward last season — could go a long way in developing his outside shot (which he has, he just didn’t shoot much last year) — he may elevate his status to lottery potential. Smith will undoubtedly shoot a lot more from the outside next year and evenly distribute his time between the low post and the wing.

Nobody just simply replaces a guard tandem like Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith, especially their offense. But with Hopson’s signing and Tyler coming back, this does three things that should make every Tennessee fan pretty excited heading into next year:

1.Replaces some of the offensive output.

Last year, Smith did not have to focus on being the alpha dog, though it was said many times — and was evident in many big games — that Tyler could have averaged 20 points per game if asked. Though that may not be required of him next year, one would expect that his per-game average will increase four points, giving him an average of near 18 points per game. When you throw in that the entire offense will revolve around him, and also that Wayne Chism and Duke Crews will have another year under their elastic waistbands, you don’t feel nearly as badly about losing CLo and Juanny. That, and Hopson will assuredly go through some freshman struggles, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he will average double figures in points, especially if Ramar Smith improves at the point and true point guard signee Daniel West can help immediately.

2. Makes the Vols incredibly more athletic.

Not taking anything at all away from the importance of Lofton’s career as a Vol and his impact on last season, but he was a liability at times on defense. With the addition of Hopson and West and the return of Tyler, the Vols will be a much longer and athletic team, which will help drastically on defense. Though Hopson isn’t known for his defensive prowess and there will be a dropoff from what JaJuan gave UT, the infusion of his athleticism and West’s defense should keep the Vols matching up pretty well. Tyler is one of the best defenders in the SEC.

3. Puts a more talented team on the floor.

Nobody wants to say UT is losing a walk-on and a player nobody else wanted because JaJuan and Lofton became so, so much more than that. But Tyler was a four-star player, as was Chism and J.P. Prince and Philip Jurick (6-11 freshman out of Chattanooga) and Cameron Tatum (who will wow a lot of people with his athleticism a year after redshirting.) Also, Hopson, Crews and Ramar Smith were five-star players, and Daniel West is a three-star point guard who played for one of the top 10 teams in the country.

…

If Tyler goes pro, you see the sort of dropoff that leads to a fine line between making the NIT and NCAA tournament simply because of a lack of experience and experienced scoring. With him sticking around, the ceiling for the 2008-09 team is higher than this year’s team. Now, does that mean that they’ll again make it to the Sweet 16? Of course it doesn’t. There are tons of question marks, but, talent-wise, next year’s team will be better despite being much younger. With Tyler electing to stick around and Hopson’s signing, the Vols and Bruce Pearl make one thing clear:

They’re going to be relevant for a long, long time.

Who will be CBS’ other love interest this season?

The affection that Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson share for Tim Tebow has been well documented…

Without a doubt we can expect more of the same in 2008. But to try to seem as non-partisan as possible, they always have another player about whom they gush uncomfortably (at least to the viewer). Last year it was one Jacob Hester. You might remember him from such coach-saving games as LSU-Florida and LSU-Auburn.

Bama Football Recruiting Video

Kudos to whoever put this together.  That song is bad, but it’s awesome bad.  Yes, I know that Tennessee fans are going to be non-plussed by yet another tribute to Alabama’s recruiting class and Auburn fans are going to laugh in ridicule at Alabama recruiting tiny little men that live in computers, but it’s late April.  Spring training is gone.  If you don’t care for Alabama’s class, then just enjoy this for moments of kids doing great things with a football.  And for the soundtrack.  Wow.

The Beginner’s Guide to College Football

So your job has relocated you and your family to the Southeast.  Or you just found out your girlfriend’s father is something called a “booster.”  Perhaps you just like the way you look in a number “15″ jersey.  In any case, you’ve recently found college football, and as they say, it’s time to act like you’ve been there before.  We here at Third Saturday hear your ignorant pleas and are more than willing to give you an assist (that’s basketball, not football…and maybe hockey.  I don’t know.  Stay focused).  Below, you will find a list of phrases that you absolutely must know and be able to use if you are to survive this fall.  Football is not for the weak of heart…or stomach depending on where you “tailgate.”  But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Football futures

While we here at TSIB do not condone gambling (that was for the auditor) we (read: I) thought it might be interesting to see what Vegas (Warning: links to a gambling website) thought of the chances our respective teams had of winning the 2009 BCS title. Here’s what they got for the SEC teams….

Alabama  40/1
Tennessee  100/1
Arkansas  100/1
Florida  6/1
Georgia  6/1
Kentucky  100/1
LSU  12/1
South Carolina  100/1

The rest of the SEC is part of the field at 25/1.

USC has the best odds at 3/1. Oklahoma and The OSU are with Florida and UGA @ 6/1. Vol fans, they even have Notre Dame at 55/1.

 

Who says sequals are never as good as the original

Remember this beauty? Well, as you know, aliens don’t give up that easy…

(Big top of the old hat to Memphis Tider)

Vols get huge talent in small package for third commitment

Manassas (Va.) Stonewall Jackson HS athlete Damien Thigpen committed to play for the Vols on Sunday, giving UT its third commitment and second in two days.

Thigpen is a 5-foot-8, 170-pound jitterbug who runs a 4.34 40-yard dash and is a four-star athlete. He is No. 250 on the Rivals.com’s Top 250 players. He joins New Jersey WR Je’Ron Stokes (a four-star, top-50 player) and Dominique Allen (who will rate to be a three-star FB most likely but could play linebacker or bulk up to be a DL at Tennessee, already being 5-11, 240) from Paris, Tenn.

This new Vols coaching staff is laying the foundation for a solid recruiting class during their first full season on the job. Of course, the rumbles in the Big Orange Nation are to get some offensive and defensive linemen on board, but those guys are coming. You never turn down a talent like Thigpen.

Thigpen had offers from Notre Dame, Auburn, Stanford, Boston College, UCONN, Stanford and West Virginia with plenty of interest from other schools. Either Latrell Scott (new WR coach) or DBs coach Larry Slade put in some work on this guy. This is completely out-of-the-blue.

Photo courtesy of Anna Pimsler’s Photo Blog

Orange Is Always on My Mind and In my heart

(If you don’t like hearing my long-winded sidebar stories, scroll down for the Orange and White game commentary… It’s riveting.)

The annual Orange and White took place today to conclude the most important spring football practice in Knoxville in quite some time, and I was nowhere to be found.

Instead, I stood for 12 hours, tucked happily an hour or so away from Knoxville on a breathtakingly beautiful 8-mile stretch of the Tellico River, doing what I love more than almost anything except watching the Vols — fishing for trout.

(Note: The previous sentence excludes hanging out with my wife. If you’re reading, dear, you know you’re No. 1 on that list …)

I started trout fishing about five years ago, and every time I get the chance to go, I relish it. Normally, those days are spent on the Elk River. But there, you normally just sit in the same spot all day, bottom-fishing the depths and hoping a fish comes lazily along and bumps into your bait. It’s more like “trout catching” than “trout fishing,” but it serves its purpose.

Then there are the trips to Tellico and Wildcat Creek — another stream that runs straight down a mountain on the Georgia-North Carolina line about five miles from Nick Saban’s lake house on Lake Burton (I think that’s the name of the lake …) As beautiful as that stream is, nothing compares to Tellico.

After a brief spell of heavy rain in the morning, we had pretty much the perfect day. The “we” to which I’m referring is myself and a buddy of mine who lives in Chattanooga and is turning 30 on Sunday. The trip was a celebration of sorts, but really, we make any excuse we can to get to Tellico. And those excuses usually run only about twice a year.

The trip is so important to me, I spent $90 on an out-of-state fishing license, and even if I don’t go again this year, it’s worth every penny. The last time we all went, VolstotheWall was there, and between the three of us, we caught 18 and just had a complete blast. That day was one-in-a-million. Saturday, my buddy and I caught four in 12 hours. But the rain caused the water to be higher, faster and murkier from all the sediment, so we considered the haul a success.