GAMEDAY Y'ALL!!!!1111

you guys.

now that a couple of days have passed, i can trust that this wasn't just a glorious dream.

for all of your enquiring minds, starla's first words were "i wanna go back to nashville." but instead we got drunk on the strip with the college students.

here is an excellent takeaway.

180 days!

#IfYouHearRockyTopItsTooLate pic.twitter.com/wtce4Qn9KS

— Butch Jones (@UTCoachJones) March 9, 2015

it's a bye week.

grantland's holly anderson took the trip to oklahoma with the vols and wrote all about them and how cute they are.

Right about here, these guys get loud. Before each home game, seven of former Vols coach Robert Neyland’s game maxims are recited in the stadium bearing his name, and the sound of 100,000 or so voices trying to keep time feels like a rhythmless roar in the open UT air. The 70 or so voices doing it in a cramped visitors’ locker room are entirely in unison, and the volume is skull-rattling. The cadence speeds up as they go along, and when they finish blurting out the final maxim (“CARRY THE FIGHT TO OKLAHOMA AND KEEP IT THERE FOR 60 MINUTES”), they turn and run for the field. Just as they hit the stadium concourse leading back to that ramp, ominous bell-tolling sounds roll in, signaling the Sooners’ emergence. It’s just dark enough to see pregame fireworks burst and glitter behind the top rows of bleachers.

chillz!!

i am really going to miss watching all those young individuals mature this weekend. and i'm also going to miss watching them crush georgia's dreamz next weekend because i'll be on a mountaintop helping erin macbreath get married. starla will have to miss it too though, so that helps.

3 days!!

let's take an afternoon hype break.

4 days!

let's take a little afternoon hype break.

so this is how we assembled a top 5 recruiting class?

😂😂😂😂😂 they snapped with this pic.twitter.com/dSCeiTInho
— Shy Tuttle (@KingTut_90) August 26, 2014

interesting choices!

12 days!

today, we are blessed with a 2014 season preview from ESPN.

Breakout player: Most of the preseason drama at Tennessee revolved around the quarterback race, but Jones ended that last week when he named Worley the starter. Had he not injured his thumb and missed the remainder of the season a year ago, the Vols probably would have gone to a bowl game. He's been put in some tough positions during his career, including being thrown to the wolves as a true freshman before he was ready. But he's persevered. His arm has gotten stronger. He's healthy now, and he also has more playmakers around him this season. Nobody's pushing him for the Heisman Trophy or even All-SEC honors, but here's betting Worley has a very solid senior season after throwing more interceptions (13) than touchdown passes (11) in his previous three seasons.

Most important game: We'll cheat and go 1A (Florida on Oct. 4) and 1B (Missouri on Nov. 22). Both games are at home, and both will go a long way toward determining whether or not the Vols can make it to the postseason. They've lost nine in a row to Florida, so ending that drought would be a big step in the right direction for Jones and the program. The Missouri game is sandwiched between a home game with Kentucky and the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt. It could be that the Vols have to win all three to go bowling.

also important to know, the SEC network is dedicating much of it's airtime tonight and tomorrow to the vols. here is the schedule:

Tuesday, Aug. 19
8 p.m. - 2014 Tennessee Football Preview
9 p.m. - SEC Storied: The Color Orange, The Condredge Holloway Story
11 p.m. - 2014 Tennessee Football Preview

Wednesday, Aug. 20
12 a.m. - Nine For IX: Pat XO
1 a.m. - 2004 Football: Tennessee vs. Florida
3 a.m. - 2005 Football: Tennessee at LSU
5:30 a.m. - 2013 Football Tennessee vs. South Carolina
12 p.m. - 2007 Football: Tennessee at Kentucky
2 p.m. - 2014 Tennessee Football Preview

now, if one of the hundreds of you that are using my netflix / hbogo / hulu logins has access to the SEC network on your cable, kindly email me with your username / password so that i might enjoy this on my roku. plz and thx.

 

13 days!

Some people dream of playing in front of 40,000 fans, at Tennessee we practice in front of 40,000 fans! #Unbelievable
— Butch Jones (@UTCoachJones) August 17, 2014

the vols hosted an open practice session in neyland stadium on saturday, and 40,000 fans showed up!

People rip UT fans. 1 winning season in 6 & this crowd shows up for Sat night practice pic.twitter.com/di7PtMDd3i
— Tony Basilio (@TonyBasilio) August 16, 2014

i don't know what that person's talking about, i've never heard anyone say a bad word about a vol fan in all my life.

in related news, the AP preseason rankings were released over the weekend, and there are some compelling statistics regarding #SECdominance. 8 of 14 SEC teams are in the top 25, and tennessee has to play six top-25 teams in our 12-game season. kinda makes me just wanna lay down.

here's a summary including only the teams you might care about:

1 florida state (whom?)
2 alabama (never heard of her)
4 oklahoma (the vols face them on #10AICC day, gulp.)
6 auburn
9 south carolina
12 georgia (that shouldn't last long)
13 LS-poo
18 ole piss
21 texas a&m
24 misery

noticeably / inexplicably absent from the list are the tennessee volunteers. #brickbybrick #risetothetop #2015nationalchampions

never forget about the footvols.

click here to read a heartening update on how #team118 is shapin' up.

every season is football season.

our 2pz sports commentator bun-bun is about to get his ass laid. off. there has been a veritable FONT of great news coming out of knoxville this week, and you haven't heard a peep. let's get started.

this shouldnt surprise anyone, but at the end of national signing day, butch jones and his recruiting team put together the FIFTH-RANKED recruiting class in the nation. to answer your question: yes, that's better than georgia's.

Butch Jones came out swinging, landing a ridiculous 33 new players in his first full class as head coach of the Volunteers. It includes a massive upgrade at the skill positions, including borderline five-star running back Jalen Hurd, four-star back Derrell Scott, four-star receivers Josh Malone and Von Pearson, and four-star tight end Daniel Helm.

The Vols also got signatures from a U.S. Army All-American in safety Todd Kelly, a ready-to-play offensive tackle in JuCo transfer Dontavius Blair, and six four-star recruits for the defensive front seven. (via)

read how it all came together HERE. (thx dan!)

one should also note that a fifth-ranked class is only third-ranked in the SEC, and that 7 of the top 10 recruiting classes were from the SEC, and that all 14 SEC teams made it into the top 50.

one of the highlights of signing day was the berry twins. jicydak, the younger twin brothers of 2Pz all-time favorite vol eric berry verbally committed to tennessee when they were just 14 years old. playing together for their high school team, they won a (georgia) state championship last year.

read how cute and well-liked they are HERE.


here's a video of a 5-star recruit telling the story of how coach butch jones convinced him to keep his talents in tennessee.

and finally, here's a photo of one of our 2014 recruits, d'andre payne, literally jumping for joy as he enters neyland for the first time as a vol. *single tear*

d'andre, i notice you're wearing modesty harvesty's number, and i like your spirit so far.

#BRICKBYBRICK

oh and i nearly forgot:

The Nashville Sports Council and the University of Tennessee announced today that the Tennessee Volunteers will open their 2015 football season at LP Field in Nashville. The Volunteers will take on the UAB Blazers on Saturday, September 5, 2015. (via)

is it september yet?

you guys.

look what someone made for us. it's so beautiful.

remember the last time we beat alabama?

it was 2Pz senior senior year, back in 2006. just memorize what it looks like so we can do it again this weekend. see you guys at mulholland's, ok?

some internet trinkets

here are some things that made my eyes water while reading about our beloved footvols:

Tennessee has reason for optimism: The loss hurts and it looked like the Volunteers were going to pull off the upset of the No. 6 team in the country, but there are definitely positives to be taken away. For starters, the kind of fight and grittiness Tennessee showed is what you want to see in your football team and something that hasn't necessarily been there in recent years. The Vols could have easily folded up like a tent when down 17-3 and Georgia was on the verge of taking a three-score lead before a missed field goal. Instead, they fought to the point that they put themselves in position to win. That's a huge positive for new coach Butch Jones. Secondly, quarterback Justin Worley played his best game of the year and made some big-time throws down the stretch. The execution by Worley down the stretch -- as well as the offense as a whole on three fourth-down plays in the second half -- was terrific. (via)

HOT

Butch Jones’ message: Lost in Tennessee’s gut-wrenching 34-31 overtime loss to Georgia was a message from first-year coach Butch Jones to Vols fans that was unmistakable: He plays to win, and that’s the way it’s going to be on his watch. Tennessee went for it on fourth down three times in the fourth quarter, twice in its own territory, and converted all three. It wasn’t just that the Vols went for it on fourth down, but the play calls were absolute beauties. Tennessee is still a ways off from being an SEC contender, but Jones continues to grind away … and stack those bricks. (via)

12. Tennessee (3-3, 0-2 SEC; LW: 13): What a fight by Tennessee in that heartbreaking loss to Georgia. The Bulldogs did sustain some serious injuries, but Justin Worley delivered some big-time throws and wide receiver Pig Howard is turning into a real playmaker, except for that goal-line fumble. This defense still has a long way to go, but Saturday showed that this team truly has heart. (via)

butch jones wants the students to name their seating section in neyland stadium

i don't forsee this going very well. students are too stupid to vote. they're probably going to pick something like, the justin bieber/ one direction student section. actually i would support that i take it all back.

25 DAYS.

it's that time of year again. football season is peakin' right around the corner. in 25 days, we'll be whole again. one thing you need to know is that UT's new coach (and creator of this season's #brickbybrick motif), butch jones, is this week's sports illustrated cover girl!


also, check out the UTsports jersey countdown. each day, you will get features of all the players who have worn the numbers of how many days until kick-off. genius, really. (i can't wait for 14!!)

anywho, get yourself excited. it's coming!

not thrilled about this year's t-shirt design

 front













back.

well, i thought we were done, but here's another reason to wear purple on sunday.

NEW ORLEANS -- "The times I have talked to Butch, I have been very impressed.
"He's a great recruiter and great offensive mind."

Those are some striking comments from one coach about another, but when you consider they come from a coach who has led his team to the Super Bowl, that makes them even more powerful.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke about new Tennessee head coach Butch Jones at Super Bowl Media Day at the Superdome earlier this week.

An Ohio native, Harbaugh has gotten to know Jones over the years through coaching clinics. He became more familiar with him when Jones coached in Harbaugh's home state, while leading Cincinnati to two conference titles in his three years with the Bearcats.

Jones also made a major impression on a two-time Pro Bowler who will be playing in the Super Bowl. Joe Staley was a 49ers' first-round draft pick out of Central Michigan in 2007. He got to know Jones who took the reigns at CMU that same year, after Staley had finished his playing career under Brian Kelly.

"Butch is an awesome person," said Staley. "I talked to him a lot when he was at Central (Michigan). He's a super great guy, very fiery, very intelligent football coach. I know he's going to do great at Tennessee. I'm real happy to see him have the success that he's had." (via) 

swiperboy approves

'nuff said

coach butch introduces himself to the volnation