Around the SEC links

• James Franklin says if you're tired we'll pull you off offense not special teams.
• Arkansas Head Coach files for bankruptcy.
• Gator line rushes to protect.
• Vanderbilt trying to find #2 back.
• Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin cops-out on punishment.
• Robert Nkemdiche not solid to Clemson? Says he's 3 and done.
• Gurley tries to stay on straight and narrow at UGA.
• Running back Alvin Kamara names top 2.
• Nick Saban rants.
• Shaw could be gametime decison.
• Gator coaches studying 3 times as much film as normal.
•  Vanderbilt won't pass up long ball.

UT releases depth chart for NC State

No big surprises if you've been following practice. In Da'Rick's absence, Cordarrelle Patterson is listed as a starter along with Justin Hunter. Rajion Neal is listed as the starter at running back, Devrin Young is second. James Stone is the starting center. Byron Moore and Brent Brewer are co-starters at strong safety.

http://www.utsports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082312aae.html

Analyzing 2012 Tennessee Vols Schedule

8/31/12                vs. North Carolina State        Georgia Dome (Atlanta, Ga.)         W

09/08/12              vs. Georgia State                   Knoxville, Tenn.                           W

09/15/12              vs. Florida                             Knoxville, Tenn.                           W

09/22/12              vs. Akron                              Knoxville, Tenn.                           W
09/29/12                at Georgia *                                    Athens, Ga.                                          L 

10/13/12              at Mississippi State               Starkville, Miss. St.                      W

10/20/12              vs. Alabama                         Knoxville, Tenn.                             L

10/27/12              at South Carolina                 Columbia, S.C.                              W

11/03/12              vs. Troy                               Knoxville, Tenn                              W

11/10/12              vs. Missouri                         Knoxville, Tenn.                             W

11/17/12              at Vanderbilt                        Nashville, Tenn.                            W

11/24/12             vs. Kentucky                    Knoxville, Tenn                           W

Monday Links: Odds and Ends

• Gamecocks' thin secondary suffers a blow
• Special uniforms not necessary
• Five players in the SEC East with the most to prove
• Georgia beats out Stanford and Memphis for three star
• Georgia OL decommits from UF
• Vols give Greg King TE trial
• Titans pick Jake Locker as the starting QB
• Three Vanderbilt freshmen will play right away
• More trouble for Auburn commit Dee Liner
• Rivals has eight new 5 star players
• Defensive lineman Joe Fennell’s top three: Florida, South Carolina and Nebraska.
• Kevin Sumlin wasn’t happy with the energy level at Texas A&M’s weekend scrimmage
• Special teams “phenom” Solomon Patton is emerging as a pass catcher at Florida. 
• The Gamecocks will go with a receiver-by-committee approach in 2012.
• Missouri must "earn it's spurs" in the SEC East 
• LWS take on Davante Bourque

Vols First Preseason Scrimmage

The Vols held their first scrimmage of fall camp today at Science Hill High School in Johnson City. Dooley said he was pleased with the toughness and effort the players were playing with and said it was good to see. However he was disappointed with much of the administration of the game including some sloppy penalties and substitution issues.

"The offense did a really good job running the football today. And that was good to see. Made lot of big plays running the football."

Vols running backs accounted for 295 yards on the ground. 134 of those belonged to tail back Rajion Neal who had a 68 yard touchdown run. That's good news for a team that finished dead-last in the sec in rushing last year and Dooley, while tempered, was clearly pleased. Several players also noted freshman Que Watson's good game as he had 6 carries for 60 yards.

According to the stat sheet Da'Rick Rogers had 6 grabs for 105 yards including a touchdown while Justin Hunter caught 7 for 47 yards. Cordarrelle Patterson was still limited due to a shoulder injury but Dooley praised him for his toughness. He caught one ball -- a 26 yard gainer.

"I felt like the defense did a pretty good job preventing the big plays on the pass game. Although we threw the ball pretty decently, we didn't generate the yards per attempt that we're tying to get."

Dooley made a point to praise Junior College transfer Daniel McCullers saying he is really making progress, "I think he can help us inside."

The scrimmage also ended on a positive note with Tyler Bray driving down the field in a two minute drill into field goal territory where kicker Michael Palardy capped off a 4-4 day with a 48 yard field goal to win the game.

Dooley called it one of the best scrimmages he's been a part of since he's been here then added, "From a competitive standpoint."

Freshman running back Davante Bourque continues to be absent from the team and it is not clear at this point whether a return is likely.

You can view the scrimmage stats in their entirety here.

One Will Shoulder the Load

From left to right, runningbacks LaMarcus Coker, Arian Foster, and Montario Hardesty

There were many concerns for the Volunteer Nation headed into fall practice. Who is going to step up and be the guy at right tackle, which of the new receivers is going to separate himself from the rest and demand a starting spot? The only thing, it seemed, that wasn't a concern was whether or not there would be enough talent at the running back position.

LaMarcus Coker had just come off a year which saw him run for nearly 700 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns while not even starting most games, not playing at all in many of the early games, I would add, and averaging a healthy 6.4 yards per carry.

Montatio Hardesty would be one year removed from a severe knee injury that clearly hampered him in 2006, and fresher than ever.

And Arian Foster had been getting all kinds of praise throughout the Spring, gaining many hoorahs from the coaching staff and Phillip Fulmer in particular for his effort, his work ethic, and his determination to excel. Many speculated that the praise rained on Foster was intended to motivate the younger, and more prone to mishap, Coker. Speculation which looks all the more founded considering the situation Coker now finds himself in.

Just before Fall practice began Fulmer announced the indefinite suspension of LaMarcus Coker for a violation of team policy. Inside information has revealed that most likely a drug test discovered marijuana in his system. He has been ordered to rehab and his return to the team is conditional and the length of his absence indeterminable.

So the weight then falls on the two aforementioned backs and true Freshmen to try and make up for the loss of Coker. No small task to say the least. But I am of the opinion that the third running back is going to see very few carries by the time it is all said and done for one key reason: Arian Foster is perfectly poised to have a break-out year.

Foster is the prototypical NFL rusher at 6'1" and 225 lb.s and he has proven that he can be durable.

After taking over the starting position in 2005 for the injured Gerald Riggs, Foster proceeded to run for nearly 150 yards each of the last five games and looked like the next great thing at running back at the University of Tennessee.

He was a preseason second-team All-SEC pick coming into 2006 but he injured his ankle in the second game of the year against Air Force and was plagued by the injury for several weeks afterward. He finally regained his form in the Outback Bowl vs. Penn State only to fumble on a key drive at the opponents 12-yard line in a 10-10 tie. The Nittany Lion's Tony Davis recovered the fumble and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown. Penn State won the game 20-10.

After the game Foster said "I feel like I let my team, the coaching staff, and everybody that came on this trip down. I put it on my shoulders. It's going to be a chip on my shoulder for next year." Exactly the reaction you would want from a player with Foster's up-side and he is staying true to his word.

Instead of hanging his head Foster has used the game as motivation and is more determined than ever to play at a superstar level in 2007. He has a picture of the ill-fated fumble that he keeps in his locker and looks at each time he leaves for practice for motivation.

"I don't remember working this hard in the off-season." Foster has said. "I worked myself to death this season. Last year was tough. I'm over that. That's the past, and I'm just ready to kick it into gear and go to California."

One of the factors that has me convinced Foster is back to his 2005 form and is going to be a featured back is that, despite Coker playing extremely well last year and despite his big-play potential, he couldn’t beat out Foster in the spring. Foster cemented himself first on the depth chart with an impressive showing in the Spring game when he rushed for 63 yards on eight tries.

“This is why he’s No. 1,” Cutcliffe said. “He runs the football well. He breaks tackles. He’s got enough moves to make you miss.

“He’s a heckuva pass protector and a heckuva receiver. That’s what you are looking for in an every-down back.”

Don't be surprised to see this year's Vol team resemble teams of old when they would hand the ball off almost every play, demonstratively driving down the field in a dominant fashion. Foster is the perfect fit for David Cutcliffe's offense and he will be a star in the 2007 season.

On an interesting note, Arian Foster did not give himself any credit whatsoever for the 63 yard performance in the Spring game. So was it his offensive line he credited? Was it the lead blocking of the H-backs? None of the above. It was all Spencer Douglas according to Foster.

"I'm Spencer Douglas. There ain't no Arian here. I changed my name about two weeks ago. I just changed it.” It seems he has adopted an alter-ego akin to Clinton Portis' noted role-playing.

When asked after the spring game where he thought the offense was right now, Douglas replied “They're probably in the locker room because we just had a spring game.”

A Tribute to Arian Foster

There's a New Steeler in Town

The name "Steely McBeam" was chosen out of 70,000 fan submissions as the official name of the Steelers' new beam-toting mascot. Diane Roles submitted the winning name and will receive a VIP package for four to the Steelers' Sept. 16 home opener against the Buffalo Bills, including premium seating and pre-game hospitality. She will also receive an authentic Steelers throwback helmet and jersey just like the one that will be worn by the team that day.

I always thought that the Steelers' mascot should look more like the guy on the right. This guy looks like Bill Cower as a Simpsons character.

The Steelers' also unveiled a new logo to commemerate their 75th season and it will appear on the turf at the 50-yard line of Heinz Field as well as the uniforms worn by the players this upcoming season..

The 75^th Season Celebration will be led by Steelers Hall of Fame member Joe Greene, who wore the number 75, and will serve as the Honorary Captain for the season. It is not known whether he will be throwing any terrible towels at any young fans.

Vince Young Comes Clean

Titan's fans from all over tuned in on Saturday evening to see their team get a win over the Redskins in the preseason opener, and to get a glimpse of star quarterback and Madden coverboy Vince Young. They were disappointed in both regards.

Head Coach Jeff Fisher suspended Young from the game for violation of a team rule and the Titans dropped the game at L.P. Field 14-6. "I made a decision to not allow Vince to play in the ball game for violating a team rule, period. End of story,'' Fisher said. "He will be back practicing Monday with his teammates. He is our starting quarterback and we like him. He is going to be a good quarterback. … I am done talking about it.''

Saturday night saw Vince sidelined, covering his face with a towel on occasion and refusing to talk to reporters about the incident. What team rule was broken remained unknown. Until today.

Team rules require a player with less than 4 years on the squad to stay at a hotel near the stadium the night before a game. Vince chose to ignore that rule and drove home to sleep.

“I apologize to my teammates, coaches, fans and everybody,’’ Young said. “I really feel like I am not a bad guy, but I made a bad decision to try to go home and get some rest in my own bed.

The Titan's quarterback was made example to the team in hopes that the 2007 season can be one without incident.

"I broke the rules, I can’t play. You have to go by the rules,’’ Young said. “It happens, I was the one that got singled out and being one of the leaders I can’t do that

Young will resume his role as starting quarterback in Friday's preseason game in New England.