Initial thoughts from Titans vs Seahawks

Standard disclaimer: This was the first preseason game and not any reason to panic by any means. It is also not a game where you place a ton of value on what someone does in the 3^rd or 4^th quarters. However, some good and bad things came out of the game so let’s get to it! 

Chris Johnson is still giving fans reason to be concerned. He seems more decisive and willing to take contact this year but he doesn’t seem able to hit the seams and find the holes. He dropped a couple of passes that could have led to big gains too. I know it’s preseason and I know they weren’t playing against the 1’s but he definitely got outplayed by Javon Ringer, Herb Donaldson and Darius Reynaud.

Speaking of Darius Reynaud, wow did that guy look explosive last night. Kinda reminds you of a certain someone back when he showed some gears huh? I definitely want to see him play more against 1’s and 2’s. Let’s see what he can do against them before we crown him. He was definitely the highlight of our special teams last night.

I like our wide receiver corp. Nate Washington, despite the bobble of the first Hasselbeck pass, looks primed for a great year. He has come into his own and it has been a pleasure watching it happen. Damien Williams has played very well and appears to poised for an excellent year. Marc Mariani is getting better but he might be a numbers casualty. Rookie Kendall Wright looks to be as good as advertised. Once he gets over the rookie hurdle he could be a difference maker too.

Jared Cook has also finally come into his own. It’s not a stretch to think he might be our most productive receiver this year. That guy is a beast and if he can get into a rhythm with his QB he will be hard to stop.Taylor Thompson learned a valuable lesson about protecting the ball with that takeaway, but he came back and made plays and that is pretty much all you can ask. The guy is big, fast and agile. He is trying to get reaclimated to the tight end position and when he does look out. He can be a difference maker.

I am concerned about our defensive line. Kamerion Wimberly looks good. I’m not sure why Karl Klug didn’t start the game but he picked up right where he left off once he got in there. Derrick Morgan got absolutely manhandled last night and that is frightening. I’m not sure why Shaun Smith isn’t playing very much. Jurrell Casey is a solid player and I like what I see from him.

As for the linebackers well Colin McCarthy is the man and that is all. He was everywhere last night and is definitely the difference maker on our defense. Akeem Ayers played well but I definitely think he can play better. So often he is close to making or breaking a play. I wonder how much game tape he watches and how well he prepares for games and I’m not questioning his work ethic because I think it’s excellent. I just think once he gets more familiar with the pro game he will just react and not think too much.

Rookie linebacker Zach Brown looks to be as fast as advertised and has good coverage skills. He gets out of place and missed an open field tackle last night. Having said that he does seem to have good awareness and hopefully he will only get better. He needs to work on fundamentals.

I love our secondary. Alterraun Verner is poised for a breakout season and Jason McCourty continues to play well. Safeties Jordan Babineaux and Mike Griffin appear to be communicating well and look comfortable playing together. Second year man Tommie Campbell shows flashes and is just going to get better with time and experience. Robert Johnson played well for the most part last night too.

Finally, the quarterback competition pretty much went like I expected. Matt Hasselbeck played well and his numbers and production would be better if not for the Nate Washington bobble that led to an interception and Chris Johnson’s drops. Still, it’s a hard not to see the offense is just more dynamic when Jake Locker is under center. 

I have written about this before http://breatheifyoulovefootball.blogspot.com/ and I will say it again. Time to go ahead and make the decision you know you are going to make. Put Jake Locker under center and let the man play. I know the schedule is brutal but what in this guy’s makeup makes you think he is less than capable of handling the job? Nothing. Nada. Zip. 

Please feel free to post any comments or suggestions below. Who did YOU think deserves mention?

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.

On Daniel McCullers

Plenty of questions surrounded Daniel McCullers the JUCO transfer from Georgia Military college coming into fall camp. You hear 6'6 380 lbs and you think 'Okay this kid's going to show up out-of-shape' or 'Is he going to be able to get his pad level low enough to get leverage.' One of these questions was answered as soon as pics of the monstrosity started to surface. He wears his weight well (has 25% body fat), doesn't appear to be out of shape, and most importantly HE'S HUGE. This is a guy whom Alabama, running a very similar defense to the one which we will this year employ, fought tooth and frigging nail for. Tennessee fans are going to be glad we won that battle.

How do you knock a guy McCuller's size off the ball? You don't. And with his height, pushing 3 or 4 yards into the backfield, he is going to disrupt passes over the middle. This guy can be a big factor in our defense.

This is arguably the most important recruit of this past class. Outside of McCullers, we really have no pure nose guard. To run the 3-4 defense it is paramount that the nose takes up space. You aren't going to see double digit sacks out of him, that's not really his job. His job is to take on multiple blockers so that the linebackers can be freed up to make plays. So far this camp, he has been doing just that. He is pushing around an offensive line that has been the highlight of camp and we are talking about seasoned players. The guy is just flat-out bigger and stronger and is on a mission to prove it.

I see McCullers getting early playing time in the opener and probably limiting his reps a bit to see what he's capable of handling then increasing his playing time once you figure it out. One thing is certain, you'll know where he is on the field on every play.


photo courtesy of mod of feelslike98.com

Reeves-Maybin Commits to the Vols

Athlete Jalen Reeves-Maybin from Northeast High School committed to the Vols today becoming the 17th commitment of the 2013 class.

He chose the Vols over offers from Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Nebraska.

Reeves-Maybin is being recruited to play the "star" role in coach Sal Sunseri's defense which is a safety position.

He is 6-foot-1, 210 lbs and has the frame to put on more weight. Some have even said he could grow into an outside linebacker, but I think he's perfect for the position he's being recruited for.

Scout currently ranks Reeves-Maybin as the 29th best player at his position and a 3 star player though it's expected he will earn a fourth star once the rankings are updated again this summer. 

 He doesn't have blazing speed but he's plenty fast and is good in coverage. He impressed at multiple camps this summer.

As an instate recruit, Reeves-Maybin is a very important piece of the 2013 class. He is friends with current UT commit defensive end Jason Carr and his teammate corner back/wide receiver Donald Gray who we will talk about more in the next edition of the Recruiting Fix.

He is still planning on taking official visits but told 247,  “I will be pretty solid. I may still visit two or three different places, but it will pretty much be solid.”

Davante Bourque Not in camp

Vols freshman running back Davante Bourque has headed home to take care of some personal issues. I'm not really sure what is going on more than that but Bourque posted on his Facebook that he needed someone to pick him up from New Orleans according to a poster on a Vol message board. Another poster posted the following:

"I'll tell you this a certain family member is mad as all get out with the kid."

It's not looking good as far as Bourque continuing to be a Vol.

This kid has a ton of talent and I really hope he gets his stuff together and gets back to camp. You'll know more when I do. Stay tuned.

Is Timing Really Everything?

Greetings from Nashville, Tennessee and from Titans practice today. It was another light practice with not a whole lot to talk about so instead I'm going to focus on the quarterback battle between Matt Hasselback and Jake Locker.

Unless you've been living under a rock you know the Titans QB job is a close competition between Hasselback and Locker. So far Matt Hasselback seems to be the favorite. I personally think Locker has had the better camp; however, it's been close so therefore i won't quibble too much over the choice. My point is that at some point a choice must be made and the timing of that choice is the subject of this blog.

Regardless of who he chooses at some point Munchak has to make a choice. The sooner the better in my opinion. Munchak recently announced Hasselback would start the first preseason game with Locker running the second team offense. I actually have no issue with that plan. What he does with that with regard to the quarterback situation will be scrutinized greatly and rightfully so.

Frankly, its hard to believe Munchak doesn't know what he has in both quarterbacks. He can't really go wrong with either at this point since the competition is close but making a decision does matter. Let's face it whoever runs the offense, i.e. the quarterback, is the leader. The starting quarterback should start to get more repetitions with his first string offense in order to establish timing and chemistry. The longer the decision lingers the less opportunity there is for that to happen.

Either Locker is ready or he's not. If he's not let establish Hasselback as the starter and let him run the show. If Locker is ready really why do you wait? There is no good reason to put it off and he needs to be installed as the starter. I'm certainly not suggesting the uncertainty is causing an issue, at least not from all appearances, but the decision must be made. Make up your mind and roll with it Mike.

Other Notes:

Let's talk about Taylor Thompson. He is a TE listed at 6' 6" on the roster that many thought would be used as a defensive end when he was drafted in April. Personally, I'm glad he is being evaluated at the tight end position. That guy is a beast and has made many fine plays. He has soft hands and is more elusive than he looks. He is a guy to watch and I certainly hope he makes the roster.

Not much else to report and oh look! Thursday Night Football! More to come later. Hope you stay tuned in!

Oh and shoes!!

Courtesy of defensive back Ryan Mouton. I would totally wear these.

The NCAA is Investigating Jovon Robinson's Recruitment

This is all coming from Roy Adams though it has been separately confirmed that the NCAA is indeed investigating running back Jovon Robinson's recruitment. To what extent I do not know but here is the information I have gathered.

The NCAA has been at the high school of the current Auburn signee since Tuesday allegedly investigating a couple of things. They have discovered a discrepancy in Javon's transcript. Apparently a school official changed the transcript giving Jovon the grades to qualify to attend college. That official has since retired. If found to be true, Robinson would be determined to be ineligible to play for Auburn this year.

There are also questions about a brand new $30,000 Dodge “sports car” that Robinson has been seen driving around in. There is an inquiry into the situation and the NCAA is suspicious that all of the parties involved are not being completely upfront with them. Supposedly money was transferred into a guardian's account which was used to pay for the car. The guardian is telling the NCAA he/she inherited the money.

It's something worth watching and I thought it was news-worthy so I brought it to you here. Who knows what, if anything, will come of this given the NCAA's reputation for turning a blind eye on similar situations before.

While I'm at it, follow our new twitter account @BIYLF so that you don't miss a single one of our articles.

UPDATE: A guidance counselor has resigned from Woodale High School after admitting to creating a false transcript for Robinson. Robinson is being held out of practice until further notice.

Titans Training Camp August 8, 2012

This is my first training camp report for Breathe If You Love Football and unfortunately it will be short because the practice itself wasn't very intense. However, I was able to take away a few things I hope will be of interest to you.

First, a note about training camp under Mike Munchak. It's different and I don't mean that in a bad way. I attended many of the training camps under former coach Jeff Fisher and it just seemed easier to evaluate talent at the various positions. Under Munchak it seems more cerebral and less physical. Harder to get a grasp on how physical these guys are going to be. Also, there appears to be far less unfettered loyalty to incumbents and more willingness to look at younger and/or newer guys. In any event, here are my thoughts from today.

Since everyone's mind seems to be on the quarterback battle let me start there. I will begin by saying Matt Hasselback and Jake Locker have handled this competition as professionally as you can possibly can from all appearances. I have tremendous respect for what Matt accomplished last year under the circumstances he was given. The Titans season would have been lost without him in my opinion.

Having said all that from my observations, and granted I have not been at every practice, but Jake Locker has been the overall better quarterback and he would get the nod if it were me. The offense seems to run smoother and with more quickness when Locker is under center. It will certainly be interesting to see how the first preseason game splits reps for those guys.

I finally had a chance to really pay attention to the defensive line and i must admit that the hype about ##79 Pannel Egboh is well deserved. Here are some pictures:

He is big, strong, quick off the edge and uses his feet well. Even in a less than intense environment he stood out to me not only in individual drills but in team drills. He is definitely a guy to watch.

I still think Kamerion Wimbley is probably our best defensive lineman. 

Derrick Morgan ran mostly with the 2's and from all appearances needs a strong camp to remain in the good graces of the coaching staff. He looks leaner to me from last year and i think that is a good thing. I thought he came in too bulked up last year and that made him wear down more quickly.

I thought the defensive backs had a rough day. I do continue to be impressed with Jordan Babineaux and think he is having an excellent camp so far. Jason McCourty is having a solid camp as well.

On offense, Chris Johnson certainly looks hungrier this year and let's hope that translates into a good year for him. His shoes are fantastic too.

I didn't see Ringer much in action but I am impressed with what i have seen of Jamie Harper and Herb Donaldson. Hard runners and Jamie has quick feet. He puts me in the mind of LenDale White with a much better work ethic. I have high hopes for that guy.


As far as the receiving corp goes Damien Williams has really stood out to me. He seems like he has bulked up and looks focused to have a good year. I have high hopes for a big season for him. Nate Washington has been solid and Jared Cook is making plays as well. Marc Mariani had a nice practice today also. I haven't yet gotten a good feel for Hawkins.

Hawk

Nate the Great

 
As for the linebacking corps I continue to be impressed with Colin McCarthy. Akeem Ayers has bulked up but doesn't seem to have lost speed. We still seem to have trouble defending the middle and that concerns me. Gerald McRath didn't practice and I still don't know why.

Breathe if you love football :)

That's it for today. I hope to try and look more closely at position groups in the near future.

The Recruiting Fix: Defensively Speaking

Thanks, once again for coming back for the Recruiting Fix. I appreciate all of my loyal readers and be sure and comment to let me know what you think of the coverage. We should soon have a twitter account set up for the site but for now, you can follow me to make sure you don't miss any of these. I'll give my account at the bottom of the article.

After focusing on the offense last week, today we will be talking about the defense with a few exceptions.

Georgia Athlete Marqui Hawkins has offers from Auburn, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Ole Miss, Miss State, and Tennessee. He's listed as an athlete but it's been said we are recruiting him as a defensive back. Some say he prefers to play wide receiver but he committed to Florida as a defensive back then was later told he could play wide receiver there.

He's a 6'2” 190 lb prospect who probably projects at safety in UT's defense if we are truly recruiting him as a defensive back.

Hawkins has said that he's shutting down his recruitment and then out comes rumors that he is listening to Tennessee. There's rumors that a “mutual breakup” may occur which would leave him looking for another home.

One thing in Tennessee's favor is that he plays at the same school as current Volunteer Deion Bonner who is helping recruit him to Tennessee.

He has visited Knoxville in the past and even brought his parents along for a visit. It ended up being an extended visit as he liked what he saw at Tennessee.

He's definitely taking some official visits this fall and says that he wants to come for one of the home games. Possibly Florida. It would be nice to win that one as there will be a number of recruits in attendance on the fence about Tennessee.

He told Rivals, "Just being around the coaches and the players and all the new facilities and all that. They're just real family-based and good people. (Sunseri's) about the coolest coach ever. He's just a funny guy." 

Montravius Adams is an as-of-yet uncommitted five star defensive tackle out of Vienna Georgia. Tennessee definitely has a dog fight on their hands if they want to land this talented prospect.

Adams has visited multiple times and has been impressed by Tennessee saying following his initial visit that it “exceeded his expectations” He said then he would be back in the fall for a game though it's unclear if he's planning on using an official visit on the trip should he make it.

He bonded with current Vol Antonio (Tiny) Richardson and said he could see himself at Tennessee.

He claims no leaders but says the schools that are in the mix are Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Tennessee in alphabetical order.

He says the coaching staff is telling him he will play early here and looking at the depth chart he can see that.

Adams will be suiting up in the Army All-American Game where he may announce but I think this one should last until National Signing Day and expect the Vols to be in the thick of it if they can get him back on campus.

It will be a battle to get one of those coveted official visits but anything could happen once we get him here.

Rod Crayton of Dadeville, Alabama has been hearing from the Vols and it appears the interest is strong.

Crayton is a true NT who benches close to 500 pounds. He's one of the strongest prospects in the class.

Rivals lists him at 6'1” 290 lbs. though some say he's shorter than that.

He has an impressive offer list boasting offers from Arkansas, LSU, Michigan, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

Crayton wears a prosthesis on his foot due to an accident with a lawnmower when he was young. It doesn't appear to slow him down any when he plays though.

Derrick Ansley with whom he has built a great relationship is his lead recruiter. He also loves coach Sal Sunseri.

He has visited UT multiple times and says he wants to come back for a game. He loves the facilities especially the new athletic center just months away from opening.

“I liked the coaching staff. I liked the indoor facility, everything was nice. Stuff was being built and it looked nice. It's going to be awesome,.” he told Rivals

He said he speaks with Tennessee at least twice a week and is very high on the Vols. Some say we even lead LSU for his signature. Rod is said to want to play football outside of Alabama which obviously helps us.

"Tennessee is definitely a top school. They show a lot of love when I'm on campus and when I'm at home they're always calling my coach asking about me and they hit me up on Facebook letting me know to call them and telling me they want me. They're recruiting me hard," Crayton has told Rivals

"I really love them," Crayton said. "They showed me love when I come up there. I contact coach Ansley every week. He's from where I'm from and I like that he's a real good dude. He always talking to me about what I've been doing. Coach Palermo told me I was a very good player when I was at Tennessee."

When asked when a commitment could be coming he said. "It's not going to be too late. It will probably happen after the season starts but before the first of the year. I want to take my time, but right now I'm just trying to look at my schools. When I make my commitment, I want to be solid. You see people commit and then commit somewhere else. That's not me."

His High School coach has high praise for him saying, “ He just beats the crap out of (opponents) all night long. He's a beast up in there. I've talked to a lot of high school coaches who've played against us, and they're saying 'We just can't do anything with him.'

Defensive End Naiim Mustafaa has been in contact with the UT staff several times in recent weeks despite his commitment to Georgia.

He just recently visited the Vols where coach Jay Graham is recruiting him to play jack linebacker, “I want to go up there and check it out; I have a good relationship with the Tennessee coaches,” Mustafaa told the AJC.

When asked to put a percentage on his commitment to UGA, Mustafaa said “I couldn’t put a percentage on it. That’s where I want to go. It’s pretty strong. It took a lot for me to commit there, so I doubt I will have any change of mind.”

He has visited Tennessee multiple times and claimed Tennessee was one of the offers he was waiting for. He said he remembers the campus is nice & how huge the stadium is. He watched us on television growing up and he liked watching Eric Berry. His dad played at Georgia Tech & his brother played at Kentucky.

Has had really good visits to Tennessee and really likes Coach Sal. At one point in the process Tennessee led.

Tennessee is getting a bit of help recruiting him as Justin King and he are close and he is trying to get him to come here.

Mustafaa is every bit of 6'4 235 lbs and appears to carry his weight very well.

The coaches are continuing to try and find a guy to play jack linebacker and they like Mustafaa and think he could play the part.

I think most everyone knows who safety Vonn Bell is. Bell grew up rooting for the Vols and has friends who attend school or play here including Jacques Smith who is helping recruit Bell to Tennessee.

Smith was the first to tell Bell that Tennessee was going to offer him which came true about 30 minutes later.

Bell actually still lives in Tennessee but he attends Ridgeland High School in Georgia because his mom works there apparently.

Bell has some of the best film of any prospect in the country. He hits like a linebacker but has the coverage skills of a corner.

Bell has been invited to play in the Under Armour All-American game next year.

Austin Sanders is also recruiting Vonn to the Vols. He says that Bell isn't sure what he wants to do right now. That he is up in the air though many experts speculate Tennessee is the team to beat.

Vonn is one of the most difficult guys in the class to get a good read on where he might be leaning so anything could happen. I believe it's just a matter of time and if we have a decent season, he'll become a Vol.

Rivals ranks Bell as the 13^th best safety in the Nation though some services have him higher and a 4 star player.

Tahaan Goodman is a 6'2” 185 lb defensive back out of Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

He is a guy the coaches offered early in the process and have continued to recruit. I think he's a better fit at safety because of his size and the fact that he loves separating the offensive player from the ball and laying them out.

The key with a guy like Goodman who lives way across the country is to get him on a visit and if the coaches can do that, they like their chances with him. He does talk with current Tennessee Vol Byron Moore which doesn't hurt and has worked out with him when Moore was back in California.

Goodman has said that he wants to visit UT but has yet to announce where he will take his official visits.

He has contacted the coaches on his own and I'm sure they've contacted him. He's very interested in the depth chart here at UT and how he would fit in. Having Moore help recruit Goodman is big as Moore has made that trip from California to live in Knoxville and can help him make that leap.

I expect we will get an official visit this season from Goodman and I like our chances with him when that happens.

Rivals rates him a 4 star player and the 2^nd best safety in the nation.

Mario Mathis is an unheralded linebacker formerly committed to Ole Miss. Ole Miss rescinded his offer after Mathis injured his knee.

Mathis has received several handwritten letters from the Vols.

Mathis has good size at 6'2” 245 lbs. Runs a 4.62 40 which is good for his size. I'm surprised by his lack of offers. It must have something to do with his knee. Hopefully it's not something they have to go back in an clean up once he gets on campus somewhere. If the coaches are willing to take a chance on the guy, I'm on-board. He could turn into a special player.

A guy I failed to mention last week but one for whom Tennessee is very much in it is junior college wide receiver Jonathan Rumph is a guy Tennessee coaches are recruiting hard. He holds offers to Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Nebraska, and South Carolina among others including Tennessee.

Rumph is 6'5” 215 lbs and reports a 4.6 40 Great size for a wide receiver.

He was also the MVP for the South team in the North/South All Star game in 2010 and was named to the 3A all-state basketball team his senior year. He averaged 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Dude is an athlete.

"Now, I know a lot. (about Tennessee) I know that when I come in they won't have that many receivers so they want to bring me in for a big role because I'm a big receiver and being an older guy and being a leader for the receivers. I like the scheme that they run and I like what they offer," Rumph told Rivals following a visit.

Rumph is working to be an early-enrollee which would certainly help him adjust sooner and be ready to play early.

I think this is a guy the coaches take before Kris Comas for sure.

Darrin Hinshaw is his lead recruiter and he speaks with him often.

He will be visiting the weekend of the 22^nd when the Vols play Akron.

Rivals gives him 4 stars.

No one knows for sure what's going on with Jalen Reeves Maybin other than he is down to Ole Miss and Tennessee. I'm hesitant to make a prediction on him though the Rivals guys are predicting Tennessee. I guess I'll go along with that if for nothing else, some positive recruiting vibes. Ole Miss definitely has me worried though and after talking to his 7 on 7 coach, it would surprise me if he sent any player to play for Derek Dooley.

Reeves-Maybin will be announcing at his school Friday August the 10^th at 2:30 CST.

I've known for weeks that Cam Sutton was a silent to commit for the Vols so when he came with his family I felt comfortable letting you guys know he was likely going to be our next commit.

We also have one more silent commit who wants to hold off announcing until his All-American game so good news is in store for Vol fans.

Toby Johnson announced he will official to Georgia, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ole Miss and a 5^th to be decided between Miami or USC. Kind of surprising not to see UT listed, but he's seen Knoxville plenty of times. I still think he's going to commit to the Vols and take his official visits just to enjoy the process.

Camion Patrick has enrolled at West High School but he should no longer be considered a commit for this class. Word is he will still be academically ineligible to play and has a steep mountain to climb which based on what he's done to this point, he will not be able to overcome. Expect the coaches to cut ties with him at some point, but he's not going to be a guy who signs with the Vols.

Hope you enjoyed the article. Next week we'll cover the latest recruiting news as well as talk about some of the prospects we already have committed for the class of 2013. Follow the me on Twitter @Sabanocchio to make sure you don't miss a single edition or simply follow @BIYLF.

Regarding Sharona

Hi there I am Sharona and if you are reading this well welcome! I am excited to be blogging for Breathe If You Love Football and hope you enjoy my blog posts. I welcome interaction so long as it is respectful and contributes to the dialogue. You can follow me on twitter @MeSharona. Fair warning i tweet a LOT.

Just a little bit about me in case you are interested. I am a single attorney living the dream in Nashville, Tennessee. I have no kids but I do have a dog. Her name is Libby and if you read this regularly you will hear a lot about her. Probably more than you want if you want the truth.

Meet Libby everyone. The best dog in the whole world.

I will be blogging mostly about sports but there might be an occasional post about current events. I am a Tennessee Titans fan and a Tennessee Volunteers fan for football. For other sports I am mainly just an observer. Oh, but Team USA!

I am an avid gamer so you can also expect something gaming related to pop up occasionally. Please feel free to comment so we can interact. Please keep it respectful! Oh and i love shoes so be prepared to hear about them too.

Finally, i am pretty much a huge nerd. My favorite movies are the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I also love just about anything science fiction. I am a big believer in photography so expect tons of photos!

That's pretty much all there is to know about me. At least the interesting stuff anyway. I hope you enjoy my blog posts!

Camp Update 8/7

Some folks were alarmed who were witness to practice today that a couple of key figures were MIA, one Da'Rick Rogers and the other Eric Gordon. Dooley set those fears to rest early in his afternoon press conference, explaining the absence.

"Yeah, Da'rick's in class and Eric Gordon is in class. This is the last day of summer school."

On the injury front Devante Borque has a neck issue. Dooley quipped that he thought it was whiplash. "I'm not a doctor," he said "He's doing this (moves his head side to side) He wasn't in a car wreck, but he got hit."

Mychal Rivera, tweaked his knee "It's nothing serious," Dooley said "But he'll be out about a week or so.

That opened the door for Joseph Ayres to move to TE where he is wearing the 88 vacated by Cam Clear's self-inflicted exit.

 "I think he can give us a little value especially as a bigger, physical guy to help us block." Dooley said.

Tyler Bray's maturation over the time and trials he's faced continues to come up. He was asked

how he's different now from last year at this time. '20 pounds and a haircut,' he replied.

Dooley was made aware of the statement.

"I think that's understating it,. The experience of just going through it the understanding of expectation the maturity from that standpoint. He still is Tyler Bray. He still does the same things on the field. I just feel he's a lot more engaged in what he's doing and that comes from experience."

Dooley says about 80% or so of the defense is installed, but the players have 0% of comfort doing it.

One player seemingly doing it well is Darrington Sentimore who says he has shed about 10 lbs and is at 280. That's good size for a 3-4 DE where he is getting first team reps ahead of Steven Fowlkes who had the head coach praising him today for his effort. 

Well he's matured a lot over the last year. To his credit he responded the right way i tell you the most telling thing about Steven Fowlkes is watching him every day in practice last year. He was unbelievable his effort his attitude and he was on scout team and really couldn't play and he was the best scout team player we had."

Fowlkes is a 6-5, 265 former wide receiver. Never contributed. Now is a beast at DE. Even Tiny said Fowlkes just runs around him sometimes, and there's nothing he can do. He's really responded to Sunseri. He's a 5th year senior who would have seen the field last year had he not been ruled academically ineligible.

Dooley also praised AJ Johnson and Curt Maggitt's leadership abilities as well as Herman Lathers. 

"We have three guys who are talented and have a lot of leadership skills." He said.

Tyler Bray had a nice quip when he was asked, "Everybody started lobbying for balls or how does that work?""

"Uh there's a payment process going on. It's five bucks a ball and touchdowns are ten."

Tyler also said Cordarrelle Patterson is pretty much a starter already. 

"Between the three of them we should have a very good season." 

He says the guys are listening to him a little more and are working a lot harder than they have, mainly speaking on the offensive line. 

"It's getting to the point to where they don't even need to say anything I already know what they are doing. Coach will yell at them because they're not talking but they know what they got. They already know what the other person's going to do."

 When talking about the running back rotation he said it's helpful to have 3 guys returning with experience. 

"They all do three different things and they all do them well."

At the end of Dooley's press conference he was asked about Willie Bohannon who he had a lot of praise for.

"Willie's one of those dependable guys. You can put in at either outside backer and Knows what the deal is and always gives effort and toughness. You can count on him."

Que Watson, Marlin Lane, Devrin Young, and Cordarrelle Patterson all worked at kick return.

Ben Bartholomew has been fully integrated as a tight end as well as continuing his duties as a fullback.

The Vols head to Milligan College on Friday to practice there. They have field turf there which most simulates the turf inside the Georgia Dome where the Vols open up the season against NC State.

Cam Sutton on Campus

3 star CB Cam Sutton is currently in Knoxville with his family visiting the Vol program. He is a guy who has publicly said Tennessee leads and with his family coming along with him there is a possibility for a commitment.

There are probably guys the Tennessee coaches have higher on their board than Sutton but they are high on him. Sutton impressed the coaches enough to earn an offer and has impressed coaches all around the Southeast in camps this Spring and Summer.

He is a legit 6'0" and 175 lbs and runs a 4.4 40. Tennessee, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Missouri and Virgina Tech have all offered.

Watch this one closely tonight and tomorrow to see if Sutton is added to the 2012 class.

Update: Sutton has committed to Tennessee becoming the 17th commitment of the 2013 class.

2012 Tennessee Schedule Wallpaper

Something I threw together. Enjoy!  Full size version here.

Camp Update

Today marked the first combined practice of the year and the first time the newcomers to the team were able to measure themselves against the veterans. Dooley said that they looked fine and that no one stood out really good or bad.

There are position battles everywhere you look especially on the defensive side of the ball where very little is set in stone and it's going to be exciting to watch unfold.

The plus side is that there is depth along the defensive line for the first time since Dooley's been the coach and now the problem is sorting them out, finding out who the starting 3 are then who is on the two deep and so on.

Dooley praised the work of Sentimore and Couch saying they showed "good conditioning." Daniel McCullers really wears his 380 lbs well. He looks big but not out-of-shape. He's really needed as a nose tackle on this team so I hope he can really step up, learn the defense quickly and adapt to the role. That's what you hope out of a Junior College player but it seldom works out that way.

Omari Phillips has some extra weight he needs to shed and with Greg King continuing to make plays I'm not real sure where he ends up in the pecking order.

Jacques Smith and Jordan Williams are duking it out for the starting Jack linebacker spot where Williams has continued to impress his coaches. Dooley has pointed to Jacques' play-making ability but pointed out that he has to get more consistent. That seems to have been the problem with Smith since he's been in Knoxville. He's shown flashes, but not on a consistent enough basis to be counted on.

On Williams, Dooley said he's going to be "a really good football player."

Freshman LaTroy Lewis has also been at the Jack linebacker position where he has been playing well and really looks the part as a freshman.

Justin Coleman is working hard trying to earn the starting corner back spot he held for most of last year. Throw in Eric Gordon and Marsalis Teague battling for that position as well. I like Gordon as a nickel back and that's where I expect we'll see him this year if he has continued to progress.

The other corner back spot appears to belong to Prentiss Waggner. I think he's done enough to prove he can lock that position down.

One safety spot will likely belong to Brian Randolph who became the first freshman to start in the secondary since Eric Berry last year on his way to All-SEC freshman honors.

The other spot is being contested by the returning Brent Brewer who missed part of last season after tearing an ACL, and Byron Moore. Both are good players and it's a luxury to have the two of them fighting for a position.

Brewer says he is faster and stronger than he was before the injury and backed part of that up by running the second-fastest 40 on the defense behind CB Tino Thomas.

Some other notes: Justin King was moved from linebacker to a H-back/TE role. King showed up looking good but definitely needs some time in the strength and conditioning program. I'm not sure he's going to be called on to play much this year although they have been working on a wildcat package featuring the former High School quarterback.

Drae Bowles is being slightly overshadowed by Junior College transfer Cordarrelle Patterson as far as the newcomers are concerned, but don't let that fool you. He has continued to impress all camp, catching nearly everything that comes his way. He will be a good football player for this team.

For the umpteenth time you've probably heard it, Cordarrelle Patterson is the real deal, folks. He has done nothing but impress since he's been here and was running in the 3 WR look with Justin and Da'Rick today. He looked great in pads and they are trying to find creative ways to get the football in his hands.

Jay Graham is my favorite coaching acquisition of the off-season. The guy is really working the running backs and they are running hard for him. I think our running game is going to be a lot better than people think and whoever it is toting the rock is going to get the job done.

Marlin Lane grew an inch in the off-season and shed a couple of pounds. I don't like hearing that our RBs are losing weight rather than gaining it but there it is.

Also quickly, Dooley said that Vincent Dallas' choice to move to DB was his and that they needed help there. He can probably see the field quicker there. They aren't sure yet whether he's a corner or a safety.

Keep checking back for more updates and follow me on Twitter for the latest Vol news @sabanocchio.

The Recruiting Fix: Let's Get Offensive

Thanks for checking in. As you can see, the Recruiting Fix has a new home. I plan on improving the site's design and writing more Vol-related articles, possibly bringing on another writer or two to help get this thing going. You'll get your "Fix" every week as planned so check regularly or follow me on Twitter.

As promised, today we are going to be talking offensive prospects. Guys who the Volunteer coaches are recruiting to play offense. I'll try and avoid rehashing names we discussed last week unless there's some new news to discuss and there is some. I expect things to be a little quiet between now and when the season starts and we start getting visits other than perhaps the Reeves-Maybin announcement on the 10^th. But if something happens, you'll hear it here.

On to our prospects.

WR Camion Patrick, vol commit, will not play for Lenoir City this year for whom he amassed 41 receptions for 774 yards and five touchdowns as a Junior. He also added 49 rushes for 441 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground.

His coach was vague when announcing the news.

“About the only thing I can tell you is: he will not be playing with Lenoir City,” said Coach Mike Zeller.

The thinking is Patrick is looking to transfer somewhere he will be eligible to play football and try and improve his grades so that he can attend college. He is zoned for West High School. But if he's ineligible per TSSAA rules, he may pull a Corey Smith and go ahead and enroll in a JUCO. The thinking at this point is that he would not be able to play his senior season of high school football anywhere.

Patrick recently addressed the issue with Rivals saying, "I'm open to doing that (JUCO) if I can't get eligible," Patrick said. "It's not ideal, but I want to play at the next level. I put myself in this position and I have to dig myself out. I've been working hard the last couple of weeks and then this hit me in the face yesterday." 

Getting his GED and enrolling in JUCO is likely his best option at this point and what I expect him to do.

Talent is what is keeping him a commit at this point. If the coaches do not think he can improve his grades enough in the time he has, expect them to cut ties with Patrick at some point, especially if he goes the JUCO route. The days of sign and place are behind us with the new 25 rule in place.

Because of the situation with Patrick and given the possible loss of three wide receivers after the season, we want to sign 4 wide receivers.

One player the coaches haven't given up on yet is Florida commit wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood.

Fulwood lost his lead recruiter and Florida lost their Wide Receivers Coach and Recruiting Coordinator when Aubrey Hill resigned after allegations of impermissible contact with recruits. This is the same Aubrey Hill supposedly present when Miami booster Nevin Shapiro was carting around recruits in his $200,00 Mercedes and giving tours of his mansion.

Muschamp is trying his best to smooth it over claiming that he is Florida's recruiting coordinator. They have promoted grad assistant Bush Hamdan, a former back-up QB at Boise State to the position of WR coach. 4 star wide receiver Rodney Adams has already opened back up his recruitment though he shows no Tennessee offer at this time.

The 6'4” 197 lb Fulwood is a 4 star prospect and he maintains that he is staying committed to the Gators, but the coaches haven't given up here and he is one to watch. We have to get him back on campus for an official. If that doesn't happen, he'll likely be playing vs. Tennessee for the next 4 years.

Another wide receiver who figures to stay in Florida but the coaches have not given up on is Stacy Coley.

Coley is 6'1” 175 lbs and a 4 star on Rivals. He has had some trouble and grades are a concern here but his talent is undeniable.

Word is he can still make it if he gets his grades up and a lot of schools have backed off of him so opportunity is there. Dante “Omari” Phillips proved that there is a chance to get a guy in here even if Florida is not an option.

Word is the kid grew up a Gator fan but oddly has FSU out front. I think Florida may have backed off due to grades. The coaches will try and get him here for an official visit and go from there.

My personal opinion is that this guy ends up at FSU or a Junior College. He plans on taking all 5 official visits and deciding on National Signing Day.

Another option, and one that most Vol fans seem less-enthused about is JUCO wide receiver Kris Comas. His offer list is less than impressive and the Vols really stand out there.

His other offers are Idaho, Nevada, Purdue and UNLV. Not really a who's who in terms of bringing in top talent. He is a guy who will have 3 years to play which is always a plus and bodies always help. We don't want to be in a situation where our walk-ons are getting reps in practice that should be going to scholarship players. Not at Tennessee.

Comas tried to commit to Tennessee at one point but later backed off saying that Tennessee had to answer some questions for his dad first, but I would not be shocked if it was at the urging of the coaches.

I think our situation with a couple of other guys will dictate how things go with Comas.

I almost forgot to mention Marquion Lane who is the brother of current Tennessee running back Marlin Lane. Most like Lane as a wide receiver.

Lane is 6'2" and 195 lbs and plays quarterback for his DeLand High School team. Listed as a athlete on most sites, Lane almost committed to Florida State at one point. 247 lists him with high interest in FSU.

At one point Lane named a top 5 of FSU, USF, Tennessee, LSU, & UGA. I don't know how many of those schools he actually holds an offer to. The recruiting sites do not show offers to LSU or Georgia...or Tennessee for that matter and there is some question to whether or not he has a committable offer to Tennessee at this point. I have no idea whether or not he does but it just makes sense bringing Marlin's kid brother on board if he can play and all indications are that he can.

Some say FSU leads only because he doesn't have a firm offer to UT. I guess time will tell but this is definitely a guy to keep your eye on.

James Quick is another name to keep an eye on at wide receiver though we didn't make his top 3 and it looks like he's headed to Louisville. If we start off quick this year, pardon the pun, the whole landscape could change in this regard.

Another wide receiver we are still recruiting though we did not make his recent cut is Marquez North. North is a special athlete with all the skills to play the position and we are still trying to get him to visit. North's two favorites right now appear to be Georgia and North Carolina.

On to running backs. We touched on several last week but there are a few possibilities if we miss on Kamara, Henry, or Green or for that matter all three, though I do see us landing one of those three guys.

A guy we are recruiting heavily is Cocoa, Florida runner Tarean Folston.

Folston is 5'10 195 lbs and runs a 4.48 40. He looks good on film from my eyes though I can tell much more about quarterbacks on film than running backs personally. I'm no talent evaluator, but the guys at Rivals gave him 4 stars and the 16^th best running back ranking. He has good vision and great balance and is smooth in and out of his cuts. Also catches well out of the backfield.

Folston ran for more than 1200 yards during the 2010 season in a running back-by-committee system. He boasts offers from the likes of Florida, Auburn, Nebraska, South Carolina, Stanford and of course Tennessee.

Florida is recruiting him as an athlete. Tennessee is recruiting him to play running back.

It has been said that he came to see Tennessee in person and was ready to commit but was told to wait. I don't know if that's true or not, but it could say good things about where the coaches think they are with Henry and/or Kamara. Tennessee definitely left an impression on the kid.

If we miss on one of the guys we have higher on our board, (ie: Kamara, Henry) then I would expect the coaches to take a commitment from Folston if he is so inclined to offer one. Some say South Florida is the team to beat here. I like our chances over them and Miami is another school recruiting him hard. They are going to have a horrible season I think. I hope we don't wait too long and miss the boat on Folston but if we do, we still have options.

AJ Turman is another running back from Florida who is on our board. He holds offers from Miami, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt in addition to Tennessee.

A 4 star back according to Rivals and ranked 18^th at his position, Turman calls himself a power running back. He has claimed a top 3 of Tennessee, Florida State, and Miami. He says that those schools are the ones recruiting him the hardest and that stand out to him.

Turman is from Orlando, Florida and is being recruited by Darrin Hinshaw AND Jay Graham. Tennessee is pulling out the heavy guns for this cat. The staff has been following him since last fall and has told him he is one of their top targets at the position.

AJ wants to see Tennessee again, if not before his season -- which seems unlikely, then on an official visit sometime this fall. He wants to make a decision early in the season so he can focus on high school ball.

Marquez Grayson looks like a fall-back option at this point at running back. I think we would have to miss on several guys in order for Grayson to be a take. He does have offers to South Carolina, Clemson and Virginia Tech though it's unclear which of those if any are committable offers.

Running Backs Coach Jay Graham does like the kid, but it's pretty well known he's not our first option. We are in on bigger fish. Grayson does plan on visiting UT officially and announcing sometime mid-season.

If you've been wondering what the deal is with Corn Elder, the Nashville runningback/athlete, Buck Fitzgerald has said there just isn't mutual interest there. The prevailing thought is that Corn will end up playing basketball at the next level. If not, watch Ole Miss.

Despite the need at Tight End following the departure of Cam Clear who was dismissed from the team for being a thieving dumbass, there isn't much noise around TE recruiting with maybe the exception of North Carolina's Lucas Wilson.

At 6'5” 226 lbs he has the frame to play the position. He can run too which is a plus and is more of a receiving TE than a pure blocker. I think Wilson is underrated by the recruiting services, but his offer list is less-than-impressive. NC State, Wake Forest and South Florida are his best offers from a school outside of the University of Tennessee which is only a four hour drive from his home in Winston-Salem.

Wilson has been to Tennessee for the Orange and White game and for camp and has had glowing reviews of his time in Knoxville.

Wilson would like to make a decision before the season but has said that if he doesn't, he'll take his officials and go from there.

Expect the coaches to sell early playing time to Penn State tight end commit Adam Breneman. He maintains that he is firm to Penn State, but things change and he is a guy I do not see signing with the school.

Breneman is the top tight end in the nation per Rivals and a four star player.

Dorian Miller is an option at offensive guard who has held the Vols in high esteem since visiting for the first time back in April. Dooley gave Miller his offer to play for the Vols in person.

In-state school Rutgers is the main competition for the Vols at this point, but Tennessee really made an impression on his visit.

Not long ago, Miller told Rivals, "I'm looking at a place where I can relate to the players and coaches at the school. The players are really important to me. I've spent a lot of time with the players at Tennessee. The campus and everything else factors in. That's what I'm going to base my decision on."

He is looking to visit Tennessee for the Florida game and wants to wait until National Signing Day to make a decision.

Rivals has him as a 3 star player while Scout rates him at 4 stars. He has offers to Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Boston College and Virginia in addition to his Tennessee offer.

I feel that if the coaches can get a commitment from the Hawaii guard, Kohler, they'll likely not take Miller even if he wanted to be a Vol. 4 OL is ideal for this class.

News continues to come out about Derrick Henry. Word is he and one-time Crimson Tide player turned Vol Darrington Sentimore have become fast friends and text each other regularly. I think Henry really wants to come to Tennessee. He really likes it here, he just wants to see how the season goes so he can make sure the coaching staff he commits to is the one he plays for. Still a September announcement for Henry though no date has been set as of yet.

Jalen Reeves-Maybin took that visit to Ole Miss he had planned which has me a little concerned. He was impressed, but I still think he commits to the Vols. Just a gut feeling I have.

Watch Nebraska with former Auburn corner back Jonathan Rose. There were rumors that UT was trying to get him but the latest information I have is that he cannot transfer anywhere in the SEC.

Reeve Kohler the guard from Hawaii we discussed last week is not a silent commit contrary to what you read on message boards. He still has not told coaches he is coming, but they are confident.

Derrick Green has us near the top of his list along with Michigan. Word is his mom likes Virginia Tech which is closer to home. We are certainly in it with Green for the time being and it will be interesting to see what happens. Green knows there is a glaring need for a top tailback on Tennessee's depth chart and that he would likely see immediate playing time.

That's pretty much all I have for now. As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Sabanocchio for the latest breaking news and bookmark this page so that you don't miss a single edition.