What a winter wonderland we have this weekend in Tennessee as the college football season winds down. This is one of the rare occasions that the state has snow on the ground from Bristol to Memphis. It was good, wintry conditions to sit back and watch two very good CFP semi matchups in front of the fireplace.
The upcoming National Championship game, to be played in Atlanta, should be a good matchup. Ohio State is now the owner of three straight CFP double-digit wins while Notre Dame has looked strong in their three CFP games. Maybe not Ohio State strong, but still the Irish have made the plays when they needed them and have proven they belong in the CFP despite that ominous loss to NIU to begin the season. And that ND quarterback, Riley Leonard, from Fairhope, Ala., he is a winner by every definition. How the heck did the Alabama and other SEC schools let Leonard escape to South Bend?
From the early comments following the Buckeyes win over Texas in their semi matchup in Dallas, Vol fans seem to feel a little better about their team’s 42-17 loss in Columbus. As I read from one fan’s recent comments, Texas got beat by double digits in what was essentially a home field advantage for the Longhorns in a domed stadium. The Vols, on the other hand, had to go to Ohio State’s home field, play a night game in sub-freezing conditions and without their SEC Offensive Player of the Year, Dylan Sampson. In hindsight, the deck was clearly stacked in Ohio State’s favor, and the Buckeyes took full advantage of it in their win over the Vols.
Now we anxiously await more transfer portal news from Tennessee Football. It’s been a portal season full of exits for the Vols but not many incoming. Tennessee did pick up an outstanding addition from Alabama that they had recruited hard in 2023. A former instate Mr. Football, wide receiver Amari Jefferson is now a Vol after one year with the Crimson Tide. Jefferson was a two sport star in high school, initially committing to the Vols in baseball. He does have interest in playing both sports at Tennessee. That could be a challenge but has been done before. See Condredge Holloway and Todd Helton. In addition to Jefferson, Tennessee also picked up offensive lineman Wendell Moe Jr. from Arizona, who could potentially be a Game 1 starter for Vols at guard or center. Moe has two seasons of eligibility left. Tennessee clearly needs more incoming from the transfer portal.
Speaking of Mr. Football accomplishments, the Vols now have six former Mr. Football’s on their roster. In addition to Jefferson, they also have Boo Carter, Duane Morris, Radarius Jackson, Kaleb Beasley and Carson Gentle. Hopefully these six former prep Mr. Football recipients will collectively help the Vols be annual CFP participants during their time on Rocky Top.
And to wrap up, one last note on a major event this week in the announcement of Mike Keith taking over for retiring Bob Kesling as the Voice of the Vols for football and basketball broadcasts. In my humble opinion, this is an outstanding hire by UT. He was who immediately came to mind with me when Kesling announced his retirement. I expected Keith might be tough to get after 25+ years with the Tennessee Titans organization but I was thrilled when I saw the announcement. I had the pleasure of working with Mike back in the day when he was doing the remote broadcasts for WIVK. Mike and team would set up at the business I worked with, and it was always a successful afternoon at the retail stores when they did their show. I’m very much looking forward to wearing the headset at Neyland this fall and listening to Mike do what will undoubtedly be an outstanding job with the play by play. High 5 to Danny White and the university brass for bringing Mike back to his alma mater.
Be safe in the snow, and we’ll talk Tennessee hoops in the next From The Stands article.
