Happy Wednesday:
TLD Logistics Tennessee Baseball Report: 
Tony Vitello appeared on Tuesday's Tony Basilio Show and elaborated on his beef with Missouri. He also spoke of his love for the current Mizzou regime and the rousing season his Vols are enjoying. Here are a few highlights.
Tennessee & Florida On ESPN Thursday: Chris Burke broke this news yesterday on your show of record when he told us that Tennessee and Florida will play tomorrow night on ESPN. What a great showcase for college baseball in a series that Florida desperately needs. Chris will be in Gainesville and on the call for Thursday night's action.
A Correction From Yesterday ... Trey Lipscomb Has Been Called Back Up: By the Washington Nationals. Ironically this opportunity was created for Trey after Bearden's Lane Thomas was sent to the IL. The last time Lipscomb was briefly called up was due to VFL Nick Senzel being injured. That's a whole lot of irony right there.
Tony Vitello Bears His Soul:
Tony Elaborated Further On Last Week's Comments On His Heat With Mizzou's Previous Regime: "The minute it was over I was pissed off I didn't get a little more into detail. I should've added details. I was painted as the bad guy. The background is I'm at Arkansas and Cade Beloso who became a national champion at LSU was visiting us there and I was responsible for him. So, I do the visit and race up to Kansas City and Coach Van Horne (Arkansas Head Coach) is like 'hey you need to go interview for this job. Don't worry about the visit. I'll take care of it.' I was like 'no I've got a job to do right now and I've already interviewed for that job.' And it was for 10 years of my life. Actually it was 11 if you count all my playing years.
"So I race up there and come to find out long story short that it was a fake interview. Which is fine. They wanted to hire a guy named Rob Walton the pitching coach at Oklahoma State, but he didn't like that AD that's now at Baylor. So he says no, and they end up hiring the guy that they do. Well, my teammates and kids I coached there were upset. And that wasn't my fault. And I wasn't bitter. In fact the next year at Arkansas is one of my best years in coaching at Arkansas. I wasn't bitter. I would rather have this job (Tennessee) than that job (Mizzou).
"So all of the sudden entering that stadium I'm the bad guy. And every year it was something different. A trainer and some young coach yelling at me when I'm coaching 3rd aggressively. Not just yelling at me ... Unique stuff. And then the thing with my Dad (2017 car accident). You know I'm acting all out of sorts, and they start accusing me of doing different stuff. They accused us of having our fans steal signs. When we played them here they accused Camden Sewell of doctoring up the ball. They accused us of stealing Halvorsen (pitcher Seth Halvorsen). It was just one thing after another. Look, we're not going to be friends when the game is going on, but I gave a lot of my life to that place. For it to go down the way it did. I'd get it if I'm the enemy and I'm at Arkansas or Florida. But the way it went down there for a few years ... I'm just glad it's over."
Tony Is Happy To See Missouri Baseball In Capable & Trusted Hands 'I was glad to see the way they played the game (last weekend). They have arms and they're well coached by Coach J. They made adjustments and they executed. They weren't good offensive days for us as some of our guys let frustration get in the way. We left too many guys on base. We were getting guys on but couldn't finish off innings. It takes two to tango. I'm glad Coach J got to go back there. It has to do with family and proximity and peace of mind. I'm glad that he's finishing his career off on a high note doing what he does well which is coach guys. Karrick is a guy I've known a long time. He's a man of principle. He's going to make sure those guys act the right way and play the right way. They're just scratching the surface of what they can do.'
Tony On The Road Ahead For The Vols: 'For us this is survival. We've entered May. There's no more resting guys ... Or this guy had a good practice so we want to reward him. You're not trying to have long practices in between games. I'm not saying there's not improvement and rest needed but you know what I mean. We're at survival time. NBA and NHL playoffs are on right now. And our guys in their free time need to get a little whiff of that because that's kind of where we're at right now,' Vitello said.
Matt Dixon
'Voltello's Upset By Lipscomb: Lipscomb hit four home runs and held Tennessee to just two runs over the final seven innings in a 9-6 upset win over the Volunteers at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday night.
Tennessee fell to 37-8 after their first non-conference home loss of the season.
Lipscomb led the game off with a double down the left field line. That runner would come around to score on a RBI single to give the Bisons an early 1-0 lead.
Tennessee wasted no time responding, as the first four Vols hitters reached in a variety of different ways.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Dean Curley grounded into a 6-4-3 double play but Tennessee took a 2-1 lead.
Colby Backus led off the bottom of the 2nd with a double. After he advanced to 3rd on a Christian Moore fly out and Dalton Bargo walked and stole 2nd base, Blake Burke brought both runners in on a 2-out, 2-run double that hit off the diving shortstop’s glove.
Lipscomb cut the Vols’s lead to 4-2 in the top of the 3rd with a solo home run. It was the first extra base hit Tennessee’s Marcus Phillips had allowed all season.
After a 1-out walk in the top of the 4th, the Bisons got back-to-back doubles — one down each line — to tie the game at 4-4.
With a runner on 2nd, Phillips got consecutive strikeouts to end the frame.
Tennessee stranded a runner at 3rd to end the 4th, then Lipscomb’s Alex Vergara led off the top of the 5th with his 2nd home run of the game to put the Bisons up 5-4.
Billy Amick and Dylan Dreiling had nearly identical fly outs to the warning track in centerfield in the bottom of the 5th.
After the Vols stranded another runner at 3rd in the 5th, Lipscomb once again hit a solo home run to lead off the next inning.
This no-doubter into the left field porches gave the Bisons a 6-4 lead.
Lipscomb’s 2nd solo home run of the inning put them up 7-4.
Tennessee loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 7th but could only get one run across.
The Bisons added two insurance runs in the 8th to take a 9-5 lead.
Billy Amick’s 17th home run of the season in the bottom of the 9th made it 9-6. The solo shot was sandwiched in-between warning track fly outs by Burke and Dreiling.
Notes: — Dylan Loy made his 4th midweek start for the Vols. The freshman lefty gave up one run on three hits in two innings of work but took the loss, his first of the season.
— Frank Anderson was back in the dugout for Tuesday’s game. The Vols pitching coach missed the last two games of the Missouri series due to a sick family member.
— After hitting 121 home runs in their first 42 games this season, the Vols have hit just one homer in their last three games.
—
Curiously, Nate Snead entered the game with one out and a runner at 2nd in the 8th inning with the Vols trailing 8-5. It was Snead’s first midweek appearance since March 5th vs Kansas State, which was before SEC play began.
— Tennessee now travels to Gainesville for a Thursday through Saturday series with the Gators. Florida is just 23-21 overall and 9-12 in SEC play but have the best two-way player in the country in Jac Caglianone. The Gators’ game three starter is 5-0 with a 4.10 ERA on the mound while hitting .404 with 26 home runs at the plate.
@Mattdixon3'
Matt ... I agree with your observation on Snead. It makes ZERO SENSE that he pitched last night with Thursday in play. I don't get that for one second. Then again I'm not coaching.
Kevin Brockway Gainesville Sun Previewing Florida Series: Kevin Brockway joined with an honest assessment of Florida in the eve of a crucial series for them.
Start 6-3 take 2-3 from LSU and it looks promising. Haven't won an SEC Series since Miss St. Got swept at Missouri.
Brendon Neeley moved from closer to starter and that has destabilized their bullpen.
Caglione 26 home runs. Arkansas intentionally walked him 6 times. Then they had to pitch to him with the bases loaded.
Caglione is also their best pitcher as well.
Need to win 7-8 at home schedule
Pitching staff walks a lot of guys.
Florida averages 7 runs per game. They do strike out a lot. They don't run the bases well. Analytics have devalued base running. It seems like a lost art.
O Sullivan hasn't had a six game losing streak since 2013. Then you have FSU sweeping them. April was brutal. These guys are searching for answers. Pitchers have struggled with location.
Florida needs 2 of 3 or their 10-15. They need to win the series. The schedule is really rough down the stretch. They've lost 4 straight series.
They get 2-3 from Vols & 2-3 from Kentucky and two midweek games. They need to go 6-8.
Florida Only Had One NFL Draft Pick Last time this happened was 1980. Perhaps an indictment on the Mullen recruiting. I count 5 guys that could be drafted next week. They have 14 starters back next year. I think they'll be better on defense. Of course the schedule is brutal. Last year they had a few injuries and the team that played Tennessee was not the team that finished the year. Plus they had goofy endings which is a problem under Napier. They had 10 guys on the field on a field goal in the Spring game.
Meanwhile Pro Football Hocus Pocus Focus Has A Vol On Top: I'm not the biggest fan of Pro Football Focus because I find them junk science. That said they are jocking James Pearce at the top of next year's NFL Draft ... Fun to see in print anyway ...
Link
Tony
ICYMI from Monday: Our UT Insider Orange Throat
Orange Throat
'T Club Team:
Random musings as the Fighting Voltellos take an unusual route to get an important sweep over a spunky Missouri team:
VOLS SMACK SIX HOMERS ... In Game 1 vs. Mizzou and then don't get one more in the series but win it anyway. Blake Burke and Dylan Dreiling struggled at the plate, going a combined 2-22 over the weekend. Freshman Dean Curley delivered a big hit in Game 3.
VOLLIE FINGERS CONTINUES ... To be a stalwart out of the bullpen. The veteran lefty also known as Kirby Connell got a save in game 3 and came within an out of getting one in game 2.
THE VOLTELLOS HEAD TO FLORIDA ... For another Thursday - Saturday series. The Gators are tied with Alabama for 9th place at 9-12 in the SEC and are on the bubble to make the NCAA tourney field. They will be motivated for this series with the Volunteers.
TENNESSEE IS CURRENTLY ... In great shape to host an NCAA Regional and is in very good shape to host a Super Regional. D1Baseball.com had the Vols as a fourth overall seed going into the weekend. D1 had Florida as the last of 10 SEC teams getting in, giving the Gators a 3-seed and 41st overall.
NO BIG SURPRISES ... For our Volunteers in this 2024 draft. Jaylen Wright didn't come off the board until the 20th pick of the 4th round, which was somewhat of a surprise. The Miami Dolphins got a nice player at pick #120 overall. It was no surprise that Joe Milton III got drafted late in round VI, but it was a bit surprising that New England picked him after taking Drake Maye with the third overall pick. Kamal Hadden was selected later in the 6th by Sinco's Chiefs and McCallan Castles didn't get drafted but Tony's Eagles scooped him up quickly as a UFA.
IF THE '24 VOLS ... Are going to make it to the first 12-team CFP several Volunteers will need to raise their draft stock for the 2025 edition. James Pearce is a great candidate to be the first Josh Heupel UT recruit to be taken in the first round. The great Adam Sparks of the KNS had a nice story yesterday listing the players who could be drafted off next season's team. Tell me Keenan Pili has a great season that makes him draftable and I will feel good about the LB position.
AS EXPECTED ... Belmont transfer Cade Tyson is going to North Carolina, making Chaz Lanier a huge priority for Rick Barnes and his staff. Looks like the Lanier recruitment is going to be drawn out, as the NBA Draft is still a possibility and Lanier is in demand as a college player with a #7 ranking in the entire pool of players in the portal. Tony B. will tell you, as he has for some time, that the Large Orange is in the hunt and in the mix on him.
Orange Throat'
'X' our UT Football Expert and UT Recruiting Expert breaks down Tennessee's latest football commitment ... 'X' LOVES Tennessee's latest addition from Memphis.
'X' Says
'Tennessee picked up its 9th football commitment Monday afternoon when Memphis Sheffield wide receiver Radarious Jackson announced his commitment in front of family and friends.
Jackson is the second wide receiver in the 2025 class and the 4th prospect from the state of Tennessee. Whatever Tennessee’s formula is for prospect evaluation it’s working. Tennessee beat many of its staunchest on field competitors to the draw in identifying Jackson as a prospect and striking up a relationship. Tennessee had a bit of a head start on other colleges in Jackson’s recruitment. You see Jackson and Tennessee quarterback commitment George McIntyre are teammates on one of the best 7 on 7 teams in the south.
As a junior at Sheffield, he had a phenomenal season. As a junior he caught 30 passes for 696 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 782 yards and nine touchdowns. He just isn’t a wide receiver either. As a defensive back he was in 60 plus tackles and had 7 interceptions.
By the end of his junior season, Jackson had amassed some 25 offers. His finalists were Auburn, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Tennessee. Notice all 4 of Jackson’s finalists are up tempo fast paced offenses. Offenses that are reliant on speed to stretch defenses. Jackson’s athleticism is obvious. He is yet another commitment who plays multiple sports. Jackson is a member of Sheffield’s basketball team as well as a member of the school’s track team.
He was the best player on the field in every game tape I watched. He runs by the defense; he changes directions with ease and without slowing down; he sees the field well; and has the ability to make tough catches. The concerns are he needs to get bigger and stronger (which he will … he will be an 18-year-old during his freshman year at Tennessee), and he needs to work on running better routes (which he will).
It really doesn’t matter where the recruiting services have Jackson rated. Outside of current Tennessee quarterback commitment George McIntyre I’m not sure there was a higher priority target on Tennessee’s recruiting board than Radarious Jackson. By the end of the football season, Jackson will push George McIntyre as the top football prospect in the state of Tennessee for 2025.
I can’t remember a recruiting cycle where at the end of April Tennessee had received commitments from the quarterback and wide receiver at the top of their respective recruiting board. With the commitment last week of Sidney Walton and now Radarious Jackson, Tennessee has set the wheels in motion for a productive late spring and summer recruiting run up to fall practice.
If Jackson is able to accumulate comparable offensive numbers during his senior season, he will move himself into consideration as one of the top wide receivers in the country. He may not receive as much fanfare after committing to Tennessee so early in the recruiting cycle.
I will say this in closing, Radarious Jackson is a really good prospect. He is so good Tennessee will need to continue to recruit him all the way to signing day. Jackson will be one of the best players in Tennessee’s class regardless of whether he commits in April or December.
I'll be back next week with a full report ...
'X'
'X' Says
'X' Orange & White Game Report ...
It certainly was a beautiful spring Saturday in Knoxville. What a setting to celebrate the completion of another spring of practice football for the Tennessee Volunteers. The Orange & White game, fully scripted so as not to divulge any state secrets to the 12 opponents on the 2024 schedule, was largely as anticipated ….. uneventful. The best news is there were no major injuries on Saturday. Most of the players who had been nursing an injury didn’t even dress for the game.
Tennessee showed just enough of Nico on Saturday to sustain fan excitement until the end of July. The head coach sure has more courage than I do.
After Nico’s first pass play where the offensive line and DeSean Bishop decided not to block anyone, Nico would have spent the rest of the afternoon standing beside me if that was my dime and dance floor.
Takeaways from Saturday and Spring Practice Generally Nico still has plenty to improve upon. Sure, it’s a spring game I get it… Gaston Moore though looked more comfortable in getting the offense from one play to the next play compared to Nico. I expect him to be better at this in the fall.
The roster is better. The secondary is more athletic, the bodies are bigger and more athletic on both lines of scrimmage, and the wide receiver group, minus Squirrel White and Bru McCoy who both return for fall practice, looked bigger and more explosive.
A couple of non-descript things stood out to me in a spring game. Senior Omari Thomas, by all accounts Tennessee's best interior defensive lineman, chased down a running back 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
Back up offensive lineman Ayden Bussell left the game with a shoulder injury. An injury in a spring game usually signals the end of the afternoon for most players. Bussell returned to action a few plays later. I bet you that caught the attention of both the offensive line coach and the head coach.
Tennessee offensive specialists handled the ball without turning it over. With all the changing personnel parts of a spring game and the quarterbacks didn’t botch a handoff or throw an interception. The running backs and wide receivers secured the ball. Game execution was spot on.
I do not know what to make of the back-up running back situation. Coaches have been singing the praises of both backups all spring. I saw nothing from either Saturday that made me comfortable. What I did see were missed blocking assignments, tentative running, and lack of explosive plays. One of the storylines for the next few weeks is whether Tennessee pursues a running back in the portal.
Josh Heupel is quietly telling his media that Seldon is out until early September. My advice is to add a month to what he is saying publicly and that is when you can reasonably expect Cam Seldon to be healthy enough to return. We know from watching Jabari Small suffer through a lingering shoulder issue that you have to be careful with that injury literally from series to series.
Tennessee has an abundance of riches on the defensive line. You just have the feeling Tennessee might try and redshirt a couple of those interior players when more playing time is available in 2025.
The secondary is an unknown. The “group” is more athletic, but will the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach allow the players to play through some inevitable mistakes or will they play it safe.
If Keenan Pili is healthy, the defense will be plenty good enough. When healthy he is one of Tennessee's best defenders and one of the best linebackers in the conference. He also brings a calming influence on the younger linebackers. Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Telander is one of Tennessee’s most improved players this spring He took full advantage of being healthy and hitting it off with the new position coach. He made a strong case for starting beside Pili this fall.
Others Who Stood Out
Gaston Moore looks like a capable backup quarterback. I want Nico to make it through the season healthy. If he happened to miss a series or two, Gaston is capable of running the offense.
Mike Matthews doesn’t look like a freshman wide receiver. The long touchdown catch was nice, but I noticed his blocking on Saturday. He was a willing blocker and didn’t shy away from contact at all. The fact that he is a willing blocker and is explosive to boot almost guarantees him playing time next season.
Sham Umarov. Umarov looks like he is furthest along in terms of development of any of the other young offensive linemen. So much so that Umarov has jumped into the competition for the starting left guard position this fall.
Edwin Spillman and Boo Carter. Both true freshmen with a lot to learn. Both flashed here and there Saturday. Those plays should excite fans for their respective futures at Tennessee.
Portal Transfer Jakobe Thomas. His athleticism is something the secondary has been missing. He showed up a lot Saturday.
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Nathan Robinson. He has put in work in the offseason program. He looks like a completely different player physically than a year ago. Coach Garner will find a way to get Robinson into the rotation this fall.
Lingering Injury Questions You don’t take a chance with any injured player being counted on in the fall. The following injuries though seem problematic.
Tight end Ethan Davis. Davis is as talented a tight end prospect that has played at Tennessee in recent time. He can’t stay healthy. He was held out of the spring game as a precaution. He was injured in the spring game last year and he missed his first season at Tennessee recovering from shoulder surgery. Davis has missed more time with injury than he has practicing. I really want to see him healthy because he can be a difference maker. The tight end position is so important a position to the offense that keeping Davis healthy is a huge concern.
Right tackle John Campbell. Campbell is a key member of the offensive line. Him being healthy and available is important to the offensive. He hasn’t been healthy frankly since mid-season last season. He missed time leading up to the spring game with injury and he reinjured himself in warmups Saturday and was held out as a precaution.
Cam Seldon. His injury is the worst news of the spring. He is such a key piece to the offense. Josh Heupel is telling his media confidantes that Seldon is out until early September. My advice. Add a month. Therefore, you can reasonably expect Cam Seldon to be healthy enough to return in late September or early October. After watching Jabari Small suffer through a lingering shoulder issue for 3 seasons you hold your breath every time the kid takes contact.
Wrapping Things Up ... It's Portal Time In Tennessee:
The transfer portal opens Monday and I’m holding my breath. I do expect Tennessee players to enter the portal. With the money flying around in the NIL market, Tennessee needs to continue to manage its current roster.
I’m watching the defensive line including the pass rushers. Likely the deepest and best in the SEC. You can’t discount other programs who have depth issues at those positions coming after one or more of the experienced linemen with offers that would be hard to turn down.
And how active will Tennessee be when the portal opens? A running back or depth at linebacker isn’t out of the question. And ... how do they feel about Ethan Davis’s recent spate of injuries? Can you find an experienced tight end who can pick up the pace of this offense in a few months?
Tennessee didn’t solve its left guard position this spring. Sham Umarov had a good enough spring to surpass a couple of guys in the competition who were limited because of injury. Also returning offensive linemen Jackson Lampley, Cooper Mays, Andrej Karic, Larry Johnson, Javontez Spraggins, Masai Reddick, and John Campbell all missed some or all of spring practice. The coaches don’t seem to be worried. I should note though at least half of that group have been nursing one injury or another since coming to campus.
'X'
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