SB Nation User Blog: Jarred Amato

Vandy headed to Music City Bowl

Jarred Amato — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:45:58 -0000

While bowl bids don't go out until Sunday, it's almost certain that Kentucky will travel to Memphis to play in the Liberty Bowl, which means Vanderbilt will remain in Nashville to play in the Music City Bowl.

From The Herald-Leader:

If two bowls make bids on the same team, the team gets to pick which bowl it will attend. Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks said on his radio show Monday night that he and the players would rather go to the Liberty Bowl than make a third consecutive trip to the Music City.

Brooks cited the desire to experience something different as the main reason to opt for Memphis over Nashville.

So there you have it. Whether the Commodores like it or not, they'll be playing an ACC opponent on Dec. 31. What are your thoughts on the news?

Fans need to be patient with Dores

Jarred Amato — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:19:53 -0000

Vanderbilt men's basketball coach Kevin Stallings summed last night's stunning 74-55 home loss to Illinois-Chicago best:

"We were outplayed, outfought, out-hustled and out-everything. It was a very disappointing and very embarrassing performance."

However, it shouldn't come as a complete surprise since we knew this team was going to have its share of growing pains.

The inexperienced Commodores have a small margin of error to begin with. They've got a long way to go defensively (which is understandable when you're playing with a significant number of freshmen and sophomores) and are still trying to create an identity on offense.

As a result, Vanderbilt simply has to play as hard it can for 40 minutes every night, regardless of the opponent, in order to compete. If not, well, we saw what can happen.

I'm sure players are going to say that this was their wake-up call, the last time they're going to come out flat and uninspired. I sure hope so, but again, with a young team, ups and downs are inevitable.

That's why I'm not too worked up over last night's performance. It was bound to happen at some point. I'm more concerned with how the Commodores respond this Saturday against Georgia Tech.

Do they have the leadership to stick together through times of adversity? Will they work even harder in practice to get better? Will they be willing to take criticism? I believe the answers to all of those questions is "yes," but we will have to wait to see.

After back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, Commodore fans now have higher expectations for this program (and deservedly so), but they also need to be realistic. This is a very young team that, despite its extremely bright future, will be inconsistent.

It's going to take time for this team to maximize its potential -- weeks, months, maybe not until next year. When it does, however, the possibilities are endless. In the meantime, just be patient.

Steve Tchiengang is the man

Jarred Amato — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:11:28 -0000

If Steve Tchiengang isn't your favorite player, he will be after reading this interview with the Barca Blog. After sitting out the first six games due to a NCAA policy, the freshman forward and Cameroon native will make his regular season debut tonight when the Commodores host Illinois-Chicago at 7 p.m. CT at Memorial Gym.

A few of the highlights from the hilarious and thoughtful interview:

On whether he's a better soccer player than fellow freshman Jeffery Taylor, who's from Sweden

"Even if he did play soccer, he didn't play for a team with the level of competition that I did. Competition in Africa is rough and physical. It's the primary sport there. In fact, I read his quote in that interview where he said he was better than me and there's no way that's possible."

On why he moved to the United States

"When I moved to the United States, my first purpose was to get an education, because my family back home was poor. I always felt at a certain age that my parents wouldn't be able to make it any more, and in Africa you don't get retirement and stuff like over here. It's totally different. You don't get insurance. Such a thing doesn't exist. So, I always felt that my family would really be pleased if I could be successful with my education.

"As for basketball, it wasn't until after my sophomore year of high school that I figured out what college basketball was, and all of the vibes around it. So, it wasn't an athletic purpose. It was strictly educational."

On the team's diversity

"Well, they like to make fun of me and my French accent because I don't know how to pronounce `three' and when I say `Jeffrey' I accent the `r.' I think it's just funny because it brings us laughter, and we need that especially when we are trying to learn so many things. I enjoy the diversity of backgrounds that we have on the team, and I think it's a good thing to have."

On his nickname

"We don't really call each other by nicknames. Coach Rice likes to call us freshmen, `Young Dragons.' That nickname has carried over with the other players."

On his potential

"My coach in high school always told me that the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. I believe that I can improve in every single way possible on the floor, and off the floor too. I think I can improve so much of my game with time and dedication. The sky's the limit if I really put myself into that position by working hard."

How can you not love this guy? It's yet another example of why I love rooting for the Commodores. And "Young Dragons"? That's priceless...

Take your pick: Memphis or Nashville

Jarred Amato — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:45:38 -0000

After finishing the regular season 6-6, Vanderbilt's bowl destination is down to two possibilities: the Liberty Bowl in Memphis (Jan. 2) or the Music City Bowl here in Nashville (Dec. 31).

Here's a look at the most recent projections:

SI.com's Stewart Mandel believes Vanderbilt will play Virginia Tech in the Music City Bowl (with Kentucky and Tulsa playing in Memphis).
CBS Sportsline predicts that Vanderbilt play Tulsa in the Liberty Bowl (with Kentucky and North Carolina playing in Nashville).
Both Bruce Feldman and Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com expect Vanderbilt to play in the Music City Bowl against either Clemson or North Carolina (with Kentucky and Tulsa playing in Memphis).
ESPN.com's SEC writer Chris Low expects the Dores to play in the Liberty Bowl (with Kentucky coming to Nashville).

Clearly the pundits are split on this one, and for good reason. Commodore fans should pay close attention to the ACC Championship between Virginia Tech and Boston College weekend because, as Mandel writes:

While the winner of Saturday's ACC title game between Virginia Tech and Boston College will head to the Orange Bowl, the loser could slip all the way to the Music City Bowl. Why? The Chick-fil-A Bowl, which has first choice of ACC teams after the BCS, has to be eyeing hometown Georgia Tech (9-3) following its upset of Georgia; the Gator Bowl will snatch up 8-4 Florida State to face 8-4 Nebraska; and the Champs Sports Bowl is eyeing rejuvenated Clemson, even at 7-5.

Feldman and Schlabach disagree slightly. They expect the Chick-fil-A Bowl to take Virginia Tech if the Hokies lose Saturday. However, if the Hokies win, it's almost certain that Boston College will slide all the way to the Music City Bowl.

As for the SEC representative, it appears as though it's down to Kentucky and Vanderbilt, neither of whom are particularly attractive teams. The Cats have played in Nashville the past two seasons and are considerably worse this season.

Meanwhile, taking the hometown team, while a nice storyline, does not bring in as much revenue, which could be even more troubling if the Music City Bowl is forced to take another small-traveling school (B.C.).

We'll find out the Dores' destination on Sunday, but in the meantime, who and where would you like to see them play? What's your ideal matchup? For me, it's Vanderbilt against either Boston College or North Carolina (two prestigious schools) in Nashville.

Also, where do you think the players want to go? I'm sure some of them would prefer to get out of Nashville and actually get to travel for their bowl game, while some would like to play in the comforts of their own city against an ACC opponent. Either way, this team will be making history.

Congrats to your Cancun Challenge Champs

Jarred Amato — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:41:35 -0000

It may not be as prestigious as the Preseason NIT or Maui Invitiational or even the CBE Classic, but hey, a trophy is a trophy.

The Commodores hung out to beat VCU 71-66 in the finals of the Cancun Challenge Sunday night. It's the second straight Thanksgiving tournament for Vanderbilt, which is 5-1 on the young season.

Here's a look at the good, bad and ugly:

The good: A.J. Ogilvy was terrific, scoring 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds en route to earning tournament MVP honors. Jermaine Beal continued his stellar play, putting up a Rajon Rondo-like statline (14 points, four rebounds, six assists) and beating the VCU pressure almost single-handedly. Meanwhile, Brad Tinsley continued his hot shooting, scoring 13 points on 3-for-4 shooting from downtown.

The Commodores were also 26-for-30 from the foul line (Jeff Taylor and Beal were a combined 14-for-14), which is great to see. That's how you win close games. Another positive was the fact that Vanderbilt outrebounded VCU 34-25.

The bad: A day after I praised Vanderbilt's bench, the Dores got very little out of their reserves on Sunday. Beal and Tinsley played 36 and 37 minutes, respectively, a clear indication that a) Kevin Stallings has no depth in the backcourt, especially without Jamie Graham and b) the Dores are in serious trouble if Beal or Tinsley, particularly Beal, get in foul trouble.

Charles Hinkle had four points and one rebound in 23 minutes, George Drake had two points and four turnovers in 16 minutes and Joe Duffy contributed two turnovers and two fouls in four minutes. Not what you call productive.

With that said, Vanderbilt was without arguably its top three reserves in Festus Ezeli, Steve Tchiengang and Lance Goulbourne. However, sophomore Andre Walker will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. It's a big loss for the Dores, who are extremly thin in the backcourt.

The ugly: Fifteen second-half turnovers. I didn't get to watch the game, but from all accounts, VCU's full-court pressure gave the Commodores fits, and I can't say I'm too surprised.

Beal is Vanderbilt's lone proven ball-handler. While Tinsley is already an SEC-caliber shooting guard, the learning curve at the point guard position is much steeper. He's never faced defenders as quick or athletic as the ones he faced last night, and will compete against on a nightly basis once league play begins.

Tinsley should make significant strides over the course of the season, but it will be a full year or two (just look at Beal's progression, for example) before he's an SEC-caliber point guard. Again, he's already there as a shooting guard, but Vanderbilt's lack of depth at the 1 is a cause for concern.

After that, there's an even bigger drop off. George Drake continues to be a "two-way player," as my high school basketball coach used to say (he plays for us and he plays for them), while Taylor should improve as he gains confidence. This is where the Dores are going to miss Walker the most.

Up next: The Dores host Illinois-Chicago Wednesday night at 7 p.m before traveling to Georgia Tech on Saturday. And don't forget to buy your ticket for the Sommet Center matchup against South Florida in the Big East/SEC Challenge on Dec. 16.

Finally some hoops talk

Jarred Amato — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:54:42 -0000

While the football discussion will continue throughout the month of December, last night's regular season finale (along with the dropping temperatures) means that it's now officially basketball season, and I could not be more excited.

I was talking to one of the team's student managers last night following the Dores' convincing 72-57 victory over Drake, and he echoed my sentiments exactly. At one point in the conversation, he said, "(Kevin) Stallings has got to be absolutely thrilled right now."

Here's four reasons why the Commodore coach is in good spirits these days:

1) The freshman class is even better than advertised.

While there was a lot of hype surrounding the Vanderbilt '08s -- Jeff Taylor, Lance Goulbourne, Brad Tinsley and Steve Tchiengang -- no one could have imagined that they would be this productive this soon.

There are going to be plenty of growing pains along the way, but through five games, it's clear that Taylor and Tinsley, in particular, don't play like freshmen. Taylor, not A.J. Ogilvy, is leading the team in both scoring (14.2 points per game) and rebounding (6.4 per game) while shooting 49 percent from the field and 75 percent from the foul line.

I love that Taylor has been to the foul line 28 times (compared to 31 for Ogilvy) in just five games. It shows that he's already comfortable attacking the rim and being the Commodores' primary threat on the perimeter.

Taylor has an unbelievably quick first step that makes him virtually unguardable in transition or close-out situations and with a smooth stroke, his three-point percentage (currently 2-for-12) is sure to improve.

But, we had a pretty good feeling that Taylor was going to be special. That's why I'm even more impressed with the start of Oregon guard Brad Tinsley, who's the perfect complement to Jermaine Beal in the backcourt.

Tinsley is third on the team in scoring (12.6 points per game) and is shooting a ridiculous 50 percent from 3-point range. In fact, Tinsley almost has as many trifectas (15) and the rest of the team combined (19) thanks to his quick release and textbook follow-through.

Tinsley single-handedly destroys zone defenses, as evidenced by his 19-point performance (including 5-for-8 from downtown) last night against Drake.

And when you have two players (Beal and Taylor) who are great at penetrating and a dominant big man (Ogilvy) who draws constant double teams, Tinsley is extremely valuable on the wing.

We assumed that Tinsley would eventually be better than the guard he replaced (Keegan Bell), but to be averaging almost 13 points and playing close to 30 minutes per game as a true freshman? No wonder Stallings is smiling these days.

And we haven't even mentioned Goulbourne and Tchiengang, both of whom have been sidelined in the early going. Tchiengang, suspended for the first six games of the season due to a ridiculous NCAA rule, looked terrific in the Commodores' lone exhibition game.

At 6'9, 240, Tchiengang will add much-needed depth in the frontcourt. The Cameroon native threw down a powerful left-handed slam in traffic (and drew the foul) and also stepped back and buried a 3-pointer in the exhibition, demonstrating his versatility. Tchiengang is strong, quick and plays with a lot of passion, and I'm confident that he'll soon become a crowd favorite.

Goulbourne, meanwhile, has played in just one game thus far due to illness, but is a tremendous athlete who thrives on the wing and should provide an instant spark off the bench. In 16 minutes in the season opener against Morehead State, Goulbourne scored 11 points and was 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

2) The Dores are deeper than expected.

The best part about Vanderbilt's victory over Drake? The fact that they did it without not only Goulbourne and Tchiengang, but also Festus Ezeli and Andre Walker, who are injured.

It says something about the Dores when redshirt freshman Charles Hinkle and sophomore walk-on Joe Duffy combined to play 47 minutes in the victory. Hinkle, according to the manager, showed that he can defend and rebound from the shooting guard position.

Hinkle was recruited as a shooter, but the fact that he had five points, three rebounds and an assist in 31 minutes is certainly encouraging. Duffy, on the other hand, had four points and five rebounds, proving that he can play more than just mop-up minutes.

At full strength, look at all the options Stallings has at his disposal:

PG: Beal, Tinsley (and eventually Jamie Graham)

SG: Tinsley, George Drake, Goulbourne, Hinkle

SF: Taylor, Walker, Goulbourne

PF: Ezeli, Darshawn McClellan, Tchiengang, Walker, Duffy

C: Ogilvy, Ezeli

This team is going to be fun to watch. And the best part? They're only going to get better.

3) They're winning without dominant performances from the Australian.

A.J. Ogilvy is averaging a modest 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game thus far. Good, but far from great. And yet the Commodores are still finding ways to score (71.4 points per game).

It's encouraging to see that the offense runs through Ogilvy, but doesn't revolve around him. I feared that Vanderbilt would need the Aussie to be dominant every night to have a chance to win. However, the first five games suggest that the Commodores can function offensively without Ogilvy.

I'm not worried about Ogilvy at all. He is going to get his touches and I'd be surprised if he didn't end up averaging at least 18 points and eight rebounds by season's end. In fact, I like knowing that if teams decide to double-team Ogilvy and try to take him out of the game, the sophomore center will have complete confidence in his teammates to make them pay.

4) Jermaine "Dolla" Beal has been money.

Beal's game has evolved nicely over his three seasons with the black and gold. Check out the numbers:

Year 1: 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists

Year 2: 7.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists

Year 3: 10.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists

That's exactly how you want to see a college player progress.

Beal isn't particularly flashy, but he's precisely the kind of point guard Kevin Stallings wants and needs. With good size and athleticism, Beal is an above-average defender and on offense, he has balanced setting up his teammates and creating for himself. Furthermore, Beal leads by example and provides a steadying influence for the younger players.

Of course, five games is a small sample size, and it will be interesting to see how this team handles adversity, but I can't help but be optimistic about this season and the future of Commodore basketball.

Make sure to check out the Commodores in the Cancun Championship against VCU tonight at 9:30 p.m. The game will be aired live on CBS College Sports and the radio call can be heard on the Vanderbilt/ISP Sports Network. It should be a good one.

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

Jarred Amato — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:18:07 -0000

Three post-Thanksgiving rants as I remain thankful for the great friends, family and health that make depressing 23-10 losses that much easier to swallow...

1) Vanderbilt is going to a bowl game.

Stop. Read that sentence again. And again. Now raise your hand if you thought that was possible three long months ago. My point exactly.

Of course, it's hard to be overly excited after Vanderbilt lost six of its last seven games to finish the regular season at a mediocre 6-6 and miss out on a possible opportunity to play in a big-time bowl game (it had a good chance considering all the other, much bigger disappointments in the SEC this season).

Still, how can you not be proud of this group of players? By believing in themselves, sticking together through injuries and adversity even as everyone around them had their doubts and continuing to work hard, this team accomplished something that Vanderbilt fans have been waiting 26 long years to see.

And now that they've done it, we focus on the negative? That doesn't make much sense to me.

It's understandable to be disappointed. I guarantee no one is more frustrated with the way the season regular season (see how nice that sounds?) ended than Bobby Johnson and his players. They too had bigger hopes and dreams, wanted more than anything not to make the three-hour trek down I-40W to Memphis to play in the Autozone Liberty Bowl on January 2, which is their most likely destination.

At the end of the day, however, the 2008 Vanderbilt Commodores still found a way to get win No. 6 and make history, and for that we should all be thankful. Besides...

2) The Dores are actually fortunate to finish 6-6.

Seriously, look around the league.

Underachievers: Tennessee (5-7). Auburn (5-7). Mississippi State (4-8). Kentucky (6-6). South Carolina (7-5). LSU (7-5). Georgia (9-3).

Overachievers: Alabama (12-0). Ole Miss (8-4).

About as expected: Florida (11-1). Arkansas (5-7).

That leaves Vanderbilt. Based on preseason expectations, you'd have to say that the Commodores overachieved, no matter how bad of a taste the second half of the season left in your mouth.

And think about this for a second -- Vanderbilt finished third in the SEC East, typically the most brutal division in college football (the Big 12 South may have something to say about that), and it's not even that talented. Look at the records of the rest of the teams again and you'll realize that the Commodores' 6-6 record is just about right.

Sure, they lost some games they should have won (Mississippi State and Duke) and probably won a couple they very easily could have lost (Ole Miss and South Carolina), but that's what average teams do.

And when you look at the stats (I'll have a full post about this during the week), you'll wonder how Vanderbilt beat anybody. The offense, despite admirable performances from the likes of Jared Hawkins, Jamie Graham, D.J. Moore, Sean Walker and Brandon Barden to name a few, was generally depressing to watch.

Just for kicks, I looked up the drive charts for the last two games (I wanted to do the entire season, but it's getting late):

Against UT: Punt, fumble, punt, punt, interception, punt, interception, field goal, punt, touchdown, punt, punt, downs.

Against WF: Punt, punt, field goal, interception, punt, punt, punt, fumble, punt, touchdown, punt, interception, downs.

For those of you scoring at home, that's 14 punts, two fumbles, four interceptions, two turnovers on downs, two field goals and two touchdowns (one of which was safety Reshard Langford's pick six).

And you're still mad that this team didn't win more than six games?

3) Larry Smith should not only be the starting quarterback next season, but also next month.

To steal a line from the great Bill Parcells, "you are what you are." After three post-Cutler seasons with Chris Nickson and Mackenzi Adams, it's pretty clear that neither Adams nor Nickson is an above-average SEC quarterback.

Bobby Johnson is always quick to point out that the blame shouldn't fall squarely on the quarterback just because he's the most visible, and he's right -- to an extent. No matter how slice it, however, these guys just aren't very good.

Adams was 77-for-156 (49.4 percent) for 882 yards and five TDs along with eight interceptions. Nickson, meanwhile, was 61-for-124 (49.2 percent) for 545 yards and eight TDs along with three interceptions. On the ground, Nickson rushed for 485 yards on 120 carries (good for 4-yard average) while Adams gained just 136 yards on 62 carries (good for a 2.2-yard average).

The fact both quarterbacks completed less than 50 percent of their passes is unacceptable and embarrassing. Nickson proved effective as a runner at times, but whether it was due to injury or not, simply could not throw the ball at the SEC level. Adams showed flashes, but he was too inconsistent and made too many mistakes for a team that simply cannot afford to make them.

That brings us to Larry Smith, who was regarded as the quarterback of the future when he signed in 2006. His high school resume is flat-out ridiculous. As a senior, he led Pratville to its first undefeated season in school history, which concluded with an MVP performance against powerhouse Hoover for the 6A title. Smith was named Alabama's all-classification Mr. Football and never lost a regular season game in three years as a starter, finishing his career with 6,011 passing yards and 54 touchdown passes.

Smith his first extended action as a Commodore on Saturday night, directing the offense the entire second half as both Nickson and Adams left the game due to injury and/or poor play. While his numbers were far from overwhelming -- 9-for-17 for 46 yards to go along with a touchdown and interception -- I came away convinced that Larry is not only the future, but the present.

For me, it was the little things. The way he delivered the ball to the tight end on a rollout, the way he glided effortlessly through the hole on running plays, the way the ball zips out of his hand, the way he moves around in the pocket and the way he carries himself in the huddle and on the sidelines.

In one half of football, I was convinced that Larry Smith is going to a very special quarterback. Of course, he has long way to go (he telegraphed an interception and misfired on a few throws), but the passion and potential is there.

I almost forgot about the throw over the middle to Sean Walker late in the fourth quarter that probably would have tied the game. I haven't seen a ball that well-thrown in three years. At least 50 yards in the air, perfect spiral, hit Walker right in stride over the top of two Wake Forest defenders. Only Walker dropped it, probably because he wasn't expecting the ball to be on target.

The point is that Smith has the tools and makeup to be a quality SEC quarterback. Given how poorly Adams and Nickson have performed this season (and how banged up they must be), why not give Smith a month to practice with the first team in preparation for the bowl game?

After all, that's one of the big benefits of playing in a bowl game -- an extra month to practice and develop younger players in preparation for spring practice and next fall. And besides, it's not as though the offense can get any worse...

On another note, I'd like to announce that I'll be back posting full-time here at Conquer & Prevail, which means that you can expect at least one, if not more, story here each day. As always, your comments are always encouraged, and thanks for reading. Hope you all had a healthy and happy Thanksgiving.

Open Thread: Vanderbilt vs. Florida

Jarred Amato — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:23:00 -0000

In just a few hours, the Vanderbilt Commodores (5-3, 3-2 SEC) will look to upset the No. 4 Florida Gators (7-1, 5-1 SEC) in front of a sold-out crowd at Dudley Field and a national audience (7 p.m. CT on ESPN2).

VU Commodores' Gameday Central has all the latest news and notes, while Aram's got the game keys in the post below. And as always, feel free to leave your thoughts and predictions.

A few of mine (so you can guys can make fun of me later):

Final score - Florida 30, Vanderbilt 17

Vanderbilt offensive player of the game - Sean Walker

Vanderbilt defensive player of the game - Myron Lewis

Number of times Tim Tebow is compared to God - 37

Also, if you're heading over to the stadium, make sure to bundle up. It's going to be below 50 degrees at kickoff, which certainly can't hurt the Commodores' chances.

And with that, I'm off to Vandyville to enjoy the festivities. Enjoy the the game, everyone.

Pre-Florida thoughts

Jarred Amato — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:19:32 -0000

I'm a bit sentimental this afternoon as I prepare for my last real tailgate as an undergrad. Of course, I'll be here when the Commodores host Tennessee in two weeks, but this will be the last time I'll be able to enjoy a fall Saturday with all of my close friends.

It's amazing how fast these four years have gone by. So many great memories, but what I'll remember is the little things -- the feeling of hope and excitement walking over to the stadium just before kickoff, the high fives after big plays, the second-guessing after bad ones, and the singing of the alma mater at the end.

That's why I'm so pumped for today. By now, we all know that Florida is ridiculously fast and loaded on both sides of the ball. Yet, at the end of the day, it's never really about the opponent.

We all know that it's going to take a near-perfect performance to upset the Gators tonight, but if I've learned anything over the past four years, it's that it's never a good idea to count out the Commodores. They always seem to play their best when there backs are against the wall, when outsiders least expect it.

As I've said before, Vanderbilt is not as good as it 5-0 start indicated, nor is it as bad as its recent 0-3 skid would suggest. For the Commodores to be successful, however, they simply cannot afford to beat themselves. That means no turnovers, no stupid penalties, no missed field goals, no missed tackles.

And against the Gators, even that might not be enough. Still, Vanderbilt just has to worry about itself. Play smart, play hard and have fun.

Win or lose, just give us seniors a game to remember.

Johnson reacts to Fulmer's dismissal

Jarred Amato — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:05:59 -0000

Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson said he was surprised to learn that Phil Fulmer will not return as Tennessee's coach next season. But, then again, he wasn't.

"If it is true, I'm kind of shocked and surprised, but like you said, that's the way it's going nowadays," Johnson said. "Contracts don't matter. It's just if somebody reacts and decides to do something, they do it."

Fulmer has won 150 games in just under 17 seasons in Knoxville, but after meeting with Tennessee officials this morning, the two sides agreed that he will not be back in 2009. He signed a new seven-year deal last summer, which included a $6 million buyout.

"Whether it's true or not, Coach Fulmer's always had an outstanding team over there at Tennessee," Johnson said. "It's hard to maintain every year the expectations that maybe that program has, but he's been very consistent at that, too. He's had wonderful years since I've been playing against him except for one. I think it's just been an outstanding career."

To be fair, 2008 makes the second really bad season for Fulmer. The Vols (3-6, 1-5 SEC) look poised to post their second losing season in the past four years. They finished 5-6 in 2005, including a home loss to Vanderbilt.

With that said, Johnson had nothing but for praise Fulmer.

"I want to congratulate Coach Fulmer on a fantastic career," Johnson said, "and I think it’d be hard-pressed to find a guy who has done more for his alma mater than that."

Perhaps, but given what Fulmer has done (or hasn't done) for the Vols lately, it became increasingly clear that his time in Knoxville was up.

Johnson said he appreciates the fact that he has the support of David Williams and the rest of the university, while also understanding that anything can happen.

"Those contracts don't mean very much right now, but I think, I hope David (Williams) knows we're trying our very best every day," Johnson said. "We come here and give our very best, and I'm sure Coach Fulmer does too, but I know what kind of business we're in, and nothing ever surprises me anymore."

Poll

Will Tennessee be better or worse in the short term (the next 2-3 years) without Phil Fulmer?

Better

10 votes

Worse

24 votes

Depends on next coach

16 votes

50 votes | Poll has closed