"I think in a lot of ways Phil Fulmer was guilty of one thing, and that was hanging around and being successful for a long period of time," Brando said on Thursday. "When you do that, you have a tendency of saying some of the same things in the preseason and during the season. And in my estimation, the thing Lane Kiffin, to this point, has done is energize the base, which right now in this economy is what big-time business and big-time college football is about.

"It’s sort of what Sarah Palin did for the Republican ticket. Maybe not get more votes, but energize the base of the Republican party. It doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily going to be successful, but if that’s what (Tennessee) wanted to do when they hired Kiffin, that’s what he was able to accomplish in the offseason. Now we’ll see how much staying power he has, and how successful he can be. He’s got a long way to go, in my view, to be as successful as Phil Fulmer."

JasonPye.com: Talking football with Dawg Sports

Even though it may cost Hardesty some carries, he's relieved that practice performances are paying off.

"I like it because there's competition all across the board," he said. "I've seen in the past where there were guys that probably could play that didn't get a chance."

Georgia Sports Blog: Vols Chant Ancient Proverbs for Help from Beyond the Grave

Class ends at 11, and Berry discusses his recruitment three years ago out of Creekside High School in Fairburn, Ga., while waiting for a magazine shoot at Neyland Stadium.

"I guess I just felt like Georgia thought they had me in the bag, and they didn't even know about me and I was in their backyard," Berry explains. "I remember when I went on my recruiting visit, coach (Mark) Richt had my name and stats written on his hand. I guess he thought I didn't see it or something, but I did.

"They were talking to me about playing wide receiver; they didn't even know my position was safety and quarterback. That really made me upset. Coach Kiffin (who then was at Southern Cal), he came with Pete Carroll and the running backs coach and they knew all about me. And I was in Georgia's backyard.

"But all the talk was about Caleb King (now a redshirt sophomore at Georgia battling for a starting job). I guess that's why I always favored Tennessee. They always recruited me hard and let me know what I meant to them. That hurt my feelings, I'm not even going to lie. But I love Mark Richt, love his staff. Him and coach (Rodney) Garner, because they're the ones that recruited me. They're both good men. I was just like, 'Dang.' I just felt like you need to be in your backyard. I just felt like (they) needed to know a little something about me. A few more phone calls or something."

The Blind Side Trailer - Trailer Addict

Receiver Ambles commits to Vols " GoVolsXtra

In a large interview room he was asked a totally inappropriate question—whether or not he is still a virgin (I am not going to mention the person’s name who asked the question or his website. It’s out there if you really want it).

Tebow was within his rights to get up and walk out of the room. He was within his rights to tell the questioner that it was none of his damned business. Instead he said "Yes, I am." The reporters in the room—at least the ones with integrity—were clearly uncomfortable at the line of questioning. Tebow laughed and put them at ease.

He took a situation where a "reporter" was clearly out of line and made light of it. It was a move few us could have made so deftly.