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Announcing the Official 2013 RTT T-Shirt

Rocky Top Talk — Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2013 RTT Design Contest. The thing ended in a tie between the "as is" and modified version of the Big Orange design, and I'm making an executive decision to go with the as is. Congratulations to Adam, who submitted the design by email. So, here 'tis: So now that we know what the Official 2013 RTT t-shirt is, it's time to head over to the Kickstarter and sign up to pledge $50 or more. At $50, you get the print version of the magazine, the downloadable PDF version weeks early, AND the t-shirt. There are also higher levels of support ($100, $150...

May 8, 2013

Trae Golden Transfers Out of Tennessee

Rocky Top Talk — News of this magnitude usually comes on the backside of at least some level of foreshadowing. But I'm not sure anyone saw this coming: Trae Golden, senior-to-be and multi-year starter for the Vols, is leaving the program via transfer. This news casts a shadow on the high expectations set before the 2013-14 basketball Vols. Just last week Jarnell Stokes announced he would return to school for his junior season, a decision made in part because he saw Jeronne Maymon play after recovering from the knee situation that forced him to redshirt last season. News of Stokes' return, Maymon's ...

May 7, 2013

Best Vol Team Tournament, First Round: 1990 vs 1999

Rocky Top Talk — The first round of our Best Vol Team Tournament continues this week; here's a look at the winners from the other half of the bracket last week: The 1998 National Champions took down the sixteen seed, Casey Clausen's senior season from 2003, with 95% of the vote. Condredge Holloway's 1972 Vols out-dueled Heath Shuler's 1993 Vols in the 8/9 game with 54% of the vote. In a matchup of the two best teams of the new millennium, the 2001 Vols easily dispatched the 2004 Vols with 94% of the vote. The 1969 Vols were well represented in the comments but ultimately fell to Peyton Manning's 199...

May 7, 2013

Talking Points: Players now entrusted with the Tennessee football program

Rocky Top Talk — With the hay in the barn, so to speak, the Tennessee Football program is now in the hands of the players for the summer. This must always be the most ulcer-inducing period for head coaches, but UT's Butch Jones has done all that he can to set the thing spinning in the right direction before the rules banish him to supervise from the nosebleeds. He beat the Leadership drum into the earholes of his players all spring. He had his team elect a 14-man "player staff" for the summer. He asked them to make a list of three goals, and they turned out to be fairly good ones: (1) Become a tougher ...

May 7, 2013

Vote for the Official 2013 RTT Design

Rocky Top Talk — We have a couple of great candidates and a few suggested variations of those candidates for the Official 2013 RTT Design Contest. Remember, this will be the Official design for the 2013 RTT t-shirt, which will be given away as part of the reward for pledging $50 or more to this year's preseason magazine project. The design may (or may not) also be included somewhere in the magazine. So here are the base designs in contention: Regarding the second design, a quick trademark search reveals a trademark of "Big Orange Country" claimed by the University of Tennessee, and there are a few i...

May 3, 2013

Best Vol Team Tournament First Round: 1995 vs 1969

Rocky Top Talk — This bracket has become an exercise in getting old for me, because I was getting ready to type, "You know the 1995 team, so let me tell you about 1969...", but then I realized seniors in high school this year were born in 1995, and many of our high school/college student readers may have no idea about the '95 Vols. So we'll get back to those guys in a minute, but first, 1969. This is a season that, if it transpired today in the world of social media and instant communication, would break the internet in East Tennessee. I wasn't born until 1981, and even I was at least vaguely familia...

May 3, 2013

Tennessee Recruiting: Orlando Brown Jr. Wears Orange

Rocky Top Talk — On Orlando Brown Jr.'s 17th birthday Thursday, he gave the Tennessee Volunteers a huge present: His verbal commitment. The 6-foot-8, 341-pound behemoth offensive tackle from Peachtree Ridge (Ga.) HS in Suwanee claimed more than 35 offers from across the country including Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Auburn, Boise State, Cal, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, USC and many more -- basically a who's-who of the nation's top teams. He ultimately chose the Vols over the Sooners and Razorbacks. That's quite an offer sh...

May 2, 2013

Best Vol Team Tournament, First Round: 2001 vs 2004

Rocky Top Talk — It's a blast from the recent past in today's first round matchup. A pair of East Division Champions with a ton of raw talent collide. 2001: 11-2, East Division Champions, Final AP Rank #4 The '01 Vols were two of the most heartbreaking losses in program history away from an undefeated regular season, and even the Hobnailed Boot didn't prevent them from controlling their own destiny in December. Playing one of the most ambitious schedules the Vols have ever faced, the Vols beat both Syracuse and Notre Dame in the non-conference, plus conquered LSU in the divisional rotation. Kelley ...

May 2, 2013

Talking Points: The calm before the calm edition

Rocky Top Talk — Just a few quick things this morning: Tyler Bray's father Jeff said that watching the NFL Draft with Tyler was "brutal." Apparently, the phone wouldn't stop ringing for two hours after it was over, though. VolQuest has another feature on Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, this one focusing on his 24/7 open door policy for his players. He still has leadership on the mind, as that particular topic seems to permeate everything he talks about. Stealthy covert messages to his players through the media, perhaps? The TFP has a breakdown of each SEC team's spring. Spoiler alert: A...

May 2, 2013

Best Vol Team Tournament, First Round: 1993 vs 1972

Rocky Top Talk — The two most dynamic quarterbacks in school history square off in today's round one matchup. Heath Shuler was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 1993, leading what is still the highest scoring Vol offense of all time. He had a lot of help from one of the deepest backfields in school history, with three players who went on to start in the NFL. The 93 team didn't win any trophies or titles, so it tends to get celebrated less, but this is the 20th anniversary of these Vols. Meanwhile, Condredge Holloway's best season came in 1972, as the Vols went 10-2 behind his masterful efforts and Ho...

May 1, 2013

Talking Points: On leadership, legacies, and talent

Rocky Top Talk — This morning's edition of Talking Points is brought to you by Rocky Top Tennessee 2013, now with 100% less Derek Dooley! This year's edition is 100% whole grain, a great source of fiber, and contains NO high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, or artificial flavors or sweeteners. It is also loaded with 100% all-natural Hope, and will provide a healthy and sustained energy all summer long, all with a dash of cinnamon and honey. Back the project now. It's good for you! Tennessee wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni says that the primary concerns for the summer are talent and leadership, but ...

May 1, 2013

New York Jets Writer Breaks Down Z-Ro

Rocky Top Talk — Everybody knows about Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter, but NFL reps were impressed about Zach Rogers after he worked out for several pro teams. Though he wasn't drafted, Rogers has been lauded as a potential sleeper for the New York Jets. Here is a good article from one of the beat writers for the Jets on Rogers' upside.

April 30, 2013

Tennessee Recruiting: Great AJC Story On Ryan Jenkins' Decision

Rocky Top Talk — One of Butch Jones' first recruiting coups was flipping four-star slot receiver Ryan Jenkins from Clemson to the Tennessee Volunteers. Though Ryan's brother plays for the Tigers, he'd been visiting Knoxville -- where his father Lee was a standout player -- since he was 3 years old. Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter Michael Carvell has a great interview with Jenkins on what went into his decision and how difficult it was telling Dabo Swinney and the Tigers no so late. Take a look.

April 30, 2013

Best Vol Team Tournament, First Round: 1998 vs 2003

Rocky Top Talk — If it's (almost) May, that means brackets here at RTT. In years past we've crowned champions for the greatest Vol villains and the best individual play. This time around, we'll spend the next few weeks crowning the best individual team of the modern era. A couple of ground rules: we tried to limit this to teams our readers would have a chance to remember. So with apologies to the 1951 National Champions, you'd have to be a little north of our average readership to remember those guys. The teams in this bracket are limited to the last 50 years, and as has been the case with on-fiel...

April 30, 2013

Talking Points: Eric Fisher another reason to trust Butch Jones

Rocky Top Talk — In case you missed it, the overall No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft this year was offensive tackle Eric Fisher. Why does this matter to us? He was from Central Michigan, and he was essentially not recruited by anyone out of high school except . . . our very own Butch Jones. And he didn't just recruit him, he developed him, mostly with peanut butter and jelly, apparently, but you know. So that 2014 recruiting class that is currently ranked 4th in the nation by Rivals and 5th by 247? Yeah, go ahead and feel especially good about that today. It's not just the legacies and the in-state players ...

April 29, 2013