Archive for the ‘Tennessee’ Category

Bruce Pearl (left) took it off but Lane Kiffin (right) kept it on. (AP photos)

Although new Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin has gotten the most press from his coaches’ shirt-ripping stunt during an early March Junior Day visit from recruits, in truth it was men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl who really started the whole Tennessee Topless phenomenon when he showed up shirtless and painted in orange to show support for the Lady Vols in a 2007 game against rival Duke.

Pearl went shirtless again Monday night when he and three Vols athletes performed a rap song during Tennessee’s athletics awards ceremony. The hoops coach sported one of his trademark orange-and-white checkered sport coat, orange tie and… a lot of skin.

For his part, Lane Kiffin remained clothed, performing in a skit with father / defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

VIDEO: Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl’s topless rap

Continue reading Topless at Tennessee, Part Three: Bruce Pearl shows some skin but Lane Kiffin keeps covered »

Coffee DB Pernell Williams

Coffee defensive back Pernell Williams said he committed to the Florida Gators, but it appears that the reigning BCS champions have not yet accepted his commitment.

Here’s a quick recap: Williams said he got on the phone on Thursday morning with Florida assistants Vance Bedford and Brian White, and told them he was committing to the Gators. Then Williams texted reporters, saying he was excited about picking the Gators.

However, word later got back to Williams and his family that maybe the Gators hadn’t accepted the commitment just yet. Apparently, there was some miscommunication. Former UGA player Reggie Weeks, who is the brother-in-law of Williams, said he called Bedford late Thursday to clarify the matter.

“[Bedford] said ‘We definitely want Pernell and he has an offer from Florida,’” Weeks said. “He said they (Florida) didn’t want Pernell to rush into it so soon with committing where he might change his mind later on. So Florida is coming to …

Continue reading Coffee High DB Pernell Williams and the Florida Gators »

Like father, like son.

Buford offensive lineman Kolton Houston committed to Georgia before Saturday’s G-Day, following in the footsteps of his father, former UGA football player Shane Houston. “Yes, I did,” Houston told the AJC. “Georgia is the right fit for me and I can’t wait to get here.”

“It’s a great honor to be a Bulldog and I can’t wait to play in front of 92,000 people ‘Between the Hedges.’”

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Houston selected Georgia over around 15 offers, including Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Auburn, Florida State, and Michigan State. 

Houston has a lot of red and black in his blood. His father was a backup linebacker at Georgia in the late 1980s. Both of Kolton’s parents attended UGA.

Despite the family connections, Houston was a good catch for the Bulldogs. Kolton had started looking seriously at other schools because Georgia was taking longer than competing colleges with his evaluation. However, everything changed when Georgia’s Mark Richt finally …

Continue reading Buford offensive lineman Kolton Houston commits to UGA »

Orson Charles, Mark Richt, Marlon Brown, Georgia football, UGA recruiting, Georgia recruiting

Continue reading Orson Charles and other Georgia recruits to crash G-Day »

Buford OL Kolton Houston has UGA and Georgia Tech offers (Photo by Brandi King)

Shane Houston tried his best to hide the excitement over his son, Buford’s Kolton Houston, being offered a football scholarship by Georgia. Shane played at UGA, and there’s just something special when your son is offered by your former team. It’s one of those father-son things. Shane tried to put on his best “game face” but it wasn’t really working.

“It definitely means a lot for Georgia to offer,” Shane said on Monday evening. “Any father would think that. It was honor. It felt special. Now it’s in Kolton’s hands on what to do with the recruiting process.”

The son is not sure what to do just yet. For Kolton, Georgia is offer No. 13, including Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Clemson, Auburn and Michigan State. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound offensive lineman said the lack of a Georgia offer, especially with the family connections, created an uneasy situation.

“It started getting a little discouraging,” Houston …

Continue reading Kolton Houston given opportunity to follow father’s footsteps to UGA »

Nick Montana is considering UGA among his dozen offers. His father, NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana, accompanied Nick. (Jay Christensen/WizOfOdds)

UPDATE: Montana reflects on UGA visit

Nick Montana, son of NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana, says he is serious about Georgia. He told the AJC he wouldn’t be flying halfway across the country if he wasn’t.

The 6-foot-2, 177-pound Montana is one of the nation’s top college prospects and plays football at California’s Oaks Christian High. Montana and his legendary father toured the campuses of Alabama and Georgia this weekend.

He has a dozen scholarship offers, including South Carolina, Stanford, LSU, Ohio State, Florida State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Alabama, and Arizona. He also has serious interest from Tennessee, Southern Cal, and Oklahoma, among others.

Montana spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the recruiting process:

Q. How was your visit to …

Continue reading QB Nick Montana talks about UGA, Alabama, Southern Cal and Tennessee »

Alec Ogletree is ranked as the nation's No. 1 safety by Rivals with 35 scholarship offers, but he says his twin brother may be more talented than him (AJC)

Newnan High’s Alec Ogletree is considered the state’s No. 1 college prospect and holds 35 early scholarship offers. He says his twin brother, Zander Ogletree, may be better than he is, and Zander has been mostly ignored by college scouts.

“The only reason I can think that I have all these offers and [my twin brother] doesn’t is because of height … because he can play, I mean, he’s really, really good ,” said Alec, who was heavily courted by Georgia coach Mark Richt during UGA’s Junior Day. His five early favorites are Miami, FSU, Alabama, UGA and Florida.

The football stars were born two minutes apart on Sept. 25, 1991. Alec has grown to 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, plays safety in high school, and has college coaches drooling with his presence. Zander (the older twin) stands 5-11 and 205 pounds, plays some mean linebacker, and …

Continue reading Mother of Georgia’s No. 1 prospect would love to see twins stay together in college »

Lane Kiffin has already publicly apologized to Florida, Urban Meyer and SEC. He told the AJC he "figured that was enough" (AP)

Lane Kiffin said he is through apologizing to Florida.

Kiffin issued a public apology for wrongly accusing the reigning BCS football champions and coach Urban Meyer of cheating while recruiting. Kiffin said that he felt like that was enough, and he didn’t plan to contact Meyer personally to say he was sorry.

“I already apologized to [Meyer] and anybody at the University of Florida that I may have offended, and I figured that was enough,” Kiffin told the AJC in an interview on Tuesday.

It has become one of college football biggest controversies. It started at a recruiting breakfast with Tennessee supporters on Feb. 5, the day after National Signing Day. Wide receiver prospect Nu’Keese Richardson switched at the last minute from Florida to Tennessee.

“I love the fact Urban had to cheat and still didn’t get …

Continue reading Lane Kiffin finished with apologies to Florida’s Urban Meyer »

Lane Kiffin appears to be getting into the heads of the reigning BCS champions.

Several Florida football players say that photos of Kiffin are hanging in the team’s locker room because they are angry about the lack of respect for Gators coach Urban Meyer, according to a published report.

What does Kiffin think of it all? He was asked about the situation during an interview with the AJC on Tuesday. “I think it’s pretty neat that the Tennessee ‘T’ is in the Florida locker room,” Kiffin said. “As recruits go through there visiting, they get to see our Tennessee ‘T.’ So I guess you call it free advertising.”

On Feb. 5, the day after National Signing Day, Kiffin told Tennessee fans at a breakfast that Meyer and the Gators had cheated in recruiting while trying to sign Nu’Keese Richardson. Meyer called Richardson while he was visiting Tennessee, which is not a violation. Richardson switched from Florida to Tennessee near the end of the recruiting process. Kiffin was reprimanded by …

Continue reading Florida sees red; UT coach Lane Kiffin sees ‘free advertising’ »

Kiffin (KNS/S. Young)

Lane Kiffin says Tennessee’s infamous shirt-ripping stunt on Junior Day was “the best story you could ever have” for recruiting football players to Rocky Top.

The topless tactic was perhaps the most creative and most bizarre recruiting strategy in SEC football history. Tennessee had many of the nation’s top 2010 prospects on campus, and the Volunteers went to extreme measures to make sure they remembered the trip, as reported by the AJC. [Click here for a full recap].

Kiffin talked extensively about the benefits of the controversial method to CBSsports. ”It’s the best story you could ever have. You can’t get all these recruits on your campus. You’ve got to convince them to take an official visit. What better way when they read about this.”

“We had numerous kids the next day [say] this was the best junior day I was ever at. They had a blast. They said, ‘These coaches are so intense, so high energy. You can tell they’re going to win here. Tennessee is at …

Continue reading Lane Kiffin boasts about success of Tennessee’s topless recruiting »