Tennessee rolls past Vanderbilt, 31-16

The Tennessee Volunteers got back on track with a 31-16 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores.

The in-state rivalry nearly always goes the way of the Volunteers, and this year was no different.

Tennessee took a 24-10 lead into halftime and never looked back to the delight of the home crowd.

It seems that the program has been able to get past the distraction of the armed robbery involving three of their players.

The Volunteers have a chance to win their last game and get to a quality bowl game, a monumental achievement in Lane Kiffin’s first year as head coach.

Friday, November 27, 2009 at 11:26 am by steve

Another Volunteer Freshman In Trouble With Law

On the heels of three freshmen players being arrested last week for attempted robbery, another UT freshman got in trouble with the law in the past few weeks.

Redshirt freshman defensive back Nyshier Oliver was cited for theft after shoplifting at a Knoxville mall on Nov. 7, according to a police report from the Knox County Sheriff’s Department (they’re becoming a familiar name to UT fans, huh?) Tennessee played a game against Memphis later that night.

Police noticed Oliver putting a brown Polo shirt valued at roughly $110 into a shopping bag. He was cited at 1:45 p.m.; the football game against Memphis kicked off that night at 7 p.m. Oliver was taken off the active roster for that game and was banned from all team activities.

Five days later, the other three Volunteer freshmen had their run-in with the law, causing coach Lane Kiffin to kick two of the three players off the team. He still remains hopeful that the charges against the third, Janzen Jackson, may be dropped.

“We don’t have all [Jackson's] information in,” Kiffin said. “I can’t get into too much detail with it. But the easiest thing to look at is that he was released right away and was treated differently in this matter. You can tell that by what has come out. I can’t get into too much more detail than that until we get the information in.”

Regarding the dismissal of the two other players:

“Our No. 1 rule is to protect the team,” Kiffin said. “As the head coach, I have to make decisions that sometimes you don’t want to make. It was a sad day yesterday for those two kids. I wish them the best of luck. They obviously made a very poor decision. We can’t allow that to be a part of our team. That decision-making can’t be anywhere near what we are doing.

Friday, November 20, 2009 at 8:29 pm by bryan

Tennessee falls to Mississippi, 42-17

The Tennessee Volunteers turned in a disappointing effort in a 42-17 loss to the Mississippi Rebels.

The Volunteers only trailed by seven at halftime but gave up 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

It seems that maybe all of the distractions surrounding the football program began to affect them on the field.

Of course, the three players missing from Tennessee’s roster because of the distraction also hurts.

The Tennessee defense clearly wasn’t the same after much stronger performances throughout the season.

Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 6:29 pm by steve

Vols Dismiss Two Freshmen Involved in Robbery

On Monday, head coach Lane Kiffin announced the release of freshman wide receiver Nu’Keese Richardson, 18, and freshman defensive back Mike Edwards, 18, both of whom were involved and arrested in an attempted robbery last week. Former starting safety Janzen Jackson, 18, will be temporarily suspended from team activities while Kiffin and the Vols gather more information.

“Clearly, their actions have no place in our program,” coach Lane Kiffin said Monday.

On Thursday, three victims told police that they were sitting in their parked vehicle outside a convenience store near Tennessee’s campus at 2 a.m., when two males dressed in hoodies demanded that the victims, “Give us everything you’ve got.”

“The victims stated that they all presented their wallets to the suspects and showed them that they did not have money,” a police report said. “The victims stated that a third black male then approached and told the other two black males, ‘We’ve got to go.’”

Police arrested the three freshmen shortly thereafter, along with Marie Montmarquet, a 22-year-old Tennessee student who allegedly drove the getaway car.

“After extensive and thorough research of the situation … and considering various disciplinary options, I’ve decided it’s in the best interest of our program to remove Nu’Keese and Mike,” Kiffin said in a statement.

“We hold our student athletes to an extremely high standard on and off the field. Our student athletes must be responsible members of society, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated.”

Kiffin said he hoped Richardson and Edwards “will learn from their terrible decision.”

Monday, November 16, 2009 at 11:56 pm by bryan

Three Tennessee players arrested for armed robbery

Three Tennessee Volunteers played have been arrested in the armed robbery of a convenience
store.

A couple of the players arrested have already been in trouble for violating team rules earlier in the season.

It is a story that is hard to believe given that these athletes hardly need to rob a store to be taken care of.

It also couldn’t come at a worse time for head coach Lane Kiffin, who just recently boasted about how his program is so clean.

One of the players could be exonerated, but they will all be suspended pending further investigation.

Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 12:02 pm by steve

Star Freshmen Arrested for Armed Robbery

Two of coach Lane Kiffin’s most prized freshmen, safety Janzen Jackson and receiver Nu’Keese Richardson, were two of the three UT football players arrested in Knoxville early Thursday morning on charges of attempted armed robbery. Defensive back Mike Edwards was the third player arrested in the case.

A Knoxville City Police report says that a powered pellet gun was recovered in the players’ car outside a convenience store near campus, which the players tried to rob. At least one of the players was wearing Tennessee gear during the robbery, according to police.

“At this time we are currently evaluating the circumstances surrounding an incident involving Mike Edwards, Janzen Jackson and Nu’Keese Richardson,” Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton said in a prepared statement. “Any decisions or comments regarding their status will not be made until the evaluations are complete.”

Jackson has started in all but two games this season, although he missed last week’s game against Memphis for a violation of team rules, according to Kiffin. Two sources reported that the suspension came to because of a failed drug test.

The police report claims that the victims of the attempted robbery were parked outside the convenience store when a black male wearing a hooded sweatshirt approached the car, with what appeared to be a handgun, opened the drivers’ side door, and said, “Give me everything you have.” A second black male, also wearing a hooded sweatshirt, came around to the passengers’ side door, opened it, and repeated his partner’s demands.

The victims opened their wallets to show they had no money, when the third suspect approached the other two and forced them to leave.

Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 10:17 pm by bryan

Tennessee knocks off Auburn, 31-13

The Tennessee Volunteers took advantage of two early turnovers to sprint out to a 14-0 lead and never looked back in a 31-13 victory over the Auburn Tigers.

The Volunteers look like a team that is catching fire late in the year and could play themselves into a nice bowl game.

It’s been impressive to see the way quarterback Jonathan Crompton has matured and developed in his senior season.

He now looks to have complete control over the offense and is avoiding some of the costly mistakes that have plagued him in the past.

With such a strong defense behind him, Crompton just needs to manage the game and make a couple of big throws.

Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 8:33 am by steve