Rocky Top Nation

Tennessee has collected a Class of 2010 commitment from highly-sought four-star, defensive lineman Calvin Smith of Hialeah Senior (Hialeah, Fla.).

The 6-foot-3, 265-pound Smith was also offered by Notre Dame, Arkansas, South Carolina, Central Florida, Purdue, Mississippi, Pittsburgh, Florida, Florida State, New Mexico and Illinois.

ESPN's Craig Haubert added, "While the loss of two fine recruiters from the staff likely has Tennessee fans a little worried, Vol nation can at least take solace in the fact that they just added another key defensive line recruit. With the No. 6-rated class Tennessee has done a good job on the recruiting trail, but an area that they have really done well with is the defensive line and they just got a little better."

"Now in the fold is Calvin Smith an undersized, but active defensive tackle. He needs to add bulk to his frame, but he can be quick off the ball and active with his hands in taking on and shedding from blockers. He moves around well and if he can keep his mobility while adding size he could be a real handful."

"Tennessee now has nine defensive linemen on board from the high school and JUCO levels with three ranked among the top 20 at their position including Smith."

He is the 23rd pledge for the Vols.

Lane Kiffin(left) and Ed Orgeron(right) arrive via helicopter to the M.L. King vs. Stephenson game.

Just when everyone thought Lane Kiffin couln't get anymore crazy, he did.  Both Lane Kiffin and Ed Orgeron hoped in a helicopter and flew down to Martin Luther King High School to watch them play Stephenson in a game that featured many D-1 prospects. One of those prospects was Mike Thornton, a Rivals 250 defensive tackle.  Mike Thorton plays at Stephenson and is one of the most underated players in the Class of 2010. After the game Thorton said this to ESPN, "It blew me away, you know," Thornton said. "We have a linebacker that goes to Tennessee [Nigel Mitchell-Thornton], so it would be nice for me to get up there and play on the team with him. I am going to give them a look. I am going to give Tennessee a look."  Tennessee also went after current Florida commit, Mack Brown. Brown is a highly rated tailback who has been commited to Florida for quite amount of time.  Brown had this to say about Kiffin, "Yeah, he was at my school earlier," said Brown, the state's top-ranked tailback and a Florida commitment. "I ran into him, shook his hand."  Asked if Kiffin was trying to get him to flip on the Gators, Brown said politely, "Yes, sir."  Both Mike Thorton and Mack Brown could potentially return the favor and visit UT.  Without a doubt this visit from the coaching staff paid off for UT.

Orgeron (right) and Mitchell-Thornton watch the game from the sidelines.

Tennessee may have lost a football game this weekend, but the Vols continue to make good impressions on many of the top prospects in the country. On Sunday, they snagged three ESPNU 150 prospects.

The Vols also continued their tradition of landing some of the top prospects from South Carolina (Albert Haynesworth, Shaun Ellis, Robert Ayers and Stanley Morgan are just a few Tennessee players from the state who have made it to the NFL) by landing two players from the state's top high school program.

ESPNU 150 defensive lineman Brandon Willis (Duncan, S.C./James F. Byrnes) surprisingly committed to Tennessee after visiting for the Vols' 19-15 loss to UCLA during the weekend.

"It just felt like home at Tennessee," Willis said. "The fans were great to me. I just loved the atmosphere and the coaches."

Willis, who picked the Vols over Florida State, North Carolina and California, was joined on the visit and in committing to Tennessee by Byrnes teammate and Under Armour All-American defensive end Corey Miller, who previously was committed to Florida State, but informed the Seminoles' coaching staff on Sunday that he was switching his pledge to Tennessee.

Then, Under Armour All-American athlete DeMarco Cobbs (Tulsa, Okla./Central) committed to the Vols shortly after the South Carolina pair jumped on board. Cobbs picked Tennessee over a host of top programs, including Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia and LSU.

There also was Tennessee-related news late last week. The Vols also are strongly in the mix for Under Armour All-American offensive lineman JaWuan James (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett), who de-committed from Alabama and is now strongly considering Tennessee, along with Oregon and others.

Tennessee Volunteers VS. UCLA Bruins

Saturday, September 12th at 4pm EST - Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn.

Rankings: Tennessee and UCLA are both unranked

Surface: Tifway Bermuda grassed mowed at ? inch height which drains 12 inches an hour thanks partially to a 16 inch crown in the center of the field.

Television: ESPN with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge and Erin Andrews

Radio:The Vol Network, station listings in your area, www.utsports.com, XM Satellite Radio Ch. 200, WIVK-fm 107.7

Bob Kesling, play-by-play

Tim Priest, color analyst

Mike Stowell, sideline

Weather: Forecast for Knoxville, Tn

Traffic: Gameday traffic

Vol Walk: The team walks to the stadium at 2:25pm est. Walk starts at the Torchbearer at Circle Park

Pride of the Southland Procession: The band marches to the stadium at 2:35pm est.

Kickoff call in show: The Vol Network's 90 minute pre-game call in starts outside of gate 21 on the hill at 2:30pm est.

Toyota Volunteer Village: Located at Humanities Plaze gates open at noon est.

Travel guide: Traveling to Neyland Stadium

The Coaches: Lane Kiffin is in his 1st season at Tennessee. The Volunteers' offensive coordinator is Jim Chaney and the defensive coordinator is Monte Kiffin.

Rick Neuheisel is in his 2nd season at UCLA and has a record of 5-8 as the Bruins head man. Norm Chow is his offensive coordinator and Chuck Bullough is his defensive coordinator.

The Series: Tennessee leads 7-5-2

Injuries:

WR - Gerald Jones - ankle, questionable

OL - Vladimir Richard - Achilles, probable

WR - Austin Rogers - knee, out for the year

TE - Ben Bartholomew - ankle, out for 2-4 weeks.

RB - Toney Williams - knee, out for the year

C - Josh McNeil - knee, doubtful

 While tommorow is a huge game for the Vols, it is also important to recruiting because       the Vols have 6 official vistiors.  Here are the list of visitors for tommorrow:

Officials

T.J. Leifheit

Kenny Stills

Gio Bernard

Cody Riggs

Michael Palardy

Demetrius Wright

Unofficials

Justin Worley

Jabriel Washington

Blake Sims

A.J. Johnson

Markeith Ambles

Davis Dudchock

Mack Brown

Up in the Air

Willis- even though he said last week he would be here, no one can confirm he will be

Fashaw- said yesterday he's trying to come. haven't heard if it's set up yet

Mahoney- said he was coming in an article. have not heard if it's been set up

Payne- have not heard anything indicating he's coming

It has been said that we could expect some other "surprise" visitors as well...

     Ted Meline of North Miami (Miami, Fla.) has chosen the Vols for the Class of 2010 over Clemson, Georgia, Purdue and Oregon.  The 6-foot-2, 170-pound standout, who was being recruited for receiver/defensive back, also has offers from Central Florida, Boston College, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, South Florida and North Carolina, among others.  Meline was slowed by an ankle and shoulder injuries as a junior for Westlake Prep (Davie, Fla).   He transferred to Booker T. Washington (Miami, Fla) this past spring, but had travel problems and moved on to North Miami.  ESPN's Tom Luginbill added, "Meline is a prime example of a guy that is going to be a late bloomer with excellent overall physical tools. He has switched schools and split time between QB and WR as a junior so we feel once he settles in at WR fulltime his upside will truly be maximized. He has terrific size, speed and overall athleticism for the position and most importantly for Tennessee it is a significant position of need for the Vols as they lack playmakers on offense at this time."  "This is the second big commitment this week on offense for the Vols at two positions where they are looking not only to improve depth, but overall talent level and Meline is another step in the right direction."  Tennessee now has 18 commitments.

     Tyler Bray has officially decommitted from San Diego State and committed to Tennessee.  Tyler Bray is a four star quarterback out of Kingsburg, California who had considered the Vols for quite some time.  The 6-foot-6, 190-pounder threw for 2,411 yards and 26 touchdowns last fall.  Bray is also rated the #6 Pro Style Quarterback by Rivals.  Bray brings the quarterback that Tennessee had been lacking for such a long time.

ESPN's Billy Tucker had this to say about Bray: "This is a major land for Tennessee as we felt Kiffin needed a system fitting quarterback for the future in this class and he got one in Bray. Unfortunately San Diego State loses what would have been the steal of this class, but we have said since early spring that Bray would emerge as a national regarded quarterback in this 2010 class."

"A major sleeper early on, it was only a matter of time before major college programs took note of his excellent upside at the quarterback position. You don't often get a high school quarterback with such a large, lanky frame drooling with physical upside who has refined mechanics. He's got a quick, compact, over-the-top delivery and is polished in his footwork at this stage of his career. Arm strength is good not great but we feel that facet should increase with added bulk and strength. Bray has all the tools needed to blossom into a very good SEC quarterback in time."

"Despite all the hoopla surrounding Kiffin and his recruiting tactics, you have to be impressed with the end result and caliber of prospect he his luring to Knoxville. Bray is the Volunteers' third top-15 rated positional prospect to commit in a class filled with good top to bottom quality."

      The Lane Kiffin Era has finally come!  Today the Vols play the Hilltopers of Western Kentucky.  We will get to see freshman such as Bryce Brown, David Oku, Nu?Keese Richardson, Marsalis Teague, Janzen Jackson, Mike Edwards, and Montorio Hughes. We will also get to see if Crompton has improved his game. Eric Berry only lacks 15 yards from breaking the record for most interception return yards. This game is going to answer alot of the questions surrounding this team. It will also be good to see all the coaches on the sidelines. Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron should have this team ready to go on defense.  On offense expect a high powered running game with Bryce Brown and Montario Hardestey carrying the load. Kickoff is at 12:21 PM EST.

Tyler Bray Notes

Tyler Bray is on campus with his family according to multiple sources. Also on campus is Brays role model: Peyton Manning. The hope is that Bray and Manning will speak. If Bray was to speak to Peyton Manning and get to see Neyland Stadium it would be hard to turn down the Vols.  Bray is a soft verbal to San Diego State. However, he has done very well in Elite 11 camps. Still the only team to offer him was the Vols. Bray says that he will make a descion shortly after the game, but he recently told govolsxtra.com that if the atmosphere was good he might commit on the spot. He went on to say "Who knows? It depends on how I feel." Bray had this to say about his commitment to San Diego State: "I'm still, as of right now, committed to San Diego State' he said. "After the trip, I'll see how things go and compare (the two schools) with my coaches and my family. We'll see where that takes us." Bray plans on graduating early. Also at 6-6 200 pounds he has the measurables to be a quarterback. Bray said that  he would like to weigh 220 to 225 pounds. Anyways watch out for Bray as he will hopefully end UT's quarterback search

     The brand new recruiting section has finnally been released. It includes a commit list and offer list. The commit list has links to each players ESPN, Rivals, and Scout Profile along with an image. While the offer list has a link to each players Rivals Profile, Height, Weight, forty, hometown, verbal, and where they stand in the Rivals 250. Over the next few weeks we will be focusing on renovating the arcade and forums.

Stay tuned!,

    gorockytop

      Tennessee Recently landed a huge pickup in Michael Taylor. Michael Taylor picked UT over LSU, Alabama, and Georgia. Taylor is rate three stars by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. However ESPN lists him as an ESPN 150 recruit and he is also in the Under Armour game. UT coaches Lance Thompson and Ed Orgeron recruited Taylor. Taylor hopes to graduate in December and enroll at Tennessee in January. Taylor registered 160 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, eight forced fumbles, five sacks and three fumbles recoveries as a junior in 2008. This from Scouts Chad Simmons: ?Taylor is a linebacker that plays at a high speed and a high level of intensity,? according to Simmons. ?He has a nose for the ball and he is constantly in on plays from sideline to sideline. ?He plays low, he has very good tackling form, and he delivers a lot of pop when making plays. He needs to work on not letting (offensive linemen) get their hands on him and dropping back into coverage. Middle (linebacker) is the ideal spot for him.? Tennessee now has 15 commits. It should also be noted that highley touted athlete Demarco Cobbs also visited UT.

Michael Taylor

Inside linebacker

Atlanta (GA) Westlake

Ht: 6-foot-1

Wt: 205 lbs

Forty: 4.5 secs

GPA: 3.5

SAT: 1350

Class: 2010 (High School)

    Shortly after Markeith Ambles decide to commit to UT, The Vols went out and got a pledge from Matt Milton, a 6-foot-6, 192-pound receiver from Mascoutah (Ill.) High School. Matt Milton is rated a 4 star by both Scout.com and Rivals.com. He is also a ESPN 150. Milton chose the Vols over Illinois, Iowa and Washington. Milton told this to KNS(Knoxville News Sentinel) about his role at UT: "They told me about how they?re lacking a big target player,? Milton said, ?a receiver they can throw the ball up high to and across the middle.? Milton is the second prospect from Illinois to commit to UT joining Zach Fulton. It should also be noted that Kyle Prater, who is rated the #1 wide reciver in the country is set to visit UT on Saturday.

Matt Milton

Wide Receiver

Mascoutah (IL) Mascoutah

Ht: 6-foot-6

Wt: 192 lbs

Forty: 4.57 secs

Bench max: 270 pounds

Squat max: 315 pounds

Class: 2010 (High School)