Shelbyville, Tennessee · Saturday, November 7, 2009
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Studs visiting Neyland
Posted Thursday, October 1, at 11:56 AM
This time of year youth football games are taking place on the weekends all across America. Bedford County alone has four divisions (Flag/Pee Wee, Division I, II, III) in four different leagues (Cascade, Community, Liberty and Shelbyville).

If you're on the fence about whether or not to let your little one take part in the contact sport, you may reconsider after watching tape on high school linebacker Jeff Luc of Port St. Lucie, Fla. The 6-foot-1, 230 pound man-child can be seen on YouTube.com destroying ball carriers.

Luc, rated the nation's No. 1 middle linebacker by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, will take an official visit to Knoxville this weekend to check out the campus and watch the Volunteers battle Auburn on Saturday night.

Joining Luc is the Florida Gators' top commit, Matt Elam of West Palm Beach, Fla. After watching tape on the Sunshine State's top prospect it's hard to say exactly what position he projects to at the next level. Rivals has him listed as a safety but his speed would sure be nice to have at linebacker. At 6-foot, 205 pounds, he's not far from being thick enough to handle the pounding in the box of a 4-3 defense.

Although Elam is said to have deep roots with Florida coach Urban Meyer and has been committed to them for almost a full year, simply getting him to visit Rocky Top shows how hard the new staff at UT is working and how they refuse to back down to any program in search of top prospects.

Another top talent said to be visiting is safety Dietrich Riley of La Canada, Calif. Riley has had plenty of good things to say about UT and would compliment last year's coup of defensive backs quite nicely. He's 6-foot-1, 195 pounds and is ranked the No. 7 safety by Scout. Getting Golden State studs to set up roots roughly 2,000 miles from home is never easy.



VY tells all
Posted Thursday, August 6, at 11:05 AM

If there's an athlete that truly confuses me it's Vince Young. For a 26-year-old who's entering his fourth season of professional football, he should be mature by now and know what to say and, more importantly, what not to say. I understand to be in the pros you have to have a certain swagger about you because the mental grind can beat even the most confident athlete down if they don't keep their chin up...



So, what's the point?
Posted Friday, July 24, at 11:16 AM

HOOVER, Ala. -- The search is finally over. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier admitted Friday that it was his ballot that didn't have Tim Tebow selected as preseason All-Southeastern Conference. But, Spurrier told reporters at SEC Media Days that in 17 years he hasn't filled out one such ballot. Someone in the athletics department types it up and Spurrier glances at it before it's sent it...



Waiting on Scroggings
Posted Wednesday, July 22, at 5:57 PM

For Tennessee football fans that follow recruiting, the anticipation is spilling over. What hat will Jesse Scroggins put on Thursday? The 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback out of Lakewood (Calif.) High School told observers yesterday through his myspace page that he pushed his commitment time to Thursday at 2 CDT on ESPN's College Football Live...



Keeping up with draftees
Posted Thursday, July 2, at 9:02 AM

Baseball fans and Bedford County natives can keep up with all players heading to the professional ranks online. My preferred website is Baseball America. BA has the latest in their draft database as to who's signed and who hasn't. Another way to follow draftee signings is by checking the transaction log on MLB.com...



Good news? Bad news?
Posted Wednesday, May 27, at 9:31 AM

If there's one thing Lane Kiffin's done since taking over the football program at Tennesee, it's been getting the Orange and White back in the news. Whether it was firing back at South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier about questions over whether or not Kiffin took the necessary tests before getting started recruiting or accusing Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating, Kiffin's been pretty shrewd about getting the "Power T" back on SportsCenter...



Titans plug holes
Posted Tuesday, April 28, at 12:00 PM

The Tennessee Titans went to work at the NFL Draft on Saturday and Sunday looking to fill some holes left by free agency and add much-needed depth. Although it generally takes a few years to clearly grade how a team does in any draft, the team seems pleased with their 11 selections...



Life after ball
Posted Thursday, April 23, at 10:22 AM

I sometimes wonder if the latest generation of athletes have any concept of life after sports. There is only so much pounding the body can take. Most careers are over by the time pros even reach their mid-30s. So what do you do with the next 30-50 years with little to no education and a fraction of the life experiences a non-professional athlete compiles? You can't just walk out to the playing surface the week official practice or training camp starts after mowing the yard and sipping on adult beverages all offseason. ...



TBCA poll released
Posted Tuesday, April 7, at 2:07 AM

The Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association released their first high school poll on Monday. Despite having lost seven key members from the teams that went 58-16 the last two years and their head coach, the Cascade Champions open up ranked No. 3 in the Class A poll...



Cutler looking
Posted Monday, March 16, at 11:00 AM

Former Vanderbilt star quarterback Jay Cutler has formally asked the Denver Broncos to trade him. He said Sunday evening that he will not attend the team's first meeting today. Cutler's relationship with the new regime in Denver, including new head coach Josh McDaniels, has been rocky to say the least...



View earlier blogs >>

Danny Parker is sports editor of the Times-Gazette.
Hot topics
Studs visiting Neyland
(2 ~ 9:02 PM, Oct 7)

VY tells all
(5 ~ 3:49 AM, Aug 11)

So, what's the point?
(1 ~ 12:49 PM, Jul 25)

Waiting on Scroggings
(0 ~ 5:55 PM, Jul 22)

Keeping up with draftees
(0 ~ 9:02 AM, Jul 2)