Sources: NCAA looking at Ed Orgeron

By Ivan Maisel

ESPN.com

As part of its broad investigation of Tennessee athletics, the NCAA is looking into whether former Vols assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron personally conducted a workout of a prospective signee on the student's campus in May 2009, three sources told ESPN.

"When we went through some stuff about Tennessee, I've been told that I'm not allowed to comment," Orgeron, now the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at USC, said Friday. "That's what I've been instructed to do. That's what I'm doing."

Early 2011 SEC power rankings

By Chris Low

Here’s an early look at how the 2011 SEC power rankings may look to open the season:

1. Alabama: With added experience in the secondary, look for the Crimson Tide to be more consistent next season and not have some of the breakdowns on defense that plagued them in 2010. A.J. McCarron steps in for Greg McElroy at quarterback, and Trent Richardson will get his shot as the centerpiece of the running game.

Curt Maggit to visit the Vols

Curt Maggit

Tail of The Tape

Weakside Defensive End

West Palm Beach, Florida

Ht: 6'3"


Wt: 195 lbs

Class: 2011 (Dwyer High School)

Vols get set to go into great unknown



The Tennessee Volunteers take their first Road trip to LSU this Saturday.



                                   

                                    Vols get set to go into great unknown

                                                       By Chris Low

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley won’t take the maximum 70 players to LSU this weekend.

The Vols were already well under the scholarship limit in terms of players, and they’ve incurred several injuries in their first four games. Dooley said there would probably be approximately 66 players on the trip, and he joked that 30 of those had never been on a road trip at Tennessee before.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen,” Dooley said.

“Just think about when you got in the car with your four buddies and you’ve never been on a road trip before and you hit the highway. Man, you don’t know what’s going to happen because you don’t know these guys. That’s what we got.”

Berry's legacy will endure at Tennessee

Eric Berry, one of the most beloved football players at Tennessee over the past two decades, isn’t sure what his legacy will be.

He knows what he hopes it will be.

“Hopefully, the fans and the alumni at Tennessee will look at me as a guy with great character on and off the field,” Berry said. “I will always be a Tennessee guy. I hope they remember me as a good player, but I hope they view me even more as a good guy.”

Tracking the SEC vs. the final Top 25 polls

Several of you have inquired about how SEC teams have fared in recent years against teams that finished in the Top 25 of the final polls, either the Associated Press or coaches’ poll.

The argument is that your record against teams that finish the season nationally ranked is a better indicator than your record against teams that were nationally ranked at the time you played them.

I see both sides. But you ask, and I deliver.

The results were telling, too.

What to Watch for this Spring

TENNESSEE

Spring practice starts: March 18

Spring game: April 17

What to watch for this Spring :

Quarterback competition – If experience in the program counts for anything, then senior Nick Stephens will have a leg up this spring in Tennessee’s starting quarterback competition. But for the third straight year, the Vols will have a new guy calling the shots on offense. Derek Dooley takes over the Vols’ program, and Jim Chaney will be his offensive coordinator. Chaney was under-utilized on the previous staff. One of the things Chaney will be looking for from Stephens is increased accuracy. Freshman Tyler Bray will also get a chance to show what he can do this spring. A heralded prospect from California, Bray is already enrolled in school. His first order of business is bulking up and getting stronger. The Vols also brought in junior college newcomer Matt Simms, the younger brother of NFL quarterback Chris Simms.