University of Tennessee Athletics
VOL REPORT: Vols Prep for Final Regular Season Game
November 21, 2018 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee closed out practice on Wednesday evening at Haslam Field as the Vols continue to prep for their final regular season game at Vanderbilt on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
"It's a great time of the year," head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. "Growing up it was always big for the people in my community playing football on Thanksgiving. We are thankful for the men in our program and what they represent."
The Vols will practice in the morning on Thursday, before releasing players to spend Thanksgiving with their families – if they live close by, or with assistant coaches, who all are hosting dinners, and Pruitt himself.
"We want to give guys the opportunity to go and spend time with their families if it's close enough," Pruitt said. "I think it's important that everybody spends somewhere for Thanksgiving. Everybody in our program, from our equipment managers, to our trainers, to our players, to our coaches."
The Vols will have an all-staff Thanksgiving lunch on Friday before leaving for Nashville.
PRUITT ANNOUNCES FOUR PLAYERS WILL REDSHIRT
The NCAA changed the redshirt rule in 2018 where players could play in any four games and still receive a redshirt. Previously, a player could only receive a redshirt if he did not play in a game or if he received a medical hardship waiver (could not play in more than 30 percent of contests and the injury had to occur in the first half of the season).
This season, however, a player could appear in any four games and still receive a redshirt.
Pruitt announced that four players reached the four-game limit and would redshirt: sophomore linebacker Kivon Bennett, freshman linebacker J.J. Peterson, freshman wide receiver Cedric Tillman and freshman defensive lineman Kurott Garland.
Several other Vols have not played in four games and could also receive redshirts.
"We're not going to play any of those guys," Pruitt said. "I've talked to them and I think moving forward it's the best thing for those guys."
SMITH GIVES BACK
Despite being out indefinitely for the season, Tennessee sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith has not changed his mindset or work ethic. Smith continues to look for ways to give back and spent the majority of his time this past Tuesday morning outside of the Thornton Center, helping collect coats with Knoxville Area Rescue Ministry (KARM) for those in need.
Smith took to Twitter last Friday to provide a message to the community and make them aware of KARM's mission and its effort to supply as many coats as possible for those in need. KARM received over 1,000 coats since Smith's message.
JOHNSON AND PHILLIPS EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
Tennessee redshirt offensive lineman Ryan Johnson and senior defensive end Kyle Phillips were both named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Football Team, selected by CoSIDA, which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
Johnson and Phillips mark the 27th and 28th Academic All-District or Academic All-Americans presented by CoSIDA in Tennessee history. The Vols now have six academic All-District honorees in the last three years as the pair joins Parker Henry (2016, 2017), Todd Kelly Jr. (2016) and Dylan Wiesman (2016) as recent winners.
"It's a great time of the year," head coach Jeremy Pruitt said. "Growing up it was always big for the people in my community playing football on Thanksgiving. We are thankful for the men in our program and what they represent."
The Vols will practice in the morning on Thursday, before releasing players to spend Thanksgiving with their families – if they live close by, or with assistant coaches, who all are hosting dinners, and Pruitt himself.
"We want to give guys the opportunity to go and spend time with their families if it's close enough," Pruitt said. "I think it's important that everybody spends somewhere for Thanksgiving. Everybody in our program, from our equipment managers, to our trainers, to our players, to our coaches."
The Vols will have an all-staff Thanksgiving lunch on Friday before leaving for Nashville.
PRUITT ANNOUNCES FOUR PLAYERS WILL REDSHIRT
The NCAA changed the redshirt rule in 2018 where players could play in any four games and still receive a redshirt. Previously, a player could only receive a redshirt if he did not play in a game or if he received a medical hardship waiver (could not play in more than 30 percent of contests and the injury had to occur in the first half of the season).
This season, however, a player could appear in any four games and still receive a redshirt.
Pruitt announced that four players reached the four-game limit and would redshirt: sophomore linebacker Kivon Bennett, freshman linebacker J.J. Peterson, freshman wide receiver Cedric Tillman and freshman defensive lineman Kurott Garland.
Several other Vols have not played in four games and could also receive redshirts.
"We're not going to play any of those guys," Pruitt said. "I've talked to them and I think moving forward it's the best thing for those guys."
SMITH GIVES BACK
Despite being out indefinitely for the season, Tennessee sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith has not changed his mindset or work ethic. Smith continues to look for ways to give back and spent the majority of his time this past Tuesday morning outside of the Thornton Center, helping collect coats with Knoxville Area Rescue Ministry (KARM) for those in need.
Smith took to Twitter last Friday to provide a message to the community and make them aware of KARM's mission and its effort to supply as many coats as possible for those in need. KARM received over 1,000 coats since Smith's message.
JOHNSON AND PHILLIPS EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
Tennessee redshirt offensive lineman Ryan Johnson and senior defensive end Kyle Phillips were both named to the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Football Team, selected by CoSIDA, which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
Johnson and Phillips mark the 27th and 28th Academic All-District or Academic All-Americans presented by CoSIDA in Tennessee history. The Vols now have six academic All-District honorees in the last three years as the pair joins Parker Henry (2016, 2017), Todd Kelly Jr. (2016) and Dylan Wiesman (2016) as recent winners.
Players Mentioned
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