Tennessee's New Guys Making Strides

Hey, look! It's the return of Talking Points.

FOOTBALL

• Thanks, I needed that, and so did you. ;-)
• Did you realize that Steve Stripling is Tennessee's 6th defensive line coach in 6 years? Somebody could have some fun making one of those evolutionary image charts that begins with Ed Orgeron at one end and ends with Stripling at the other.
• Go ahead and get excited about recruiting, but do know that new coaches are always behind the 8-ball. This, from Scout:

  Scout.com had nine SEC teams in its top 25 entering the weekend, headed by Texas A&M at No. 3, LSU at No. 5, Georgia at No. 6, Florida at No. 7 and Alabama at No. 8. None of the teams with new coaches were in the top 25, with Auburn 27th, Tennessee 42nd, Arkansas 55th and Kentucky 58th.

  So we're behind Auburn, which has hired a staff with existing SEC ties, but ahead of the other new guys, so that's something. A long way to go, though.
• And on that front, Butch Jones and Tennessee are impressing the folks they're getting to campus, including dual-threat QB John Franklin, linebacker Jermaine Grace, offensive lineman Chongo Kondolo, and junior-college tight end Woody Quinn.
• If you don't subscribe to 247, you can't read its Monday morning VIP column, and you'll miss out on stories that include phrases like "old-school sick in a trash can."
• I dare you to watch this video of new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni and not immediately like him:
  
  

HOOPS

• Cuonzo Martin's insistence to freshman point guard Armani Moore that he slow the heck down seems to be paying off. Despite a disappointing three-point loss to Alabama Saturday, Moore had a good game, and frankly, the team needs some consistency at point guard more than it needs more high variance.