LINKS: Tennessee an Early 12.5 Point Favorite Over Florida

• Morning folks! In a peculiar bit of scheduling stagecraft, a few hours before Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City a  wreckage of tears and sighs yesterday, Oak Ridge's own Tee Higgins (247 5* WR, #15 overall) chose to take his talents to Clemson with a video posted to Twitter. Without getting all "computer-generated fireworks can't melt steel beams" about this, when in the world did Bleacher Report make this thing, and does nobody over there, like, talk to each other? I long for that simpler time, when kids picked schools with puppies, xylophone bands, and Chris Fowler, live on ESPN.
  
  
• Speaking of recruiting, Jason Kirk over at the mothership broke down the numbers of blue-chip recruits per state over the last five years, and Tennessee (a little shockingly!) came out tenth overall, ahead of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Michigan. 
  
  
• Per 247, Southpoint College Football and sombody named "Johnny Detroit," Tennessee has opened as an early 12.5 favorite over Florida (which is also slightly shocking!) and an 11 point favorite over Virginia Tech:
  

  Updated College Football Games of the Year from Vegas: Who is your early best bet? @andrewssports @southpointlv pic.twitter.com/MqVN4dHIdM

  — Johnny Detroit (@Johnny_Detroit) June 26, 2016

  
  
• Bob Shoop will have to coach from the pressbox at the Battle at Bristol, which is fine, since I guess he always coaches from the press box, apparently. This is now information you know about Bob Shoop.
  
  
• Former Tennessee men's basketball coach and 50s candy store salesman Donnie Tyndall has submitted an 113-page appeal to his 10-year NCAA show-cause penalty. Tyndall is alleged to have directed staff members to engage in (and later cover up) academic misconduct.
  
  
• And The Valley Shook last week had an excellent livetweet sort of recap thing of the 2005 Tennessee-LSU overtime thriller. Crazy times! Go read it.
  
  
• If it's Tuesday, it's POSSUMNEWS
  Here is a video of a weird horse "playing possum":
  
  
  This is different from real possums, who do things like blow up glass plants in Illinois. This has been your possum news.

Happy Tuesday!