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East Tennessee boys topple Alabama in National Title
A few that got away from the Vols helped Clemson crush Alabama last night. East Tennessee natives Trevor Lawrence, Tee Higgins and Amari Rodgers all became national champions, serving as a painful reminder for what could have been in Knoxville.
Butch Jones and his staff let each of those three players get away from the program, making things that much tougher for the current staff today. As the story goes, Lawrence was born and raised in East Tennessee, growing up as a fan of the Volunteers. He wears No. 16, idolizing Peyton Manning. But he wasn’t going to play for Butch Jones.
In steps Dabo Swinney and Clemson, who capitalized on Tennessee’s shortcomings on Monday night.
Schiano let go by Ohio State
The national media’s favorite coach of all time was let go by Ryan Day at Ohio State on Monday afternoon. Schiano, of course, was former athletics director John Currie’s pick to be Tennessee’s next head coach. That decision was met with unprecedented backlash from Tennessee fans, who ultimately torpedoed the hire.
Schiano returned to Ohio State, only to get let go one year later. As Patrick Brown points out, Tennessee’s defense was a good bit better than Ohio State’s this year, according to the numbers.
With today's Schiano's news it seems timely to point out that Tennessee ranked 22 spots higher nationally in total defense (49th vs. 71st) than Ohio State did this season despite having less talent and facing Tua, Grier, Fromm, Snell and Lock.
— Patrick Brown (@pbrown247) January 7, 2019
Jeremy Pruitt’s 5-7 record hardly has Tennessee fans convinced that he’s the savior of the program, but his track record as an elite recruiter at least gives him a chance to build this program the right way. You wouldn’t have gotten that with Schiano.
Not that Tennessee fans needed any justification, but they got some on Monday.
Pruitt seals the deal with Quavaris Crouch over a game of... Madden?
Speaking of Jeremy Pruitt, 247 had a story on Monday that detailed how Pruitt sealed the deal with prized recruit Quavaris Crouch. Shockingly enough, Pruitt picked up the sticks and played a game of Madden online with Crouch, complete with a headset so he could continue to pitch the four-star athlete.