ROCKY TOP BEAT: Vols open five-day camp at Milligan College

August 2, 2012

ROCKY TOP BEAT: Vols open five-day camp at Milligan College

By Frank Gale Chronicle correspondent The Crossville Chronicle Thu Aug 02, 2012, 02:52 PM CDT

CROSSVILLE — August has finally arrived, and the Vols will be headed east to Milligan College for a five-day football camp. The players will be out in the middle of nowhere between Johnson City and Elizabethan, TN. Don’t under estimate the effect this little hiatus might have on this team.

Ever see the movie Remember the Titans? Coach Dooley can only hope that this short camp away from Knoxville pays similar dividends. Time will tell.

Coach Dooley can use some of the time they are away at camp to re-focus Tyler Bray. Some of the quarterback’s decisions while he has been on Rocky Top have not been the best. For this team to reach their potential this season, Bray will have to emerge as a leader both on and off the field.

For Lady Vol fans, this has been a special week at the Olympics, watching Candace Parker lead an all-star line up against the world in quest of a gold medal. Having former Lady Vol Tamika Catching as a teammate certainly is a plus. Despite having Geno Auriemma as a head coach, you have to like the team’s chances to bring home the ‘gold.'

Between now and Aug. 31, the Vols will become familiar with a few new rules that take effect this season. Over the next few weeks, I will try and highlight a few changes that will have an impact on NCAA football in the fall.

The first significant change involves a helmet coming off during live play. The NCAA has become very concerned with players losing their head gear either by poor strapping or an improper fit.

This season if a player loses his helmet during a live play, he will be required to leave the field for the subsequent play. Basically, it will be handled the same as an injury where the player has to sit out the next play because it caused the official to stop the clock to deal with the issue.

This new rule comes with an exception. If the loss of the helmet can be associated with an opponent’s foul, such as a face mask, then the player will not be required to leave the field for one play.

By rule, any infraction by the offense will require a run-off when there is 10 or less seconds left in the game. Only a timeout can save that run-off. It might be prudent for teams to keep a time out to guard against any potential run-offs at the end of a game. Hopefully, the so called "Dooley Rule," which came about after the Music City fiasco, will not come back and bite the Vols down the road.

I guess all that is left now as we count down to kickoff, is waiting for some words of wisdom from our No.1 Vanderbilt fan, Jim Butler (somehow using No. 1 and Vanderbilt in the same sentence just seems odd).

I understand that finding words that put a positive spin on Commodore football takes time, but come on Jim, the season is almost here.

Meanwhile for Big Orange fans, the wait is almost over — only 28 more days! Go Vols!

(Frank Gale is a Chronicle correspondent and his column appears regularly.)

Text Only

Sports Columns

ROCKY TOP BEAT: Former Vols sacrificed for their country
Fans that attend football games at Neyland Stadium have probably noticed the newest addition to the retired jerseys, No. 45. Of course that was Johnny Majors’ number and he joined seven other honored players with retired jerseys on the facade between the upper deck and the lower deck this past season.

May 23, 2013
Tennessee Orange/White game is in the books
The 2013 Orange/White Game is in the books and for now, the immediate hopes and dreams of Team 117 could rest on an improved defense. It is also going to depend on offensive players that either missed the game with injuries or are not yet on campus.

April 25, 2013
Rowan adds PrepXtra award to his 2013 honors
Stone Memorial senior Brock Rowan added to a growing list of honors Thursday, as he was named to the PrepXtra Boys First Team by the Knoxville NewsSentinel.

April 25, 2013
ROCKY TOP BEAT: UT Orange and White game kicks off Saturday
I can’t believe the Orange-White Game has arrived already. Tomorrow, Neyland Stadium will be the site for what has been an annual rite of spring for the Vol Nation. Fans will get their first glimpse of the new coaching staff and the players that will give their all for Tennessee in the fall.

April 18, 2013
Rocky Top Beat: Lady Vols extends NCAA home court record to 52-0
The Lady Vols ran their record in NCAA Tournament games played at Knoxville to 52-0 this past week after winning their two opening round games. Oklahoma City is the next stop, where the Lady Vols will play Oklahoma University on Sunday at 3:35 p.m. CDT on ESPN 2.

March 28, 2013 1 Photo
It is sweet 16 for March Madness
March Madness has entered the round of 16 or Sweet 16 as many refer to it, and "how sweet it is" to have a couple of "Cinderella" teams on both sides of the ball.
The Florida Gulf Coast University Golden Eagles and the Delaware Blue Hens have moved into the "Sweet 16" round of both the men's and women's tournaments this weekend.

March 28, 2013
All in the Game: Are the ladies taking over some sports?
Though the female kicker didn't do well at all at the NFL combine, she at least did get the opportunity to try out. Danica Patrick did win the pole at the Daytona 500 and also finished well in the event. Is she going to be a factor in the Sprint Cup series or was the Daytona performance just a fluke? Some think that it was somewhat staged to help promote NASCAR, which has staggered a little in their ratings.

March 7, 2013
Oh Good Greif: Spring sports dodging bad weather to prepare for the season
"It's beginning to look a lot like...." You know the rest of it, but that came to my mind Wednesday as the snow fell, forcing schools to be closed for another day. This puts a damper on spring sports practices, as the regular seasons for baseball, softball, tennis, boys soccer and track and field begin next week.

March 7, 2013
Rocky Top Beat: Vols, Lady Vols waiting for selection weekend
The Lady Vols and the Vols both failed to win on the road last weekend. The men almost suffered a fatal blow to their NCAA Tournament hopes with their second loss to Georgia but, with a weak tournament field this year, they lived to fight a while longer.

March 7, 2013
ROCKY TOP BEAT: Only 267 days until Vanderbilt-Tennessee game
It was nice to have Jim Butler back “in the game" again last week. I can’t imagine anyone being more devoted to the Commodores, no matter how misguided that loyalty turns out most of the time. Now, with one successful football campaign in the books, the stakes are sure to rise this fall in regards to that Big Orange rivalry.

February 28, 2013
More Sports Columns Headlines

Sports Columns

Search Results

ROCKY TOP BEAT: Vols open five-day camp at Milligan College

Site Map

Contact Us