Tennessee Baseball wins FIRST EVER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & Eric Cain gives his thoughts from Omaha

Tennessee Baseball wins FIRST EVER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP & Eric Cain gives his thoughts from Omaha

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good Tuesday morning everyone welcome to the volquest.com podcast presented to you by our good friends at exterior Home Solutions be sure and check them out online at exterior hom solutions.com or you can give them a call uh in Knoxville if you’re in the East Tennessee area at 8655243074 siding Windows decking fencing whatever you need exterior Home Solutions will take care of you I am Bren hubs joined by Eric Kane the Tennessee baseball team is a top the college baseball World as the national champions Eric you started this year with this baseball team in Dallas Texas you’ve traveled all around the southeast to watch him play you finished with a 10-day stay uh in Omaha Nebraska at the College World Series sum up 60 wins in a national championship yeah I mean I think this team is uh just got a lot of grit to it I think this team um knew where it needed to make improvements and it went to work and it got better as the year went on um very unorthodox especially in the starting rotation but this team was unselfish this team wanted to win I mean go back I saw it circulating on Twitter today from the B Club Confidential with Austin yet you Blake ber talking about the the Home Run Record he said listen I mean that’s cool and all but I don’t care I trade all 42 home runs for a national champion ship and that type of Buy in from him and from Chris St that gets the ball taken out of his hands after eight pitches in the College World Series um just a team that’s very unselfish and a team that that just goes to work and and and tried to get better as the year went on and it did get better and seeing the evolution of some guys like Kirby canel um Aaron comes what he turned into Nate Sneed who could be a he could be a starter for this team all year long but they needed him in the role that he’s been in all year and he he was dominant he was you know five appearances in the College World Series um he was dominant in almost every single one except for maybe this one where he ran out of gas um unselfish hardworking and gritty I know that’s not one word but this is a team that was fun to be around and obviously a team that deserves every bit of Praise they’re getting right now they’re national champions well and Eric there’s so many sto and this is to be expected I mean you got what 30 players on a team 40 players on the roster whatever it is um there’s so many storylines on this team about guys who evolved as the season went along guys who played through slops we all know what Christian Moore’s about we know what Blake Burke is about but but Xander seest I’m G to start there there’s a there’s a bunch of used to go through so I’m just going to forewarn you but I’m G to start with Xander Crest I if AJ Russell doesn’t have the injury issues he has Xander sess is a midweek starter again and a middle reliever for Tennessee may maybe he gets the Sunday start and AJ Russell is the is the Friday night guy maybe that’s what it Bulls down to but but here’s what Xander Crest did for Tennessee in his last six starts as a as a Tennessee uni in a Tennessee uniform he clinched the SEC regular season title he sent the BS to thec Tournament final he won a Regional Title he won the Super Regional Title he sent the vault to the College World Series final series and then he won in his final start on Monday night to win Tennessee’s first ever National Championship in Tennessee baseball I’m not saying he’s the best story on this team but if he’s not number one or one a he’s one b or one C on this team he gave up five runs in 34 and two3 innings in those six starts I and no one saw that coming right Eric no no no no one saw that coming at all and if you want to break it down even to more specifics and and four NCAA postseason starts this year two here in Omaha he did 22 Innings and two3 seven runs only two of them were earned so again those five runs because nobody was playing defense behind him um 21 hits he gave up 19 strikeouts nobody would have guessed this and it’s no disrespect to him but it’s just always been his role that he’s been the guy that’s like all right we’re going to throw two three Innings on Tuesdays and then hand the ball off or when he did get those opportunities um in SEC play coming in in Middle relief or towards the end it didn’t go too well um the ball was flat a lot of the times you know in years past but Ball’s got a little bit of Wiggle too him and Kirby canel both I mean the ball’s got a little bit of Wiggle too it’s got more live to it now than it ever has in the past and you know he’s a guy that just went to work and continued working and I you know talked with Frank Anderson down there on the field and I asked him Point Blank what’s different about him right now and he said well a big portion of it is we’re just letting him go and it’s probably our fault for you know not letting him go and be who he is for so long then we finally just took the trading wheels off and look at him look at him run and then he said confidence has a lot to do with it as well when you’re pitching with confidence you’re like a whole different guy but um yeah I mean Christian Moore is a great story um so many stories on this team Dylan drling is a great story uh AJ cos’s a great story Xander secr might be the best one simply from where he was than what he meant for this team that now was out there celebrating on the field with all the confetti I mean he was phenomenal he was great tonight as well yeah he certainly was terrific in that final game for win number 60 for Tennessee to to win the national championship um for all the talk about the big bats and the big offense everybody wondered how that would translate into that Park but because it’s a it’s it’s a pitcher Park more than it’s a hitters park depending on what the the wind’s doing and obviously we saw the wind blowing in in in the final game um for for Tennessee to pitch the ball the way that they did um in Omaha how impressed Were You by that and how surprised are you by that when you think back to the fall baseball world series Dallas to start the year Alabama uh other trips that you saw Tennessee all the midweek games Home and Away how surprised or how impressed were you by what we saw out of beams two starts in Omaha and C Chris two starts and what Kirby Canal did and what comes did and what sne did um because this was not about big bats now they had timely hits and they had big hits don’t get me wrong but this was not a bunch of 12 10 ball games that Tennessee was playing which is what quite frankly most people around the country thought would have to happen if Tennessee was going to win right yeah and I mean that that first game against Florida State it was exactly what a lot of people thought it was going to be explosive offense a lot of runs a lot of hits not a whole lot of pitching maybe but then every other game since then was the complete opposite and again like you said timely hitting I mean what you know it took him forever but what Dylan drling and Cal Stark did in in game two of the finals was was was so impressive what Dylan drling did in all three of the games in the finals what cavor teers what Hunter Insley did in Omaha overall was really impressive at the plate um but you know the the story in my mind and I’m going to have to write about it at some point tonight or tomorrow the pitching is the story in my mind I mean uh you know Colmes huge huge spots and he was brilliant Sneed pitched in five games in five of the six games for Tennessee Nate sne appeared and Nate sne pitched and he was like I am so tired I am running out of gas but I mean he laid on the line for him I mean he was he was getting the final out and a couple of those all but this one I believe um so I wouldn’t say surprised I would just say super impressed um you know Stamos and AJ KY that duo did not have a good outing here at uh here in Omaha but really everybody else did I wasn’t surprised at all with Drew P despite um how he’s not looked as well in the last couple of outings because I’ve seen him do it here before I saw him pitch on a huge stage last year in postseason um and so what he did here which was really good and he’s had he’s he’s had three starts here and they’ve all been really good uh wasn’t wasn’t super surprising but as far as the field in that relation you know Tennessee had the number three best you know erra had third best ER in the nation entering postseason Play Everybody wants to talk about the baby ballpark at Lindsey Nelson Stadium well the the pitchers pitched there too and so I mean right I mean should we be talking about that as well so this staff probably just didn’t get enough credit all year long which is why if you follow it that’s why I asked you the question to your answer if you follow follow it every day it’s not a surprise right it’s not I mean nobody I’m not surprised I’m just impressed and um thought at some point you might have to need a Marcus Phillips a binky a ly and and they all made appearances here but I mean they just they just continue to go with their guys and what Kirby and comes and Sneed and all these guys gave you just super impressed hats off to those guys and I mean again Frank Anderson said this is not normally how it works but it’s really rewarding and I would go on to say it’s probably one of the more rewarding experien of his career um and it all worked out but he also did say and I you know I think this is fair it does help when you have a great offense because it does kind of balance out that um you know unorthodox role in the mound well and you also it also helps when you have a group of veterans a bunch of old dudes this is the closest thing you’ll see to A A doublea minor league baseball team that gets on a bus and rides for 17 hours and you know hangs out and you know I mean they were just a bunch of grown dudes who were playing for some coaches that they were just kind of their guys right like I mean they would all go hang out if if they could I mean this was a very different type team for Tony vatello that that it that clearly he liked this team and and that’s not a knock on any of the other teams it’s just they were so seasoned in so many spots that I think it was an easy team for Tony vatello to manage and deal with all season long and that experience showed up big time um when Tennessee was back their back was to the wall I mean look at the number of games they won in a rubber match of a series which was the case for the national championship yeah I mean it’s kind of fitting that he came down to that right I mean Tennessee I had the number I forgot but so many it was like the first you know four or five series of SEC play came down to a rubber match um and Tennessee found a way to win um and so I do think it’s fitting that it won you know that way I think it’s fitting that Tennessee is now 12-0 coming off losses on the year um which is awesome and it’s not like you said it is not that the team last year or 23 let’s talk 23 the team last year didn’t like each other I mean they were down there crying and hugging each other when they got out in the College World Series it meant something to them don’t get me wrong but so many times throughout the year the guys have just said man we just Jael we just came together um it was so much quicker than last year’s team cuz the last year’s team I think it took him a little while not to like the guy next to him but just kind of know how to play with one another and all that type of stuff that wasn’t the case of this year’s team I mean as soon as that team was formed and Chris thos is the last little piece of the puzzle there they just became a team and they had a really really good fall they had a fun time in the World Series then of course going to Dallas and all that and they’ve continued to grow and get better ever since so I’ve heard that all year long about how this team just loves each other and you’re right the way Tony vatello talks about this team you know the way he talks about Drew Drew Gilbert Andre lipus and Luke lipus he’s going to be talking about Simo and and Cal Stark and Aaron Colmes in three or four years I mean these guys I mean he’s cried a couple times in postgame so um yeah it’s a veteran group I mean you know having guys like Hunter rley and Cal Stark in that locker room and you know when you’re down against Florida state in the opener and you’re kind of saying oh what’s going on here when you just can’t push a run across whenever you’re trailing one- nothing in the College World Series elimination game having guys in that Dugout like Cal and Hunter rley and Blake Burke and Christian Moore been there done that played a lot of baseball just doesn’t phase them just doesn’t phase them at all CU I mean as they told us the other day you know you’re just one hit away and that was kind of the mantra for Tennessee in that game too and and a lot of times this year so I think a veteran team certainly helped and of course they won the whole thing yep and that two out hitting was clutch to they were terrific as a two- out hitting team um really the whole time in in in Omaha but but certainly was the case when you look at what happened happened to them um in the Sunday win and then the late runs that they got which were so important in this in this championship game because as Tony vatello said earlier in the weekend the ninth inning is going to be wild regardless of what the score is and the ninth inning was wild no one knew at the time of Hunter ensley’s slide that every kid’s G to try that’ll be some kid break his arm trying to mimic that slide by the way um at baseball practice here in the next couple couple of days so I I would tell every little league coach to be careful to to not try to do that that was one of the craziest plays that you seen but I mean that run was I mean that was the the difference in the game I mean that that run was pivotal and that’s a guy who felt like he had lost his way a little bit Eric in in the middle of the year who founded in a big time way the last month of the season and was and was really really good in the College World Series at the plate in the field and then obviously that’s the slide everybody’s going to remember for a long long time elander after the game was like thank God for Hunsley thank God for Hunsley he he bailed me out and I wanted to be like why’d you send him man but you know I was letting him have his fun but um yeah and again that’s a guy that you know couldn’t play The Outfield for a stretch here at Omaha because he ran through a damn wall making a catch and he hurt his hamstring um and then he’s he’s running around finding a way to score on that top play there’s a bug crawling on me or something I’m ready to come home um but uh I mean it just just a great play and look at this man um Hunter Insley ends the season if my stat sheets correct in front of me 296 is the average when I was down in Gainesville Florida after that double header where it was a really really rough day for him he went like over for you know one for seven over for seven five strikeouts whatever his average was at 238 that was the month of May you had the month of May and pretty much all of June here and that average is at 296 he’s H he’s sitting fifth in the order for the world the national champions Tennessee Volunteers and oh yeah he plays a mean defense which is why he’s always been in the lineup and why he was never going to come out so again another great story we continue to talk about is is Hunter Ensley and you’re right that run ended up being so critical um when you know initially you thought he was out by a mile by a mile he just found a way and luckily he did because I mean that was huge well and zer back to Xander SEC right quick as we get ready to wrap this thing up here um he gave you a great quote um for the story that we had on on Tony vatello pregame on Monday talking about how how vatello in the Tennessee fan base is the perfect marriage because they’re passion for each other I gotta get I Gotta Give Xander SEC a pretty good shout out for um for for his call for his joking call out to Danny White in the back of the room at the media deal about the lifetime contract for for Tony pretty pretty good move by Xander Crest and um I think he he spoke of The Passion of the Tennessee fans when he made that comment at the podium about his head baseball coach pretty clear how much this group of guys appreciate Tony vatello and then you just scroll through Twitter and it’s every former player that vitello’s had talking about those things I mean this is a true players coach dude I mean that’s just the bottom line with him you could be happier for Tony um you cover a team you’re around a guy every day day and and you know from my from my shoes I sit there and I watch and you know there’s certain things I need there’s certain things I got to ask and you know at first he’s a little annoyed and everything but I mean the more and more he sees how guys like me and you know some other guys on this beat who are awesome kind of cover this team it’s a nice give and take and and he’s been really really you know great to work with and I’m really happy for him because obviously he’s a great baseball coach but you just see it firsthand how much he cares and how much um stuff hurts him and how much um he just the love he has for his players and yeah he’s he’s absolutely a players coach and you know what I don’t even know what Xander said I was down there in the middle of it but it doesn’t surprise me I will say this since we’re on the subject and I think you know we’ve been on the board a lot today you know Tony vatello is not going absolutely anywhere so anybody who’s still having that bad VA syndrome after winning a national championship yeah Tony vatello is not going anywhere TR trust me on that and I I would expect some news you know maybe this week but certainly um he he’s he’s going to be taken care of and his assistants are going to be taken care of of and uh deserving and he can go back to the drawing board and say give me more money too because I just want a national championship as he should probably and now it’s about a celebration in Knoxville and then it’s to the transfer portal and it’s to the assembly of a new team that that it never stops the grind never never stops uh but but hopefully Tony vatello and and his coaching staff will at least soak this in a little bit because they’ve got a major overhaul coming for this baseball team and that’s something we’ll dive into in the coming weeks now’s not the time to dive into those things but we know the portal is active and we know Tennessee will be active in the portal but the activity for Tennessee right now is to continue their celebration a celebration of a national championship Eric Kane has covered it from start to finish all the way through he will continue to bring it for you and we’ll continue to have tons of coverage about this national championship for Tennessee baseball uh throughout the the rest of the days this week and and moving ahead with the roster turnover but certainly the celebration in Knoxville as well when we come back on the other side Austin Price will join me and we’re going to break down where things are in recruiting as we hit the Dead period here at the end of June so tons of baseball talk tons of recruiting talk what else are we going to talk about it’s the Tuesday volquest podcast presented by our good friends at exterior Home Solutions severe weather can strike at any time in East Tennessee and mother nature can do severe damage to the first and most important line of defense that you and your family have against mother nature and that is your root whenever she strikes make sure that you call the people that I call make sure you trust the people that I trust and that’s my friends at exterior Home Solutions because they’re more than friends they’re truly family again thanks to our good friends at exterior home solutions for their continued support of the volquest.com podcast two-minute drill Extra Innings everything that we’ve done uh they’ve just been fantastic partners for us and we appreciate that partnership and look forward to that continuing on as we roll through uh the 24 calendar year that’s our friends at exterior Home Solutions if you have uh Roofing needs anything for your Outdoors decking fencing whatever they can handle it at exterior homes solutions.com or you can give them a call at 8655243074 this is the end of the month of June rolling Into the Dead period um it’s decision-making time for a lot of people Tennessee has put themselves in in some good spots with a lot of people um I I think the easiest way probably to do this is we’ll just probably run through some things position by position you good with that does that that make sense I’m good it’s to to to use the emoji that I like to use a lot it’s a lot of this all right right so Le let’s start on offense okay and let’s start at the receiver position uh Tennessee had a couple of commits in for official visits at the receiver spot and um are in pretty good shape there when you look at it but trying to close that on that board so let’s start there with the receiver spot and I guess we’ll start with Travis Smith or unless you want to start with the committed players go ahead no I mean you know obviously tenness has got Joe Kim Dodson rarus Jackson committed I thought it was good since George couldn’t be here this weekend that you know those two guys were here to help recruit Travis Smith who to me is the the missing piece to the receiver room uh for this class uh tenness is also recruiting DJ Miller but Travis Smith had a fantastic time he said to announce on July 13th Georgia Alabama Tennessee kind of a three- team Race there I think Tennessee is is you know kind of the team to beat here again pay no attention to the RPM um you know but you know the Home State Bulldogs aren’t necessarily going away and Alabama has pulled themselves into this now Alabama is now the perceived favorite for Caleb Cunningham Chad Simmons and Steve wolong had that out there our good friends Tim Watts everybody at BO had have been all over Caleb Cunningham’s kind of um Ascension to being a a a possible you know um pick up for the Crimson Tide I think that affects a guy like Travis Smith because they’re still Rec khik Lockett they’re still recruiting drik Meadows a few other receivers so you know what does Alabama do there um you know I feel like Tennessee has has shown Travis Smith the most love I think that you know he really likes the offense here um again a few weeks before that July 13th announcement but he leaves uh campus if you watched our interview with him it’s hard to not like where Tennessee stands as we said here uh you know just three weeks into the month of June yeah good player um Great Frame I know George McIntyre spent some time talking with him at the on three Elite event and has talked to him some since as well Mike Matthews has spoken with him a bit about leaving Georgia um so we’ll see what happens with with that one as he goes through the decision-making process with with his parents uh him and his mom his mom told me uh that they would spend some time it’s his decision but she wants to help him make sure he’s looking at all the pros and cons and any questions he has she will help him answer but she will not advise him on where to go this is totally his decision on on where to go Athens is the closest from home from where they live in Atlanta tuscalo and Knoxville are about the same distance so there there’s no real Factor there so that’s where Tennessee stands at the receiver position you mentioned Miller um the kid from St Louis uh we’ll see what happens with that AP I don’t know that he’s got a time frame at this point in terms of making a decision he’s he seems to be I don’t want to say early in the process but he seems to be a little slower in the process in terms of of making a decision there so we’ll see what happens with with those two guys who were clearly the top two guys for Tennessee at that position rolling into July with Smith being their biggest priority let’s talk about the tight end position and where Tennessee stands there they will take one more tight end right and and if it’s the right one correct correct if it’s desan brain they’ll take one more if it’s not they’re not going to take a body because obviously they’re in you know pretty good shape with a couple of top tight ends uh you know in Carson Sneed and Kendry Harrison in the 2026 class so um you know no I if it’s to me it’s brain robust if you’re going to add a second otherwise Tennessee is thrilled to the Moon with Jack vandor Slayer they would just be you know they would be like thrilled to you know Mars I guess you know if they got Ved I mean you know I don’t think Tennessee you know envisioned being a real heavy Contender to get both but I think that tenness still very much in it with desan bra bra did not tell Oregon he was in this weekend um many thought have had him Peg for Oregon for a while even though he came out you know singing Tennessee’s Praises after last weekend I think a lot of people said well he’s going back to Oregon next weekend probably wrap it up sew it up then does not feel like that’s the case now that’s not to say he can’t end up there because I certainly feel like he can but at the same time I think that that he really liked Tennessee his family was very comfortable in Knoxville and Tennessee is still very much in there is I think it is really coin flip type recruitment we’ll see if he can come to a decision before um before you know the 29th which is when he set to announce if he doesn’t he has told me I won’t hesitate to push it back if I can’t come to a complete decision where I have Clarity and I think right now he kind of goes back and forth one day it’s Tennessee the next day it’s Oran I think Oklahoma is the third team in this but I don’t think that they’re a heavy player I think it’s really Oregon of the balls and I think he’s really torn so he’s got to come up with a decision sometime between now and the 29th or as he told me I will not hesitate to push it back but his girlfriend’s coming to Tennessee AP right this is correct this is correct she’s lady balls well it’s a defin I mean it’s definitely a dynamic you know and I mean you can’t say it’s not now he I’m sure he would downplay that and say I’ve got to do what’s best for me and he does but you know it also doesn’t hurt Tennessee’s chances either like you know if anything it’s a positive but you know we’ll see we’ll see kind of where this thing goes but as right now I totally would tell you it’s a coin flip as we said here on Tuesday morning all right let’s talk about the running back position where does Tennessee stand there with Mills Knight and and some other factors in there at the running back position as derell Sims looks to um solidify that in this class what’s the numbers roughly I know everything’s fluid but where do you think they are at that position well they would they would love to add one more um this whole time they’ve been big back big back big back and shag Mills KN would be that big back um but Tennessee’s continued to recruit um Usman chroma uh you know they continued or they’ve started to pick back things up with uh Dewan Morris at Murphy’s Boro Oakland who is not a big back but he is a playmaker so again we’ll see what happens with Shai Mills Knight he was on the M Miss visit this past weekend um you know I think that one you know that that one to me is olus Tennessee maybe Miami but I really think it’s Miss or Tennessee in the end of the at the end of the day one of those two schools um will land Shaky’s night and uh you know I think you’ll see him work the next few weeks to try to figure out what he wants to do and come up with a decision yeah Michigan tried to get in there late but I just they could not work out a time for him to visit Michigan before the Dead period doesn’t look like the Wolverines uh will be a factor there but um we we’ll see what happens with that one the kid from Oakland maybe the end of July he might slip back on campus if Tennessee there is that’s what you had in the war room right yeah correct he was uh at USC this weekend he’s committed to Southern Cal um that’s been a long way from home and I know it’s easy to go man I love it out there you know but you know it’s a lot harder for Mom and Dad and everybody to get out there I just I think at the end of the day he heads back closer to home whether that’s Auburn we’ll see if Tennessee actually you know continues to go there they’ve obviously you know talked to him they’d love to get him on campus at the end of July and see what happens but this kid is a playmaker he’s going to run for a million yards at Oakland this year for Kevin crey kid is dynamic with the ball in his hands and is is a uh just just very very you know skill set driven um and a kid that just knows how to to you know shine bright on the biggest stage yeah so we’ll see what happens there all right on the offensive line Tennessee gets a commit but everybody is on David Sanders watch what does it mean will Fong’s talking about o Ohio State everybody’s trying to figure out exactly what’s going on with with David S ERS start wherever you want to I know I know with with with u that mean that’s that’s a that’s a solid inside get for Tennessee talk about that and roll on wherever you want to with David Sanders and whoever else well we we said The warm a few weeks ago that Tennessee you know when they looked at the makeup of their offensive line they really needed to kind of remake the interior because they lose so many guys after this year to have you know Anthony ogoro to have Douglas utu to have Nick Moore that’s one Center two guards um that you know Tennessee just is in love with they they are to the moon now if you could add jacobe Ward to me that’s the cherry on top big broad shouldered Guard from down in south Georgia um U2 is someone that you know Tennessee really targeted early on they impressed um you know a kid that uh you know is you know kind of got that mean nasty disposition on the football field that’s a well put together 64 310 15 pound guy I mean there’s it’s correct that’s not an ugly three to 315 for for a kid age no and those PES man they they make great offensive lineman you know he is a Tongan um so you got kind of different levels for Polynesian right so you got Tongans you got Polynesians kind of and of course you got you know ogura who’s Micron so we’re hitting all the islands hubs we are Tennessee is Tennessee is scouring the globe this is no longer just you know nationally recruiting we are internationally recruiting there was a kid from France that camp to Tennessee on on on Sunday you know hey I may be going to to to Disneyland Paris here before too long to do come with videos um I’m joking but uh you know Tennessee obviously now focuses on the tackles David Sanders one Juan Gaston two Josh Patty obviously is still right there but you know as I said on the board um on on Monday you know there’s different levels to this right and so David Sanders is is the guy you’re right will Fong put in kind of just like you know where if you were picking today who are you leaning towards he said I go back and forth could go either way which means he’s just putting a guess out there I know everybody loves and and Steve does a fantastic job he’s the best right him and Chad or you know 1 a1b whatever you want to call it those guys when they speak people listen but this isn’t an RPM pick or an old crystal ball for Steve when he was at 247 this is just kind of like this is kind of where I think it’s at I’m not really sure but I would lean this way but again it doesn’t know for sure the kid did not commit to Ohio stayed on his visit I talked to multiple people that never happened the kids that went to Ohio State on that visit felt like David was coming there but guess what the kids that visited Tennessee the weekend that David came to Tennessee thought he was coming to Tennessee so that means the kids’s got a good Poker Face we’ll see where this thing goes he told me commitment date first week of school is when he’ like to do it in front of his classmates in August now when I left the complex here a week and a half ago I said are you still with that and he said as of now but he goes let’s get through next weekend which was the Ohio State visit and then we’ll see if I bump it up I think he’s gonna bump it up I don’t think he’s gonna commit next week I think sometime in July though I just don’t know if this thing gets all the way to Mid August I I think the family wants to take their time they’ve got a process they want to go through it but once they know I don’t think they’re going to be people that drag it out so um David Sanders’s Mom and Dad they have handled these this thing like a pro they’ve had their plan they’ve stuck to their plan so if if they truly stick to their commitment plan you are looking at Mid August but I think they’re definitely sticking to the plan of we’re going to shut things down we’re going to talk about it as a family we’re gonna make a family decision grandma grandpa everybody’s been along with for this ride I’m not saying that they all have a say but they all have we have opinions that kind of work towards kind of the decision-making process so David Sanders again I think this thing’s totally still up in the air I would still take Tennessee if it were me but I understand what Steve’s saying I’ve always said Ohio State’s a real player there I do think this is a two- team Race I do that I Alabama was out when he didn’t take the visit I don’t think he’s going to Georgia and I don’t think he’s going to Clemson to me it’s either the vs for the Buckeyes yeah and and it’s going to be interesting to see kind of where he is coming off of the the visit high once that settles down right that’s what we’re always looking at is where do things stand 72 hours and Beyond after you get through through with the official visit and and all those things and now that he doesn’t have another visit to take and talking to his mom they’re going to breathe for a little bit here I mean this is not they’re they’re not going to sit at the kitchen table you know tonight and and start hammering out you know where where they’re going to go I think they’re just going to kind of let it breathe catch their breath it has been a whirlwind month for them uh for all that they have going on with the on3 elite event they went to the the visits they’ve taken the unofficial visits they’ve taken they have not been home very much and they have had very little kind of family private time so they’re they’re going to take their time on this deal and just kind of walk away from it for a few days before they come back around to it and really start going into that decision-making process at least that’s what his mom indicated to me um when we talked when they were leaving the you know the Tennessee visit there I know Tennessee’s done at the quarterback position with George McIntyre obviously but hold before we go yeah what do want to say like ju G to me is is the total unicorn in the steel hubs okay X Factor because the kid doesn’t talk a whole lot like if ever lots of assumptions going on with Juan don’t a lot of assumptions and I can tell you if you assume with one gas then you get burned so like yeah he may end up at Georgia that’s the closest team he grew up being a big fan of Oregon he loved all the color changing and all the the the fancy uniforms but it’s a long way to go go when he’s such a close niit kid to his family to his mom like that that one I struggle with but I will say this when you live in Atlanta and you’re a major Hub it’s a lot easier to get to an Oregon than if you live you know where you’ve got to connect in Atlanta right if you live in you know Alcoa and you’re going from Alcoa you fly Knoxville to Atlanta Atlanta Portland and drive down either way like it’s just not easy to get to a little easier there um but I still think it’s Georgia or Tennesseee I just I’ll believe that kid’s at Oregon when I see him at Oregon so I think it’s Tennessee or Georgia either way I do think that this one is who knows to me it’s the total X Factor unicorn type recruitment yeah and I think it’s easier to say I’ll believe he’s not at Georgia when he’s not at Georgia and that’s not fair to say Austin but you say that because the Assumption has been Georgia for forever right that was just everybody’s just assumed that that one was going to be Georgia even though he’s made multiple trips to Tennessee seen other places but everybody’s just assumed Georgia there his teammate Travis Smith all the Georgia people assumed it was Georgia there too until they realized wait a minute Tennessee’s actually in this thing I mean Matt Ray went and saw Travis Smith you know 11 12 days ago down in at the Georgia Tech 7 on S camp for Westlake and multiple Georgia reporters said what are you doing here M I’m here to see Travis Smith oh he’s going to Georgia he’s locked to Georgia then they walked over and talked to Travis Smith and they said wow that’s a lot closer than I thought it was um so like you know like point is is like you just never assume like could he easily end up at Georgia absolutely you know um and it would make sense right Georgia’s right now I mean they could have easily won three national titles in a row they just picked the wrong week to lose last year um and so I mean and Kirby Smart and them pulling kids from that state but if you go back and look at the rankings the last few years they also know there’s so many kids in Georgia you can’t get them all so um you know we’ll see with with onean to me again to me he’s the ctal like no one knows what that kid’s truly gonna do Juan knows Juan’s Mama might know but I don’t believe other schools do yeah I agree with that all right quickly on quarterback Tennessee’s done at that position in the class of 25 uh with George McIntyre but the the best the best player in the class of 26 is talking about a commitment date AP yeah B on going to bump things up to August it looks like and if that’s the case obviously everybody’s going go well Tennessee got the prediction Chris Steve put the Fong bomb in for tenness he’s taken some visits since then he’s went to camp at Florida State he’s went to camp at Alabama and LSU we’ll see um Tennessee’s had the long longest kind of running best you know kind of intertwined relationship with fison and his family it would make a ton of sense if they’re the pick here I I don’t see him going to the to the ACC I don’t see Florida State um I could see LSU um maybe even Alabama um but again the kid’s been so into everything vs he’s taken so many trips here I think it’s a good sign if you’re Tennessee if he bumps things up to August but again I need to talk to Faison again to kind of get a feel for that one but as we said here you know the 20 21st 20 whatever today what is today 2 got I’m way too long I’m missing days at this point um you know it feels like Tennessee is in a good spot y some people feel like the month of June is 47 days long instead of 30 days long others feels like it goes really really quickly it just depends on how it goes for you in in the in the world of recruiting in the month of June all right let’s flip it over to the defensive side of the ball and we’ll we’ll run defensive line here uh quickly obviously Tennessee gets the commitment from Charles house um there they theyve got they had the die kit in this weekend as an edge guy um some names out there some bodies out there where do you think that board is where do you think they are on the defensive line as you hit the Dead period here well Tennessee obviously would love Dad Bryce Donovan Jenkins big defensive in this weekend yeah it was in this past weekend out of Washington DC Marion died they loved to out him that’s a you know you gota watch Purdue there the home state boiler makers are you know they they’ve got some in money to spend they want to keep that kid in state and so that’s one you have to watch um obviously when you look at Tennessee or Ohio State and Purdue one of them sticks out as it doesn’t belong from a traditional football standpoint I get if you’re a Purdue fan T they beat Tennessee in the Music City Bowl that’s a game but like when you look at the tradition of of length Tennessee is not the same category as Purdue uh you know so like if he’s going to Purdue it’s because they’ve went all in to try to keep the kid in state Tennessee and Ohio State make the most sense here um you know but again a lot of depend on what he and and his family decide to do um but yeah that’s a three- team Race there for Mar on die he really likes coach chop he likes Tennessee a lot and had a really good time this past weekend all right so Isaiah Gibson was not here he was been a southern cow commit decommitted from there that surprised no one when he decommitted from Southern Cal went back to Georgia for an unofficial visit to close out the month of June smells like Bulldogs AP yeah yeah I mean when you start looking at kind of how the map goes and the Georgia fans they got mad because I said he went to see if Georgia would up their offer hey man guess what it’s a business everybody get everybody’s gonna shoot their shot sure and so like if you don’t think kids are shooting their shot with Georgia and you think everybody’s going just because they love the G then you’re wrong so like understand like the kids are going to ask doesn’t mean Georg is gonna say yes but they’re certainly gonna ask and so you know with Isaiah Gibson it feels like Georgia is going to be the pick there um you know Tennessee showed well but ultimately like the kids from Georgia they’re producing a ton of players and putting them in the NFL um at at a really high rate and so no one’s going to Blink an eye if the kid from you know Warner Robbins you know rolls over to Athens and and certainly it feels like they’ve got the most momentum here um as we said here on the 25th day of June so with Isaiah Gibson yeah so you got you got Donovan Jenkins and you got you got die anybody else that you’re closely monitoring for a July decision uh at the defensive line position not for July Damen Shanklin will do something in August he visited Tennessee last weekend this past weekend he was at Alabama that one’s got you know several twists and turns I’d say left in it um but yeah August is uh kind of where that thing’s headed for and we’ll see if Tennessee can continue to be a player with Damen Shanklin um on the defensive line all right moving to linebacker that’s been the position that maybe’s been the hardest to get a field for right because William in is a late arrival he comes from the West Coast he’s got some guys on the west coast that he’s been recruiting can he get them interested in the South get them interested in Tennessee then you got a couple of Georgia kids popping up on the radar screen at the linebacker spot that’s the hardest position to set a board at so I’m gonna put you on the spot here and say Hey try to set a board at the linebacker spot as we close out June well you know Jaden parot feels like that one’s still on flip watch to me um you know he went back to Georgia this past weekend but you know Rusty you know if you saw his uh his ramblings on Monday Monday morning you saw um Rusty Manzel you saw that you know he feels like that that one’s still trending away not to say that you know the kid can’t still end up there but it certainly feels like you know the kid you know will indeed flip and Tennessee would be the the main target to to get the flip um again pay no attention to the RPM um and then um you know the other one to watch would be Christian gas who you know got a prediction to Missouri on Sunday but I felt like leaving the visit that that’s a Tennessee Georgia battle for Christian gas who can play inside or outside six2 and a half 220 pounds um and and so that one’s one to watch you know over the next few weeks because you know Tennessee I thought made a move there they’re in they’re a definite Contender for Christian gas um you know who’s out of Covington Georgia Abdul Sanders visited here two weeks ago was Alabama this past week the Alabama commit that one feels like he’ll stick with Alabama um but yeah the linebacker position much more difficult to kind of maneuver around as we said here in in late June and then of course the secondary hubs you know Tennessee you know you know will you know be looking for Trey potit um to to make a decision here in the not so distant future um should be later today and Tennessee seems to be trending there um you know Onis Conan Bonnie loved everything about the Tennessee visit we’ll see when he does something I think the sooner the better for Tennessee though if if he doesn’t announce for a while I think that it allows other teams to creep back in for the Canadian kid who plays over in South Carolina yeah he’s talking about maybe August doing something is that well he said August but he also told Matt Ray and when he left you know Camp say if I get home in a couple days and I just want to do it I may just do it so you know again could be sooner the better yeah could be could be anytime with that coming off the visit there as Willie Martinez has recruited him and then I guess we got to close it out in the secondary with Shady Hayward right unless I’m missing somebody else and um and Shady has has had Tennessee out in front then everybody was kind of out in front at different times in the month of June Tennessee gets the last visit feels like they leave with some momentum but I I thought you said it best on the board when you gave some Sunday night thoughts after the weekend visit that one just feels like it’s got a turn a Twist and and a whole bunch of those between now and and whenever he’s going to announce on his birthday dat I guess it is in Late July for for the toms County uh standout prospect there yeah I don’t know you know because I I because I think he’s treding to he’s tried to throw people off again he said Tennessee LED for so long that I think he looked up and said no there’s not really gonna be any suspense if I picked Tennessee everybody’s gonna go yeah you said that for months so like I think he’s tried to throw some people off but in turn by doing that like you you’ve you you’ve inserted some twists and turns and so like Georgia know they they’re staying in contact with Shady so I’m not going to Discount the Bulldogs again pay no attention to the RPM you know and when I say that I mean like you know because some of the percentages are just wrong um not that Georgia can’t be the pick because they can um but like 65.2% no um you know I don’t think he’s go to Florida and I don’t think he’s g go to South Carolina like I think the only team that would be able to upset Tennessee here would be Georgia and we’ll see if that happens again not going to commit till his birthday on July 27th so for all those teams for Tennessee they’ve got to continue to recruit him right now like it you know all the way through July 27th like it was June 4th so it it will be another month of fun for those coaches that are recruiting Shady Hayward and while you’re doing that on vacation right because you’re supposed to get a vacation during the de during the Dead period which you know doesn’t really exist obviously so um we’ll see I I I just wanted to take this part of the podcast and and I thought the easiest thing for us to do AP was just run down the run down the board I mean we talked about this I guess Sunday when we were hanging out and and watching camp or whatever putting recruiting classes together are interesting because there’s moments and times where it’s like you this is your your analogy and I think it’s the best thing You’ said so it’s like you feel like your team’s never gonna get anybody right because you look up and some other schools are getting people and it’s like you know that you can’t recruit anybody and you can’t put you you’re not going to do anybody are you even going to fill out a class right and then you hit a w then you hit a window where it’s like well they’re getting everybody they lead for everybody and the reality is it ends up being somewhere in the middle of that um Tennessee was in a position a year ago where we thought July was going to be a big b a big boond right a bunch of bunch of noise they didn’t make a ton of noise there they’re poised to be in a position that it feels like they’re going to make noise this July again as well it’s all about how they close um do you feel like they’re in a little better shape than they were last year or do you feel like it’s just it’s all about being able to close you you know we’re just have to wait and see well I know everybody’s gonna read into this so I’m trying to be I know it’s a back smart with my words I don’t I’m not gonna cause a panic and say that it’s I think you just have to take it day by day I mean like like it’s easy to think right now Tennessee is in a good spot with Travis Smith but who knows what happens between now and July 30 like you know what I’m saying like that’s the problem if you’re if you’re if you’re Tennessee or any school when a kid’s got a date that’s 3 four weeks out is so much can happen one phone call can happen so like again me Rusty Manzel Tim Watts will Fong Chad whoever can have a recruit or a recruitment dead to wrs you can have it Lock Stock and Barrel 100% until you don’t and that’s and that’s the thing is like one phone call can flip everything and you can be wrong so again one day at a time you feel good about where Tennessee’s at with several of these players you know that they’re probably fighting an uphill battle with a few more um but you know in the end the one thing may be in good shape with they may miss out on because of a phone call and ones that they’re trailing on they may get because of a phone call so you just never know kind of how this next month is going to play out and you just kind of have to let it roll one day at a time yep and we’ll see I mean perer recruit is going to be big over the course of the next month and because as a coach you’re trying to find that balance right give them space but don’t don’t feel like you’re ignoring them but don’t overwork them don’t call them too much I mean there’s a lot of interesting plays to make here over the next few weeks as uh guys get ready to make their July decisions for whatever date they have maybe it’s a birthday Grandma’s birthday mom’s birthday or just a random day that they picked out of the air or maybe they bump it up you know you you think you’re playing it one way and then all of a sudden it’s a it’s a decision two weeks earlier than you expected or a guy bumps it back by month that’s the thing and that’s why you have to take it day by day and we’re going to cover it for you day by day hour by hour uh Matt and Austin are unbelievable at what they do um if you if you well we’ll see how July happens they’ll be telling me I suck and Matt sucks by the time we get to the end of the July don’t go way even though I said David Sanders can absolutely go to Ohio State now again as we said here I’m I I would take Tennessee right now right now now key words right now yeah and that’s that’s the world we’re playing in right now I mean that’s the difference it’s that’s everybody says what’s different about recruiting now June’s the new January the difference is when it was the old January and you got to the end of the month you had three days and stuff was everything was done now you get to the end of June and it’s still five months before anybody signs and all kinds of things can happen out there still that the the pressure is different in terms of this very few kids decommit anymore so once you get a man in July and August you feel pretty good feel really good about it now July 27th it’s a long time here’s the thing that people got to remember too like when kids go on official visits and I don’t mean just to Tennessee I mean anywhere like they do physicals they have to interact with others and so all of a sudden you have an incident or you know a kid Medicals poorly or whatever and that changes how a school looks at a kid so like you know again like different factors weigh you know kind of how these recruitments go like a school can be all in on a player and then he gets on his official visit and is you know trying to fight somebody and none of that stuff’s happened so don’t make make mistake but I’m saying like it’s happened around the country at different places at different times in life so like things happen because you can be all in on a kid and everybody goes what happened I mean we wanted that guy and all of a sudden we don’t want him anymore because things happen to change things you know and they happen now even more with nil and what kids ask for in nil and and and it’s not just as simple as money they’re wanting this and that you know again because kids shoot their shot and I’m never going to blame a kid you ask you ask and listen I’ve got on a lot of high-end golf courses because I asked I asked the question sometimes I’ve been told no sometimes I’ve been told yes but I asked and that kid should ask go for it doesn’t hurt yeah and we’ll see what happens with some of those things and the variables that creep up here uh in the coming days and months as this class gets assembled and uh the the decision month that is July comes to fruition here in another week or so that’s going to do it for this edition of the volquest.com podcast presented by our good friends at exterior Home Solutions he is Austin Price follow him follow Matt Ray for all the latest and recruiting and keep it locked in at volquest.com have a great rest of your Tuesday everybody