University of Tennessee Athletics
Inside The T Mailbag: All SEC
December 11, 2014 | General
Each week, UTSports.com's Brian Rice answers questions from Vol fans on a variety of topics in and around Tennessee athletics. Send yours to him on Twitter: @briancrice or to UTSportsMailbag@gmail.com. On to this week's mailbag:
Dale: How in the world was Barnett not First Team All-SEC?
It's tough for a freshman to break through to the first team, although the year Barnett put together is hard to argue with.
The freshman from Nashville was named Second Team All-SEC by both the Associated Press and the SEC coaches and added All-Freshman honors on Thursday.
Barnett led all freshmen in the SEC with 20.5 TFLs, which ranks fourth nationally among all players. He also posted 10.0 sacks, second in the SEC among freshmen and tied for 13th nationally among all players. Barnett set Tennessee records for most TFLs and sacks by a freshman, more than doubling both records. Barnett also led all true freshmen in the SEC in tackles with 69, the third-most by a Tennessee true freshmen in history. Barnett had 18.0 TFLs in SEC games, the most of any player in the league.
The future is definitely bright on the defensive line, and I'd be willing to bet that these were not Barnett's last SEC honors.
Eric: I've sent in a recruiting question every week, but you never answer me, why don't I make the cut?
Glad you asked. Because we are the official website of UT, we're not allowed under NCAA rules to mention the names of any prospective student-athletes in any sport. Because I know I can't talk about it, even when asked, I really don't keep up with recruiting at all until right around signing day.
Jim: Has there been a thought about having a UT Sports Hall of Fame building with artifacts, memorabilia or exhibits?
It has been discussed, but space and funding have been an issue. There was a football hall of fame area with the history of the program and some memorabilia at the old front entrance of the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex.
When the Brenda Lawson Center was constructed, the plan was to have a new, expanded hall of fame just off of the lobby, but the funding never materialized. Now, that space, as well as the old hall of fame, have been converted to studio space as part of the Ray and Lucy Hand Digital Studio. The old hall of fame is now the set for coaches' shows and the green screen. The main control room and more studio space is now in the space planned for the newer hall of fame.
There is an exhibit hall with the history of the programs and memorabilia in the lobby of Thompson-Boling Arena. Future expansion of UT athletics buildings may allow for more hall of fame space.
Steven: Of the bowl games sponsored by chicken restaurants, which is the best?
It's a good year to be a chicken place. Popeye's has the new Bahamas Bowl. Zaxby's is now the sponsor of the Heart of Dallas Bowl, Buffalo Wild Wings moved its sponsorship from one of the Arizona bowls to the Citrus Bowl and Chick-fil-A continues as the longtime sponsor of the Peach Bowl.
Foster Farms, which has a bowl in California doesn't count because they only make chicken. Ok, they don't "make" chicken but they, uh, process it and send it to restaurants and stores. So bless them, but they're not in my rankings.
As far as the best, there are several ways this can go. The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is a playoff game, so it's obviously the most prestigious. The SEC has ties to the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, so I should probably answer that. But two teams get to go to the Bahamas for the Popeye's Bahamas Bowl, that's tough to compete with.
If you rank them on food, BWW is a sit-down place, so they're in a different category to a certain extent. CFA is my favorite fast food place in history, so I'm giving the Peach Bowl my award all around.
Zaxby's, Popeye's and Chick-fil-A have the market cornered on fast food chicken bowls. Your move, Bojangle's.
Brad: Who is the home team for Bowl Game?
Tennessee has been designed as the home team. Look for us to wear the traditional orange jerseys and white pants, although I would love to wear all-orange.
Kevin: Pick a Holiday Song for all of the UT teams
I don't know that I'm creative enough to come up with one for every team, but here's my best shot at it:
Football - Joy to the World. We're bowl-eligible for the first time since 2010 and I get to spend a week in Florida.
Women's Basketball - Let it Snow, but only because they're in New York this week getting ready to play Rutgers in New Jersey Sunday.
Men's Basketball - All I Want For Christmas is You. The dance team has done a routine to this song at basketball games since I was in college. As Martha Stewart would say, I cherish it.
Softball and Women's Tennis - Baby it's Cold Outside. Our two sports led by married co-head coaches, just because the image of Ralph and Karen and Mike and Sonia singing this most ridiculous of all holiday songs amuses me.
Golf - Blue Christmas. It's too cold to play right now. Although I have a friend that plays every year with his family on December 22nd, regardless of the weather. I love golf, but not that much.
Rowing - Jingle Bells, because a sleigh is like a boat on land, right?
Track - Run Rudolph Run. I mean, this one's easy.
