Vols-UAB preview, hoops recap, etc.

GoVols247’s full staff — Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown, Ryan Callahan and Grant Ramey — convened at Fort Rucker Studio and then Thompson-Boling Arena to discuss plenty of Tennessee football and basketball topics heading into a big period for both programs.The first two segments of this episode are focused on football, with Wes, Patrick and Ryan convening in Fort Rucker Studio to discuss Jeremy Pruitt’s rapidly improving Vols. The first segment is a preview of Saturday’s game against better-than-you-think UAB and how concerned the Vols should be heading into a matchup with the 6-1 Blazers. It also features an update on Tennessee’s situation at quarterback — where two of the team’s three scholarship players have recently suffered injuries — and some injury updates on key players on both lines of scrimmage.Answers to questions from GoVols247 subscribers on The CheckerBoard is usually the third segment on the Thursday morning podcast, but a tweak to the schedule bumped that up to the second segment this week. As always, there were some interesting questions from members of the best online community of Vols fans on Planet Earth.The third and final segment of this episode was recorded courtside at Thompson-Boling early Thursday morning, with Wes and Grant breaking down the good, the bad and the in-between from Tennessee’s 107-59 win over Eastern New Mexico on Wednesday night. The game ended at approximately 9 p.m. Eastern, but after postgame interviews with coaches and players, writing stories, shooting and editing video and editing photos, Wes and Grant waited a few minutes after the final out of Game Seven of the World Series to regather courtside and discuss the game we’d just covered.Was there some good on display Wednesday night? Sure. Was there some head-scratchers on display? Sure. Does all of this look incomplete without the presence of Uros Plavsic, who’s awaiting word from the NCAA regarding his eligibility status for this season? Sure.Bottom line: There was more good than bad, but some of the bad might have been a sign of things to come early this season. And the Vols don’t wait long before stepping up and playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules.An injury to Knoxville native Drew Pember — a freshman big man for these Vols — put a sour ending on an otherwise solid exhibition finale, but we’ll see how long he’ll have to stay on the shelf. Tennessee’s staff was treating him well into the night after that win.Regardless, there’s plenty of hoops to discuss, and discuss we did.This week’s first GoVols247 Podcast episode — an episode featuring a recap of Tennessee’s win over South Carolina and some hoops discussion — can be found HERE.The next GoVols247 Podcast episode will be released Monday morning, unless breaking news occurs before that point.