Randy Smith
In the past six months or so, we've heard a lot about "fake news", "false reporting", and "alternative facts". Most of it comes from the White House and the President, but you could say that some of it could come in the latest college football news. For instance, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones is said to have one of the hottest seats in the country. Yet, when the Vols fan base was polled by scout.com and saturdaydownsouth.com Jones' approval rating was excellent. A full 86 percent of those polled.
either approved or strongly approved of the job Jones is doing. Fewer than 14 percent either disapproved or strongly disapproved of his work. President Trump wishes he had those approval numbers.
Something doesn't fit here. Perhaps it's the fact that Jones is putting together another top five recruiting class for 2018. The Vols' 2018 class is currently rated fifth nationally and second in the SEC. Tennessee is picked to finish in the top three of the SEC East for this fall, yet we keep hearing that unless Tennessee goes at least 9-4 again, Jones will be fired. That's where the "fake news" or "alternative facts" come in to play. No one really knows for sure. Jones has the support of the U.T. administration, including new Athletic Director John Currie. He also has the support of former coach Phillip Fulmer, who was hired a few days ago as an advisor for U.T. President Joe DiPietro.
Here are some real facts to consider. In four years, Butch Jones has turned the Volunteer football program around. From going 2-14 in the SEC the two seasons before he came to Tennessee, to back to back 9-4 seasons and back to back top 25 rankings for the first time in more than a decade. Jones has his work cut out replacing several players who either graduated of left early for the NFL, but that's where his great recruiting over the past four seasons comes in. He has recruited very well, and in most cases it's just plugging in a new talented player where the old talented player was.
I've written before about how important the opening game with Georgia Tech is to the entire Tennessee season. By playing in the always tough Southeastern Conference, the Vols can count on a couple of sure defeats every season. In 2017, Alabama is one while the other few will come from Georgia, Florida, and LSU. Tennessee really needs to beat a couple of those teams and not lose to South Carolina and Vandy again as they did in 2017. So you see how big the opener with the Yellow Jackets is.
It's time for the Vols to start winning a few of those games they really shouldn't win. If they can do that, plus avoid losing to teams they shouldn't lose to, that will be when the Vols put together that 10-2 or even an 11-1 season. That isn't "fake news" it's speculation. I do know this; the Vols are getting really close to having a team all their fans can be proud of. A team that wins the SEC Championship and competes for a national crown. That too isn't "fake news" either. Maybe some of our politicians are correct in saying it's the media's fault. Trying to write something or report something each and every day is really tough to do. But I will stand by my claim that Tennessee really needs to win on September 4th against Georgia Tech, and that is certainly not an alternative fact.
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for 30 years. He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga television for more than a quarter-century. In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith. They have five grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, Mattingly, DellaMae, and CoraLee.