Tennessee Vols: A Holiday Wish List for UT Fans

Oct 15, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans leaving during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Volunteers fans currently have mixed emotions about their program. Here is a Christmas wish list that the Tennessee Vols should have for Santa Claus.

It’s Christmas Eve, and Tennessee Vols fans feel like the 2016 football season was a lump of coal in its entirety. The worst part is it looked like Santa Claus was playing favorites early on into their 5-0 start.

Meanwhile, the state of men’s and women’s basketball is up in the air, as anything could happen going into conference play.

Now, with the holidays in full swing, Vols fans are concerned about the state of their sports programs. And there are lots of things they’d like to see happen for that to improve.

Some of these hopes are unrealistic, but they would still be great to see.

A few others are nearly a necessity.

All of them would be great for the program.

And now, like it is for every team and ever person around the world, this is the time of year to hope for things that you may or may not be able to attain.

Most of these wishes are legitimate expectations among Vols fans though. And they are all certainly more than possible. Perhaps Rocky Top could get a bit of a break this year.

Everybody just has to hope Santa is nice and caring this year. After all, he has teased Tennessee fans for far too long. And they keep hitting December with disappointing gifts. Maybe this year will change.

Here is the holiday wish list for the Tennessee Vols.

Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers mascot carries the flag through the fans during Vol Walk prior to the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

10. David Blackburn hired as Athletic Director

This might be higher on other fans’ wish list, but the athletic director is only important for the goal of facilitating success in play.

Still, there has never been a more obvious choice for an athletic director than David Blackburn taking over the Tennessee Vols.

With Dave Hart retiring, Tennessee could not be luckier to have the perfect guy fall into its lap.

His resume with the school already speaks for itself considering the fact that he spent over 20 years in Knoxville. But then you add in his track record as an athletic director at UT Chattanooga, and he could not be a more obvious choice.

He oversaw that school win the Southern Conference in football, basketball, and women’s basketball last year. He has directly turned around all three programs, and the Mocs won the Southern Conference Championship once again this year.

And his coaching hires are the reason for that. He brought in Will Wade for men’s basketball, and when Wade left for VCU, he replaced him with Matt McCall, who is only doing better. On the women’s side, he turned around the program by hiring Jim Foster. Blackburn just hired Tom Arth to take over the football program as well.

With that resume, he is the best choice in the country to become an athletic director at a major school, and the Tennessee Vols have him right in their backyard. So they need to go out and grab him in a hurry.

Dec 11, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers guard Jordan Reynolds (0) and Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick speak during a time out in the second half against Texas Longhorns at Frank Erwin Center. Mandatory Credit: Sean Pokorny-USA TODAY Sports

9. Lady Vols Dominate SEC Play

This is wishful thinking of the highest order, but Tennessee Vols fans are tired of seeing their program struggle with Holly Warlick at the helm.

Unfortunately, despite some very talented players, Warlick’s lack of recruiting cost her this year, and the Lady Vols can only go seven-deep. As a result, they continue to struggle in full games against top teams.

However, they found a formula for success against the Stanford Cardinal by slowing it down and playing there game.

And if Mercedes Russell dominates and plays physical on the inside while the guards give her a proper amount of help on the outside, including more consistent shooting, they could go on a run.

This team is not deep enough to win a national title. But they should have enough talent to remain at the high level Tennessee Vols fans are accustomed to seeing this program play at.

There is no reason they can’t be at a minimum the No. 2 team in the SEC and get a Top 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Then, if they make a great run, it sets the stage for a great year to follow considering almost everybody is back and what Holly Warlick has done for next year.

That brings us to our next point on the Tennessee Vols holiday wish list.

Jan 6, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick reacts during the second quarter against the Florida Gators at Thompson-Boling Arena. Florida won 74 to 66. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

8. Lady Vols Maintain their No. 1 Recruiting Class

Since a national championship is out of the picture for the Lady Vols this year, keeping that No. 1 recruiting class is higher on our Tennessee Vols holiday wish list.

Right now, Holly Warlick has hit the jackpot with three Top 12 prospects in 2017, including the No. 2 prospect in Evina Westbrook, the No. 9 prospect in Anastasia Hayes, and the No. 12 prospect in Rennia Davis.

She also added a four-star recruit in Kasiyahna Kushkituah, which should help Mercedes Russell in the post.

With only one real contributor leaving after this year and Russell and Diamond DeShields both back, Warlick’s recruiting class puts the Lady Vols in immediate contention to win the national title.

However, she has got to hold onto this class.

On top of that, the UCONN Huskies are right behind her at No. 2, and it’s not like they are a clear No. 2. Somebody could easily make the case that they should be the No. 1 class since they have four five-stars, not three, and they have the No. 1 overall recruit.

And Geno Auriemma is just reloading with that class.

Given that, Warlick has to hold him off as much as possible once again. After all, 2017-2018 is the year that Lady Vols fans expect to be competing for national championships.

And it will take this recruiting class to do it.

But the Lady Vols aren’t the only basketball program to make their way on the Tennessee Vols holiday wish list. Let’s go to the other team that plays on the court.

Mar 11, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes talks with his players in a huddle in the second half against the LSU Tigers during the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

7. Men’s Tennessee Basketball Has a Winning Record in the SEC

Rick Barnes’s Tennessee Vols are currently 7-5 but have played a very tough schedule. After all, four of their losses came to teams that were in the Top 25 when they played them, and the other one was the opener against the UT-Chattanooga Mocs.

Right now, the team is still playing very well and doing what it should do, and with its strength of schedule, it probably does not have to do too much to get to the NCAA Tournament.

With a ton of young players, the big thing that Barnes’s team needs to do is beat the bad teams in the SEC, and there are plenty of them.

If the Vols can get 10 wins in the SEC, they would finish the season at worst 17-14. With their strength of schedule, that keeps them on the bubble.

Now, they could move up with a win against the Kansas State Wildcats at home and then stealing a win in the conference tournament. That would have them at a minimum 19-14 going into Selection Sunday.

All of this is made possible if they can at the very least get a winning record in the conference.

This young group of players is more than capable of doing that as they continue to develop. Knowing that the SEC is not that impressive of a conference yet, a winning record is more than possible.

However, it is going to be tough because of the fact that the conference now has an elite class of coaches.

Nov 19, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) signals a touchdown as Tennessee Volunteers running back Alvin Kamara (6) scores against the Missouri Tigers during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

6. Alvin Kamara Stays

Now we are into the wish list of Tennessee football weapons who are juniors. What are they going to do?

One of the most likely players to leave is Alvin Kamara. Now, he is at the bottom of these guys Tennessee Vols fans would like to see stay because he is the most replaceable.

Thanks to John Kelly and Butch Jones’s recruiting, the Vols will be able to replace Kamara pretty easily.

But given the major strides that Kamara has made this year as a running back, including evolving into a great blocker and a leader, it would be great for the school if he could return.

Kamara is a huge weapon for the program as a running back in all phases, and while he would probably be smart to leave early for the NFL, his potential would be unlimited as a senior.

We are talking Heisman potential.

There is no weakness in his game with the exception of lack of vision every now and then. But that is something he can get better at with another year in college.

Again, if I am advising him, I tell him to go early for the NFL. He would be idiotic to stay.

However, from the selfish perspective of the Tennessee Vols, it would be great if he came back for his senior season with the program.

But again, he is the guy that the Tennessee Vols need back the least. There’s another offensive weapon the school is in danger of losing.

Nov 12, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) catches a pass against Kentucky Wildcats safety Marcus McWilson (15) during the third quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

5. Josh Malone Stays

One of the greatest game-changing players the Tennessee Vols had this year, Josh Malone caught 45 passes for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns during the regular season.

And nine of those 10 touchdowns resulted in lead changes. Consider how amazing that is for a second!

Anyway, the former five-star recruit lived up to his hype his junior year, and Mike DeBord probably didn’t use Malone enough.

As a result, he probably has a very strong case for leaving early for the NFL. And again, this is one where nobody could blame him.

But Tennessee will have a hard time replacing him. Sure, Jauan Jennings is just as much of a playmaker, but it means a lot more to have two playmakers like that on the outside.

With Preston Williams gone, Jeff George completely unproven, and Tyler Byrd and Marquez Callaway more speed guys, Butch Jones doesn’t have another big, proven playmaker to catch deep balls opposite Jennings next year if Malone leaves.

The one thing working in Tennessee’s favor is that Malone might have a few red flags about leaving early. Marquez North is one red flag.

He was a big Tennessee Vols receiver who tried leaving early last year, and it clearly did not work out too well for him.

Also, Malone disappeared in the middle of the season during the Vols’ huge games against the Georgia Bulldogs, Texas A&M Aggies, and Alabama Crimson Tide. That might hurt his stock a bit.

Still, he has many more reasons to leave, so this is a long-shot wish. But it’s not the biggest long-shot.

Nov 5, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive end Derek Barnett (9) during the second quarter against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

4. Derek Barnett Stays

This is the biggest long shot on the Tennessee Vols holiday wish list. Derek Barnett finished the 2016 season with 12 sacks and, in three years, has tied Reggie White on the school’s all-time career sacks list for No. 1 with 32 sacks.

He could break the record in the bowl game.

And while college football analysts completely overlook him, NFL scouts are smart enough to realize that he is the biggest playmaker on the defensive line going into next year’s draft. Any team that passes on him would be idiotic.

At the same time, Barnett would be making a very inadvisable decision to stay until his senior season in college. He is too great for that.

So yeah, there is absolutely no reason for him to stay. But this is still No. 4 on the Tennessee Vols wish list simply because him staying would be amazing.

And this is for multiple reasons.

For starters, no player on the team was greater than Barnett this past year. At the same time, the defensive line is now more thin than we thought because of lots of injury prone guys.

So Barnett is a crucial part of the unit not just for being a playmaker but for how thin the team could get without him.

Still, if your Barnett, you know that’s Butch Jones’s and Bob Stoops’s problem. Barnett did his job for three years and did it very well.

Although it would be great if he did stay another year, it is the biggest long-shot ever. Fact is, he shouldn’t stay. He owes it to himself to go to the NFL.

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones during the Vol Walk before the game against the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

3. Tennessee Football Wins its Bowl Game

They are just exhibition games when you’re an 8-4 team and hoped for much more this season. However, winning the bowl game means a lot.

That’s a case no matter what. All of these things on our wish list is so the athletic programs can see more success in play. Winning a game is literally success in play.

And a bowl game is a signature game, so it means more. With all of that, yes, winning the Music City Bowl against the Nebraska Cornhuskers would mean a lot.

There is also more at stake for this bowl game, even if the Tennessee Vols have nothing to play for.

A win over Nebraska would at least give the Vols one win against a team that gave them hell twice in the 1990s when both programs were on top. There is so much history here that Tennessee football fans want a win.

At the same time, a win probably guarantees a Top 25 finish for the school, and a loss keeps them out. That matters for the history of the Tennessee football program.

Two straight 9-4 seasons and two straight Top 25 finishes for the first time since 2006 and 2007 have to count for something. Also, three straight bowl wins for the first time since Peyton Manning’s days also matter.

These are things that count in the overall scope of things.

And it also counts when it comes to last-minute recruiting in January and February as Butch Jones tries to hold onto top-notch recruits. That is next on our list.

2. Tennessee Football Secures a Top 5 recruiting class

Now this is the biggest thing for the Tennessee football program, and Butch Jones’s future might hinge on it.

A Top 10 recruiting class has to be a minimum, but a Top 5 recruiting class would really be on the Tennessee Vols wish list.

After all, with a class outside of the Top 15 last year and a miss on a couple of stars each of the previous two years, Jones needs to secure some elite talent for this class.

Currently, the Vols have the No. 9 ranked class on Rivals right now, but they are behind four other SEC schools: the Texas A&M Aggies, the Georgia Bulldogs, the LSU Tigers, and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

And Tennessee plays three of those teams next year.

Jones had a solid December after an avalanche of bad news to start the bowl preparation period. Picking up offensive lineman Trey Smith was a huge deal.

Now, he is still targeting long-shot elite guys like Cam Akers and LaBryan Ray. Add in Yusuf Corker, who is a real shot, and Jones has a chance to finish with an extremely strong class.

But it’s going to take a lot of work over the next month and a half to get there, and he has to know that he can’t relax.

To be fair to Jones, he is a great evaluator of under-valued talent. But he has to secure more proven elite stars that actually pan out and don’t go the route of Jalen Hurd.

uDec 18, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) after the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field. The Patriots won 16-3. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

1. The New England Patriots Do Not Win the Super Bowl

This is something many Tennessee Vols fans have not thought about, but it’s something they have been dreading every year since the mid-2000s.

When the Peyton Manning-Tom Brady rivalry broke out, Manning fans couldn’t bear the thought of Brady extending his rings advantage.

But this time, it’s worse.

Manning is now retired, so if Brady gets another ring to have three more than Manning, he’ll never have another chance to catch him.

That’s why this is No. 1 on our list. All the other things we named speak to the short-term future of Vols programs. We mean the next two years.

This one speaks to the eternal legacy of the most beloved former Vol ever. Now, no matter what, the facts show that Manning was actually a better player than Brady.

But the media narrative behind legacies will favor Brady too heavily if he wins another Super Bowl. So Vols fans everywhere are hoping and praying that he does not win the title this year. He is likely to once again get the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

And he has a pretty easy path to the Super Bowl.

So Vols fans might have to rely on Manning’s brother Eli to save his legacy again.

Or they could hope that the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, or even Dallas Cowboys have some magic.

Heck, maybe the Kansas City Chiefs have magic with plenty of former Vols on their own to shut down the Pats.

Either way, Brady CANNOT win another ring. On top of all this, it would get him to five rings, more than any quarterback ever.

And no Manning fan can bear the thought of that. Therefore, this is No. 1 on the holiday wish list of Tennessee Vols fans.