Tennessee Vols Morning Report: Butch Jones on Class, Lady Vols Win, NFL Draft, Rick Barnes

Butch Jones on the Tennessee Vols class, Rick Barnes with Greg Sankey, the Lady Vols and the NFL Draft lead the Volunteers updates for Friday, Feb. 3, 2017.

Happy Friday to everybody on Rocky Top! The Tennessee Vols are still dealing with the aftermath of an uneventful National Signing Day.

And now, Butch Jones has once again brought some comedy into the mix.

But on top of that, there is other news to get to in the realm of football, specifically how former Volunteers are faring with the NFL Draft around the corner.

Then there’s the Lady Vols, hot and still on a roll, while Rick Barnes has a conversation with an important guy in the SEC.

All of this is part of our news for the first Friday in February of 2017, but let’s start with Jones’s hilarious quotes.

Butch Jones says Vols targeting ‘five-star hearts’ – Wes Rucker, GoVols247

So last year, Butch Jones became a comedy show after saying it wasn’t okay that his Tennessee Vols didn’t win a championship because they were ‘life champions.’ If you thought he couldn’t follow that up with something even cheesier, you were wrong. He did just that when addressing the lack of five-star pickups in this recruiting class.

Speaking to the Vols’ annual recruiting celebration at the Tennessee Titans’ Nissan Stadium on Thursday afternoon, Jones said he and his staff won’t sign a prospect who doesn’t fit their “character profile.”

“We’ve spoken about the competitive nature, and I think that’s really, really big in today’s world,” Jones said. Everyone gets into the whole two-star, three-star, four-star, five-star thing. The only five-star that we even concern ourselves with is a five-star heart.

“We want five-star hearts and five-star competitors.”

Former Vols receiving NFL Draft buzz – UTSports

The season is barely a month over, but lots of former Tennessee Vols are drawing NFL Draft interest now. Derek Barnett, Joshua Dobbs, Alvin Kamara, Jason Croom, Cameron Sutton, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, and Josh Malone all have potential in the eyes of many scouts.

After the conclusion of postseason exhibition games, draft-eligible Tennessee Vols are preparing to showcase their talents to NFL scouts and coaches. Here is an update on some players who have been discussed in the buzz leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft.

Rick Barnes interviews SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey – UTSports

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes has a lot to be excited about with the momentum his team has been riding recently. As a result, he probably has no problem speaking with the SEC Commissioner right now.

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes recently sat down with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey for an in-depth interview.

The two spoke about Sankey’s upbringing, the evolution of his career in athletics and other topics for the Rick Barnes TV Show.

Lady Vols beat LSU 77-58 for fourth straight win – Dan Fleser, Knoxville News Sentinel

Coming off a huge win over the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Tennessee Lady Vols show no signs of slowing down. Holly Warlick’s team remained red-hot against another solid opponent Thursday night in Knoxville, the LSU Tigers.

Zone defenses and turnovers have conspired against Tennessee the past two seasons but not Thursday night.

The Lady Vols scored a 77-58 SEC women’s basketball victory over LSU by shooting 52.9 percent from the floor and scoring 44 points from close range against primarily a matchup zone alignment. They also committed just 11 turnovers against the Tigers, who lead the nation in steals.