Tennessee Vols Morning Report: Senior Bowl, NFL Draft, Recruiting, Michael Palardy

Josh Dobbs and Cam Sutton in the Senior Bowl, Tennessee Vols in the Draft, Michael Palardy and recruiting lead Volunteers news for Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017.

The Tennessee Vols have their biggest basketball game of the year tonight as they get set to host the No. 4 ranked Kentucky Wildcats, but all the news for this morning surrounds football.

With National Signing Day just over a week away and guys trying to make a lasting impression for NFL Scouts, there is clearly tons of football news to cover.

Tennessee football did pick up another commitment.

On top of that, there is a former Vol who spoke out about the state of the program that we need to get to.

But let’s start with the Vols looking ahead to their next career after having played their final game in orange.

Joshua Dobbs, Cameron Sutton begin Senior Bowl prep – UTSports

Dobbs and Sutton will be representing Tennessee football in the Senior Bowl, and the game is huge for both players. Dobbs needs to show scouts what he could do as an NFL quarterback to prove he can make it. Coming off injury, Sutton needs to show them what everybody in Vol Nation already knows about him.

NFL.com projects three Vols in the first round of the NFL Draft – Kevin Ryan, GoVols247

For two straight years, Tennessee football went without a draft pick. But this year, it looks like they’re going to load up NFL rosters, as the Vols have numerous players expected to go in the first round alone. NFL.com shocked the world with three Vols in the first round.

RB Timothy Jordan commits to Vols – Jesse Simonton, SEC Country

He’s only a two-star on Rivals, but Butch Jones has a strong history of scouting undervalued talent. And in Timothy Jordan, he found a running back out of Florida who drew interest from Illinois, North Carolina, Iowa State, Purdue, and Western Kentucky. He won’t help the Vols’ rankings, but he could be a steal. He made his announcement on Twitter.

Former Vol Michael Palardy defends Butch Jones – John Brice, CBS Sports

He only played for Butch Jones for one year, in 2013. But that was Michael Palardy’s best year as a kicker, and he became much more reliable. Jones clearly showed patience with him that Derek Dooley didn’t, and Palardy probably appreciates that. He also kicked the game-winning field goal in Tennessee’s biggest win that year over South Carolina. After all of that, Palardy is now the one speaking out in Jones’s defense as he has now found a career in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. He said that he and Jones stay in touch.