Tag: Knoxville News Sentinel

Gators legend Chris Doering sees writing on wall for Billy Napier

Florida’s legendary wide receiver simply cannot see a path for Napier to finish the season on the sidelines, much less make it to October.

Things are not well in Gainesville following the Florida football program’s 1-2 start, punctuated by an embarrassing loss in the Swamp to the Texas A&M Aggies in Week 3.

Gators skipper [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] came into the 2024 campaign already on the hottest of head coach hot seats and his team’s overall futility over the first three games has his tenure in a moribund state. Reports came out on Sunday that the university’s boosters were ready to cut a check for his release, but nothing has come to fruition as of Monday afternoon.

Florida alumnus [autotag]Chris Doering[/autotag], who was a legend on the gridiron for the Orange and Blue during his tenure, came into the season with high hopes for his alma mater and voiced his support for Napier and Co. ahead of the opening kickoff.

However, he has changed his tune after watching the first 12 quarters of Florida’s fall campaign.

Chris Doering’s latest thoughts on Florida

Now serving as an analyst with the SEC Network, Doering was asked at the Knoxville Quarterback Club on Monday if he believed Napier would still be the coach in October when the Gators came to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Volunteers.

Doering wasted no time in his response: “I don’t think so.” He went on to elaborate on how he perceives the players and fans are handling this current misery.

“Apathy is worse than anger, and I feel like there’s apathy starting to set in a little bit in Gainesville, and so you have to eliminate that,” Doering noted. “I’ve talked to some of the folks in higher-up positions, and they have to decide whether or not things are repairable. And it doesn’t seem like that.”

Doering’s thoughts on Tennessee’s team

“I think what Tennessee has done is kind of the bar being set in the SEC,” Doering said.

“And it’s ironic, because at Florida now, I feel like we are where y’all were seven years ago, eight years ago. It’s a tough struggle right now, and tuning in every Saturday to watch your team be an embarrassment out there on the field is tough to watch.”

Up next for the Gators

Florida will play their first road game of the season as they travel up to Starkville to play against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Report: Texas A&M Defensive lineman’s 2020 impermissible visit cost Tennessee $3,000

Mike Wilson of The Knoxville News Sentinel reported that current Texas A&M DL Walter Nolen’s 2020 impermissible recruiting visit to Tennesee cost a total of $3,000 smackeroos.

Former Tennessee Football Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt, who coached the Volunteers from 2018-2020, has been embroiled in one the largest recruiting-based scandals in the last decade, as it has been reported that over $60,000 worth of impermissible benefits were provided to more than a dozen recruits, over his three-year coaching stint.

On Monday, Knoxville News Sentinel reporter Mike Wilson revealed the identity of one of the unnamed recruits who received such benefits, as current Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen, who was ranked as the No. 2-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class, reportedly personally cost Pruitt a total of $3,000 while hosting Nolen and his family in October 2020.

Provided by Mike Wilson, here is the current timeline and repercussions from the numerous violations Pruitt committed:

“The in-person visit was outlined Friday when the NCAA announced its verdict after a yearslong probe into Pruitt’s program. The impermissible visit and benefits were among the more than 200 violations committed by Pruitt and his staff that resulted in a five-year probation for UT and at least $8 million in fines, as well as restrictions on scholarships and recruiting.”

After consecutive visits to College Station in November 2021, Nolen committed to the program on November 6 after attending Texas A&M’s 41-38 win against then No.1-ranked Alabama at Kyle Field on October 9.

Note from Knox News: Nolen is not mentioned by name in NCAA and university investigative documents obtained by Knox News via a public records request.

*Update: The Eagle Reporter Travis Brown received a direct quote from Walter Nolen, stating:

“Short and simple… it never happended… GO AGGIES!!!!!

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

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Ranking all 14 SEC football recruiting classes for 2021 after National Signing Day

The SEC stacked many of the nation’s best recruiting classes in the 2021 class. Here is a look at how they stack up from top to bottom.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the Knoxville News Sentinel and has been republished in its entirety below. 

The SEC stacked many of the nation’s best recruiting classes in the 2021 class.

Alabama ran away with the nation’s top class, but a handful of SEC schools put together elite groups.

Here is how we ranked the SEC classes:

No. 6 Tennessee men’s basketball team bludgeoned by shorthanded Florida in blowout loss

The No. 6 Volunteers were hammered by the shorthanded Gators in a 75-49 loss at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. 

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the Knoxville News Sentinel and has been republished in its entirety below. 

Yves Pons and Omar Payne simultaneously reached the opening tipoff between Tennessee basketball and Florida on Tuesday night.

The duo locked hands at the ball, sending Pons staggering and tumbling to the court.

Tennessee never got up.

The No. 6 Volunteers were hammered by the shorthanded Gators in a 75-49 loss at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida.

John Fulkerson had 15 points to lead Tennessee (10-2, 4-2 SEC). He was the lone Vol in double-digits against UF (7-4, 4-3), which scored the most points against UT this season.

Victor Bailey Jr., Tennessee’s leading scorer, had four points on 1-for-12 shooting, as the Vols had a season-low 49 points.

NEXT: Tennessee basketball owned inside

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SEC approves a handful of intraconference transfer waivers due to ‘unique circumstances’

The SEC approved a number of transfer waivers Wednesday in a break from its usual protocol, the conference announced in a statement.

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Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the Knoxville News Sentinel and has been republished in full below. 

The SEC approved a number of transfer waivers Wednesday in a break from its usual protocol, the conference announced in a statement.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced that exceptions would be made to the long-standing SEC bylaw that requires intraconference transfers to sit out a year before gaining eligibility in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and eligibility relief provided by the NCAA. He also said the SEC will revisit its current stance “in the most timely manner possible.”

“It must be stated unequivocally that these approvals are solely a reflection of the unique circumstances present and should not be interpreted as endorsement of the rationale set forth by individuals seeking these waivers,” Sankey said in a statement. “These are unprecedented times in which decisions about eligibility and competitive opportunities demand consideration of the current challenges facing our student-athletes and schools as a result of COVID-19.

“In a non-COVID environment there may have been a different outcome for some of the waiver requests determined today.”

Kentucky quarterback Joey Gatewood and Tennessee offensive lineman Cade Mays gained eligibility with the SEC’s decision after transferring from Auburn and Georgia, respectively.

Ole Miss defensive back Otis Reese, who transferred from Georgia, was still waiting as of Wednesday night to receive an NCAA waiver to play this season for the Rebels. He falls under the SEC ruling, but requires an NCAA waiver.

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Gatewood and Mays already had received NCAA waivers.

Sankey indicated that SEC schools “have been clear in the past that they oppose immediate eligibility for intraconference waivers.” But the commissioner also said the conference will re-evaluate that rule given the number of requests this year and “a changing national landscape related to student-athlete transfer issues.”

“It is evident that the current transfer bylaw must undergo a thorough review by Conference membership in the most timely manner possible and prior to the 2021-22 academic year,” Sankey said.

SEC bylaw 14.5.5.1  states that intraconference transfers must spend two semesters at their new school before playing unless they are a graduate transfer, the SEC school they departed is serving a postseason ban or the transferring athlete receives a waiver from the SEC, if that athlete’s circumstances fall within a specific set of parameters.

The current rule was amended in 2018, when the SEC presidents and chancellors voted to create the aforementioned immediate eligibility exceptions.

Sankey said on Sept. 23 on the SEC teleconference that “rule changes are always available to our membership.”

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin and Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Monday they expected a vote among SEC presidents to change the rule regarding intraconference transfers to take place.

“We are trying to get the rule changed,” Stoops said. “That’s above the head coaches’ decision. It doesn’t matter what we think. We need to talk to our presidents, and our presidents are voting on that. It’s my understanding that we’ll have a decision relatively quickly on that.”

Because of the NCAA’s ruling to not count the 2020 season against an athlete’s eligibility due to the pandemic, Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt stated multiple times he believes no athlete should be forced to sit out in 2020 because of pre-existing transfer rules.

“This is not just about Cade,” Pruitt said on Sept. 10. “I would say everybody that tried to transfer, to me, it would be foolish for anybody that’s capable of enabling this, it would be foolish of us not to do that just for what’s right.”

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