October 22, 2004

Tennessee Update

Johnson suspended 'indefinitely', career with Vols could be at an end
Junior strong safety Brandon Johnson was arrested Monday night after allegedly firing a gun outside the apartment of Volunteer running back Cedric Houston.

Johnson faces felony reckless endangerment charges.

The gun belongs to safety Chris Heath, who was dismissed from the team after being arrested on misdemeanor charges of unlawful carrying or possession of a weapon. Heath said he purchased the gun after receiving threats. Johnson said that he fired the gun out of curiousity since he'd never fired one before.

''It was irresponsible behavior, and though there was no malicious intent in it, it will not be acceptable,'' Coach Phillip Fulmer said in The Tennessean

No decision has been made on whether or not Johnson will be allowed to return to the team. Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton is waiting for the student judicial process to run its course before officially dismissing suspended Johnson from the team. The process could take three to four weeks for a resolution.

Johnson is currently not praciticing or participating in any team activities.

Vols preparing to play Tide without Mahelona
When the Vols face the Crimson Tide Saturday afternoon, they may have to do so without injured defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona. Mahelona sprained his MCL in last week's win over Ole Miss and the Vols are preparing to face the Tide without him.

Mahelona got some practice time Thursday, but his status is listed as questionable for Saturday.

Douglas questionable
Guard Cody Douglas injured his foot against the Bulldogs two weeks ago and is listed as questionable for Saturday's game. He got some work in practice on Thursday and his playing stutus will be a game-time decision.

Meachem breaks out against Ole Miss
Wide-receiver Robert Meachem had a break-out game againt the Ole Miss Rebels last week with all three catches, averaging over 20 yards per reception. After a lot of hype in the pre-season, Meacham seems to finally be ready to break out and live up to the hype that surrounded him early this season.

This morning's Tennessean has an article about Meachem.

"Meachem had a breakout game against Ole Miss with three catches for 82 yards, doubling his season total in yardage. But receivers coach Pat Washington was curious why Meachem's 23-yard reception on a screen pass in the second quarter wasn't a TD.

''When we were watching the tape, I asked him why he didn't score,'' Washington said. ''He said, 'Coach, I was just so happy to be running with the ball. I wasn't thinking of scoring.'"

Meachem still contends (rightly so) that he was not out of bounds on a pass from quarterback Eric Ainge in the fourth quarter that should have een a touchdown.

Punt return duty shuffle
Derrick Tinsley will start the game as the punt return man for Tennessee, but fans can expect to see Jonathan Hefney in the mix as well Saturday. Quarterback Brent Shaeffer is also working on special teams to return punts with the emergence of Eric Ainge as the Vol's number one QB.

Vols ninth in BCS standings
The first Bowl Championship Series standings were published Monday and--huge shock here--there was controversy at the top.

The Vols are currently ninth in the BCS poll. With wins over Georgia and Florida, the Vols control their own destiny in the SEC Eastern Division Race.

Kick-off times set
The Vols' showdown with Lou Holtz's South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 30 will be at 12:30 p.m. EST as the Jefferson Pilot game of the week. The Vols' home showdown with Notre Dame on Nov. 6 will be televised by CBS at 3:30 p.m EST.

Posted by Michael Hickerson

 

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Comments & Trackbacks

1. BamaFan says:

   posted on October 22, 2004 02:22 PM — link

   UMMMMM....

   UT isn't playing Notre Dame this week....

2. Kevin Donahue says:

   posted on October 22, 2004 02:39 PM — link

   I think you're missing the point, BamaFan. Those are future times.

3. Michael Hickerson says:

   posted on October 22, 2004 08:13 PM — link

   I can see how the wording might cause some confusion, so I've made an edit...

   And notice I resisted saying anything deragatory about his being a Bama fan...LOL

4. Kevin Donahue says:

   posted on October 22, 2004 09:49 PM — link

   Don't pick on him, Michael. Someone read it to him and he just misunderstood, that's all.