Locked on Vols

Today's show sets up what should be a busy week with the SEC Media Days taking place in Atlanta. Josh Ward provides the schedule for the event and then welcomes to the show Joe Rexrode of the Tennessean. Josh and Joe discuss Phillip Fulmer's hire of Jeremy Pruitt, their combined work to rebuild Tennessee football and the importance of the Tennessee-Vanderbilt game this season. Hear from CBS Sports writer Barrett Sallee, who gives his top storyline for this week's SEC Media Days. And today's "newcomer to know" is punter Paxton Brooks, who will battle with Joe Doyle for Tennessee's starting punter position.

Josh Ward begins today's show with some updates to national recruiting rankings. Tennessee's top-rated commit, offensive lineman Wanya Morris, received a big bump by 247Sports on Thursday. Barton Simmons of 247Sports explains why he thinks so highly of Morris. Phil Steele of ESPN has ranked his top 15 defensive line units in the nation. Find out how many Tennessee will face, and Josh spends a few minutes talking about Tennessee's offensive line - the group responsible for blocking those defensive lines. West Virginia quarterback Will Grier, who will face Tennessee on Sept. 1, continues to receive preseason hype. Hear more about that, and Josh's "newcomer to know" today is offensive lineman Ollie Lane.

Tennessee's three-man lineup for next week's SEC Media Days was announced on Wednesday. Josh Ward begins talking about those three players on today's show. Josh then welcomes to the show Austin Price of Volquest. Josh and Austin discuss Tennessee's in-state recruiting for 2019 as the Vols only have one player committed from Tennessee in the 2019 class. Today's "newcomer to know" is linebacker Jordan Allen from City College of San Francisco. Can he help Tennessee this fall? Josh discusses that on Rocky Talk.

Josh Ward begins today's show discussing the latest SEC championship odds for 2018, according to the Las Vegas Superbook. Find out where Tennessee stands compared to the rest of the league. Powell (Tenn.) High School coach Matt Lowe joins the show (4:30 mark) to talk about Tennessee offensive line commit Chris Akporoghene, who was coached by Lowe at The King's Academy. Josh also talks about defensive lineman Greg Emerson in today's "getting to know the newcomers" segment and adds a couple of Tennessee hoops notes.

Josh Ward begins today's show with the news of Tennessee's latest commitment. The Vols landed offensive lineman Chris Akporoghene from IMG Academy in Florida. The Nigerian native has an interesting story and offers big-time upside for Tennessee. Josh also talks to Mark Nagi, author of the book "Decade of Dysfunction." They discuss what went wrong with UT athletics over the last 10 years as well as the influece athletic director Phillip Fulmer could have on coach Jeremy Pruitt. And Josh talks about athlete Alontae Taylor in today's segment "getting to know the newcomers."

Josh Ward covers a number of Tennessee topics on today's show. First, he has a couple of minutes from CBS Sports college football writer Tom Fornelli, who talks about the beginning of the Jeremy Pruitt era at Tennessee. Josh shares his own thoughts on what Tennessee is facing in trying to climb back to the top of the SEC East. Josh then names five sophomores who could make a leap after contributing during their freshman seasons in Knoxville. Finally, Josh begins his daily "getting to know the newcomers" segment.

Josh Ward begins the show with some good news on ways for you to listen to the show. Tennessee has announced the date for the start of fall camp; Josh gives you the important dates to add to your calendar. Jesse Simonton of Volquest.com joins the show to talk about Tennessee's quarterback battle and why it will be different from the Quinten Dormady-Jarrett Guarantano competition from last season. Josh and Jesse also discuss the potential impact of newcomers and the Vols' production in recruiting for the 2019 class. There's also an update on linebacker signee J.J. Peterson.

Josh Ward begins today show talking about one of the biggest college football topics this week: signal stealing, which was written about by Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. Hear from Feldman, who details some of the issues he discovered, and listen to a story from former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge, who gives an example explaining why this is a big deal. Josh also spends some time talking about true freshman quarterback JT Shrout, who enrolled at Tennessee in June. Richmond Flowers III of the QB Collective, which helped discover Shrout, provides more info on why Shrout has the potential to be a successful quarterback in college and beyond.

Today's show with Josh Ward focuses on the latest with Tennessee football recruiting. Josh talks to Steve Wiltfong, the director of recruiting for 247Sports. Wiltfong covered The Opening this week and reports on the performances of Tennessee commits who took part: quarterback Brian Maurer, offensive lineman Wanya Morris and wide receiver Ramey Keyton. Wiltfong also shares his thoughts on Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt and his staff and the impact they could make on the recruiting trail for the Vols.

Today's show with Josh Ward begins with a look at Tennessee's roster and the schedule the Vols will face this season. Hear what Phil Steele thinks about Tennessee. The ESPN analyst shares his opinion on Tennessee's talent, which he might be higher on than other analysts, as well as the importance of the Vols playing well in November. Steele also weighs in on Florida and the rest of the SEC East. Josh has a few recruiting updates, including a look at three Tennessee prospects' performance at The Opening and two cornerbacks who are seriously considering the Vols.

Highlights from today's show: * Josh Ward begins with some updates on the show, which will be five days per week! * Josh runs through the UT summer school schedule and explains why the start date for the second session is of note. * A few Tennessee commits took part in The Opening this past weekend. Hear about those players as well as a few Vols targets. * CBS Sports college football writer Barrett Sallee joins the show (5:45 mark) to talk Tennessee and SEC football. Find out what Barrett thinks about the beginning of the Jeremy Pruitt era, the challenges he will face in his first season at Tennessee and the comparison between the Vols' situation and what's happening in Gainesville at Florida.

This is episode 1 of Rocky Talk, a Tennessee podcast hosted by Josh Ward. Formerly broadcast from the website SECCountry.com, Josh has launched a new home for the podcast. Here's a request: follow, subscribe and share as the new home takes off. Find updates on the podcast at RockyTalkPodcast.com.