Three Tennessee football players arrested
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/12/2009 @ 4:53 pm)
University of Tennessee football players Janzen Jackson, Nu’Keese Richardson and Mike Edwards were arrested on Wednesday night for an attempted robbery outside a convenience store near campus. Ironically, head coach Lane Kiffin had praised his team earlier in the day at a SEC coaches teleconference for not having any off-field incidents.
From ESPN.com:
At least one of the players arrested was wearing some type of Tennessee gear during the attempted robbery, according to police.
A fourth suspect, a woman alleged to have been driving a car with the three players as passengers, was also arrested.
According to the police report, the victims of the robbery were in their car outside a Pilot convenience store, parked next to a Toyota Prius, when a black male approached wearing a hooded sweatshirt, brandishing what appeared to be a handgun, opened the driver’s side door and said “Give me everything you have.” A second black male also wearing a hooded sweatshirt then came around to the passenger side of the victims’ car, opened it and said, “Give us everything you’ve got.”
But when the victims opened their wallets and showed they had no money, a third black male approached the other two and said “we’ve got to go,” and all three got into the Prius and drove away, according to the police report.
Police said when they pulled over the Prius, they found a black air-powered pellet gun and a pair of hooded sweatshirts. Police also said they found a marijuana grinder, which the driver, Marie Montmarquet, said belonged to her, and a baggie containing what appeared to be marijuana in Montmarquet’s jacket.
According to police, the victims later identified Edwards and Richardson as the men who had approached them.
I wonder if this was just a hoax that went bad or if the players actually intended to rob the victims. I’m struggling to comprehend why three freshman football players would risk their careers and futures to rob somebody with a pellet gun but then again, these don’t seem to be the sharpest tools in the shed.
I find it mildly humorous that at least one of these geniuses was wearing Tennessee gear at the time of the attempted crime. Clearly these undeniable morons didn’t think this one through, which once again leads me to wonder if this just wasn’t a half-brained attempt at a joke.
Either way, it’s highly unlikely that these three play this weekend and there’s a real possibility that when more details emerge, Kiffin could kick them off the team for good. The fact that they’re all freshman could either hurt or help their chances of playing at UT in the future, depending on how you look at it.
What a stupid, stupid decision by these three players.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Florida unimpressive in win over Tennessee
Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/19/2009 @ 6:05 pm)
It’s my own fault, really. I figured that after Lane Kiffin spent the majority of the offseason running his mouth and making false claims about Urban Meyer that Florida would come out and tear Tennessee a new one when the two teams met in Week 3.
But I came away feeling awfully unsatisfied by the Gators’ 23-13 win over the Vols in Gainesville on Saturday. In fact, I was more impressed with Lane Kiffin’s defense than I was with anything Florida did today. His front four pressured Tim Tebow all game and safety Eric Berry once again proved that he’s one of the best defenders in the nation, if not the best. I thought I was watching Bob Sanders of the Colts with the way Berry played sideline-to-sideline today. I could watch him and Tebow go at it every Saturday. (Did you see that collision in the first half?!)
Again, this was the media’s fault. We all figured that Meyer, a man who had no issue with his team hanging 63 points on Kentucky last year, would put together some magical game plan that would embarrass Kiffin and serve notice that he and Florida aren’t to be f’d with.
But there was no magical game plan. Tebow was good (115 passing yards, 76 rushing yards and a TD on 24 carries), but far from great as he threw an interception in the first half that led to a UT field goal and fumbled in the fourth quarter, which produced a Vols’ touchdown. Florida’s lack of playmakers in the passing game was on full display and it’s apparent that the Gators are hurting without Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy.
Florida’s defense was great again, although Tennessee’s offense is vanilla as it comes. Montario Hardesty is all they have and the passing game is non-existent with Jonathan Crompton under center.
I’m not a Florida fan, but I expected more. I expected the Gators to be up by 30 late in the fourth quarter and tack on another touchdown just for good measure. Instead, I’m left wondering if Florida won’t get knocked off again at some point this year. I know had Tebow not fumbled and the Gators went on to score in that drive, this probably would have been written differently. But if Tennessee had more playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, it’s not unfathomable to think they could have pulled off the upset.
Posted in: College Football
Tags: 2009 college football scores, 2009 College Football Week 3, eric berry, florida football, florida gator football, florida tennessee, florida tennessee football, florida tennessee game, florida tennessee game 2009, lane kiffen, Lane Kiffin, Lane Kiffin Tennessee, Monte Kiffin, ncaa college football scores, tennessee florida game 2009, tennessee football, Tim Tebow, uf football schedule 2009, uf vs tennessee football, university of tennessee football, Urban Meyer
 
Report: Lane Kiffin to be the next head coach at Tennessee
Posted by Anthony Stalter (11/28/2008 @ 5:37 pm)
ESPN.com is reporting that former Oakland Raiders’ head coach Lane Kiffin is heading to the University of Tennessee.
Kiffin, 33, will be making his college head coaching debut in succeeding Phillip Fulmer, who will coach his last game for the Vols on Saturday.
Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton denied reports on Wednesday that Kiffin had been offered a contract. But Kiffin has been at the forefront of the Vols’ search for some time.
Part of the holdup is that Tennessee didn’t want to do anything officially this week that would take away from Fulmer’s final game Saturday against Kentucky. Fulmer was fired by Hamilton on Nov. 2 and allowed to finish out the season. He’s been at Tennessee as a player, assistant coach and head coach for 35 years.
The university has dubbed Saturday’s game “Phillip Fulmer Appreciation Day” at Neyland Stadium in celebration of his 17-year tenure.
One of the big draws with Kiffin was the staff that he’ll potentially be able to put together. He’s talked with his father, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, about joining him at Tennessee. The elder Kiffin is considered one of the foremost defensive minds in football.
Outside of drawing recruits with his NFL resume, I’m not sure Kiffin is a great fit at Tennessee. But the Vols are in major need of an offensive facelift, which is supposed to be (read: supposed to be) Kiffin’s specialty.
How huge would it be if Lane could convince papa Monte to come up from Tampa and join him? Monte Kiffin’s defenses are always so underrated and he’s easily one of the best schemers in the NFL. It’s doubtful he would leave the Bucs, but one would have to imagine that the temptation to join his son would be strong.
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