Vols' schedule released, camp begins, big news

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Patrick Brown and Ryan Callahan convened via the magic of Al Gore’s Internets to discuss a Monday full of huge news for Tennessee football.Tennessee’s newly-released, SEC-only 2020 schedule, the Vols’ start to preseason camp, some big roster updates, a new commitment and much more were discussed in this two-segment episode full of news.COVID-19 to this point hasn’t postponed SEC football in 2020, and the conference on Monday released its adjusted schedule. That schedule will look a lot different for Tennessee, which now opens the season Sept. 26 at South Carolina and ends the regular season Dec. 5 against Florida — yes, THAT Florida — at Neyland Stadium. After getting arguably a raw deal with the additions of Auburn and Texas A&M to the schedule, the Vols were dealt some better breaks with the dates on the full schedule, and reasons for that assessment are discussed in detail in the first segment of this episode.Plenty of news was crammed into the second segment, beginning with the NCAA’s denial of five-star Georgia offensive line transfer Cade Mays’ initial appeal for an immediate-eligibility waiver to play for his hometown Vols alongside his brother in 2020. That surprising decision was announced Monday, but Tennessee is appealing it and still believes in the validity of its case. There’s plenty of discussion on that topic in the second segment, but there’s also plenty of discussion on the confirmed return of talented sophomore linebacker Jeremy Banks to the Tennessee program following his dismissal for an off-field incident last season. There’s also discussion on the expected news that senior cornerback Baylen Buchanan will sit out a second consecutive season while battling a narrowing of his spinal column, as well as the Vols’ updated COVID-19 testing numbers.The second segment wraps up with a discussion on Jimmy Scott, a talented linebacker prospect from Upstate New York who recently became the first commitment of Tennessee’s 2022 recruiting class. Discussion of the Northeastern expansion of Tennessee’s recruiting base with Joe Osovet on the staff is discussed, as well.With so much news to dissect, this episode ran a bit longer than usual. But … well … there was a lot of news to dissect.