GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Tennessee team of coach Derek Dooley and legend Stanley Morgan posted a 6-Under par to finish eighth in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge golf championship.

Here is the complete release from Chick-fil-A.

Paul Johnson and Jon Barry of Georgia Tech successfully defended their Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge championship today with a one stroke victory over the field to take home the $125,000 first-place scholarship prize.

After a seven-under-par effort on the front nine, Georgia Tech birdied hole 10 to take a two shot lead, but then fell back a shot on number 11. Johnson and Barry rebounded to birdie the 12th. After pars on the next three holes, they birdied numbers 16 and 17 to move to 10-under.

Needing a par at 18 to hold onto the victory, Johnson hit a wedge to within five feet and Barry nailed the putt to preserve the win over the teams from Florida State and Maryland.

"It was a first-class tournament. it's fun to play out here and I'm very fortunate to have a partner that's as skilled as Jon," said Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech head coach. "It got real competitive coming down the stretch. We knew on 16 that we had to get probably to -10 because we knew the guys had strokes on us on the last hole."

"I didn't want to have to hit a five footer to win this tournament, but coach hit a great chip in there. We knew we had to make par on the toughest hole in Georgia and we got it done. It was a lot of fun," Barry said. "I'll tell you, my mouth was dry and I was as nervous as I've ever been. Thankfully we got it done and had a great time."

"Thanks to the Chick-fil-A Bowl and all the volunteers. It's a wonderful event that we look forward to every year," Barry said.

"Our congratulations go out to team Georgia Tech for a great victory today. Coach Johnson and Jon Barry really brought their `A' game today," said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. "We were all blessed to have so many great universities represented out here today and we feel fortunate to be in a position to help deliver more than $750,000 in scholarship and charity through this year's Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge."

Final official results from the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge including scholarship winnings:

PLACE: TEAM SCORE: WINNINGS:
1st Place Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson, Jon Barry) -10 $125,000
2nd Place (T) Florida State (Jimbo Fisher, Terrell Buckley) -9 $55,000
Maryland (Randy Edsall, Stan Gelbaugh) -9 $55,000
4th Place (T) Miss. State (Dan Mullen, Fred McCrary) -8 $35,000
Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer, Dell Curry) -8 $35,000
6th Place (T) Ohio State (Urban Meyer, Jeff Logan) -7 $25,000
Alabama (Nick Saban, Johnny Musso) -7 $25,000
8th Place (T) Tennessee (Derek Dooley, Stanley Morgan) -6 $20,000
Ole Miss (Hugh Freeze, Sean Tuohy) -6 $20,000
South Carolina (Steve Spurrier, Sterling Sharpe) -6 $20,000
Miami (Al Golden, Gino Torretta) -6 $20,000
North Carolina (Larry Fedora, Roy Williams) -6 $20,000
13th Place Wake Forest (Jim Grobe, Riley Skinner) -5 $15,000
14th Place (T) Clemson (Dabo Swinney, Steve Fuller) -1 $15,000
14th Place NC State (Tom O'Brien, Tom Gugliotta) -1 $15,000

Skills Competitions (From Monday):
Long Drive (Coach Div.) Al Golden, Miami 303 yards $5,000
Long Drive (Celeb. Div.) Jon Barry, Georgia Tech 308 yards $5,000
Closest to the Pin (Coach Div.) Urban Meyer, Ohio State 2 ft. $5,000
Closest to the Pin (Celeb Div.) Fred McCrary, Miss. State 5 ft. $5,000

After the first nine holes, the defending champions from Georgia Tech (-7) held a one stroke lead over the teams from North Carolina (-6) and Miami (-6). Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia Tech were in the hunt at -5.

The Yellow Jackets' recorded five birdies and an eagle on the third hole en route to a seven-under-par front nine, which was best in the field.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge is the country's premier head coach and celebrity charity golf event featuring NCAA head coaches and former athletes and celebrities from the same school competing against their rivals for a share of a $520,000 scholarship purse.

In addition to the $520,000 scholarship purse, another $243,000 was generated for charitable organizations.

Past Champions:

Year: Team: Score: Margin: 2012 Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson / Jon Barry) -10 1 stroke 2011 Georgia Tech (Paul Johnson / Jon Barry) -11 3 strokes 2010 Florida State (Jimbo Fisher / Terrell Buckley) - 7 1 stroke 2009 South Carolina (Steve Spurrier / Sterling Sharpe) -12 1 (Playoff) 2008 South Carolina (Steve Spurrier / Sterling Sharpe) -12 5 strokes 2007 Virginia Tech (Frank Beamer / Dell Curry) -10 1 stroke

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - As evidenced by the reaction on Twitter Wednesday to Pat Summitt being named head coach emeritus of the Lady Vol basketball team, her impact on sports was felt by many.

As the Tennessee football team winded down its final spring practice at Neyland Stadium on Thursday morning, head coach Derek Dooley shared his thoughts on the all-time wins leader in NCAA basketball history.

"The word bittersweet I am sure is across all of athletics because she transcends," Dooley said. "She is not just women's basketball. She is an icon for any sport. I think celebrating the success she had is there. I called her yesterday and told her how happy I was that she was still with us and that she didn't step down completely.

"She is just an amazing person and her impact will last forever. Not just on the people that she coached but all the people in athletics as a whole."

STEAK OR HOT DOGS

Saturday's DISH Orange and White Game will feature a different twist in the rosters this year, as Tennessee officially concludes spring practice.

Usually, the Vols hold a team draft for the game during the final week of spring practice. This year, however, one squad will feature the first team offense and second team defense, while the opposite will sport the second team offense and first team defense.

"(It's) to try to manage a little continuity on the offense and the defense," Dooley said. "It is not perfect because there are some guys that kind have been rolling with the ones but won't be able to work with the ones, so that is a little drawback. It is a `good-on-good' scrimmage. We try to not have a lot of mismatches. It will be a good opportunity for us to get another days work."

The building intensity could be felt as the squads were split up for the final segment of practice, and walked off the field with plenty to say.

After all, there's plenty on the line.

"It is a high stakes game," Dooley said. "We do fine china, steaks, all the trimmings, baked potato, and dessert. And they have nice people serving them. The other crowd in the same room has paper plates, hot dogs, potato chips and water with no ice. So that is what we are playing for. And pride."

Sophomore offensive lineman Antonio Richardson is ready for steak.

"It's going to be very competitive out there," Richardson said. "That is what it's all about at the end of the day, competing, and that's what we are excited about."

Senior linebacker Herman Lathers, who will line up on the opposite side of Richardson, is excited as well.

"As a defense, we're looking to go put a stamp on what we've accomplished this spring," Lathers said. "We're looking forward to it."

Ultimately, it will provide another opportunity to get on the field for Tennessee.

"It is another day," Dooley said. "It is another work day. I have been really pleased with our spring. I will kind of sum it up after the spring game because this is another work day for us."

HUNTER OUT SATURDAY

Junior wide receiver Justin Hunter will not participate in the DISH Orange and White Game on Saturday, but it's impossible to ignore that his spring was positive as a whole.

"He is very valuable," wide receivers coach Darin Hinshaw said after Wednesday's practice. "He is a big long kid that can eat up grass very fast with his stride. It then forces the defensive backs to get on their heels and then he can cut and turn just like a little guy.

"He does really well at that and he has just gotten better as spring has gone along with his knee and he has continued to strengthen it. He has a long way to go this summer to continue to get back to where he was."

Hunter didn't know what to expect this spring, but is looking forward to what's to come.

"In a month I want to be feeling more confident than I was in the spring time," Hunter said. "I just want some of the pain to go away. By the summertime in camp, I should be ready to go"

The Virginia Beach, Va., native hauled in three receptions for 70 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown, in Tennessee's second spring scrimmage last Saturday.

While Hunter says his knee is around 80 percent, he expects to be at full strength by the time Tennessee hits the football field again.

He expects 100 percent out of the Vols' offense as well.

"We could be really good," Hunter said. "I know we have a lot of receivers coming. In the summertime we are going to be very deep so we are going to get a lot of rest and have more people coming on just to help us out."

DISH O&W GAME SET FOR APRIL 21

Derek Dooley was pleased with Tennessee's second day of work in the 2012 spring session, but as the Vols move forward, so will the workload.

"We had a good day today," Dooley said. "Here's what starts happening now, it's the multiples. We put a lot in every day. The other side of the ball puts a lot in every day. It just keeps growing and growing, the amount of mental decisions that you have to make. It's hard on the young guys, but it's kind of whole-part, whole-teaching. You throw a lot at them. You see what sticks, then you kind of pick up the pieces and you throw some more at them. "

There are a few key factors when determining how much the Vols can handle and when to `see what sticks.'

"Number one, you have to recognize it takes an incredible amount of mental energy and mental effort to be a good football player," Dooley said. "That's investing a lot of time when you're not on the field.

"The second thing that's important - and I told the team this - is making sure you understand what is said and you're not focused on how it's said. In a practice, coaches are screaming. You're hollering and you're making mistakes. So many young players get affected by how the message is getting passed onto them and not what the message is.

"The final thing is not getting frustrated. I think a lot of these guys who are new out here are getting frustrated by the mistakes. They can't get frustrated. You have to learn a little bit every day. The cumulative effect over time is going to pay dividends for them. That's all a work in progress. It was a good second day. The more important thing is we'll have a better feel for our team come Thursday when we put the pads on."

Tennessee is looking to develop a winning edge when the Vols strap shoulder pads on Thursday in a way that was missing last season.

"Physicality on both sides of the ball and really at every position," Dooley said of what he'll be looking for Thursday. "We got whipped too many times at the line of scrimmage last year. There's nothing more important than playing fast and physical. That can make up for a bad step. That can make up for the wrong technique. If you're a physically tough football team, then generally you have a better chance to win."

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Vols head coach Derek Dooley met with the media on Sunday to talk about the start of the team's Spring practices. Here's what he had to say.

(Opening Statement)
"First of all, I'd like to apologize for making you guys come in on Sunday. You had a combination of spring break and the morning practice schedule. I didn't want to do this after we practiced the first one and I didn't want to do it a week in advance. I didn't know any other time to do it. I appreciate you guys coming.

"We'll jump right in; we have a lot to talk about. First of all, I want to tell you how the offseason went--the last eight weeks. Of course, in everything we do, every segment, we have a lot of goals. Besides the obvious one of getting bigger, faster and stronger and improving our football specific skills, it was important to me that we accomplished or made progress in two areas.

"One is just demonstrating winning edge values which was a big emphasis for us--kind of redefining our core values: what they stand for, things like discipline, toughness, effort and teamwork. Also secondly, demonstrating individual investment in being the best player and best team we can be. I was really proud of this football team over the last eight weeks. Everybody on the team--everybody on the team--showed significant opportunity in all those areas.

"It's probably one of the best offseasons I've been around from a work ethic standpoint, from an attitude standpoint, from a focus standpoint, from a consistency standpoint. Does that mean that we didn't have any individual challenges? Of course not. I always equate coaching to parenting. Everyday--for those of you that has kids--you know there's good days and bad days. You have to motivate, you have to teach, you have to develop, you have to discipline. We go through that with a number of players every day. What I don't want to do is talk about the individual progress of every player because really what matters now is going into practice. But I will tell you every player on the team made a lot of progress. They're in a good place right now and looking forward to practice.

"Now that we hit practice, it's time to kind of re-shift our goals. I'm going to give you some big picture of things that we obviously need to accomplish. Number one is another renewed commitment of our core values. I'm going to keep emphasizing that. Because--and I told the team this--the core values that we play with are more important than any play we can put in. If we commit to it every day and we perform like that on Saturday, it will mean a lot more to winning and losing than the other stuff."

(Offensive overview)
"On offense, obviously we're going to have to find a way to run the football a lot better than we did last year. That's going to be a big emphasis this spring. We're thing at wideout anyway, so it's a good excuse to go out there and hammer it every day to try to figure out how we're going to run the ball."

(Defensive overview)
"On defense, of course we have a new scheme. We've got to learn our new scheme and try fit our personnel within that scheme. That's not going to be an easy thing to do. And on special teams, I think the biggest thing that we've got to improve on is our specialist play. Those will be kind of the big picture things going into the spring."

(On personnel)
"Now on the personnel, some new things that you'll notice on the roster or in practice: of course y'all know about JerQuari Schofield who's not going to be there for academic reasons. Corey Miller is in the same boat. He will not be practicing for academic reasons. Both are still in the program, but not really working with the team day-to-day and haven't been since day one.

"Rajion Neal is going to be exclusively at running back. We have four guys who are going to be working in different roles at linebacker: Brent Brewer, Channing Fugate, Jacques Smith, and Willie Bohannon. Of course we have seven new enrollees: Darrington Sentimore and Trent Taylor at defensive line, Nathan Peterman at quarterback, Alden Hill at runner, Cody Blanc will be working at wideout, Justin Meredith at tight end, Tino Thomas in the secondary.

"Our two ACL guys, Brent Brewer and Justin Hunter, are doing great. Brent's a little over three months out and Justin's over five months out. They're going to be going through spring in a limited role. Then we have the three shoulder guys who got surgery after the season: Curt Maggitt, Daniel Hood and Prentiss Waggner. They're about three months out. They're going to be doing as much as they can. A guy like Prentiss is going to be able to do more because he can avoid contact. It will be hard for a guy like Dan Hood to be able to do much of anything because if you're on the D-line, I don't know what else you do. The one new limited guy that you'll see is Zach Fulton. Zach had a stress fracture in the offseason a couple of weeks ago and he's not yet fully recovered. Hopefully we'll have him back in a few days.

(On the Vols' Organizational Chart)
"You'll notice we have an organizational chart and I put that word on there on purpose. There's going to be a lot of guys moving around. There's not going to be a daily depth chart or who beat who out. We're going to be moving guys around a lot. We're going to try different things in a lot of different areas: the offensive line, on defense. We're going to have a pre-spring organizational chart and then we'll give you a post-spring depth chart with nothing in between because it's going to be a lot of experimenting. I think this is the first time since I've been here that we have some quality depth at a lot of positions and should be a lot of good competition and I think that's going to help our team."

(Farewell to media members)
"I understand we have a couple of roster moves on y'all's (the media's) end. (Andrew) Gribble went to Mobile. We're hoping he's a double agent come Alabama week. We'll put one of y'all in charge of helping us there. And Beth (Rucker) went to Scripps, huh? Did y'all hear that? (Beth responds.) If you do a bad job today, nobody will care, so you're alright. We're going to miss y'all."

(On the long break)
"No, in fact it flew by. Recruiting always goes fast. It's a sprint to signing day. All that time in December where you would spend some energy in bowl prep, we put a lot of time into redefining our offseason and taking a hard look at some of the things we need to do different going into next season and of course hiring some new coaches. That ate up the bulk of our time. After recruiting, because we essentially had a whole new staff, we had to kind of start over. I'm glad we had the time."

(On creating staff cohesion)
"Well, I'll tell you what's helped a lot is there's a lot of prior relationships and that was important to me. It was really important to me especially at the defensive coordinator position that I got somebody that I had worked with, I know what he's about, he knows me, he's been in a program similar to this. That transition has been seamless. Of course, a lot of the other guys have worked with each other. The staff dynamic has been great so far, but it doesn't really mean much. This is the easy time."

(On the benefits of late spring practice)
"We would have had this at this time even if everything was the same. I hate rushing through spring. I think there's so much you have to do prior to spring practice to improve from the year before, so I've always been a little later."

(On Da'Rick Rogers' offseason)
"It's been good. He's like the rest of the team. He's shown a lot of progress. His numbers went up in a lot of areas. I think he grew as a player emotionally in a lot of ways, and he's still got a long way to go in some things. He's a lot like the rest of the team."

(On Da'Rick Rogers)
"I'm not going to go into all the individuals. We had a lot of guys who missed a workout or two whether it be for academic reasons, whether it's discipline or injury. We had a ton of that. It's managing a hundred guys. Everyday's a challenge and I don't want to revisit our last eight weeks."

(On relating core values to the team)
"I think that when you define what your program stands for, it doesn't mean anything if you're not reinforcing it every day. I look back and I've said this a number of times that it's not really forcing us to change what we believe. It's just how you implement it and how you go about doing it in every drill. That's something we needed to do a better job of. That's why you need to renew yourself every year and see what you didn't do well. That's probably the number one thing we've got to do a better job of as coaches."

(On the new coaching additions this season)
"I mentioned this in January. When you go through a couple years like we did and you had so much youth and new coaches there are a lot of emotional scars that go along. I think that a little new energy can allow a player who might have been immature before to change and a new coach comes in and there is just a refreshing dynamic that comes from the get go that you might not have had if you hadn't had to heal all of those wounds. So I think it has benefited the team in a lot of ways, and I think it is going to benefit our new coaches. As much as it looks like it is not in a stable situation, it really is more stable than anytime since I have been here because the roster is stable. We finally have guys who are settled in and have a lot of guys who have played a lot of snaps, so there is a lot more maturity, there is a lot more experience, and I think the ability in the roster has led to a better work environment and better dynamic day-to-day."

(On having new ideas from the new assistants)
"Yeah it helps, but it's not really the idea, it's how we execute the ideas. That's what matters."

(On noticing leaders step up on defense)
"I think that is going to come over time. Do I see a lot more guys that have leadership ability, yes. I see a lot of small instances where there is a lot more leadership being shown, but it is something that has to be proved over time and something that has to come up when the times get tough."

(On the changes outside of coaching made in December)
"We changed a lot on how we implemented our off season program over the last eight weeks. We are probably going to do some things different on offense and in all three phases. Probably the biggest thing is how we coach it and how we implement it and how we demand that it gets done right. That is more important than any new thing that we can do."

(On the hiring of new coaches and if the transition was hindering)
"It really didn't hurt us because we didn't go to a bowl, so I had a lot of time. I don't think it did, it is a hard process hiring guys and you never want to hire last minute and I hope I never have to again."

(On the difficulties of hiring at this time)
"No, it wasn't. The interest we had was good, it's still Tennessee. We have some quality coaches here and they left some good programs to come here. So finding guys who want to work at Tennessee is not hard, it is finding the right guys that are the right fit and form a good team as a coaching staff and who are going to believe in what we believe in as a program, that's the trick. What makes it so difficult is that the pool size is so big."

(On the depth of this team compared to last)
"I wish I would have brought the number because I am probably not going to be accurate, but I counted and I think we had 24 guys that had over 300 snaps last year and we had about nine guys who were over 500 snaps, so we have never had anything like that here. Which is what we need, time, depth, and experience. It still doesn't mean we are where we need to be, but we are starting to get there."

<(On the return of Herman Lathers)
"He is full go, but he hasn't hit anybody yet. With those linebacker spots there is a lot of different personnel groupings, so that is one personnel grouping. Guys will be moving around, but this will be a good spring for Herman. I am sure he will be a little bit nervous the first day, you always are, but he has worked really hard and his body is ready, but until you get out there and take on that first power, you really don't know."

(On goals for the defense by the end of spring)
"The first thing is to make sure we have the right people in the right spots. That is the most important thing. That is not an easy thing to do because it is hard to evaluate guys when they don't know what to do. They have to do a great job of learning and do it fast so we can do a good job of evaluating them. If you don't know what to do, you are not going to play well. So they have to do their part in knowing what to do to play the best they can and we have to do a good job of evaluating them and putting them in the right spots."

(On the differences in preparing the offense than the defense)
"It's not. It is very similar. We have four new offensive lineman who are going to be out there competing for starting jobs, and they are going to get every opportunity to get one. So it is going to be the same. We are going to move guys from tackle to guard, guard to tackle, and center is the same sort of deal. That's why we have an organizational chart."

(On the concern of the defense learning what to do and the progress they have made thus far)
"They have worked really hard, but none of that really matters because we start tomorrow."

(On Josh Conklin's background)
"The first thing was that he has coordinator experience. That was important to me. It is nice to have a couple of guys on each side of the ball who have sat in that chair to get a little bit of the big picture and I think him being in the back end and having coordinator experience will be a good compliment to Sal Sunseri and what his strengths are. He has had success everywhere he ha been.He was just a good feel and a good fit personality wise."

(On the difficulty of hiring a coach in February)
"It was difficult and it is rare for guys to move, but it was the trickle down deal. One school moves and then a week goes and another school moves. That is what happened in this case and it made it a little more difficult and it makes guys a little more reluctant.Teams are already in spring practice and it is hard for a coach to go ahead and leave."

(On Justin Hunter's progress)
"It is really good. He is over five months out and he is doing everything we would expect him to do at five months out. So he is right on track and hopefully he will get some good work in this spring without having a setback."

(On not having a transition on the offensive side of the ball)
"It was good having continuity on offense and special teams. What is new on offense is that everybody has a new coach, so Tyler will have a different coach, and I thought that was important and that we needed to do that."

(On the continuity in strength and conditioning)
"That was a big help. Last year was hard because I like it how I like it, and Ron likes it how he likes it. So we had to find that middle-ground last year, but this past December we got to settle in and come up with what Tennessee should look like in the off season. I can't say enough about Mack. He did an incredible job with the team this off season and it was unbelievable the work they put in and the time it took. I think that was the biggest help over all was that we didn't have a break in continuity."

(On the change at recruiting coordinator)
"Darin Hinshaw is going to be our recruiting coordinator. He's going to have the same role. We have an institutional way with how we recruit. Nothing is going to change. Terry (Joseph) didn't define how we did things, that's what I did."

(On the pressure the O-line feels to help improve the running game)
"That's the beauty of competition and I think the competition will make everybody better this year and I think experience will help too. It's not just on them, the running back have to run, the receivers have to block, and the quarterback has to get us in the right play. We're going to put a lot of emphasis on all of that this spring."

(On the changes that the new O-line coach brings)
"Everybody has a different way of teaching and I think Sam will bring a good way of teaching that will connect with the offensive linemen really well. Again, everything is a little premature to talk about right now because we haven't even had a practice yet."

(On how Marlin Lane's knee is)
"Good. Really good."

(On how quickly players develop when they come into the program)
"It depends on the player. I think the worst thing to do is to judge guys too early in their career and I think the reason people do that is because there are so many guys that do so well early in their careers but everybody is different and these guys are kids when it's all said and done. They handle pressures differently, they handle the academic work load, the social change, the physical wear and tear, everybody handles and manages those things at a different pace and some of it takes a couple of years to try to learn how to handle those things properly. The important thing is to not beat a guy down just because he's not performing well in his first two years with the program. You just have to keep coaching them and keep developing them and keep believing in them and then usually they play their way out of it and they play a lot better and I'm hoping that's going to be the case with a lot of our guys."

(On the steps he'd like to see Tyler Bray take this spring)
"He's taken some good steps already this offseason. We hope he starts performing the way he performed early in the season, not late in the season, from a physical standpoint. I hope we don't see any hangover from the thumb injury and I don't expect we will. I'd like to see him have a greater command of the offense and understanding the leadership component of being a quarterback."

(Elaborating on saying that every player having a different coach will be a good thing)
"I think when you go through a tough year it's hard on the coaches and hard on the players. Sometimes change is a welcome thing and everybody is going to have that and they're going to walk into their meeting room with a new face, a new personality and it's a good opportunity for the players to start over from scratch. They can put away anything that they wish they hadn't done in the past. It doesn't count anymore. You have a fresh new coach in there who you can just kind of start over with. I think it's a healthy thing. It doesn't mean that the coaches were bad coaches that left. They were good coaches and they did a good job for us, but sometimes you just need a little change."

(On if the defensive players are excited about playing in the new system)
"There is so much unknown with the players right now. I think they're excited because it's going to be different. Most of us like different stuff. It'll be more multiple and they will get to do more things but there's a drawback with that because they're going to have to work a little bit harder in learning what to do."

(On if any of the guys on the current roster will fit in better with the new defensive scheme)

"It's hard to say now, but what I believe is that I feel like our personnel in some ways is more suited for a little more 3-4 look at times. I felt like our ends weren't as big as they needed to be. I felt like our inside guys weren't as big as they needed to be. When you move them all out a man they become a lot bigger. The trick is finding a nose guard. We're not going to be in just a 3-4 the whole time. We're going to try to do a lot of stuff."

(On what he expects from the first day of spring practice)
"It's probably impossible to have a great day tomorrow. I told Dave Hart, I'm really pleased with this offseason. I'm as proud as I have ever been of a team because this is one of the best offseasons I've been around, but you need to know that on Monday afternoon I'm going to be miserable and I'm going to tell you how awful we are. That's just what happens. It's hard. We're going to go out there and do day one install and throw a lot at them. We're not in pads so all you can do is go out there and do the best you can and try to get better the next day. I don't know any other way to do it, but we will not be a good team tomorrow."

(On if he feels more encouraged about the defensive backfield)
"Yes. We have more guys, and more guys with experience. There will be a lot of competition there. I don't know of an area where there's not going to be a lot of good, healthy competition. We're going to have it in the defensive backfield, we're going to have it up front, we're going to have it on the offensive line, and we have three good quarterbacks on our roster. At running back, we don't know who is going to be the running back. There is going to be a lot of competition everywhere, it's going to be fun to watch."

(On an Atlanta Journal Constitution story involving Cordarrelle Patterson)
"That's not true."

(On giving Curt Maggitt a look at the mike linebacker spot)
"Inside backers are always hard to find. It's a little bit like offensive tackle on the offensive line. If you take your better guys and start them inside and then if they can't do it you move them out, you tend to find more inside guys. And Curt, besides having the length, he also has the intelligence to make a lot of calls. He has the personality to take command of the defense so we thought we'd try him out there."

University of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley announced Friday that the Vols have hired Derrick Ansley as cornerbacks coach. Ansley joins the Vols from Central Florida, where he was recently named defensive backs coach following two seasons as an assistant in the secondary at Alabama from 2010-11.

"Derrick is a bright young coach with an incredibly high ceiling in this profession," said Dooley. "He worked with Sal Sunseri for two seasons and will be able to bring some systematic continuity to the defensive staff."

Ansley's two seasons with Alabama included the national championship season of 2011. This year's Alabama secondary featured three All-Americans in Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick, and DeQuan Menzie, and the Tide defense led the nation in five major categories: total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense, passing defense, and pass efficiency defense.

Before joining the Crimson Tide staff, Ansley coached defensive backs for five seasons at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala. He is a 2005 graduate of Troy University with a degree in broadcast journalism and started 40 consecutive games for the Trojans during his career. As a junior in 2003, Ansley finished fifth in the nation with nine interceptions and also ranked third in interceptions per game.

Derrick Ansley COACHING CAREER
Feb. 2012 » Tennessee, Cornerbacks
Dec. 2011-Feb. 2012 » Central Florida, Defensive Backs
2010-11 » Alabama, Defensive Assistant
2005-09 » Huntingdon College (AL), Defensive Backs

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Vols head coach Derek Dooley met with the media to discuss the 2012 Tennessee Signing Day class. Check out what he had to say.

» PHOTOS

TENNESSEE HEAD COACH Derek Dooley
(Opening Statement)
"It's like coach's Christmas on signing day every year. I want to start by emphasizing how important the team effort it takes to have a good signing day is, mobilizing all the resources, starting with your coaching staff. I have to give a special kudos to Jim Chaney, Terry Joseph and Darin Hinshaw who are our three remaining coaches from the prior staff and just did an incredible job of rolling up their sleeves with the four of us and trying to keep it all together when we hit a tough December.

"So kudos to them and of course to the support staff and administration that it takes from the video, the training room, equipment, academic center, VFL. All the things that when a kid comes on campus we sell, and the faculty and students for the time that they spent, the energy that they had when all these recruits were on campus. We couldn't have gotten this kind of class today without a great team, so I appreciate all of that.

"I will say it was probably as tough a recruiting climate over the last 12 months as I've been through. I will always be honest with you guys. Starting with the spring, all the things that were going on departmentally and with the NCAA. I think we hit July with one commitment which is not what we want, but is what we had. And of course the season didn't end the way we wanted it to end and every week was a change in coaching. We gave a lot of ammunition to our competitors and in this league, it is hard enough when you don't give them ammunition and we gave them plenty. Certainly on the social media landscape, which I call the national barber shop, it was non-stop, a lot of haircuts being given.

"What was so important when all of this was happening, and this is what I told the staff, was to keep the main thing, the main thing. Keep your focus on what is real, keep your focus on the facts and not get lost in emotion, not get lost in fear and not get lost in negativity. When I say keeping the main thing the main thing, I'm talking about first the foundation that we had laid in the last 24 months. Our roster of young people that we brought in for two classes and have now are going to be more mature, they are going to be more seasoned, they have experience and we have more depth.

"Secondly, all of the support structures that we put around these guys to succeed. How we develop them as players, how we develop them as students, how we develop them as people. And then the third thing is just the state of the Tennessee brand. I don't care what anybody says, this is a special place and still sells all over the country because of the great tradition, the fan base, the gameday experience, the atmosphere they feel when they come on campus. Those three things to me are the main things that we focus on. Our team, our support structures and Tennessee. All the guys kept their focus on that, all the recruiters kept their focus on that and that allowed us to get to where we are.

"Looking at our class. A little more spread out this year. Last year we signed 21 guys from Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. This year, that number is 12. I think we had nine other guys from six different states. Like every year, you say we could have done a little better in these states, we could have been good in these things and every year is a new year. Next year will probably be a lot different than this this year. What I do know is that the Tennessee brand carries all over. Everywhere we go we get a good reception. We are going to continue to try to recruit regionally and nationally. That's not to say that local is not important. It is always the most important. Heavy emphasis on offensive-skill playmakers and defense.

"The first question is why didn't you sign any offensive lineman? It's rare. I don't think this will ever happen again, but what is more rare is that we brought in 11 offensive linemen over the last 24 months, which I don't think anybody has done something like that. If you take that number and divide it by three, you have what you normally have, three or four guys a class. We felt that we were so young and deep on the offensive line, if there is ever a year where we could really focus on the skill positions to try to give us some depth so that when a guy gets hurt here and there we don't just love everything, and that's what we did. On defense, of course shoring up the D-line is always important. If we don't get better up front, we'll never have a chance and we got what I hope will be some good impact players in the back end that will help us from speed, tackling and covering ability.

"All in all, if you look at all that has happened and all that has transpired, it is hard to feel better than I do today. I made the comment to our coaching staff that this is the best that I have felt, as far as the future of our program and where we are headed, in the 24 months that I have been on the job. It is a good day, men. It is a happy day and I'm looking forward to celebrating it tonight with our staff."

(On managing the coaching transition and recruiting)
"It was challenging because when we were down to just a few coaches, we had to go and refocus our energy. The most important thing was getting to signing day. That's what I kept telling everybody. We have to get to signing day. Having said that, we had to get some of the key players in, especially at defensive coordinator. I think bringing in Jay (Graham) as quick as we did was a real boost for us. We were able to mobilize him on all of the running backs. And then having a quick transition on the offensive line was a big help just for manpower. Sam (Pittman) didn't really have any ties to our recruits, but it was just manpower. All l I asked our recruits to do was to be patient when it all hit. I'm going to tell you, it says a lot about their character and their commitment level to Tennessee, and the grit level they showed because they were getting barraged by some quality schools. They didn't flinch, they stayed with it. We had a quick loss there at the end, but that didn't have anything to do with coaching staff changes. I was really proud of that and I think it says a lot about the guys we got."

(On signing Deion Bonner)
"When I say bringing in high character, that doesn't mean that I am never going to bring in guys that have made mistakes because I can tell you right now, I have made as many mistakes in my life as anybody. I'll put my past record up against a lot of guys. Deion, we did a lot of diligence on the situation. Deion was incredibly truthful, was incredibly remorseful and I don't know of a high school player that had to pay the piper more for what they did than what he had to go through. He had an absolute public disparagement, (losing) five games of his high school career and everybody stopped recruiting him. It was tough. It was incredible the maturity that he showed and I believe that he can come in and represent Tennessee the right way, learn from his mistakes and be a great example. Certainly it is not the norm, but we felt with the diligence that we did on him and of course, he is a good football player, let's not deny that. At a key position, we felt willing to take the risk."

(On the 25-player signing cap)
"The 25 signing cap is a challenge and I can tell you that I am not alone in saying that. I'll give you a great example. In the past when you hit mid-term and you knew a guy wasn't going to qualify academically, you signed him and you helped him go to a junior college. You helped give him the hope that he could come back to a school like Tennessee. This year, when we hit December we did a real thorough analysis of what these academic risks were on a lot of these players and we had to part ways with a few guys for academic reasons and you get criticized for it. The fact of the matter is you have to make those kinds of decisions and you can't help them. It was also tricky down the stretch because so many of these guys wait until signing day to make a decision. Normally in the past, you can get a few more commitments, oversign some of these guys at the end and it will work out. This year you really had to think twice about stretching too many NLI's out there because it was going to be a three-for-one penalty. I think a lot of schools find themselves a little short than where we normally would be. Is it tricky? Year, but that's the rule. I'm against it and I will continue to be against it because I don't think the rule we had in placed hurt the young people. I think it helped them in a lot of ways. It helped them grayshirt and keep their opportunity, it helped them place in junior colleges and we are not able to do that anymore, but that is the rule."

(On how much the Kentucky game came up in recruiting)
"The game wasn't ever talked about, but what's written on the national barber shop creates a fear and paranoia that other schools love to highlight. What I try to do, of course, is anticipate what other schools are going to say, but it's still out there. The social media has really changed so much in our game and so much in the recruiting process, it just presents a lot of challenges because you find yourself having to defend the absurdity. The best example was the national fact that I hired Randy Shannon as defensive coordinator. It was a fact. Some great, respected media outlets reported it, all from one tweet. I never talked to Randy, still haven't. You end up having to defend things that are not only baseless, but there is absolutely nothing to it. You find yourself in a defensive posture a lot. Now we created a lot of it, so I'm not complaining about it. If we do our shop a little better, at the end of the year we don't have a lot of that. It is just the nature of the beast. Here is what I do believe and this is what I have seen. The players who are diligent in their process, have a nice support structure with a mom, a dad, a coach, whoever it is, and they go through the process intelligently, that negative stuff doesn't impact them. It doesn't impact them and the guys that it does impact, maybe it's best that they don't come. I didn't lose any sleep over it. It was just important to me to stay on the phone a lot and answer a lot of questions and that was fair. It's part of it."

(On signing three junior college players and whether they address a need)
"Just philosophically, and I said this last year, we are not going to build this program on junior college players, and that is not a knock on junior college players. What we will do is every year try to sign a few to try to address a need. You hit it. We had a need on the defensive line. We are going to have it every year on the defensive line. What Darrington (Sentimore) brings is he has played in 12 games in the Southeastern Conference at a high level. He is unlike most junior college players. We actually watched his film at Alabama, so we know we are getting. I hope that is going to help him and him being here mid-year I hope will help him.

"Dan McCullers, of course, brings something that most people don't have which is gargantuan size. He is really big. When you see him, he looks like two people. It's like a circus act. What's going on here? He is a big guy and those guys are hard to block. Now we don't want him to get so big that he can't move. That is going to be the challenge, but he brings size that we didn't have.

"CP (Cordarrelle Patterson), you watch the film and whether you need him or not you are a fool not to recruit him because he has tremendous playmaking ability, size, speed and also brings return ability on kickoffs. We signed a lot of wideouts because we were lacking depth there and, of course, the other guys are getting up in years."

(On losing two linebacker recruits at the end)
"Neither of them surprised us. The drama helps the viewership, I get it. We need that drama so we can drive the readers and turn it into a TV show. From the very beginning, even back in September, we knew those two guys, it was going to be tough to close them out because they were far away and never shut it down. They were always going to listen to other schools and go on trips. When that is happening experience tells you there is a good chance you aren't going to get them at the end. What made it challenging for us was, because of that 25 rule, you couldn't stockpile more at that position knowing you were going to lose them, because there was a chance you wouldn't. It happening so late, that's what makes it challenging. Had the 25 rule not been in place, we might have been able to hedge that bet a little bit better. But there still will be some possibilities to help us on that end."

(On the two linebackers Tennessee did sign)
"Extremely excited about them. I think both of them are going to be really good football players. LaTroy probably wasn't a good a fit in our old scheme and he knew it. LaTroy was getting a little shaky in December and I told him I'm going to fix it. Be patient because you are going to fit in perfectly with what we are about to do. He was patient and he was great. It was good."

(On the signees desire to play at Tennessee despite the coaching turnover)
"I think this is going to be a special group because of that. I just take a guy like Danny O'Brien up there in Michigan. I don't know if anybody got assaulted like he did every week. He is a far away guy, but I'm going to tell you, incredible character. I also believe that it is how you recruit these guys because we don't sell a recruiting coach. It's not about a recruiting coach. It's not just about me. We sell Tennessee, we sell the program, we sell the team, we sell the university, we sell our structures and when you recruit it that way I believe you don't have a lot of fall out. Now, when you recruit on hot sauce and emotion and chest bumping and I'm a great position coach, when things get disruptive, naturally it is going to go because it is built on sand. Our recruiting efforts, in my opinion, are built on rock. It is built on relationships and selling the right things that are going to impact their lives. When you do that you have very few (de-commitments). Last year we had zero. Now, what is the converse to that? Why doesn't everybody do that? Well, you're not going to get some guys because a lot of people like the chest bumping and the hot sauce in recruiting."

(On using current team to recruit)
"Keep the main thing the main thing. That was number one with our team because nothing is more important than the guys they're going to be playing with. I tell them, `You can be in Anchorage, Alaska and if you like the guys you're around, you're going to love it. You can be in the nicest house, the nicest stadium and if you don't like the guys you're around, you're going to be miserable.' That's the most important thing to me is getting the recruits around our team. I'm proud of these guys. These guys are locked in. They're locked in, they're great people and they're focused on football. They're not perfect. They're flawed like all of us, but there's a lot of good energy in that locker room right now and I think all of those recruits felt that. That's what counters all of that other stuff. That's why I say, `Keep the main thing the main thing.' That's number one on the main thing is our team. Number two is our structures that are going to help them develop and be successful. Of course, three is Tennessee. If you keep your focus on that, it's hard to say no."

(On the competitiveness recruiting in the SEC)
"It's highly competitive. Probably the most difficult thing is (when) a guy commits, and all that means is everybody knows who to attack. That's the hardest thing in this league. You talk to some of these guys who haven't been in this league and they can't believe it. It's just a different environment. It is. It's just incredibly competitive. I'm not upset at it. That's the way it is. I'm in it. I've been in it most of my coaching career. I wouldn't say it's dirty. I wouldn't say people cheat like a lot of perception is. That's not it. It's competitive and you better work. You can't go to sleep at the wheel because if you do, your guy is gone."

(On how current roster effects recruiting)
"It depends. I think nobody thought we would get CP (Cordarrelle Patterson) because of what we have coming back. You know what I've found? Great players don't care who you have because they have confidence in their abilities. I tell our guys `We're going to have great players every year. If you're scared to come in and compete, you don't need to be here. You need to go to some other school.' I also say, `To be a great team, you need a lot of great players.' I sell that to our team and they do a great job of recruiting because of that. You can be selfish, be an offensive lineman and when another offensive lineman comes in as a recruit, you do a bad job of recruiting him. I used to do that. I'm just kidding. You don't want him to come in and beat you out, but that's not how it is. When you're a good team with a lot of good players, that's what it takes to be a champion."

(On whether the skills of the new WRs indicate the direction of the offense)
"I don't think so because we signed three running backs. We signed another tight end. What we're trying to do is get a lot of playmakers and depth. We can't have an injury and the whole season goes south. We have to have a lot of good football players. It's the same at quarterback. We have three guys who we believe in. We have a lot of receivers. We have a lot of tight ends. Especially at the skill level. It reared its ugly head last year. You lose one guy here, one guy there and your whole season is done. You lose one guy in the backend and you can't cover anybody. You have to have a lot of good football players to win in this league because other teams get injuries too. You can't go blaming every year on an injury. You have to put the next guy in and go win. That's what we were trying to do."

(On the wide receiver class UT signed)
"They all bring different skill sets. Wideouts come in all shapes and sizes. Some can do things others can't. I'm not going to speculate what they're going to look like next fall. You guys know how I am. I don't try to build these guys up because I don't know what they're going to look like in the fall. I have to get them in here, develop them, coach them and see what they can do. We'll see how they play when the lights come on, but we feel like we have a pretty quality class at that position."

(On planning on having flexibility signing 21 players)
"Yes, because I felt like there might be some guys falling out that didn't happen before because of this 25-thing. Last night, everybody in the SEC, there was a lot of jockeying going on out there trying to figure out who is getting who because it's going to impact who you can send an NLI to. It's tricky, but those are the rules."

(On if there are any unsigned players UT is looking at)
"There will be some. Time will tell. You know what? I wasn't going to take a marginal player to fill out everything because I'm not sure we can get to 25 next year. You can always count back next year."

(On whether he was nervous about LaDarrell McNeil's decision)
"I was extremely nervous. You look at indicators because he took a visit to Oklahoma State. Are you nervous? Are you kidding me? I mean, yes. He comes back and he's going to take another visit, but then he cancels it. When that happens, you get a little peace. But are you nervous? Yeah. You're calling them 28 times before signing day. `Are you there? Is everything OK?' `Yeah, coach. What?' You don't hear from them in two hours and you're in a panic. He's just at a movie. That's the challenge of recruiting far away because the worst time of the recruiting period is when it goes dead - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. You don't know what's going on, on the street."

(On LaDarrell McNeil)
"We liked everything about him. He has great character too. Do I think he has all the skill sets back there? Yeah, I do. He's physical. He's fast. He's rangy. He's big. We'll see."

(On the three running backs Tennessee signed)
"I feel like we signed guys we think will be (dynamic). You watch the film. There are not many more out there that are more dynamic than what a couple of these guys are. Alden (Hill) was our first running back commitment. He brought size that I felt like we didn't have coming back. We signed Q (Quenshaun Watson), who has some explosive qualities that not many guys have. He's incredibly fast. He's a 10.5 100-meter guy, state champion almost in track. He also brings return ability. We only had one returner last year and you all forget that. He (Devrin Young) went through a little period where he was getting hit around. You have to have a lot of guys at a lot of positions. He can do some things in the backfield when you get him the ball in space. Davante (Bourque), to me, is that all-purpose every-down (back). He's big. He's fast. He has great instincts. How all those three guys will help us, only time will tell. They're all going to get a great opportunity to help us, as will the guys on our roster who are going to be more mature and more seasoned. We'll see how it plays out."

(On multi-year scholarships)
"I don't really have an opinion on that other than I'm against those. I think that will be more discussions in our head coaches meetings. I don't know. We forget this is a contract, a two-way street. I think it's humorous that the academic institution can give an academic scholarship and take it away when a student doesn't perform at a certain GPA-level, but it's absolutely the worst thing you can do as a coach - it's so wrong what you do to these young people - when he doesn't do what he's supposed to do. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm missing. You have these contracts. It's called quid quo pro. We give you this. You give us that. But if they don't give us that and we decide not to give them this, then it's the worst thing you can do. I'm still struggling to understand that issue. I'm not smart enough to figure it out. I have to spend more time on it before I give an opinion."

(On how the 25-man limit effects recruits that want to come to Tennessee but don't yet have offer)
"It's hard because you want to be honest with them. You don't want to misrepresent. You have to tell them, `Look, I can't send you an NLI right now, but if another guy doesn't come, I'll send you one.' `Boy, you really want me, don't you coach?' And these other schools are saying, `We want you. You're our guy.' So it's hard."

(On whether recruit has to take scholarship on the table)
"He doesn't have to, but what would you tell your son to do? This is what makes it hard. You could sign guys and when you oversign them, you still give them the opportunity to come to Tennessee. I think that's where a lot of the confusion happens. People think when you oversign, you just kick guys on the street and they can't go to college. That's not what's happening. That's not what's real. What we've done is we've taken one or two rare exceptions, rare circumstances where it wasn't managed properly and we've turned it into a national crisis. It's what happens, you overreact. We had a good rule in place that was in place for one year."

University of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley announced Friday that the Vols have hired Charlie Coiner as special teams and tight ends coach. Coiner, who spent nine seasons on NFL coaching staffs with the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills, served as a defensive and special teams assistant with North Carolina in 2010.

"Charlie has a diverse background in professional and college coaching, and he has had consistent success at both levels," said Dooley. "Charlie has also worked with several of our coaches, which will help make the transition and working dynamic seamless."

In four seasons with the Bills from 2006-09, Coiner coached the team's tight ends while serving as an assistant special teams coach. Buffalo tight ends combined for 58 receptions, 598 yards, and two touchdowns in 2008, including career highs in receptions (33) and yards (351) for Robert Royal. Second-year tight end Derek Schouman also produced 15 catches and 153 years in 2008. In 2006, Coiner's first season coaching the unit, production from the tight end position increase, including a touchdown reception by a tight end in three consecutive games for the first time for the franchise since 1963.

Before joining the Bills, Coiner spent five seasons with the Chicago Bears, originally joining the organization in 2001 as an offensive assistant, a position he held for three seasons (2001-03). Coiner then served as assistant special teams coach for the Bears from 2004-05.

Coiner is also a veteran of 18 seasons of coaching at the collegiate level, including stops at LSU (1999), UT Chattanooga (1998), Louisville (1995-97), and Vanderbilt (1991-93).

Coiner began his coaching career at Appalachian State, where he served four seasons on the staff from 1983-86. A native of Waynesboro, Va., he earned his Bachelor's Degree from Catawba College and his master's degree from Appalachian State.

Charlie Coiner COACHING CAREER
2010 » North Carolina, Defensive Assistant
2006-09 » Buffalo Bills, Tight Ends, Assistant Special Teams
2001-03 » Chicago Bears, Offensive Assistant (2001-03), Assistant Special Teams (2004-05)
2000 » Texas Southern, Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks, Special Teams
1999 » LSU, Special Teams
1998 » UT Chattanooga, Linebackers
1995-97» Louisville, Tight Ends
1994 » Texas Southern, Offensive Line, Special Teams
1991-93 » Vanderbilt, Special Teams
1988-90 » Austin Peay, Offensive Line (1988-89), Defensive Line (1990)
1987 » Minnesota, Defensive Line, Kicking Coach
1983-86 » Appalachian State, Graduate Assistant

Head Coach Derek Dooley
(On coaching changes and Sam Pittman's hiring)
"I'll start with the coaching changes. Obviously, a lot has happened since we last talked not long ago. We hired Sam Pittman as you know. Sam has done a great job the last five years at North Carolina. Some of these hires happen quickly. I know it looked odd. Some of them take forever. There's no real rhyme or reason why. Every coach has different interests. They're in a different situation. They have to go through diligence differently and we have to do the same thing. It just so happened the Sam thing fell on us quickly and I'm glad he's a part of us. He's going to do a great job.

(On hiring Sal Sunseri)
"Of course we hired Sal (Sunseri) as our defensive coordinator. I first saw Sal in I think it was the 1983 (1982) Sugar Bowl. I was down there just a coach's kid on the sideline and he was an All-American linebacker. I worked with Sal in 2000 at LSU andd eveloped a relationship with him and just watched his body of work over the last 10 years. I'm so excited he wanted to be a part of Tennessee. He's an outstanding football coach. He's an outstanding recruiter. He has great energy. He is an awesome human being. I think he'll be a really good fit for us. Those are the hires that we have made. We obviously have two more, which I don't want to talk about. The rumors are beautiful, some of the rumors you guys put out, people that I have never even talked to who we've hired.

(On the support of Dave Hart)
"I do want to mention that (Athletics Director) Dave Hart has just been a tremendous resource for me here, especially when you hire a D-coordinator. These are complex hires. There are a lot of things involved. It's obviously a very important hire for any program. He's been very supportive in helping me through the process.

(On roster changes)
"Now, let me go to the roster. As every program has, we have a little attrition at the mid-year; DeAnthony Arnett, Martaze Jackson, Art Jeffery, Matt Milton, Nash Nance and Robert Nelson are no longer a part of the team, all for different reasons. Some of it is family, some of it academic pursuits, some of it opportunity to play at other places and we wish them well. We support them. We never like anybody to leave our program, but sometimes it's in their best interest and it's a good mutual parting of ways. We move on. JerQuari Schofield is here, but not a part of the team right now because he has a lot of work to do academically and I want him to focus on that."

(On injuries)
"Let me update you on everybody. Ok, I'm just going down the list. Brent Brewer is eight weeks out, he is off his crutches and he is doing great. He'll be out for the spring on his ACL. Alex Bullard, he had a little meniscus tear and he is fine. He is going to be full go. Alan Carson, he got scoped as well. He is on crutches probably for another week but he is going to be fine and full go for spring. Justin Hunter is doing really well. He is how many months out? He is running right now. He is right on track and doing great. Greg King had a meniscus tear and is doing, I think, better than he has been. He is going to be full go. Marlin Lane, same deal. He is full go. All of these postseason surgeries helped. You know about Da'Rick (Rogers). He will get his pins out in four weeks so he can't really catch for another couple of months, but he should be full go for spring. He will be fine for spring. It's going to limit him a little bit here. Marlon Walls was another scope guy on his knee. He will be full go for spring. He's ready to go. Our shoulder guys, Daniel Hood, Curt Maggitt and Prentiss (Waggner), all had successful shoulder repairs. They are in slings and will be in slings for a little while. They are going to be non-contact in the spring, which obviously for Dan Hood, there is not much more you can do. For a guy like Prentiss, you can probably do a lot because of the position. Herman (Lathers) is doing good. He is full go. We'll see how that goes. That is everybody."

(On mid-year enrollees)
"You know we have seven mid-year guys. They look good. We are excited about Cody Blanc, Alden Hill, Justin Meredith, Nathan Peterman, Darrington Sentimore, Trent Taylor and Tino Thomas. No real issues with any of them right now. They are ready to go, they are in school and good. We've had a couple of team meetings. The kids came back Wednesday with just a tremendous amount of energy and enthusiasm. I told them, like I said a week ago, I am as excited as I have ever been about an offseason. We are tweaking a couple of things to kind of incorporate a little competitive component to the offseason program, but more than anything I told them the two most important things we can achieve are teamwork, learning how to be a team and work together as teammates and understanding the individual investment and commitment it takes every day to be a great player. We are going to kick off our winter program on Tuesday and then we will be off and running. Of course, the coaches have two more weeks to close out signing day. That is the update."

(On taking a breath after making the defensive coordinator hire)
"That one is a lot of anxiety on you, but they all are really. That one, of course, more so than others, because that one impacts a lot of the other ones that you hire. It is hard to really cover up a wrong hire at the coordinator level. You catch a breath for about 30 seconds and that is about how long you have at Tennessee before something else is on the way and we move on to the next phase."

(On evaluating Sal Sunseri)
"He has called plays. He's had four years of it before. Sal's body of work is more than the three years with Nick (Saban). He had seven years with John Fox who, right now, is probably playing better defense than anybody in the NFL. He has a tremendous knowledge of football and, not only that, but everywhere he goes, his players perform. It was pretty simple for me."

(On what scheme he will bring to the defense)
"We talked a lot about it and one of the reasons I went after Sal was because I felt like we needed to be a little more multiple and I felt like we needed to be a little more aggressive in situations of a game. Sal brings that. I think our personnel allows us to do a lot more because of the body types that we have and guys that we have recruited. That is going to be something that is important. I've always said, like I've told you guys, every time you have a coaching change it is a great opportunity to try and improve in some areas you think you need to improve in. I hope we did that."

(On how recruiting factors in during the interview process)
"It is very important because if you can't get the guys, it doesn't matter how good a coach you are. There were some great coaches in that national championship game, but it wasn't short of great players. You have to be able to do both. Both of the guys that we hired have a long history and track record of signing some really quality talent."

(On hiring a coach away from Nick Saban)
"I didn't view it as that, just because of the nature of the jump in title. I told Nick when I called him that it was a hard call because it isn't a Tennessee-Alabama deal. It was such a good opportunity professionally for Sal, and I know Nick has always been proud of the coaches that go on to bigger and brighter things because of the time they spent with him. I'm appreciative of what he gave me as a coach and I know Sal is appreciate of what he has given him as a coach. I was really pleased at how professionally he handled it. We have a friendship too, and that will never be compromised. It wasn't about Tennessee taking anything from Alabama. It was a guy that has had a track record of great coaching over the last two decades and an opportunity that I think he has been wanting for a couple of years."

(On stepping away from Nick Saban to prove yourself)
"I think all coaches are like that at some point. If you have aspirations of becoming a head coach, at some point you have to go out there and do it on your own. I know Sal, ever since we were together in 2000, the next step he wanted was to be a D-coordinator at a high level and to his credit he didn't want to just rush into it. He was in there grinding with Foxy for seven years and then when he got an opportunity to go with Nick he viewed it as another way to grow professionally. Some coaches want to get the title and that is good and a lot of times it works, and then other coaches like to learn and develop and grow so that when they do get the title they are ready to go."

(On whether Sunseri's background with linebackers gives him some flexibility in the rest of his coaching hires)
"There is still flexibility. I don't want to tell to go ahead and tell you how we are going to slot everybody, but yeah, Sal can coach a lot of positions."

(On how quickly the coaches will begin recruiting and whether Sunseri will focus on the Baltimore/D.C. area)
"Right now, Sal is going to hit the guys we have committed. He needs to go meet the defensive players and help recruit some of the others. Once we get to signing day, we will evaluate what areas all of our coaches will go to"

(On being more multiple defensively)
"Multiple, that includes 4-3, that includes 3-4, that includes a lot of third-down pressures, it includes everything. What we end up ultimately being, only time will tell based on our personnel."

(On whether he wanted to be more multiple even before changing coordinators)
"I wanted to grow. I think each year you look at what you did on offense, defense and special teams and say, `Where could we have been a little better schematically?' Some of the things, it's not that you were wrong last year, it is just that maybe there were circumstances that didn't allow you to do that. What is changing this year and what should we do a little bit better? Whether Sal was here or not, that was kind of the direction we were going to want to go in."

Vols head coach Derek Dooley met with the media on Tuesday to address various topics regarding the team. Here is the complete transcript:

"I know you wanted to visit with me about a few issues and I certainly wanted to come speak on a couple of things just to clear up some of the confusion, so what I'd like to do is kind of start with some of these high-item issues that have been floating out there and at least clear them up.

"Let's start with DeAnthony (Arnett). Over the holidays, I got a message and a phone call from his brother. Of course, it was a little bit of a surprise. I had never met the father. Our typical response in these, as you guys know, is that we don't release guys especially in their first year out of the NLI (National Letter of Intent) and certainly not to competitors. But we felt like at least the initial emotion of it, we should at least start the conversation by carving some exceptions to allow him to get home.

"I want you guys to know that the most important concern for me is the welfare of our student-athletes. That's number one. I also have a responsibility to Tennessee, and so I needed some one-on-one dialogue with DeAnthony. These are big issues. They're complex. They're emotional. Like every issue that we deal with our players, it's no different than a parent and a son trying to talk through and sort through the heart of the problem and help him make a good decision that's the right decision for his future. Over the last five weeks or two weeks I guess, I've had some real good one-on-one conversation since all that hit out there on the social media.

"I'm very comfortable carving out an exception for him when he makes his request, which is not until today because our offices have been closed. That's another reason there's been a delay in releasing him where he wants to go close to home to get back to his father. There was a lot of confusion on what had happened there and that's why I just wanted to clear that up. I'm really supportive of DeAnthony. He has a great future as a person and as a player. He's been very mature through this thing during a tough time and an emotional time. Once we started the one-on-one dialogue, it's been very comforting for both of us. I'm wishing him well there when that time comes.

"Coaches, let's jump to the coaches issue. Of course, it's that time of year as we know every year. I was counting today, seven schools in the SEC alone are going through coordinator changes. That's kind of the nature of our industry. I've said all along that when people are wanting your coaches, despite what a lot of people think, we're obviously doing something right. All three of those guys (Eric Russell, Peter Sirmon and Justin Wilcox) came from the Pacific Northwest, so it was a chance for them to get back home. I understand it and I really appreciate the work they gave us the last two years. They put their heart and soul in this program and the program is significantly better today than it was when we all came here 22 months ago. Those guys played a big part of it. Like any coaching change, we use it as an opportunity to get better. And that's what we're going to do here because as much of the good things as those guys brought, there's always areas where we can improve. We'll begin that search to try to get the right fit and we're in the early stages of that."

"The third issue that I want to visit with is just some big picture recruiting. As you guys know, I really can't talk specifically on recruiting, but I do want to address some of the challenges that all of our schools are facing in the SEC right now. As we all know, the months leading up to signing day, it's really a journey for families. It's a journey for schools to try to find the right fit where the school, the player and the families, this is going to stick. This is going to be a great fit. The most important thing for me in recruiting has always been honest and frequent communication with the recruit and the family. Nothing is more important than that. Here are the challenges that we're facing that this year it's a little bit new given the restrictions that we've put on ourselves on signing.

"Number one is academic risk. In the past, when you get your mid-term grades here - which is a great indicator of whether a recruit can qualify or not - it was OK if he was a big risk because you could sign him and if he didn't qualify, you could help him. You could help him go to a junior college. You could help him go maybe to another school and get him back to reach his dreams. You can't do that anymore. When there's a high academic risk at the mid-term, the communication has to be that the limits that have been placed on us prevent us from continuing to help. That's unfortunate. It's one of the reasons, of course, our coaches were so opposed to it.

"The second thing is trying to have continued dialogue on having the right fit. Again, if you find yourself in a position where you're overloaded at a position because you've extended some offers, you could delay enrollment in the past. When you have 25 and you can't go over, the delayed enrollment thing is kind of out of the picture there. There are a lot of challenges there that we are facing on that. I think at the end of the day, I'm really excited about all of the interest that we're having again for our second full recruiting class out there. I can't really talk any specifics on that.

"Going forward, I was going to talk to you guys next week on our roster so I just don't want to go down that path until the players are back as far as all of the issues on our team. I can tell you this; I've never been more excited about an off-season in all of my coaching career because as disappointed as I am about how the season ended, I'm equally optimistic about our team and our program heading into next year. For the first time since I've been here, we have 19 starters returning. We have considerably more experience going into the next season than we've ever had. We have a group of young people who I've been talking to over the holidays and met with before we broke who believe in Tennessee. They believe in the program. They believe in our future and they're fired up about going to work next season. I'm excited about it. It's allowed us to really sharpen our focus as coaches. We have a great off-season plan and that's all our focus is going to be when our players come back, is the next eight weeks of work. I've spoken my peace on some of these issues and now you guys can tell me what you want to talk about."

(On whether he's surprised that Wilcox or Sirmon left so close to signing day)
"No, not at all, because this is really when all of this happens. It happens after bowls. There are a lot of different time periods. It happens right after the season when there's movement. IT happens around that New Year time when the bowls over. With the NFL season ending, there's another spike and then there's another spike after signing day. The whole coaching movement, the profession is from December 1 until the end of February. That's when it happens and it happens all over the country. Sometimes, you hate losing them. Sometimes, it's good that you lose them because sometimes turnover is a healthy thing. Either way, it's a great chance to say, `Hey, where can we get better through this?' And that's what we're going to do."

(On the timeframe of hiring new coaches)
"I wish that I could put a timeframe on it. It's really complex, given you have to invest time in recruiting and some teams are still playing in the NFL. It's really hard to say. Certainly, the quicker, the better. What we're not going to do is try and compromise who we get to try and hurry it up."

(On the perception of Tennessee's program)
"I think it's understandable why there could be a perception that it's not that good right now. But I'm not concerned at all about what's real. What's real is this program has been put in the last 22 months on as good of a foundation as we could ever do. I think that going forward, our team is excited. There's a lot of continuity on our team for the first time. We have a lot more experience on our team for the first time so I think that there's a lot of excitement internally. What a perception is, is not always what the reality is on the inside. I can't control what people think and perceive. I can only control what's happening and going on inside the building. I think if you talk to Justin, Peter, Eric and DeAnthony, I think they'll all feel the same way that we're doing the right things, we're heading in the right direction, the success is going to come and the worst is behind us."

(On whether DeAnthony Arnett will be granted a release to play at Michigan or Michigan State)
"Yes."

(On whether he's started the process of looking into hiring new coaches)
"Yeah, certainly. You start gathering information. Of course, it's Tennessee. It's unbelievable the amount of interest that coaches have wanting to come here. I think they understand that it's a great time to come to Tennessee. It's certainly a much better time than it was two years ago when we came to Tennessee, and all the coaches our there know that, especially on defense. We finished 28th in the country on defense, we have nine starters returning and we have a great mid-year signee to boot. That's pretty appealing."

(On whether there have been `formal' discussions with potential coaching candidates)
"I'm not sure what the difference is. I've had a lot of conversations with a lot of people. That's all I can tell you. I don't really have a formal conversation and an informal. I just talk to them."

(On team chemistry being an issue)
"I think that's a fair thing to say. Probably the biggest challenge I had all season and we had - I shouldn't say I - was team building. And that's the biggest challenge every year. The fact of the matter was we had a very small group of upperclassmen, and many of them didn't play. We had a sophomore class who played a lot and whether or not they were ready to take ownership of the team and the chemistry, probably we weren't ready for it. Then we had a freshman class who was extremely talented with some great players, but has never really been in an off-season to merge with the sophomores or the upperclassmen. It was a challenging team dynamic from the beginning, and I knew that going into the year. I think that's as important as a thing we can do in the off-season. I don't think we're going to have any issues next year, but that's a challenge for every coach is team building.

"One thing I do want to add is after a game like that (at Kentucky), it's emotional. It's hard, guys. Everybody is emotional. It's especially emotional for a senior who is playing in his last game. It's hard. I think it's important not to overvalue a comment or two that a player makes or even a coach makes during that time in the heat of the moment because it's hard. I think when you have time to reflect and look back, you think about all of the positive things that were going on and there were a lot."

(On how the team will respond to losing coaches)
"I don't think losing coaches really impacts team chemistry. I think the most important thing is how can we help them build team chemistry? Team chemistry, first of all, is them learning to play for each other, learning to play for Tennessee and learning to have a great trust with each other, with the coaching staff and with everybody in the organization. That takes work. I think anybody who is a part of any team, whether it's in business, the military or sport, it's always a challenge. We have a lot of things that we're doing in the off-season to help that. We tinker with some things, but I think more than anything, it's growth and maturity. That's what it is. The more you invest in something, the more important it is to you. That's just a fact. That's why seniors are so much more passionate about the success of a team than freshmen. It's just human nature, because they've invested four or five years in the program. The more you invest in something, the more it hurts you and the more important it is. It's human nature. I think time is going to fix that more than anything."

(On saying the coaching staff needed to trust each other more after loss to Kentucky)
"I don't remember that, Brent. I don't know what I was referencing there. Look, after that game it starts with us taking responsibility as coaches and there was a lot we could have done differently and a lot we could have done better. I don't ever run from that, even though some people take some comments and think that I do. Nothing is more important than that. Probably what I was referencing is that we have to do a better job as coaches, starting with me and we are going to do that. I think it is just part of building that team and trust is a big thing with that. It is going to come over time."

(On seniors saying the team lacked leadership)
"I think we have a ton of guys who have incredible leadership ability and I think they are going to take ownership of that this year. I'm really not worried about leadership this year. Like I said, part of becoming a good leader is the time you have invested, it's your commitment level to the program and it's your willingness to take the role of saying, `By God, we are going to do this thing.' And we have a ton of guys, I've already had great conversations with them, that just can't wait to turn the page and start over."

(On importance of getting the coaching staff in place before National Signing Day)
"I think that is a fair statement. Of course the quicker you can bring them in, but the most important thing is getting the right guys that can help you win next year. That is the delicate balance in all of this, Jimmy. You want guys quickly but you can't compromise what it is going to look like on the field next year just to get them before National Signing Day. That's the challenge. It is hard.

(On whether his criteria for hiring a defensive coordinator have changed)
"I'd hate to sit here and box myself in because when you start this dialogue, sometimes you think you know what you want but suddenly someone appears and you go, `Gosh, this is a pretty good hire right here.' I have some ideas, but the most important one is what can help us win the most next year. That is going to be my focus from the beginning. Certainly you want somebody who understands the challenges of the SEC because it is a challenging league and there are a lot of different challenges than there are in other leagues."

(On whether the new defensive coordinator will have to keep the same scheme)
"I wouldn't say we are going to go radically different, but we were pretty multiple in what we did so I think our personnel can fit a lot of different things."

(On hiring Jay Graham)
"Jay has every quality you would want in a coach. He is certainly a great person, he cares about the student-athletes, he has done a remarkable job in his short career of coaching players, motivating them and getting them to play well, and then add to it what he has done at this place. It was pretty much a no-brainer for me. We are glad Jay is back to his family and he is going to have a big role for us moving forward."

(On the pressure to win)
"You feel it every year in this league. It's not just this league, guys. Akron who we play next year, Kansas and Memphis all parted ways with their coach after two seasons. If that doesn't say, `Hey buddy, every year you are on the line.' That is the way it is and that is part of the profession. What you can't do is get so drawn in to that, that you lose your focus of what's important. What's important is what we are doing every day to help us go out there and play better next season. That is all we are focused on."

(On conversations with Tyler Bray)
"It has been great. He was crushed after the game. We had probably a two-hour talk a few days after just reflecting. It was awesome dialogue. I think sometimes those hard things are good for you in life. People hate for me to say that, because nobody wants hard things to happen in our program, but sometimes it makes you better. That is what adversity does. It really sharpens your focus and allows you to acknowledge some things you need to work on. It is going to help us as coaches and it is going to help Tyler and it is going to help all of our players."

(On the status of Da'Rick Rogers)
"I don't know why you all keep bringing that up. Da'Rick is on our team and he hasn't been suspended. Jimmy (Stanton) keeps telling me that they keep asking out there. I don't want to talk on our roster issues, but Da'Rick is on our team and he is good. I don't really get it, but it just continues on. I guess it's just like me retiring. We used to get our fix for drama about, I guess, 20 years ago in the afternoon soap operas. That was the only drama that you could really get that got you all stimulated, but know we get it 24 hours a day, man. There is a lot out there. I guess it is a mistake not getting involved in the drama. Thank God I have Jimmy. I used to get my annual chatter update from Hubbs at my radio show, right Brent? That's what we are in and the drama can become a reality if you don't address it. I am acknowledging that and that is why I am here today, one of the reasons I am here today.

(On whether Da'Rick Rogers has requested a release)
"Who? No, no. Da'Rick is fine."

(On whether he said something in a team meeting about Da'Rick Rogers)
"I'm not going to talk about what goes on in our team meetings, Jimmy. I mean, come on. I say something to our team about players every day."

(On his message to recruits about the coaches leaving)
"I think that the important thing is that number one Tennessee has not changed. All of the things that they really fell in love with when they got here and saw it, the program, how we are running the program, what we have done in the last 22 months, the new facility, the support, the game day excitement. None of that has changed. We have the resources and the attraction that is going to get some high-quality coaches. There is a tremendous amount of interest. Just stay patient. When we hire who we hire, you will have an opportunity to meet them because that is a factor, but it is certainly not `the' factor. I've told recruits that all the time. That shouldn't be `the' factor. What I also tell them is that this is an early part of the bad part of our profession that you are going to have to deal with as a player for the rest of your career. If you go to the NFL and play eight years in the NFL, you might have eight position coaches and four head coaches, so the important thing is liking the program, liking the direction, liking the team because ultimately that is what is going to define their experience in college."

(On whether he anticipates any more changes on the coaching staff)
"You know what John, it can happen tomorrow. We could have three more get offers. I know this, I always say that probably the toughest month for a head coach is January because the coaches are free agents and the recruits are free agents and that is how it goes, but that is OK."

(On the urgency to hire a defensive coordinator because of recruiting)
"I have acknowledged that yeah, the quicker the better. I'm not going to sit here and say it's no big deal if we take our time. The quicker we can get somebody in the better, but what I am not going to do is compromise who we get because we have to get somebody fast. I am going to be diligent, but I am also going to recognize that time is important."

(On whether the new defensive coordinator will have a say in the rest of the hires)
"I don't know. That is all going to depend."

(On whether he is surprised on coaching staff turnover)
"My whole career has been like that. We had about four a year leave when I was at LSU. Every year, we averaged about three or four coaches a year. When I was at Miami we had a bunch leave. When I was at Louisiana Tech we had a lot of turnover. Every staff I have been a part you have turnover. There are a few programs out there where guys are there for 20 years and long stability, but you know what is happening is that the market dynamics are changing that. Money is changing it. Now people are flying all over the country to go coach. It used to be a little more regional and it is different now. You get out there and maybe you don't fit in, I'm not saying that is case in ours, but it is a lot more transient than it has been."

(On whether multi-year contracts are a big deal when hiring assistants)
"I think it depends on a lot of factors. Every assistant their biggest concern is security for their family and it should be. That was my concern as an assistant. You get worried about your family. You'd like to say, we'll give you a five-year deal, but that is not reality because what you don't want to do is box both of yourselves in. That has just not been the way the profession has been."

(On whether multi-year contracts had on impact on why some coaches left)
"I can't speak for why. Like I said, all three of them are from that area and it was a good opportunity for them. Everybody is different. Every coach's issues are different. It is just like recruiting. We try to really simplify it, but issues like that are complex and guys, they are hard. You are moving families. They are not easy. At the end of the day, and I tell them this, you have to do what you think is best for you and your family. If you decide you want to be here, you have to be 100 percent, dive in and bleed orange. If you don't feel that way, then you should really go. I tell everybody that, if you don't feel like you are absolutely in and bleeding orange, and that is in any job. I told them that at Louisiana Tech. You have to unpack your bags and go. That is what I did as an assistant, I didn't care where I was, and as a head coach. I operated as if I was going to be there the rest of my life and I've got to bust my tail to get it right. I think that is the best approach for any assistant and when you do that you get a lot of opportunities."

(On whether it is inevitable for assistants to move on)
"To me, you just keep your focus on the program. I am really proud of what we have accomplished in 22 months, Rick. I am guys. You look back and in this short of time, with all the things that we have had to face from the state of the roster, from the NCAA stuff that is now behind us. When you look at our football team and what it looks like today and you look at our program and what it looks like today, buddy it is in great shape from where we were 22 months ago. We are on our way. The worst is behind us. I said it after the (Kentucky) game. I hate that we had a game like that and the worst part of having a game like that is you don't play the next week. I've been a part of some tough ones, man. We lost to UAB at LSU, but we got to play Tennessee the next week. You get five days of bad stuff and then you can go fix it. We can't do that now. It's a good lesson. Don't do what you do the last game when you aren't bowl eligible. Bad way to end it."

(On whether he asked Justin Wilcox and Peter Sirmon if there was anything he could do to keep them at Tennessee)
"I don't want to go into all of our private conversations, but I am always very supportive of the coaches. I don't get angry when guys leave. To me, it is a professional dialogue that you should have. There is a mutual respect. Those guys worked their tail off for Tennessee when they were here. Listen, their contracts are good and they are paid well."

(On his message to fans who feel disillusioned)
"I think what I just said. Twenty-two months ago we walked into a tough situation and we have rolled up our sleeves and gone to work every day. Despite some of the hard bumps that you hit along the way, it doesn't minimize the progress that has been made at the foundation-level, it doesn't minimize what the roster looks like heading into next season and it doesn't minimize the excitement that we have outside of this area in recruiting and elsewhere. Listen, I am excited and I am fired up. I don't know what else to say. When you get drawn in to the drama, it is toxic. It really is. It is bad for the soul. When you love something, when you are talking publicly about it, you support it. Whether it is your family, your wife, your school, your program. When you love something, you support it. That doesn't mean that you don't have concerns about it, it doesn't mean you don't air out some things privately if things aren't going the way you want it, you support it. We have one of the best fan bases in the country with a passion that is unmatched. I wouldn't trade them for anybody. When you have some bumps along the way, there is going to be some passion the other way and that is great. It is healthy, but the most important thing is how you move forward and how you fix it. That is all I am focused on."

(On his relationship with Dave Hart)
"Great. I've had as good of dialogue with Dave as anybody I have ever worked for. I have had a lot of dialogue. He is incredibly supportive. Dave has been around a lot of big-time winning football and knows what our challenges are. I think with all of the dialogue we have had, he 100 percent believes in what we are doing and where we are headed. I am thrilled that he is here. I really am. I think it is as good a thing as we could have done when Mike (Hamilton) left. I don't know if there is a better guy we could have gotten for the job. I am fired up about Dave."

(On the status of the four players suspended at the end of the season)
"On the roster Jimmy, give me a week on that. When they all come back to school I will sort through any changes if that is OK."

Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley announced the addition of Vols letterman Jay Graham to the Tennessee coaching staff as the running backs coach. Graham, most recently the running backs/tight ends coach at South Carolina, fills the vacancy on the staff created by the departure of associate head coach/wide receivers coach Charlie Baggett, who will not return to his position for the 2012 season.

"Jay is not only one of the most accomplished running backs in Tennessee history, but he has also proven to be one of the top running backs coaches in the SEC," said Dooley. "Jay understands what it means to be a Vol, and we are thrilled to have him on our staff."

Jay Graham in his days as a Vols graduate assistant.

Graham has spent the last three years on the coaching staff at South Carolina (2009-11) and coached sophomore running back Marcus Lattimore, who has rushed for a combined 2,015 yards and 27 touchdowns during his first two seasons with the Gamecocks. Lattimore was on pace to become the first South Carolina back to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons since Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers posted three consecutive from 1978-80 before an injury sidelined him for the final five games. South Carolina ranked third in the SEC this season with 198.0 rushing yards per game.

"I am thankful to Coach Dooley for giving me the opportunity to return to Tennessee," said Graham. "Tennessee is a program with great football tradition and fan support, and I am honored to join the coaching staff for the Vols."

As a player for Tennessee, Graham rushed for 2,609 yards as a Vol from 1993-96 and ranks seventh all-time on the Vols' career rushing chart. His most prolific season was in 1995, when he rushed for 1,438 yards on 272 carries, the second-highest rushing total in a season in UT history and the third-most attempts by a Vol running back in one year. Graham earned All-SEC Second Team honors as both a junior and a senior in 1995 and 1996, respectively, and helped the Vols to three bowl victories.

Graham's 1995 total of 11 100-yard games is the most in Tennessee history in a single season and included a school-record nine consecutive 100-yard rushing efforts. He also posted 14 100-yard games in his Tennessee career, a total that ranks only behind Travis Henry (15) in school history. Additionally, Graham's 25 rushing touchdowns rank tied for ninth on the Tennessee career list, and he rushed for a career-high 211 yards against Vanderbilt on Nov. 25, 1995.

A third-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 1997, Graham spent six seasons in the NFL, including four with the Ravens (1997-2000) and single seasons with the Seattle Seahawks (2001) and Green Bay Packers (2002).

In 2004, Graham returned to Knoxville and graduated with a degree in psychology. He also served the 2005 season as a graduate assistant on the Vols staff and completed his master's degree in sports management from UT in 2008. In addition to stints at South Carolina and his graduate assistant season at Tennessee, Graham has also served as an assistant coach at Miami, Ohio (2008), UT-Martin (2007), the University of San Diego (2007), and UT Chattanooga (2006).

Graham and his wife, Kelly, are the parents of two daughters, Nia and Denae, and two sons, Jayson and Kellan.

Baggett spent two seasons at Tennessee from 2010-11 as associate head coach and receivers coach and joined the Vols after spending the 2009 season with the St. Louis Rams.

"I appreciate Charlie's contributions to the Tennessee football program during the last 22 months," said Dooley. "Charlie has made an incredibly positive impact toward our efforts to build a strong foundation for future success. He has had an excellent career as a coach, and I am grateful for his efforts during his time at Tennessee."

Baggett previously coached in college at Washington (2007-08), Michigan State (1983-92) and Minnesota (1981-82) and has also coached for multiple teams in the NFL, including the then-Houston Oilers (1993-94), Green Bay Packers (1999), Minnesota Vikings (2000-04), Miami Dolphins (2005-06) and St. Louis Rams (2009).