Dave Price pitched another gem for the Tigers against the Rays last Thursday afternoon, but didn’t get any help with the bats on that day. David went eight against his old team, the Tampa Bay Rays, gave up just one hit, one run–in the first inning– with no walks and nine K’s. David threw 100 pitches, 73 for strikes with 27 balls. Unfortunately, the Tigers couldn’t score and lost 1-0. David now 12-9 with a 3.00 ERA. His ERA was around 5.00 in May. It’s just astounding how well he’s pitching right now. He’s given up 23 home runs, which has been his only blemish for the past three and a half months in which he’s been on a tear. But our old football coach, who’s now in another state where Pedro plays baseball, said in the Music City Bowl of N.C. State quarterback Mike Glennon, our opponent in that 2012 game, that Glennon was so accurate that we knew where the ball would be going and where it would be and we could pick him off. We had around four interceptions that day in an amazing defensive effort.

The same applies for David in a sense. David is so accurate– he’s given up 29 walks to 229 strikeouts a 7.9 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio, which is off the charts good– that hitters know they’re going to get a strike; and if David is off just a little bit with his location on  his fastball or breaking stuff, the hitter can guess what pitch it will be, know it’ll be over the plate, and hit it out. I’m not worried about it though. David is close to perfect in most of his outings. The Tigers didn’t play last night, but the Kansas City Royals lost to the Yankees, 8-1, and Tigers moved back to 1.5 back in the American League Central division. The Tigers host the Yanks for three starting  today @ Comerica Park in Detroit. The Tigers need to sweep or at least take two out of three. The Royals host the Minnesota Twins for three starting today, then host Cleveland over the weekend. The Tigers play at the White Sox this weekend. Dave is on the hill tomorrow night (Wednesday)  vs. Shane Greene of the Yankees. Greene is 3-1 with a 3.17 ERA. He beat the White Sox last Friday night going five, giving up nine hits, three earned with two walks and seven K’s. Should be an excellent matchup. First pitch is @ 7PM ET/6 CT on ESPN.

The Tigers have Rick Porcello on the hill tonight (14-8, 3.10) vs Brandon McCarthy of the Yankees. McCarthy is 8-12 with a 4.01 ERA. but his last start against the  Houston ‘Stros, he pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only four hits, no walks and eight K’s. He can be a stud. Porcello also pitched a complete game shutout against the Rays last Wednesday (8/20), giving up only three hits, with no walks and four K’s. Thursday, Hiroki Kuroda (9-8, 3.94 ERA)  goes for the Yankees against undecided for the Tigers.  The Tigers have had some injuries with their pitching. Starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez is out with a pectoral injury, and he’ll be on the DL till the second or third week in September, so they’re trying to figure Thursday out. Justin Verlander will throw Friday night @ the White Sox.  Hopefully, the Tigers win tonight and KC loses, and Dave will be in a huge game tomorrow night on a nationally televised game with the Tigers just a half game back of the Royals. If the Royals lose tonight and we win, we’ll be even in the loss column. We’ll be 71-59 and the Royals will be 72-59, so basically even as we’ve played one less game than them. Dave doin’ stellar work.v Tigers need him to be stellar tomorrow night.

Mike Minor also threw a gem on Friday Night @ the Cincy Reds. Mike went 7.2, gave up just one hit, one earned run, with four walks and five K’s. Mike had a no-hitter going through 7 and 2/3’s, but gave up a two out bloop single to Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton that drove in a run. Mike threw 107 pitches with 64 for strikes and 43 balls. Braves did win in 12 innings, 3-1, as Justin Upton blasted  a two run shot in the top of the 12th for the game winning runs. Braves are now 7.5 back of the Washington Nationals in the NL East and a 1/2 game back in the NL wild card behind San Francisco for the second wild card. They are three and a half back of the wild card leading St. Louis Cardinals. The Braves are 68-63. They play at the Mets for three starting tonight. Mike gets the call on Thursday night at 7:10 PM ET/6:10 CT against Jonathon Niese of the Mets. Niese is 7-9 with a 3.47 ERA. Mike is now 5-8 with a 4.90 ERA, but his last two starts against the Reds and the A’s have been encouraging. He was not involved in the decision against the Reds, but beat the A’s on Sunday, Aug. 17th, going seven, giving up four hits, with two earned runs on two walks and seven K’s. Mike has given up 20 homers this year, which has been a little bit of a problem for him, but he’s accurate too. He’s walked 36 while striking out 106. That’s a 2.94 strikeout to walk ratio. Anything over 2:1 is very good. Nationals @ the Phillies today through Thursday. The Cards, which won last night at Pittsburgh, play the Bucs today and tomorrow at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The Giants lost last night to the Colorado Rockies and play them at home tonight and tomorrow afternoon. So the Braves need to Al Davis it and just win baby and get some help in the upcoming weeks.

Sonny pitched a nice game last Friday night for the Oakland A’s going 8.1 against the then AL West leading LA Angels, giving up six hits, three runs with two walks and five K’s, as the A’s defeated the Angels, 5-3. He gave up two home runs, one to the awesome Mike Trout and another to the usually awesome Josh Hamilton. The Angels have some hitters. Albert Pujols is another bopper in their lineup, so it’s a tough lineup to go through. Sonny did well moving to 13-7 on the season and now he has a 3.00 ERA. Sonny has 59 walks and 143 strikeouts on the season. That’s a 2.4 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio; another excellent number. The A’s have 26 more games against AL West teams and Sonny is 12-2 with a 1.80 ERA against the West, so the A’s need to make sure Sonny is on the hill against the AL West teams. The A’s took two of three from the Angels over the weekend, and won last night over the ‘Stros, 8-2. The A’s and Angels are tied for the lead in the American League West at 77-53. A’s have two more with the Astros tonight and tomorrow and then go to LA Angels for four starting Thursday. Sonny on the hill Thursday night against C.J. Wilson of the Angels. Wilson, who’s been really good in the past, is 10-8 this year with a 4.45 ERA. He did pitch well against the A’s last Saturday night in a 2-1 loss. Wilson went 6.1, gave up five hits, only one earned run with three walks and three K’s. So it’s a very important week for the A’s.

Pedro had a big night Saturday night against the Milwaukee Brewers blasting two long ones, his 16th and 17th on the season, in a 10-2 Bucs’ victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. He also hit his 18th last night in a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals. Pedro now playing first base for the Pirates. He just had so much trouble throwing from third to first that the Pirates just couldn’t keep him there any more; at least for this season. He’s now playing first, and seems to be doing well  there. His bat looks like it’s coming alive. He was two for four last night with a single and his 18th blast. He is now hitting .234 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs. Maybe this move to first takes the pressure off El Toro and he can just relax and start hitting the way he’s capable of and play some solid first base. The Bucs, which are now 67-64,  are six back of the Brewers in the NL Central, after  taking two of three from the Brewers in Milwaukee over the weekend,  and they are a game and a half back of the Giants for the second spot in the wild card and four and a half back of the Cards for the top spot in wild card. The Braves are a game ahead of the Bucs for the third spot in the wild card race. The Bucs play the Cardinals tonight @ 7:05 PM Et/6:05 CT and tomorrow afternoon in a matinee at 12:35 PM ET/11:35 CT at PNC. The Bucs are off Thursday then host Cincy over the weekend.

Jay and the Bears had a tough time at Seattle last Friday Night, losing 34-6. I watched the game though, and it wasn’t as bad as the score indicated. I don’t know how Seattle does it on offense. Russell Wilson to me is like a pinball. He’s not a pocket passer like Jay, ARodg, Breesy, Brady, Eli or Peyton. He just runs around there till he finds an open receiver. I give him credit though, he won the Super Bowl last year, but it’s just an erratic offense that relies on broken/big plays to score. It’s kind of puzzling  how it works, but it does. And they do have a very good defense. But Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery was making some grabs against Richard Sherman and Brandon Marshall had some good catches too.  Jay was 12 for 20 for 157 yards, he got sacked a couple of times, but he made some good throws. The Bears got down 28-0, but engineered a really nice drive at the end of the first half. Jay threw what looked like a two  yard touchdown pass to backup tight end Dante Rosario, after completing a beautiful 23 yarder to Martellus Bennett to get the Bears to the Seattle two, but the refs called pass interference on the touchdown on Marshall. It was a terrible call. Brandon ran an in route and was pushed by the Seattle defensive back. There was contact, but Brandon didn’t initiate it. Anyway, they called Brandon for offensive pass interference. I don’t know what these refs are up to. They are calling so many defensive holding penalties and offensive pass interference  calls that they are hurting the quality of the game. A broadcaster said the refs were going to tone it down in the regular season. They have to. I don’t want these refs to ruin the game for the players, coaches and fans. They need to stay out of the way and call the game right and not be involved with the overall quality of play on the field. When there are penalties, I understand. But they’re overdoing it and need to quit making all these nonsensical calls or they’re going to really get blasted by the fans, coaches and players this season. It’s outrageous really.

But  the Bears played OK on defense. Wilson is just so fast,  you can’t get him on the ground. The Bears got a good pass rush on him, but just couldn’t catch him and that’s when he’s most dangerous, running around and finding an open receiver. Still like this Bears team. Need to run the ball a little better and shore up the defense, but the personnel is there. If we can stay healthy, we’ve got a chance to go a long way. Of course, we’ve got to get over the Packers hump. We have really struggled with them. I do like the fact that former VU safety Sean Richardson is getting a lot of time on the field for the Pack and doing well. Sean looks like he’ll play a lot this season. And former VU corner Casey Hayward is making it back from his injury last year. Hopefully, Casey will be an integral part of the Packers secondary when the season kicks off.

I was telling a friend of mine how very much excited I am about our secondary this season. Derek is a master with the secondary, and we have about 10 guys in the defensive backfield who are outstanding players. The starting corners are Darrius Sims and Tre Bell, and they’ve looked terrific in practice. The safeties are Oren Burks and Andrew Williamson. There is tremendous athletic ability in this group. I’m excited to see them all play, but Oren is one guy I’m really looking forward to watching. He is a powerful hitter and a playmaker/game changer. He looks special. The whole group does. We have guys backing them up like Torren McGaster, Paris Head, T. Ferguson (corners) and Ryan White and  Jahmel McIntosh (safeties) who could start for many teams throughout the country. I’m probably leaving somebody out because this group might be younger in experience, but there is massive talent in this secondary.

Our defense is going to be special overall. If Patton can be the quarterback Derek and the staff thinks he can be, and our running backs and wide receivers can be highly productive players–and the talent is there–we’re going to be a very good football team. Our O line is awesome. Big, physical, tough, they really like to hit. Our d line and linebackers are extremely tough, too. I’m very pumped to see defensive end Adam Butler and linebacker Nigel Bowden play. Those two along with Caleb “Zu” Azubike, Stephen Weatherly, Kyle Woestmann, Darreon Herring, Jake Sealand, Vince Taylor and Barron Dixon will give us a stellar three-four front seven look. Derek said the beauty of the three-four defense is you can disguise your alignments and the quarterbacks and the offensive linemen for the other team can’t figure it out. Our outside linebackers can line up on the line of scrimmage at defensive ends and give us a five man front look and either rush the passer or drop back in coverage. It’s tricky for quarterbacks and offensive linemen. I can’t wait. Kickoff set for about 9:22 PM ET/8:22 CT on the SEC Network. Let’s Anchor Down and get victory number one against Temple Thursday night at home. We have a chance to win every game this season. Let’s get it started Thursday night.

Spoke with Kevin on the phone on Friday about this year’s team. This year looks promising and the future very bright. Here’s what Coach Stallings had to say about his 2014-15 team and how things are looking for the future.

DW: What happened with Dai-Jon and Kedren which led to your decision to release them from their scholarships?

KS: “That’s not something I’m going to go into, I’ve said what I’ve had to see in the release, so like I said in the release there are standards that we expect from our student-athletes here and being a basketball player at Vanderbilt is a privilege and there are standards that have to be met and unfortunately they weren’t met to my satisfaction.”

DW: Well Coach, talk about the two new coaches you hired, Adam Cohen and Derrick Jones?

KS: “I’ve been very, very pleased with both of those guys, they have great work ethics, they are team guys, and they’ve really picked up the energy in our recruiting efforts.  I’m very, very impressed with the work they’ve done in the months we’ve had them. We feel like we’ve made two really good hires and gotten guys in here that fit, so we’re really excited about both of ’em, and we feel like we’re off to a great start in the 2014-15 recruiting class and have really high hopes to finish this up in a very strong way. These guys are excellent additions to our program.”

DW: Are you in the market for some big men?

KS: “Yes, we have a couple of scholarships available and the guys we would sign are some big guys. We feel like we’re in with some really good kids that fit Vanderbilt, and fit what we like, and I think that’s important for our program. Once the official visits start here pretty soon we can get some guys on campus to close some deals and get the guys that we need.”

DW: Talk about your new freshmen class, these new guys who are in here. I know you’re excited about them?

KS: “Well they’re all very talented. It’s rare that you get five guys in the freshmen class, especially, that are all pretty much perimeter guys, so they’re very talented guys and they’re going to play a lot.  So they’re going to be very important to the success of our team not only this year, but in the coming years. There is a lot of versatility of guys of different sizes, and some very athletic guys, some very skilled guys, so we’re very optimistic of what impact these guys are going to have on our program beginning this year because all five of them are going to play a great deal.”

***Note: The five freshman are: four-star shooting guard Wade Baldwin out of Metuchen, New Jersey (6’3″, 180), four-star point guard Shelton Mitchell out of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia (6’3″, 185), high three-star by Rivals, and four-star by 247 sports, shooting guard Matthew Fisher-Davis out of Matthews, North Carolina (6’5″, 175), three-star point guard Riley LeChance out of Brookfield, Wisconsin (6’2″, 170) and three-star small forward Jeff Roberson out of Houston (6’6″, 210).

All are good shooters and can rebound. They look like they like  to get physical and play defense also, which is crucial. Baldwin is a slasher who is highly athletic and can shoot from the perimeter. Mitchell can do it all at the point. MFD can shoot and really rebound. LeChance is a very good marksman and skilled perimeter player who can handle it well and pass. And Roberson is an athlete who can take it to the rack and score and shoot it pretty well from distance and give us good board work.

We have two commits for 2015, four-star small forward Joseph Toye out of La Porte, Indiana (6’7″, 200), and three-star shooing guard Camron Justice out of Hindman, Kentucky (6’2″, 175). Both Toye and Justice can stroke it and Toye can get it done inside, playing defense and rebounding. Justice will be an excellent shooter for us.

Also, Nolan Cressler will be on the team next year. The shooting guard transfer from Cornell sank 41% of his trifectas in 2013-14 for Cornell. He’ll be an excellent addition to the backcourt in 2015-16. He’ll sit out this year per transfer rules.

Big man D’jery Baptiste out of  Plano, Texas (three-star by Rivals, four-star by 247) is a guy to look for as a possible commit-signee for the 2015 class. These are not Kevin’s words, just what I’ve been hearing and reading. He’s 6’11”, 245. He’s an enforcer in the middle from the film I’ve watched. Power forward Juwan Morgan, a four-star (6’8″, 210), is another player who will visit officially this week. He’ll be at the game Thursday night. Three-star forward Samir Sehic (6’7″, 255) will visit September 12th. Samir is from Houston. Dean Wade, a three-star power forward out of Saint John, Kansas (6’8″, 215), is another guy who is very interested in the program.

DW: What are your expectations for this group you have this year?

KS:  “In terms of expectations, I don’t always know if that ever changes.  We always expect our teams to be very competitive and have a chance to make the tournament, and hopefully have a chance to succeed in the tournament. So we don’t change our expectations here because we feel like we’ve put those expectations in place here for a long period of time. But obviously we’re starting over in some respects because we had a group of guys that we recruited who we thought would be veteran players this year and next year in our program, and for one reason or another, those guys fell by  the wayside and didn’t make it. So we’re still kind of new with these freshmen; but again, we like our talent level and I’m OK with inexperience as long as it’s talented inexperience and these guys are very talented.”

DW: What about the group you have coming back, Damian Jones, Luke Kornet, James Siakam, Shelby Moats, Josh Henderson and the walk-ons, Carter Josephs and Nathan Watkins?

KS: “Primarily the guys that are coming back are all big guys. Josh Henderson (6″11, 255) will be coming back off his injury, so that will add to the options that we have in the front court. That’s where our experience is; in the front court. We have three seniors who’ve been around a little bit (Henderson, Moats, 6″8″, 240, and Siakam, 6″7″, 230, skywalker), and we’ve got two sophomores (Jones, 6″10″, 240 and Kornet, 7″0″, 220) who played a lot last year in Damian and Luke. So we feel like we have talent and experience up in that part of our team. Those guys will need to be very productive, and they’ll need to be consistent for our team to be as good as we want to be, because again what you hope to get from your veterans is consistent productivity. Our walk-ons had an impact last year in some games.  We’ll see if that situation plays out again, but nevertheless, hopefully our front court guys with their experience and talent level will be able to lead our team in ways that we need to be led.”

DW: Have you seen some improvement in the guys, the returning veterans, in the offseason?

KS: “I have. I think that by and large every guy on our team has made anywhere from good strides to very significant strides in their games, in their conditioning and in their physicality in the summer. And again, I think that’s very important that we do well in the offseason because we feel like that’s a big part of the game for us; what happens in the offseason. Luke’s gained some weight and strength and looks a lot better. And James Siakam has had a terrific summer. Shelby had a very good summer. Damian is, of course, probably our most talented player. We have high hopes for him. And Josh is coming off the injury and hasn’t played a lot yet, but he’s going to back in the swing of things here soon and that will be a welcome sight because we need him to be the best that he can be.”

DW: Is there a learning curve for these freshmen? Do you expect them to come along pretty quickly?

KS: “I think they’ll come along quickly because I like their talent level, and I like their coachability so far. If they buy in, which I think they will and they have, I think that the learning curve will be quick. And I think one thing that is a little different than it used to be is freshmen are a lot more prepared to play in college basketball now than they’ve ever been because of all the national exposure they get from AAU tournaments and things like that. Twenty years ago, guys hardly played out of their area, out of their state, and now you have guys who’ll play all over the country; just about every one of them. And so I think these guys will be ready quickly and they’re going to have to be ready quickly because again they’re going to be the guys who are playing. So we’re not going  to act like they’re freshmen and we’re not going to even call’em freshmen. They’re just our guys, they’re our players, and they’re going to have to protect the ball for us, and get us into offense and set our defense for us and do those things, and hopefully our front court guys provide us with some consistent productivity, and that’ll be something we can count on and that’ll give the perimeter guys something they’ll be confident in.”

DW: How does the out of conference schedule look and how does the SEC look?

KS:  “Well the schedule we think looks pretty tough. We’ve got some significant non-conference games with Purdue and Baylor, we go to Georgia Tech and St. Louis, and then we’ll be up in New York City with Virginia, Rutgers and LaSalle. From the non-conference aspect of it, it looks very, very  competitive. And the league, I think the league will be better than it was last year. Certainly, Kentucky on paper looks like they’re going to be terrific. Florida, I would expect to be really good again. And there are some other teams that have a lot of guys returning. Arkansas has a lot of guys back, LSU’s got a lot of guys back. There are some teams with potential that have  guys back. We’ve got some new coaches in the league so that’ll bring energy to some programs. I think it’ll be very exciting.”

I spent some excellent quality time with Vanderbilt head football coach Derek Mason on Wednesday and received an outstanding rundown on his 2014 VU squad. Very exciting stuff. As reported last night. Patton Robinette is our starting quarterback. Derek and Offensive coordinator Karl Dorrell believe that Patton gives us the best chance to win a lot of games. Not to say that Johnny McCrary and Stephen Rivers are not quality players. They are. It was a tough decision. Johnny and Stephen both throw it well, and Johnny can really run. But after Derek and I visited, I watched practice and was particularly impressed with Patton’s passing. He was throwing the short, intermediate and long balls very well. He can really get it downfield now. Plus, he is highly intelligent, having scored a perfect 36 on his ACT his senior year in high school and he carried something like a 4.4 GPA taking honors classes. He is a leader without a doubt. Derek and Coach Dorrell believe in their decision, and after watching Patton practice on Wednesday, I couldn’t agree more with them. So we’re good at starting quarterback heading into Temple and have two high quality guys behind Patton in Johnny and Stephen. All completed over 60% of their passes in this preseason, so that’s a good sign. Should be very solid at quarterback

Here’s a look at the rest of the team.

DW: Coach, what do you think about the team going into next week’s opener against Temple? (SEC Network, 9:15 PM ET/8:15 CT)

DM: “I believe there’s a couple of things we have to be able to do in order to play the way we want to play. We have to be efficient on both sides of the ball. We have to be consistent getting ourselves lined up defensively. We have to communicate. I tell the guys all the time, ‘communication’s free, it’s not like you have to pay an AT&T or Sprint bill.’ We’re going to have to tackle because Temple is going to do a great job testing our edges (note***Temple has an athletic, talented quarterback and three good running backs). I think they believe they’re going to run the football and more or less try to attack us on the perimeter, but we have to get ourselves to third down and get off the field defensively.”

DW: How’s the kicking game? It was an issue in the spring.

DM: “I feel good about both Colby (Cooke) and Tommy (Openshaw). We’ve been at it the last six days and I’ve seen some things from those guys that I’m very confident in. The kicking situation is one…a week ago if you would have asked me, I know we don’t have waivers, but I would have sent out for some waivers. Because at one point in time, I didn’t feel comfortable one way or another. What happens with a kicker sometimes, is that it’s a confidence deal. And they go through a situation sometimes where they can get inside their own heads. Coach (Charles) Bankins had a talk with them and those guys settled down. The last three practices, we’re about 93% from all distances. I’m pretty excited about that now. I’m glad we took that dip when we took that dip because at least that allowed those guys to re-focus and get our confidence back heading into game one.”

DW: Do you have a number one punter and kicker  right now?

DM: “I’ll say this, I know I feel good about our punting situation and our kicking situation. We’re not going to go wrong. The guys we put out there will give us a chance to be successful week in and week out.”

***Note– From what I saw in practice, Colby Clark was kicking off really well. He has a very strong leg. If he’s accurate, he’ll be good. Didn’t see him kicking field goals, but the 93% is very promising. He’ll have game pressure, so we’ll see how he responds. Oppenshaw didn’t seem to have as strong a leg. Both could be involved in the punting game along with Taylor Hudson. Cooke is a sophomore, Oppenshaw is a redshirt freshman, and Hudson is a junior. Hudson can really boom it at times punting the ball. He struggles with consistency. Didn’t get a chance to see Cooke and Oppneshaw punt, but really liked Cooke’s leg.

DW: How does the offensive line look?

DM: “Joe Townsend (center) is one of our captains. He’s probably started more games than anyone still here other than Woestmann (outside linebacker Kyle). He’s a preseason candidate for All-American honors. He’s up for the best lineman in the country. He’s on one of those watch lists (the Remington Award). One thing about Joe, Joe’s consistent. When you watch him play, he’s nasty, he’s dirty, he loves to play the game and not in a malicious way. He plays in a mean, intentional way, and I like that about him. And that part reads into all of our offensive line. When you talk about (guard) Spencer Pulley, (guard) Jake Bernstein, when you talk about (left tackle Andrew) Jelks, you talke about guys that can play football. And (right tackle) Andrew Bridges is now healthy. You add Delando Crooks (Barrett) Gouger, and when you talk about depth and what we can do, I think we have a chance to be really, really good up front. And we’re going to need to be in both the run game and in protection (for Patton throwing it).”

DW: So the depth is good up front?

DM: “Oh, absolutely. I think what you have is nine guys; you have nine offensive linemen. And that’s more than most. Most guys play with a rotation of seven. We have several guys that can play center, several that can play guard. It’s more depth than the last three years.”

DW: How is your running back situation shaking out?

DM: “(Jerron)  Seymour is finally back–he’s healthy. We had to be smart with him. Jerron worked really hard and just had a minor setback. He’s a bell cow of a running back with his size (5’7″, 196), his strength, vision, ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. He’s being hard pressed by (Brian) Kimbrow, (Ralph) Webb and Dallas Rivers (true frosh). All bring different dimensions. They are all powerful with great vision. Kimbrow has really good hands. Webb is bigger than Brian but also has home run speed. Rivers is surprising. He’s a 227 pound freshman who adds another level in short yardage. I see him making the seven to eight yards runs when we need him to. We’re going to need all four.”

DW: Is there a starter?

DM: “No starter0-it’s situational. We’re continuing to let them compete. Kimbrow and Seymour are proven commodities. The other two need to help and contribute on special teams.”

***Note-At practice, I was highly impressed with the freshman, Dallas Rivers. He’s strong, he’s got good speed and can really cut well. He’s going to help us this season. BK has definite home run speed. He can motor. If he gets in the secondary, he’s takin it to the house. Webb looked very good in the spring game, and he did some good things in practice on Wednesday.  Didn’t see as much of Seymour, but he is proven as Coach says.

DW: Will you use all four?

DM: “You have to have four good running backs and I think five. One running back doesn’t do it anymore. The season is too long, the pace of play is almost 72-74 snaps. That’s a workload. When you play so many good defenses, you have to have change-ups. As a former defensive guy, you have to game plan for both. Jerron and Kimbrow have big play ability.”

DW: How do the wide receivers look?

DM: “We are young and talented. We’ll miss Jordan Matthews, but Jordan Cunningham and C.J. Duncan are leading the way. Kris Kentera will be a match-up problem. He has really improved on his pass catching ability. Coach (Marc) Lubick did a great job showing them film of (Houston Texans All-Pro) Andre Johnson, and showing them what offseason workouts look like. You don’t just lift weights. You have to catch 275 footballs a day to become consistent. They have been watching film and seeing what they do on the next level. (Freshman) Caleb Scott’s gonna run his dad down pretty quickly. He’s talented. Ronald Monroe, Rashad Canty, DeAndre Woods are all very good players. DeAndre is healthy now. You see those dreadlocks fly out the back of his helmet. He’s fast, strong and athletic. If practice is any indication, these guys will show up well. They’re too young  to be afraid.”

***Note–Freshman Caleb Scott’s dad, Chuck, was an All-American wide receiver for the Commodores from 1981-84. Derek thinks Caleb can be better.

DW:What do you like about your defense?

DM: “We have a pretty experienced group of players coming back. If they continue to grow fundamentally in what we ask them to do, we should be pretty salty on defense. Talent-wise, we have as much talent as where I just came from (Stanford as defensive coordinator), but we need to be better at fundamentals. We need to stop the run and make teams one dimensional. Vince Taylor, Adam Butler, Jay Woods, you’re putting a pretty good group out there (up front). Along with Nifae (Laelao, the four-star freshman), one of the top (defensive) linemen in the country last year. Torey Agee has had a phenomenal camp (at defensive tackle). Being two deep is where you want to start playing against such good spread offenses in this league.”

DW: How’s linebacker?

DM: “We have linebackers coming out of our ears. (Stephen) Weatherly, Woestmann, who is our defensive captain, and Caleb (Azubike). Then you have Landon Stokes, Casey Hughes (a walk-on), Jonathan Wynn. Woestmann is the smallest at 6’2″, 249. They’re what you want. They’re good in space, they’re physical at the point (of attack), and they know how to play with  their hands. The transition has been difficult, but they’re adjusting well (from the 4-3 defense to the 3-4, these guys are outside linebackers). We’ve just honed down the game plan for Temple. We had a lot of defense, but it’s more game specific right now. We’re gonna see those guys rush, pass rush, drop and play the run. It’s interesting to see them dropping for the first time. They can all run and match in coverage.”

DW: Weatherly and Caleb were hugely talked about coming out of high school. Are they studs?

DM: “They are. The structure of the defense complements these guys. Stephen can pass rush, but had to work on putting his hands on people (tackling). But Caleb is a bull in a china shop. He’s working on how to pass rush. They each are working on their weaknesses. Woestmann is the most complete guy. Every guy has a different job to do, to use their tools.”

DW: Are Woestmann, Weatherly and Azubike adjusting to the pass coverage part?

DM: “That’s what I think people will be surprised about. I just had Trent Murphy (at Stanford, now with the Indianapolis Colts). These guys have the same length. What people don’t realize is that with the difference in this defensive scheme (the 3-4), is that we’re actually playing with a five man front. It gives you a different perspective on how to attack the offense. It’s easy for the quarterback to see four guys. But when you have three down linemen and two outside linebackers, are they running or blitzing? It puts stress on an offense to identify what we’re doing defensively. The Ravens, 49ers, the Jets, Stanford and Notre Dame have really made their mark (with the 3-4).”

DW: What about (Darreon) Herring and (Nigel) Bowden (inside linebackers)? How are they looking?

DM: “Nigel and Herring are taking over those positions. Herring has put on 12 pounds and lost 3% body fat. The guys are bigger and faster. Nigel is 253. He’s another bull in a china shop. We need guys that can physically get running backs to change their minds. Darreon is better at using his hands, along with Ja’Karri (Thomas) and Jake Sealand. Jake had health issues to get through, but he’s had an outstanding summer. He’s as heavy as ever, but as light on his feet as ever. We have a good mix of experience and youth. (Harding) Harper has had a tremendous camp. He’s now at 242 from 255 with 16% body fat. We feel good about having five guys that can play for us. Those guys are also the crux of what we do special teams wise.”

DW: How does corner, safety look?

DM: “I have a lot of talent. They are extremely athletic, extremely green, and need to be better communicators. They’ll play well if they continue to grow. We have three safties–Jahmel McIntosh, Oren Burks, who has got range and is physical, and Drew Williamson (Andrew). Drew has speed and measurables that are off the charts. Our job as coaches is to get them to play together and play smart. We need to force offenses to play underneath and not give up big plays, tackle well, and communicate. All three are starters. Williamson and Burks are the first two.”

***Note-I’ve heard incredible things about Oren Burks. He’s a stud. A hitter and a playmaker. Andrew Williamson is pretty darn good as well. Jahmel is talented.

DW:Did you see film of the UT game last year when we had to put four new guys in the secondary in the second half as all the starters were hurt? They did an amazing job.

DM: “Yeah. People talk about the secondary being the weak link. We put a chip on these guys’ shoulders, that they are the weak link. But depth is pretty good. (Torren) McGaster, Paris Head, Tre Bell, (Taurean) Ferguson, and Darrius (Sims) are all good football players (at corner and safety). The surprising guys are the true freshmen, Tre Herndon and Ladarius Wiley. They are long and athletic and probably are the future of what’s happening in our conference. Everyone has a skill set to be players (in our secondary).  They have the skill set. but have to show it between the lines.”

****Note–Sims, Head, McGaster and Ferguson all played the entire second half against Tennessee last year and were awesome. Where they lack in experience, they make up for it with a ton of talent. Ryan White is another at the safety spot. A lot of talent back there. If they pick this defense up quickly, we’ll have some game changers back there.

DW: How do the return guys look?

DM: “Darrius and a true freshman, Trey Ellis, are our guys to start with. Trey is a walk-on. He can go now.”

***Note–And Darrius is very explosive. He’s a threat to go the distance on every kickoff return. He’s electric. Look for Brian Kimbrow and C.J. Duncan to make an impact in the return game as well.

JMatt had an awesome game last night for the Philadelphia Eagles. 9 catches for 104 yards. He was targeted nine times and caught every ball thrown to him. Eagles lost to the New England Patriots, 42-35, but good game for their team offensively. Have to play a little better on defense as do the Patriots. Excellent night for JMatt though.

The football team is busy preparing for their 2014 opener on Aug. 28th at 9:15 PM ET/8:15 CT against Temple at Vanderbilt Stadium and preparations are going very  well. The game will be televised on the new SEC Network and follows another classic opener with South Carolina hosting Texas A&M on the SEC Network @ 6 PM ET/5 CT. Another interesting game for VU fans will be on ESPN that Thursday night as Ole Miss plays Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta @ 8PM ET/7 CT. We play Ole Miss the second game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 6th, at LP Field in Nashville @ 3:30 PM ET/2:30 CT on ESPN. So we’ve got a challenging first two weeks.

But for right now, it’s all about getting the two deep rotation set at all positions and, of course, the quarterback position is the headliner. LSU transfer Stephen Rivers, redshirt freshman Johnny McCrary, and sophomore Patton Robinette are all competing for QB1. From what I’m reading, Johnny is making a serious run at the job,  Stephen has been the favorite the first week and a half, and Patton is doing some good things too. I’m going up to practice next Tuesday and will be giving you guys my take on what I think. I’m not Derek, so of course I don’t have any input on the decision, but I’ll certainly give my opinions on who I see as the guy who ought to be taking the first snap against Temple on August 28th. I’ve heard really good things on Johnny lately. Johnny was a four-star recruit two years ago, so the talent is there. It’s still day-to-day. Very fluid situation. Derek is going to take it up to game week to decide who his number one guy will be. But we have three good options at quarterback, so that position should be in good hands. Johnny and Stephen would be making their first starts if one of those two gets the job, so they’ll be under the gun. Patton does have experience, but maybe not the accuracy of the other two. But Patton is an excellent leader and a tremendous young guy. You can win with those kind of guys. I really like Johnny, too. He seems like a total leader, confident yet humble, focused and very intelligent. Stephen sounds focused and is a leader. This will keep developing. Will go up next Tuesday, 8/19, and will have a full report either that Tuesday night or the following Wednesday morning.

Our offensive line is potentially dominating, outstanding. Guys like left tackle Andrew Jelks, guard Barrett Gouger, guard Spencer Pulley, center Joe Townsend, and right tackle Andrew Bridges are athletic and tough; and there is good depth and size behind them with guys like Delando Crooks, Sean Dowling, Will Holden, Kevin “Kevo” McCoy and freshman Cole Hardin backing them up. Jelks is 6’5″, 305 and was a four-star recruit two years ago. Gouger is 6’4″, 305, Townsend is 6’4″, 312, Pulley is 6’4″, 300 and Bridges is a little smaller at 6’6″, 285, but highly athletic and long. The depth behind them is all 300 +. Running backs look tough and fast. Jerron Seymour is not practicing due to an injury right now, but he should be good to go soon. Ralph Webb is lighting it up in practice. Ralph (5″10″, 196) is tough for his size and can take it to the house any time as he did with a 60 yarder in the spring game. Brian Kimbrow is always a threat to take it the distance. He’s bigger now too at 190. He was a four-star three years ago so the talent is there. Brian will give us a lot this year. Freshman Dallas Rivers (6″1″, 225) gives us power and speed. Really hearing good things about Dallas. ESPN had Dallas rated as a four-star last year, and Rivals and 247 had him as a a high  three-star. He’s going to help us this season most likely. Derek King is 5″11″, 205 and has always been a good athlete. He can help us too in the backfield.

Wide receiver is going to be younger this season, but Jordan Cunningham is an emerging superstar. Jordan is 6’1″, 180, so he needs to keep adding some strength, but he catches everything in sight and can make a lot happen once he catches the ball. He’s got superstar potential written all over him. Jordan was a four-star a year and a half ago. Guys like Latevius Rayford  (6″1″, 192), DeAndre Wooods (6″3″, 215), Gerald Perry, who’s a little on the small side at 5’10”, 170, but catches everything and is a game breaker, Chandler Dorrell, offensive coordinator Karl Dorrell’s son and a Stanford transfer, and Trey Wilkins are also going to make plays for us. Freshmen like Caleb Scott (6″1″, 180), Ronald Monroe (6’2″, 185) Trent Sherfield (6’0″, 185) and Rashad Canty (6″3″, 212) are probably too good to not use this year. I really want to see DeAndre Woods step it up. He was a highly prized recruit we landed late in the 2013 class along with Jordan Cunningham, and if he starts performing well in practice, he can be a big time player for us, like Jordan. Love his size. Another thing I like is total team player Josh Grady who has moved from quarterback to wide receiver. Josh (6’0″, 202) can really help us out there. Josh had an incredible spring game three years ago at wide out and I saw a potential star. He’s a leader, and he can do some great things on the outside. He’s really stuck it out and made an awesome decision to move back to wide receiver. I see Josh making some big plays for us this year.

Tight end will be excellent with Steven Scheu (6″5″, 250) and Nathan Marcus (6″5″, 238) as our starters most likely. Derek and Coach Dorrell will use our tight ends a lot, and these two are very good. Nathan is a tremendous pass receiver. Steven can do it all. We’ll have some depth there t oo, with Davis Dudchock, Mack Weaver and Dillon van der Wal. Really like Davis, the Stanford transfer, who is immediately available as a graduate player.

And I’m extremely pumped for this defense. Barron Dixon (6″4″, 295)  and Vince Taylor (6″1″, 310) will man the inside switching off series in our 3-4 defense. Both guys are excellent, physical and disruptive. Adam Butler (6″5″, 305)  and “Zu,” Caleb Azubike (6″4″, 280), should be premier players for us at defensive ends. And there is good depth there. Linebackers will be led by the superior Darreon Herring. Darreon (6″1″, 232) is the most underrated linebacker in the SEC. Just makes play after play not only with his consistent tackling ability, but also with his ability to make plays that can change a game. He’s a terrific athlete and will have three or four interceptions this year, and he’ll force and recover some fumbles. Love Darreon. He should hould be our leader on defense. Nigel Bowden (6’1″, 245) will be our other inside linebacker and he’s an absolute stud. Nigel was a four-star as well a year and a half ago, and he can bring the hammer on opposing running backs and wide outs. He’s another guy who will be a major wood layer, game changer, type player. Jake Sealand will be back. Would like to see Jake (6’2″, 232) really step it up  this year. Think he will. Harding Harper (6’2″, 240)  and Ja’karri Thomas (6’1″, 230) are two others who are highly talented and can bring the lumber too on the inside too. Zach Cunningham (6’1″, 235) is a four-star we got late in recruiting in 2013  along with Jordan Cunningham. Zach and Jordan signed on signing day 2013. Hearing really good things about Zach. On the outside we have the awesome Stephen Weatherly and Kyle Woestmann. Zu will play on the outsdie as well. We can probably move Ja’karri and Harding over there some too, and Zach is an athlete who can definitely play outside.

I’m really excited about  our secondary. Tre Bell (5″11″, 176)  and Darrius Sims (5’9″, 182) will be outstanding corners. They can be as good as anybody in the SEC. They’re not huge in height, but they are outstanding athletes and game changers much like Andre Hal was last year. And we have guys like Paris Head, Torren McGaster and Taurean Ferguson who are excellent corners as well and will keep challenging Tre and Darrius for the starting jobs on the perimeter. And at safety, Oren Burks, is really making a statement. Oren (6’3″, 212) is a punisher as a tackler and can really make plays in the backfield. He’s a stud. Andrew Williamson (6″1″, 208) is the other starting safety right now, but four-star freshman Emmanuel Smith (6’2″, 205)  is really making a statement at practice. Jalen Banks (5’11”, 190)  is another who wants  to see the field and a guy I’ve always liked, Jahmeel McIntosh (6’1″, 205), could make an impact.

Our kicking game is a work in progress. Will have to see more of our kickers and punters next Tuesday before making a final call on those guys. Tommy Openshaw is our scholarship guy, but I’ve heard he’s struggled kicking the ball. Taylor Hudson was our punter most of last year, but Taylor can boom one and then shank one. Need to shore up those two spots. There are some walk ons who are doing a pretty good job and Tommy and Taylor just need to keep working and it may click before the season starts. Kickoff return game looks pretty stellar with guys like Darrius and Brian returning kickoffs. Punt returns I will have to see. Maybe Jordan Cunningham, Latevius Rayford or Gerald Perry. All are explosive. Kimbrow and Sims can definitely take it to the house on kickoffs. Darrius threatened to do that a lot last year and Brian has world class speed, so both are weapons in the kick return game.

We’ve got very good coaching. Coach Dorrell is smart, focused and experienced as an offensive coordinator with his NFl background–he was the Texans qb coach last year–and his head coaching experience at UCLA. Coach David Kotulski, our defensive coordinator, brings the Stanford toughness to the fold, and will be our inside linebackers coach. Derek is such a great guy. I love his passion, energy and I know the players love him. I hear our wide receivers coach, Coach Mark Lubick, is doing a very good job with our young receivers. They have been really good in practice, just attacking when they run their routes and go for the ball. Charles Bankins is the holdover from James’ staff from a year ago and he will coach the special teams and running backs. Really like Coach Bankins for staying with us. He’s good with the running backs and is an excellent recruiter. Coach Gerry Gdowski is our tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. Kevin LIghtner is our o line coach and the results are very good so far. Frank Maile brings a toughness to our defensive line as coach. He was Utah State’s dline coach last year and I watched some film of him in action and loved his passion and intensity. Kenwick Thompson is our OLB coach and Brett Maxie is our secondary coach. Coach Maxie brings the NFL experience as he comes over from the Titans, where he coached their secondary last year. Derek will be heavily involved with  the secondary as well, and Derek is a master at that. Richard Sherman may not be the most popular player nationally, but in my opinion, he’s the best cornerback in the NFL, and Derek was his coach at Stanford. Sherman is the extreme stud cornerback with the world champion Seattle Seahawks. Derek can really teach these guys how to excel. I expect a lot of interceptions this season with Coach Maxie and Derek in charge, and with the talent we have.

Temple will not be easy. They are young and hungry. Their coach, Matt Rhule, is 39,  and he’s energetic and passionate. They would like nothing better than to knock off an SEC team on the road. That would be a statement for their program. I watched some film on them and they’ve got a pretty athletic, hard hitting team. Their quarterback, P.J. Walker (6″1″, 230) , is an athlete. He completed 152-250 (61%) for 2,084 yards, 20 TDS with 8 ints last season, and senior Connor Reilly, who started at the beginning of last year, will back Walker up. Running backs are a strength for them with Kenny Harper (136-646 and nine TDs) , Zaire Williams (101-556 and 3 TDs) and Jamie Gilmore. Harper is 6″0″, 225, and Williams is 5″11″, 195. Jalen Fitzpatrick (5’11”, 180)  is an excellent wide receiver. He caught 38 passes for 429 and 3 TDs last year. On defense, linebacker Tyler Matakevich (6″1″, 230) led the team last year with 137 total  tackles, three forced fumbles, one int, 11.5 tackles for loss and one sack.  He is back. Also, linebacker Nate Smith (6’0″, 230) led the team in sacks with three and he will be back. They didn’t get a lot of interceptions last year, as their leaders were three guys  with just one each, so maybe we can exploit them downfield. We’ve got to be able to run the ball, too. Their offensive line is their weakest position according to the Temple 247sports writer. Center Kyle Friend (6’2″, 305) is a very good player, but not sure how much quality they have up front. But we’ll absolutely have to be ready to play. Cannot overlook Temple. They’re the first game, so they are all that matters.

We picked up our ninth commitment on Saturday as high three-star Dare Odeyingbo pledged to Derek and the staff. Dare is 6’1″, 225 and is a very good defensive end/linebacker, but an amazing running back. He has rushed for 3,442 yards as a sophomore and junior, and has scored 46 TDs. Vanderbilt has shown signs of wanting Dare as a linebacker, but I absolutely love Dare as a running back. I watched some incredible film on him yesterday. We have got to have Dare as a running back. He’s powerful and a game breaker. Can take it the distance at any time and broke tackle after tackle on film. It’s up  to Derek and the staff on Dare, but I’d love to see him as running back. Dare is our 9th commit for 2015. Four-star running back Ke’ Shawn Vaughn was visiting practice Saturday along with four-star offensive lineman Alec Givens. Would love to see both these mid-state Tennessee guys pledge to us. Vaughn really likes us and Givens is between us and Ole Miss. Would love to see Derek land these two. If Ke’Shawn comes aboard maybe that is why Derek is planning on putting Dare at linebacker. You need to get Dare on the field but Ke’Shawn is outstanding on film as well, and we already have a commit from running back Josh Crawford, a 5’11”, 214 pound solid three-star. I’ve heard excellent things about 2015 commit qb Kyle Shurmur. Watched Kyle on film. He’s terrific. Kyle, along with present freshman standout Wade Freeback,  and the other young guys we have at quarterback, should make this a stellar group this year and in the ensuing three-four years. I like all of our recruits. Four-star linebacker commit Josh Smith is pumping up our program to other recruits throughout the region and the country. Josh, freshman safety Emmanuel Smith’s younger brother, is a stellar linebacker.

Jay had a nice game for the Bears on Friday night against the Eagles in a game the Bears won 34-28 over the Philly Eagles. Jay was 9-for-13 for 85 yards and a TD, a 10-yard strike to Zach Miller. Have the game on tape as I was watching the PGA and other stuff Friday night, so will give any other further details in the next couple of days, but a solid start for Jay. Jordan Matthews caught four passes for 14 yards for the Eagles. Will have more on JMatt too. Zac Stacy ran for 22 yards on four carries for the Rams in a loss to the Saints, 26-24. Thought Zac looked good though. Ran hard, looked very strong. Like where Zac is. Casey Hayward had a tackle for the Packers and Sean Richardson had two. Sean actually started. Good stuff  there. Casey was hurt most of last year, so he has to earn his way back in the rotation this season. Andre Hal had three  tackles for the Houston Texans and Wesley Johnson played in the second half for the Steelers and I heard he did well. Both Andre and Wes should do well. Thomas Welch started on the o line for the Saints and Chris Williams started for the Bills. I read where Kenny Ladler had five tackles for the Bills, but not sure about that. Will keep my eye out for Kenny in the upcoming preseason games.

Dave Price didn’t pitch his best for the Tigers yesterday, but I didn’t get to watch the game as I was watching the PGA. I will watch Dave and give a report in a blast tomorrow along with any loose ends I missed. Dave’s line was six innings, five hits, four earned including a two-run homer, three walks and six K’s. That’s unusual for David to walk that many guys. He rarely gives up one walk in a game. I want to check on this game to see how home plate umpire Bill MIller was calling balls and strikes. If I remember correctly, Miller has an extremely tight strike zone, and that could have really hurt Dave. He doesn’t throw a lot of balls unless the umpire has a tight zone. David threw 112 pitches with 76 for strikes and 36 balls, pretty good; but I want to watch Miller closely tonight. David pitched fine; maybe not his best though. He’s just been so good that the standard is probably unreasonably high. But that’s what David expects of himself because he’s such a great competitor. Dave’s still in very good shape this season. He’s going to be fine, actually stellar as usual. Tigers lost to the Blue Jays 6-5 in 19 innings despite getting 22 hits. That’s an outrageous number of hits to only get five runs. The clutch hitting must not have been there.

Sonny Gray on the hill tonight for the A’s at KC. The Tigers only lead the Royals by a half game as the Tigers have been struggling with some pitching injuries and the Royals have been on fire. Sonny and the A’s lead the LA Angels by four games. Will have Sonny, more Dave and Jay and JMatt stuff tomorrow. Mike Minor on the hill for the Braves tomorrow night against the LA Dodgers. Dan Harren (9-9, 4.57 ERA) will face off with Mike. Mike really needs a good outing. David, by the way, is now 11-8 with a 3.21 ERA with 26 walks and 205 strikeouts. I know I keep going to that walk/strikeout number, but it’s really phenomenal. Sonny is 12-5 with a 2.87 ERA with 53 walks and 131 K’s. Mike is 4-7 with a 5.42 ERA, with 29 walks and 87 K’s. Mike really needs a good showing. Pedro not playing much for the Pirates right now. Needs to just stay the course and keep working hard. Same for Ryan Flaherty. Curt Casali started for the Rays at catcher yesterday against the Cubs and went two for five. Curt doing an excellent job for the Rays though they did lose 3-2. The Braves did beat the Nationals 3-1 last night to move 3 1/2 back of the Nats in the NL East. They are two behind the Pirates for the second spot in the wild card. They’re only 2.5 back of the Cards for the top spot in the wild card. But there is a month and a half left in the season, so they are still competing hard for the NL East title.

Brandt finished tied for 13th at -10 in the PGA Championship which Rory won at -16. Outstanding tournament for Brandt. After an opening round 73, Brandt  shot  68, 66, 67. Good sign. Brandt has a good shot this week at the Wyndham Championship at Greensboro, N.C., where he won in ’07, and he’s still in the hunt for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. The nine automatic qualifiers are in and captain Tom Watson will make his three captain’s picks on September 2nd, the day after the second leg of the Fed Ex playoffs, the Deutsche Bank Championship. Brandt still in the running for it. Brandt now 21 in the rankings. His new coach, Butch Harmon, is starting to click for Brandt.

Luke List finished tied 39th at the Price Cutter Charity Championship at Highland Springs Country Club in Springfield, Missouri yesterday on the Web.com tour. Luke needs a victory to get in the 25. He’s at 115 right now. He needs a couple of good showings in these last two regular season events, the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville, and the Winco Foods Portland Open in Portland, OR, to at least get in the top 75 and qualify for the Web.com playoffs. The playoffs  will feature the top 75 players on the money list of the Web.com tour and the 126th-200th players on the PGA money list  who will compete for 25 spots on the PGA tour in a four-tourney playoff beginning with the Hotel Fitness Championship in Fort Wayne, Indiana Aug. 28-31st. So these next two tournaments are critical for Luke. Jon Curran is safely in at No.9 on the 25, but he’s missed some cuts lately and needs to get his game going again. Big week for Luke this week at the News Sentinel and Jon needs to get it going again like he had it earlier in the season.

Will check back with you tomorrow.