Here's the news and notes out of practice today:
- You have to be thrilled that D.J. Swearinger is making such a strong showing. We knew coming into the season that secondary could be an issue for us this year, so it's great that we now appear to have a guy that's ready to do battle with the rest of the SEC.
- Spencer Lanning is the field-goal kicker (and punter, as we knew). Lanning played poorly in Sunday's scrimmage but has apparently played well at times in practice. I hope my faith in Lanning isn't misplaced; as the saying goes, you never realize how important a good kicker is until you don't have one. If Lanning struggles, we may realize how un-Irrelevant Ryan Succop really was last year.
Here are a few other non-practice tidbits:
- Eric Norwood is on the watch list for the national awards for best linebacker and best overall defensive player. No big surprise there.
- Sam Dyson and Nick Ebert will return to play baseball for Carolina in 2010. Obviously, this is a huge boost for Ray Tanner's club.
- Tennessee's star tailback recruit Bryce Brown is being investigated by the NCAA for possible violations of his amateur status while in high school. These violations have nothing to do with Tennessee's own recruitment of Brown, but they could still affect his eligibility. Obviously, this is a story to keep an eye on. Brown will be expected to make a large contribution this year, and losing him could cripple the Vols' offense.