Freaknotes and Links: Aug 11

August 11, Friday 

• Two freshmen from the state of Tennessee lost their black stripes at practice this afternoon, according to Butch Jones: cornerback Theo Jackson from Nashville, who has been drawing lots of praise from coaches this week, and tight end Latrell Bumphus from Savannah.
• Former Vol quarterback Sheriron Jones is transferring again, according to Ryan Bartow. This time from JUCO in Kansas to a junior college in California. Jones was granted his release from Tennessee back in May.
• Tennessee was back on the practice field on Friday afternoon, and the media got to see a bit of scrimmage work. It’s worth noting (or maybe not, hopefully) that Jarrett Guarantano isn’t mentioned in any of the reports and isn’t present in any of the videos. Check out all of the video clips for yourself. | *Update: Guarantano missed practice due to a death in the family, according to Butch Jones. | pic1 | pic2 | pic3 | pic4
• Police are searching for former basketball Vol Scooter McFadgon in relation to ‘Cocaine Cowboy,’ a six-month drug investigation that has put dozens of criminals behind bars. One suspect, who still remains at large, is a former Memphis Tiger and Tennessee Volunteer basketball player Scooter McFadgon. McFadgon is from Memphis and graduated from Raleigh-Egypt High school before playing basketball in college. — He played for the Vols from 2003-2004.
• Tennessee is the second team to offer class of 2020 Georgia running back Daijun Edwards. He’s a former teammate of Vols’ freshman cornerback Shawn Shamburger.
• Former Vol Nick Senzel hit two home runs, knocked in four RBI, scored three runs, and stole a base last night for the Pensacola Wahoos, the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate. | discussion: VFL’s in MLB and MiLB.
• One of the Vols’ biggest remaining targets, Memphis (Cordova) offensive lineman Jerome Carvin will announce his commitment on August 16th, according to BamaOnline. His three finalists are Alabama, Mississippi State and Tennessee. Crystal Ball predictions are 60% for Bama, 40% for Tennessee, for what it’s worth. | player thread: ’18 TN OL Jerome Carvin. *Also confirmed by Carvin himself.
• If you’re like me and trying to keep up with all the former Vols on NFL rosters this preseason, here’s a current list put together by Vince Ferrara. As of today, there are 37 former Vols in the League.
• Michigan and Tennessee are currently the top two schools for class of 2019 top-100 running back Eric Gray from Memphis, who loved the atmosphere at Tennessee when he visited in June, and plans to return for the Georgia game next month, according to 247Sports. | player thread: ’19 TN RB Eric Gray
• Matt Simms (yes, that Matt Simms) completed 10-of-20 passes for 128 yards in the Falcons’ preseason loss to the Miami Dolphins last night. | discussion: Since we’re on the NFL preseason hype train this week.
• After his Saints debut last night, Alvin Kamara said in an interview, “I fell like I did pretty good. There’s still some things I’ve got to get in and get watched and corrected. I feel pretty good for the first game. On his 22-yard run: “I went through my read. It got kinda clogged up and I just happened to bounce outside so I just rolled with it and was able to pick up some big yards”. | Another highlight from Kamara last night (video)
• In a ’15 days until football’ image, ProFootballFocus featured Jauan Jennings, who apparently has a high passer rating: “Jauan Jennings 110.5 2nd highest passer rating when targeted; returning SEC WRs *minimum 63 targets,” it read. I won’t try to explain passer rating, but you can read about it here. Scroll down to the NCAA version.
• Tennessee commit Cade Mays is ranked No. 1 on the News Sentinel’s Top 10 Knoxville-area football recruits for Class of 2018. Two other Vol commits made the list as well: tight end Jacob Warren (No. 3) and offensive lineman Ollie Lane (no. 5).
• Tennessee offered class of 2019 offensive tackle Tanner Bowles yesterday. Listed at 6-5, 280 pounds, he’s rated a 4-star by 247Sports and has other offers from Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky. Video and links can be found in his player thread: ’19 KY OT Tanner Bowles.
• It’s only 24 days until kickoff! When you think of the number 24, what Tennessee player comes to mind? For me, it’s Aaron Hayden. Remember this play? This was a memorable run, too. If you’re bored, here’s the full game story of that epic day in Sound Bend, via the New York Times. | discussion: Official countdown to the 2017 season.
• Housekeeping: If you’re looking to buy or sell Tennessee tickets, be sure to try our Tennessee Vols Tickets Forum. We’ve matched millions (ok, maybe not millions, but a  large number) of buyers and sellers over the years.
• In case you missed it, there was lots of Vol news yesterday: from Neyland Stadium renovations, to Derek Dooley, Tennessee basketball, coaches press conference, bowl predictions, a recruiting tidbit, and more in yesterday’s FreakNotes and Links: August 10. Check it out!
• Start your Friday morning off on the right foot by watching this Derek Barnett sack video a couple hundred times. Both Barnett and Alvin Kamara shined in their NFL preseason games last night. It’s always great to see VFLs excel and I expect much of the same tonight from Josh Dobbs in his start for the Pittsburgh Steelers. | discussion: Killer instinct…Alvin Kamara | discussion: Barnett’s 1st sack

I’m looking to add this new feature to the blog where I quickly highlight interesting news and notes in one place. I’m still working on how to best implement it, including where it will appear and how to format it for easy consumption. If you have any suggestions or thoughts, let me know in the comments below. I’d appreciate any and all feedback. Also feel free to comment below regarding any of the specific links. Thanks for reading.