I am teaching courses this year at UT this year and it's been a real blast so far. I am very impressed with the quality of students the "lottery" scholarship has brought to campus. Everyone has been very engaged and excited to be in class. It's a really refreshing experience, and, despite being skeptical of a virtual poor tax funding middle-class educations, I think it bodes well for many, many years to come (though not in short-run) that such kids are going to be graduating from UT and, hopefully, they will be part of an economic renaissance in this state that puts higher education on firmer ground. Smart people equal better earnings, entrepreneurship, and economy. A better economy means a better tax base. A better tax base means a better flagship university.
With that being said, let's talk about what is REALLY important: The Vols. I had an interesting chat with a UT player at the beginning of the semester. He said that he was so excited to just get to stand on the sidelines (not a starter) and be a part of the new season under a new coach. The other remark, and a telling one, was that Lane Kiffin is treating his players like adults who have responsibilities. That's shown already. It may be post hoc to draw the conclusion, but this past summer did not see UT's traditional drunken brawling, gun play, and petty theft sprees as we had become accustomed to over the past few years. Idle hands are the devil's workshop and it seems that Kiffin has got a couple of hundred very busy pairs of hands on the squad.
I am still skeptical, but, as a UT Alumnus (MS), I hope they do well. If there is any place on earth that a winning football team means smiling faces on campus, it's UT. Here's to seeing some smiling faces in class next week after Coach Kiffin and the men hang 42 on Western Kentucky.
Prediction: Vols 42 - WKU 7.
