kamoshika
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The media relations staff is one of the first groups that new student-athletes meet when they arrive on campus. They fill out the questionnaires that allow us to write their profiles for the website and take their head shots, new orange ties and all...
I sat down with them as a group while they filled out their questionnaires just to learn more about them and to find out the stories we can tell about them...there were three things that stuck out right away.
The first is that they all genuinely like each other. Elite camps, all-star games and visits to campuses allow guys to build bonds before they ever come to campus. Social media and the cell phone in each of their hands make those bonds grow even stronger. By the time they move in to the dorms on campus, they already feel like a family and act like a family.
The second thing that struck me are the personalities in the group. A lot of freshmen are quiet and reserved, but this group was full of personality, and they weren't afraid to show it to us or to each other. A guy like Jack Jones takes over the room when he enters with his energy. Sit him down next to Andrew Butcher and they will go back-and-forth with an incredibly entertaining exchange that will ultimately be settled in their first "Circle of Life" matchup in spring practice. Quinten Dormady and Jauan Jennings both project the confidence and tone that you expect from a quarterback.
The last thing is the maturity and character of the group. Butch Jones has said since arriving at Tennessee that he recruits a certain type of individual to be a Volunteer. That is evident when you meet these guys. They are articulate, engaging, polite, just good to be around. They made our job very easy.
Inside The T - The Start Of Something Big - UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics
I sat down with them as a group while they filled out their questionnaires just to learn more about them and to find out the stories we can tell about them...there were three things that stuck out right away.
The first is that they all genuinely like each other. Elite camps, all-star games and visits to campuses allow guys to build bonds before they ever come to campus. Social media and the cell phone in each of their hands make those bonds grow even stronger. By the time they move in to the dorms on campus, they already feel like a family and act like a family.
The second thing that struck me are the personalities in the group. A lot of freshmen are quiet and reserved, but this group was full of personality, and they weren't afraid to show it to us or to each other. A guy like Jack Jones takes over the room when he enters with his energy. Sit him down next to Andrew Butcher and they will go back-and-forth with an incredibly entertaining exchange that will ultimately be settled in their first "Circle of Life" matchup in spring practice. Quinten Dormady and Jauan Jennings both project the confidence and tone that you expect from a quarterback.
The last thing is the maturity and character of the group. Butch Jones has said since arriving at Tennessee that he recruits a certain type of individual to be a Volunteer. That is evident when you meet these guys. They are articulate, engaging, polite, just good to be around. They made our job very easy.
Inside The T - The Start Of Something Big - UTSPORTS.COM - University of Tennessee Athletics
