With so many changes afoot in the Tennessee football program, FanHouse decided it was best to go to the horse's mouth of Vol blogdom. We caught up with Joel at RockyTopTalk.com for a few words about the '08 Tennessee Volunteers.

FanHouse: You've got Erik Ainge and others in the NFL draft. How's it looking for those guys?

Joel: Jerod Mayo is most likely the head of the class, with some draft gurus saying he could go as high as 15th overall. He's a prototypical John Chavis linebacker and should do well. David Cutcliffe, the Manning Maker, says that whoever drafts Erik Ainge is going to get a bargain, a statement that essentially acknowledges that he's not going to go as high as he should. It's a shame, because he's very, very good. After that, tight end Brad Cottam seems to be getting the most interest. He was injured most of his senior season, but stellar days at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine improved his draft stock significantly.

Very encouraging is the apparent fact that coach Fulmer is indeed letting new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson run his own offense. The simple fact of change is refreshing, and Clawson's insistence on getting the ball to playmakers in space has Vol fans breathing heavy. The spring game proved that he's not only saying the things Tennessee fans want to hear, he's actually doing them. The offense looked shiny and new, and they had a great deal of success last Saturday.

Octogenarians and above, feel free to disregard the following information, as it cannot possibly affect you: the Ohio State Buckeyes and Tennessee Volunteers have just finalized plans to play a home-and-home series.

In light of their recent ineptitude against SEC opponents, this would appear to be a foolish decision on Ohio State's part; the Buckeyes haven't beaten an SEC team since 1988. That win against LSU was their only victory against the SEC since well before WWII. Meanwhile, Ohio State is still winless against the same conference in bowl games, all nine losses coming within the last 30 years. So yes, SEC speeeeeeed! and all that.

But fear not, Bucknuts: All of that is ancient history, completely worthless. Why? Because the games won't even be played for another decade. Yes, the athletic departments at both Ohio State and Tennessee have taken the unusually presumptive stance that Earth as we know it will still exist 10 years from now, Manbearpig be damned, and scheduled the series for 2018 and 2019.

This gives the Buckeyes 10 years to figure out how to slow down an SEC opponent (Answer: tasers. Dozens of them. Five on Percy Harvin alone) and once again be competitive in a game that is creeping past them like a glacier--slow, but totally unstoppable. Meanwhile, quarterbacks will be able to see probabilities in their Lexan visor, and 25-yard end zones, and... oh wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Still, 10 years is a long time for a football program to evolve (or, as with Nebraska, decompose), and entropy suggests that this matchup may bear little resemblence to its current state. And that's all assuming Skynet lets us keep playing football at all. Vicious haters, they.

Backup safety Antonio Wardlow and reserve linebacker Dorian Davis were both kicked off the Tennessee football team on Wednesday. Wardlow is best known for blocking a couple of punts in his career, including one in UT's 2006 blowout win at Georgia that landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and for sealing UT's Outback Bowl win against Wisconsin with an interception (pictured). Davis is pretty well unknown, though he would have had a chance to compete for a staring job in spring practice.

The official university line on the players' dismissal is the ubiquitous "violation of team rules," but scuttlebutt amongst fans is that weed was the root of their problem. Now technically, it's just a rumor, and the comment linked is just the first on that site to bring up the drug thing (though none refute it, and similar comments can be found elsewhere). But if it is true, take into account LaMarcus Coker, an infinitely talented running back who failed the requisite number of drug tests to get himself kicked off the team (like 14 or something, I think), and Gerald Jones, an infinitely talented wide receiver who just got busted for possession like two weeks ago,and there's got to be a reason that Tennessee players keep risking their scholarships and athletic futures over getting high.

Is it brash egos that make them think they're above the law? Maybe. Is it plain stupidity? Possibly. But I think Occam's razor would say: Knoxville's got the stickiest icky around. Now I don't smoke, but in the five years I lived in Knoxville, had I known that I was living in some kind of ganja heaven, I'd at least given it a shot. You know, when in Rome, support the local economy, etc. But I digress.

So how do these losses affect Tennessee from a football standpoint?

Note this is "disappointing," not "worst." We're not looking for the class with the absolute least potential to win D-I games but the schools that really should have done better than they did. So breathe easy, Buffalo. A further note: rankings here are all Rivals'; sometimes Scout disagrees vehemently but that's rare.

Without further adieu:

5. Texas. Perhaps a harsh assessment for Rivals' #14 class, but as the dominant power in the nation's most football-mad state Texas should never, ever have a class outside of the top ten, even when it's kind of small. Texas whiffed on the top three players in-state, all of whom ended up at hated Oklahoma. Striking out on national #1 RB Darrell Scott was the icing on a mildly crap sundae for the Longhorns.

It's not that Texas' class is bad, per se. It's actually pretty good. (You can tell by the #14 above. That's math.) But there's no school in the country with a better built-in advantage when it comes to high school talent, and there's no way Texas should strike out on four of the top five players instate.

Mack Brown will spring his revenge soon, no doubt: rumor is that the next next Vince Young, class of 2009 QB Russell Shepard, is soon to don burnt orange.

4. Michigan State. If there was ever going to be a year when Michigan State re-asserted itself as a threat to Michigan instate or to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and increasingly irritating Cincinnati around the Midwest, this would be it. Michigan suffered a humiliating series of losses and much of the state was operating under the foregone conclusion that Lloyd Carr would be retiring at year's end. When Michigan made a hire, Rich Rodriguez swept out all but one Carr assistant. Mark Dantonio's long association with Jim Tressel was supposed to give him the edge when it came to Ohio recruits.

The result? Detroit wide receiver Fred Smith and no other four-star players. Michigan State struck out on instaters Nick Perry (USC) and Mark Ingram (Alabama) late; Ingram's decision to flee is especially grating since his father was one of Michigan State's best wide receivers. Ohio linebacker Taylor Hill took an official visit to MSU and liked it so much he committed to Michigan on the way home. Hell, linebacker Yourhighness Morgan took a look at MSU and said "thanks, but I'm going to play for Florida."

Florida Atlantic.

MSU ranks 7th in the Big Ten, and this was both their new-coach-bump year and a year in which Michigan changed coaches. Michigan's little brother continues to bow down.

Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer declared his intention to lose the Fulmer Cup this year by making his entire team run at 6am this morning. After having one of the most famous trophy's in all of college football blogdom named after him for sever lack of institutional control, Fulmer is taking a new approach.

With three players being arrested in a two week span, Fulmer has instituted the code red approach to discipline.

After a Tennessee player was arrested for the second time in less than two weeks, Fulmer said he made the entire team run at 6 a.m. Tuesday to show he wasn't going to tolerate such behavior. He also said Vereen will have to do community service and participate in police ride-alongs as part of his violation of team rules.

So not only does Daryl Vereen have to do community service, rides with police, and that running at 6am thing. He also has to take into account that there's probably some guys on his team that were not happy with him at that 6am run. And probably won't be for a while. Ah, NCO justice is a cruel mistress. But a mistress that gets results as long as those in charge are willing to let the justice take its course.

Fulmer just got out of the doghouse with Tennessee fans after a six loss season in 2005 by following up with a top 25 finish in 2006 and a #12 ranking in 2007. The last thing he needs is to recreate the situation that got the cup named after him in the first place. This may or may not be a hot seat issue depending on how the rest of the off season plays out.

Hat tip to EDSBS for making our off season more enjoyable than it should be.

Volunteers of the world, exhale. The gentleman at right, former Michigan offensive coordinator Mike Debord, is not going to be Tennessee's offensive coordinator. He's in the midst of leading Central Michigan through the worst four-year stretch in its history. The gun you did not know was pointed directly at your temple has been holstered.

No, instead you get this guy:

An announcement is expected early today from the University of Tennesee that it has hired University of Richmond football coach Dave Clawson to be its offensive coordinator.

Richmond went 11-3 this year, losing in the I-AA semifinals to Appalachian State. Seems kinda risky, but, hey, at least you didn't hire the guy who parlayed Mike Hart and Chad Henne's junior and senior seasons into the 6th and 10th best offenses in the Big Ten. Granted, this year Michigan's stars were often hobbled, but... Jesus, man. Michigan without a couple players has got to be better than Minnesota and Northwestern and... uh... Iowa.

There is still the possibility Tennessee will hire Michigan QB coach Scott Loeffler, who interviewed along with Debord. That would actually be a good move. Michigan's put a parade of QBs into the NFL and the recent crop have all learned under Loeffler. And he might bring Ryan Mallett along for the ride, which is awesome if you love fumbles. And who doesn't love fumbles?

A controversial play with 3:19 left in the Outback Bowl held the game up for upwards of ten minutes, as replay officials tried to discern whether Wisconsin recovered a Tennessee fumble along the sideline.

The reversal of the call on the field, which was a fumble by Tennessee and a recovery by Wisconsin, was a key in Tennessee's ability to hold on for a 21-17 win over the Badgers. Wisconsin missed numerous opportunities to win the game, just as the Vols missed out on more than a few chances to put it away earlier.

Jai Valai clearly was out of bounds before he had control of the fumble, and the reversal gave Tennessee a valuable first down and three more chances to run time off the clock late in the game.

Wisconsin's missed opportunities centered around their defense's stunning inability to get off the football field. Ten of Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge's 24 completions, along with 178 of his 340 passing yards, came on third downs. The Volunteers converted short, intermediate, and long third-down attempts in the game. The reversed fumble recovery call came after another third-down conversion where Wisconsin put up little or no resistance.

As the Outback Bowl continues in Tampa, the Wisconsin Badgers are struggling to slow down the pass rush of Tennessee. They probably smell blood now.

Badger senior QB Tyler Donovan took a shot to the head as he dove into the end zone for Wisconsin's only touchdown so far. Head coach Bret Bielema wasn't pleased, as no penalty was called (hard to say whether a call was justified after viewing replays). Donovan was dinged up, but appeared to pass the "concussion test" - or whatever they call it - on the sideline. He didn't miss a play.

Tennessee brought some serious heat throughout much of the first quarter, hitting Donovan numerous times and forcing him to rush his throws.

In the second quarter, Donovan slid awkwardly on a scramble, then took another shot to the upper body. It looked like he injured his knee. His return looked to be up in the air at best, though he was smiling on the sideline and he had the look of a player who was going back into the game. Yet after Tennessee scored to take a 21-7 lead in the game, Donovan jumped off the bench and ran back out to take over the offense once again.

On his second play back, Donovan completed a pass to tight end Garrett Graham, and he took another late hit. This one led to a flag and a 15-yard markoff against Tennessee.

Donovan's average arm and small stature probably prohibit him from having much of an NFL future as a quarterback. However, there is no question Donovan has great leadership skills, a huge heart, and that he is an incredibly tough competitor.

If there was ever an argument against having a layoff ranging from a month to six weeks before bowl games are played, this is it.

I mean, if NFL teams are worried about their star players getting out of rhythm after a week or two off, how do you expect less mature and less experienced college athletes to handle up to six weeks off?

Neither Wisconsin nor Tennessee look particularly sharp, with turnovers and penalties joining general lapses in concentration in ruling the day thus far. A Wisconsin fumble on their third offensive play took away a chance to score early, and it led to the Volunteers taking an early 7-0 lead. Later, after Wisconsin drove down to tie the game, Tennessee tried a trick play deep in Wisconsin territory, but fumbled the ball away to the Badgers, blowing a chance to take the lead back.

As of this writing, the Volunteers have a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. Wisconsin's early fumble led to the Volunteers' first score. Erik Ainge just threw a touchdown pass to give Tennessee the lead again.

It's not pretty so far, but give the edge in play to Tennessee. They look a bit sharper on offense, though that isn't saying much.

Starting Tuesday's New Year's Day bowl bonanza (not the bonanza it used to be, but it still qualifies as one) will be the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. SEC powerhouse Tennessee meets Wisconsin of the Big Ten at Raymond James Stadium, which serves as home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Even though Tennessee and Wisconsin have both been pretty consistent over the last 15 years or so, this will mark their first meeting since the 1981 Garden State Bowl (won by Tennessee, 28-21), and just their second meeting in history. The SEC and Big Ten have hooked up for many a bowl game in recent years, but none pairing these two.

Even though the fanbases have the reputation for being rather rabid, Tennessee failed to sell out their allotment of tickets for this game.

The big story to come out of the pregame coverage is the change Wisconsin has made in their starting offensive backfield. You might remember that sophomore P.J. Hill, who ran for 1,500 yards as a freshman in 2006, was injured and unavailable down the stretch for Wisconsin, appearing only briefly in the win over Minnesota November 17. When he did that, it began to look like he would return to the starting job in time for the Badgers' bowl game.

However, something else happened in that win over Minnesota, and as a result, it appears Hill has lost his starting job, at least for now.