Over the past few years, few college football programs have been more fascinating than the Tennessee Volunteers. From coaching changes en masse to on the field disappointments galore, as I said a million times during the 2012 college football season: It’s Always Something with Tennessee.
And on Wednesday, one of the Vols’ top beat writers, Evan Woodbery of the Knoxville News Sentinel stopped by the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast to discuss this most unusual of programs.
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Evan and I chatted about the following:
- What is it about Tennessee that there always seems to be something going on, on or off the field? Evan says it’s no different than his time covering Auburn and explains the parallels between the two schools.
- Evan explains what went wrong last year in Knoxville. Was it the coaching? Did the players not buy in? And why didn’t the one-year experiment with Sal Sunseri’s 3-4 defense ever seem to work?
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Spring football is officially over, which also means that we’re now one step closer to the start of actual games this fall. And in honor of it, it’s time to start up the Aaron Torres Sports summer podcast series with one of my favorite guests: Barrett Sallee of BleacherReport.com.
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Simply put there is no one who knows this conference better than Barrett, and on Wednesday Barrett broke down all the major story lines from this spring, specifically in the SEC East (note we will do the SEC West in the coming weeks).
However before we could talk football, we needed to settle a movie debate once and for all, beginning with:
- An argument on the merits of both Major League and Major League II. Barrett explains why Major League is a classic, and I explain why Major League II is one of the more underrated sports movies our time. We also debate Willie Mays Hayes’ character, the genius behind “Black Hammer/White Lightning” and agree that Jack Parkman is the boss of all bosses.
- Moving to actual football conversation we begin in a strange spot… with the Kentucky Wildcats. Both Barrett and I have been thoroughly impressed with what Mark Stoops has done and also wonder what this program’s ceiling might be with him as coach.
- We next move to the other new coach in the conference, Butch Jones at Tennessee. Both Barrett and I have been impressed with what he’s done so far, but have concerns with his ability to get this program back to their winning tradition. Both of us agree that success will start with the run game.
Spring practice is winding down at schools across college football, and it only seems appropriate that as we head into the 2013 season, we start by discussing the biggest story in the sport: The Alabama Crimson Tide.
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The two-time defending National Champion (don’t let hear Nick Saban call them that) held their ‘A-Day’ spring scrimmage this past Saturday and as always, TideNation.com’s Alex Scarborough was there to cover it all. On Wednesday he was nice enough to join me on the show to discuss some of the biggest stories from the Crimson Tide’s spring, including:
- Alabama’s recent trip to the White House, and why meeting the President is just about the only thing that leaves Alabama’s players in awe these days. Also, is Nick Saban even a little bit intimidated by meeting the most powerful man in the free world?
The NFL Draft is now just a week away, and just a few days after UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin joined me on the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, another prominent draft hopeful called into the show earlier this week.
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That prospect was former Texas A&M wide receiver Ryan Swope, who discussed a number of different topics earlier this week, including his early days at A&M, the arrival of Kevin Sumlin, and what it was like to be labeled a player “lacking elite athleticism” at the NFL Combine.
Ryan was incredibly open in his interview, sharing thoughts on the following:
Although you may not be familiar with his name, there isn’t anyone as well-respected in NBA circles than Tim Grover. The famed NBA trainer has been working with, and getting results from some of the league’s best, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade since starting his career over 20 years ago.
Well late last week, I was fortunate enough to welcome Grover onto the Aaron Torres Sports podcast, where we discussed his work with the NBA’s elite, what separates them from everyone else, and his new book “Relentless: From Good, to Great, to Unstoppable.”
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With the Final Four behind us, it’s now time to turn our attention back to football and ahead to the NFL Draft, which incredibly is now just a few short weeks away. And when it comes to the draft, few players are moving up team’s Big Boards more quickly than former UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin, who was nice enough to join the Aaron Torres Sports podcast earlier this week.
Johnathan had a decorated career at UCLA, and on Wednesday he stopped by to discuss a number of topics, including his time at Westwood, what it was like to play for Jim Mora, and a brief career as a reality TV star.
Here’s what we chatted about:
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- How a pact amongst high school friends brought Johnathan to UCLA in the first place, and why he came to the school to try and win big there like the Bruins had never won before.
- His early years at UCLA, which started with an upset victory over Tennessee, but was then followed by so many losses afterward. How did the losses change Johnathan, and how much more enjoyable was his senior season, when the Bruins won nine games, and the Pac-12 South title.
- Johnathan also discusses the transition into the Jim Mora era, and how things changed with Mora’s arrival. Also, with Mora in place, how bright is the future for the Bruins football program?
- Johnathan expands on what his last couple months of NFL Draft prep have been like. Did playing in the Senior Bowl help him grow as a football player, and most importantly, when he got to the NFL Combine, what kind of weird questions were asked of him by NFL personnel?
- Finally, Johnathan discusses his brief career as a reality TV star in high school (yes, that happened), and wraps up by letting fans know what to expect if their team drafts him.
Folks, I’m going to be blunt: In all my years interviewing college and professional athletes, I have never come across one as intelligent, introspective and unique as Johnathan Franklin. It was a pleasure to interview him, and regardless of whether you’re a UCLA fan or if your NFL team is considering drafting the Bruins running back, this is a podcast you’re going to want to listen to.
And you can listen to this podcast by downloading it straight from iTunes just by searching for “The Aaron Torres Sports Podcast” and you can also subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports podcastby clicking here.
And FINALLY, if you haven’t checked out my giveaway with Captain Morgan, which starts this coming Monday, check it out here. Do so and you'll have the opportunity to win cool prizes, including Captain Morgan swag, tickets to live sporting events and much, MUCH more!
The Final Four is here and no one (short of Rick Pitino himself) is more plugged into the Louisville basketball team than my good friend, and 680 ESPN Louisville radio host Mark Ennis.
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And on Wednesday Mark was nice enough to re-join the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast (he’s been on several times before) to discuss everything around the Cardinals program, from Kevin Ware’s injury to the Final Four run and how this team will remembered long-term, regardless of whether they win a title or not.
Here is just a selection of what Mark and I discussed:
The NCAA Tournament is here, and admit it you need help filling out your bracket, don’t you? Thankfully Rob Dauster of NBC Sports’ College Basketball Talk was nice enough to stop by the podcast yesterday and answer all my questions, about all of college basketball’s best teams.
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Rob is a wealth of college basketball knowledge and on Monday he dropped it all, sharing thoughts on the following:
- Starting in the West bracket, why he thinks Gonzaga actually has the toughest road of any No. 1 seed. Also, why he thinks the Zags, Ohio State and New Mexico are all in play to win the region, why Wisconsin should surprise, and why Rob actually likes Belmont to upset Arizona in Round 1.
- Moving to the Midwest, Rob shares his thoughts on the “bracket of death.” He also explains why he likes St. Louis to upset Louisville in the Sweet 16 and why Duke-Michigan State could hinge on the Spartans’ Keith Appling.
- Heading over to the South, Rob explains why unlike most of the rest of the national media, he actually likes UCLA to beat Minnesota in Round 1. He also shares thoughts on why VCU will wreak “havoc” on Akron, why Michigan could get upset in Round 1 and why Kansas might get upset by North Carolina in the second round.
- Finally we head to the East Region, where both of us agree that Indiana is the team to beat. Additionally we wonder what to expect from Syracuse and Miami, and if Butler can make another run to the Sweet 16 or beyond.
Folks, it is that time of year... time to fill out your brackets! And there is no man who’s opinion I value more throughout this process than Rob’s. So if you have any questions about any team, go ahead and listen to the show. Rob is a college basketball encyclopedia and I’m honored to have had him on the show.
Also for updates on the show, my writing and much more, be sure to follow on Twitter @Aaron_Torres and my newly created Facebook page. And for weekly updates on all my podcasts, articles, giveaways and more you can now sign up for the Aaron Torres Sports weekly newsletter, just by entering your e-mail where it says “Aaron Torres Sports Mailing List” or e-mail at
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Finally I want to thank Rob for his time, and encourage you to follow him on Twitter @RobDauster. And of course, I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to the show.
(Please note, I made a mistake in the Big Ten Tournament section of the show. I said the tournament is being played in Indianapolis, when it is actually being played in Chicago. My bad!!)
It’s Championship Week, and to celebrate the occasion I decided to bring my single favorite person in the world onto the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast to break it all down... me!! That’s right, I’m riding solo in this edition of the show, as unfortunately all my friends in the college basketball media were too busy doing, well, actual work to pick up my calls and join me.
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Regardless it was a fun day as I recorded the podcast in video and audio format to allow you to access the show however you please.
College football season has been over for a few months now, but the conversation never ends... which is why on Wednesday I decided to bring on old friend of the show Michael Felder to discuss the NFL Combine and spring ball and more.
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Mike is a former player at UNC and now writes a national college football column for Bleacher Report, and on Wednesday he stopped by the show to discuss the following topics:
- How important are NFL Combine results, especially relative to on the field performance? Michael says minimal and explains that the idea of a player “climbing up draft boards” is overrated.
- We discuss Tyrann Mathieu’s Combine performance. Mike says that Mathieu helped himself and put up numbers better than anyone expected. Mike and I also agreed that Mathieu’s most underrated role may be as a teammate, and that any club who acquires him will be a lucky one. We also discuss how much NFL fans care about his past drug use, if at all.
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