It's safe to say that no national media outlets will be reporting anything but bad news for the Vols. Therefore, I am both happy and compelled to post that there are no acamdemic casualties for the Vols football team heading into the Chick-Fil-A Bowl against Virginia Tech. As usual around this time of year, both coaches and fans were scared that a few of UT's key players wouldn't make the grades to be eligible to play in their New Year's Eve bowl.
Such casualties can really effect the outcome of a bowl game and the perception of the season. For example, in 2006 the Vols had to sit 6 key players and ended up losing a close game to a Penn State team that they should've beaten.
However, there was some other news that came out today that is either fortunate or unfortunate depending how you look at it. Junior DB Brent Vinson is no longer with the team. Coach Lane Kiffin had stated during the season that roughly 5% of the players weren't buying into the team's goals or philosophy. Vinson appears to be the latest member of this group, as well as falling into the group of stud signees who never lived up to their hype on Rocky Top. Vinson was rated a 5 star prospect by Rivals.com out of high school.
