Kiffin sends Tweet, reports secondary violation

Tennessee plans to self-report another NCAA secondary violation after a high school recruit was mentioned by name Tuesday on Lane Kiffin's Twitter page.

Tennessee athletic director Mike Hamilton said it wasn't actually Kiffin who penned the post in question but an employee in the football office who was updating Kiffin's Twitter page for him. The post was up for about an hour during the afternoon before being removed by Tennessee officials. It read: "It's a beautiful day in Knoxville, Tennessee today. I was so exited to hear that J.C. Copeland committed to play for the Vols today!"

NCAA rules prohibit coaches and athletic department employees from commenting about unsigned prospects or publicizing them in any way.

Copeland, a 6-foot-1, 245-pound defensive end from LaGrange, Ga., is an ESPNU 150 Watch List member. He chose Tennessee over Auburn, Ole Miss, Maryland, UAB, Central Florida, East Carolina and Southern Miss.

"It was one of Lane's personal assistants, and it was his first day on the job," Hamilton explained. "He posted the message on Lane's Twitter account without asking compliance. It was an inadvertent error, but it's still a violation and one of those things where you've got to know what the deal is. We'll report it." [more at ESPN.com]

VOLS land 4 star Defensive End

Troup (LaGrange, Ga.) DE J.C. Copeland has committed to Tennessee, Rivals.com reported. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound weakside defensive end said Auburn was probably the next closest to getting his commitment, He also reported scholarship offers from Maryland, Ole Miss, Southern Miss and East Carolina, among others.

"I've had a chance to speak with coach (Lane) Kiffin and his dad, and that's really what sealed it for me, the coaches they have up there," Copeland told Rivals.com. "They have a direct link to the NFL there and that's everybody's dream. Getting a good education is important for sure, but with that staff the NFL connections are strong too."

This is the VOLS 4th committment in the 2010 class, three of which have been Defensive lineman. Jacques Smith is another 4 star DE who committed with the VOLS. Ed Orgeron is making hisself at home back in Lousiana, reeling in a big DT in both next year and 2011's class.
Anthony Johnson committed to the VOLS las week and is perhaps the best DT in the entire nation and state of LA in 2011.

One thing is clear early on, the VOLS are recruiting kids from all over the place and you can already see fences being torn down in rival states. Eddie Gran has been recruiting South Florida relentlessly while Lance Thompson has been in Georgia and Alabama. Jim Chaney has been near-and-far to find a QB, even stopping in on Pulaski, TN's Bo Wallace. Wallce does not have an offer from the VOLS, but his stock continues to go up as more and more schools are stopping in to see him. Wallace says he grew up a VOLS fan and would love a chance to play for his favorite team.