Reserve offensive linemen Ramone Johnson and Darius Myers have been suspended for the next two weeks “for lack of academic effort and violation of team rules,” Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer announced Tuesday evening.
The pair did not practice Tuesday and will not practice in advance of UT’s trip to No. 10 Georgia on Saturday. Neither will be allowed to practice or play until after UT’s home game against Mississippi State on Oct. 18.
Johnson, a 6-foot-5, 315-pound sophomore tackle from Chicago, has played in all five games this season. He has been used primarily as an extra blocker on short-yardage plays, lining up as a tight end.
Johnson is listed as junior tackle Chris Scott’s backup, however in the event of an injury Jarrod Shaw (6-4, 330) would likely be the first player used.
Myers, a 6-6, 315 sophomore guard from Cordova, has not played this season. The only playing time of his career came last season against Louisiana-Lafayette and Arkansas State.
Drew Edwards covers University of Tennessee football. He may be reached at 865-342-6274.
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Notre Dame beats Tennessee 72-44…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 54
txvolsfan writes:
and the hits just keep coming
LadyVolsEighTimes writes:
This all needs to stop!!
I'm glad Tennessee is a Basketball School, if we were a Football School this would be embarassing!
GerryOP writes:
Some folks said cheer up it could be worse. We cheered up ... and it got worse.
rockitwithrespect writes:
maybe the back-ups will act like they want to play, and not get stupid motion penalties every other down
OrangeRush writes:
Weeeeee! Are we having fun yet?
Volsee96 writes:
Once again we suspend the back-ups for an entire game. I bet if these guys were starters or one of Phil's Phavorites, they would only have been suspended for the first quarter. Or first half at the most.
bigtimevol writes:
Not a fan of what is going on now in Knoxville, but on this situation, if Fulmer didn't do anything, he'd be criticized for not running a tight ship or enforcing rules.
eutefan writes:
You expected Rhodes Scholars?
volsthunder writes:
What about Fulmer and his mentally inept coaching staffs effort? Maybe they should be suspended....permanently!
dvols writes:
they need to take advantage of their opportunity to an education. Not many o lineman gone pro the last few years, they might need to get a job.
McIntireIMP writes:
Fulmer got suspended too. He was in violation of fans' rules. Doug Dickey is the new head coach.
orangecountry21 writes:
Foolmer is hear strictly for recruiting.
cltvol writes:
We're # 65! We're # 65!
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/con...
GerryOP writes:
Ahh, well, kind of ... Painful... Embarrassing ...
I am following good ol' Phil's example -- face in my hat muttering.
utwick writes:
(Sound of hands clapping)
Waldorf writes:
Is anyone surprised? Really? It shows the respect and the pride these guys carry now. Hence why we struggle with programs like NIU and will be throughly embarassed by Georgia this weekend. It's embarassing. Mark my word - Mississippi State beats us in two weeks.
Boo Colquitt.
Bench Foster.
Fire Fulmer.
Fire Hamilton.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Any koolade left?
My jug has long ago dried up.
lambourne writes:
With the example he set with Colquitt there is no fear of real punishment for bad behavior. These kids have no discipline on or off the field. What a circus UT Football has become.
ncvol17 writes:
Well, I see that there are still good seats available for our home games. They can pick up a few for MISS STATE and make the stands look better. Fill the stands with athletes, unload GIBBS.
DennisVols writes:
We just want the fans to know we're "trying like heck" to make this team better. "This is not Tennessee" so we will "stay the course".
Lack of disipline on the field and now it flows over to off the field.
Colliervol writes:
Hey folks. I was driving through South Alabama today and you should hear the Auburn folks talk about Tuberville. Very similar to the discussion going on here. They appear to be ready to part company with him too. Some are speculating that he might be lining up to make a play for the UT job if Fulmer hangs it up. Evidently, there still is no love lost between Tubs and certain boosters after the Petrino debacle a few years ago.
The only problem is that there is a buyout that would require a payment of about $4 million to Auburn. Given the Fulmer buyout, Paul Finebaum said the question would be whether or not UT thought Tuberville was worth $8 to 9 million plus whatever the new contract would be. (Unless Tuberville negotiated a lower buyout with Auburn.)
Don't laugh. Might not be too far-fetched. Tuberville has the same agent as Fulmer, Jimmy Sexton, who is wired in tight to the UT situation.
govols26 writes:
Oh yea bottom half of the top 120 is really something to be excited about...
GerryOP writes:
pdhuff, don't think even Grey Goose KoolAid could improve my mood on our Vols -- very discouraged. Bud Light does help. Face in hat mumbling also helps.
I hate it when our own worse case prognostications come true.
soddydaisy777 writes:
This happens every where and not just at TN
BigVolOnBoard writes:
65 and OVERRATED!
bugola19 writes:
Fire CPF!!!! AND HIRE MISSOURI'S GARY PINKEL!!!Fire CPF!!!! AND HIRE MISSOURI'S GARY PINKEL!!!Fire CPF!!!! AND HIRE MISSOURI'S GARY PINKEL!!!Fire CPF!!!! AND HIRE MISSOURI'S GARY PINKEL!!!Fire CPF!!!! AND HIRE MISSOURI'S GARY PINKEL!!!Fire CPF!!!! AND HIRE MISSOURI'S GARY PINKEL!!!
givehim6 writes:
There probably glad to have been suspended for the bama game, no one wants a bunch of bama hicks kicking your butt when your down anyway.
ncvol writes:
I hate to hear more bad news. Hope these guys take advantage of the extra time off to catch up on their studies.
Go Vols !
BillsBrother writes:
Now that we have our all-american drinker, I mean punter, back we can afford to suspend a couple of reserves for two games.
vtvol#210290 writes:
Man--and we've been so good pounding the rock in short yardage situations all year. We're done for now.
Volalumnus writes:
Thank goodness they are backups.
For a moment I was afraid this would disrupt the team hurt their on field performance.
{sarcasm off}
jandjhome#228397 writes:
These situations will increase as the season moves along. The lower we sink the harder it will be for a new coach to correct. It will be done and the Big Orange will be on the rise once again.
golfballs03 writes:
Lets suspend Phil Fulmer
thevoice writes:
Looks like Fulmer went AWOL on a few coaching classes himself (like father like son). But at least Fulmer was doing something constructive during his missed classes: watching film.
Ironcity writes:
Guys lighten Up!!!!! Fulmer probably saved these two guys academic careers. Some act like this doesn't happen elsewhere. It happens everywhere!!! There are plenty of things to be dissatisfied with. This is not one of them.
volunteer_cowboy writes:
or boise st coach or tedford
volunteer_cowboy writes:
Missouri’s Gary Pinkel, USF’s Jim Leavitt, BYU’s Bronco Mendenhall, Boise State’s Chris Petersen.
budrhon writes:
Now coming into the game Joe Sixpack!
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
nepotism? playing favorites, is that what it's called. Remember the time Troy Aikman cam in late to a meting and nothing was said, but when a backup running back did it, he was kicked off the team? Was Fulmer the coach there too?
el_duderino writes:
I know Ramone and Darius both, and this doesn't surprise me. Darius (aka Big D) is completely unfocused and not dedicated at all, it's easy to see why he got benched. Big D spends more time driving around on his 24's "bumpin" and chasin girls than anything else. It's sad because living with these guys you can see where our play comes from and why we don't have more discipline and drive. You can tell the focused ones from the unfocused and "Big D" is definitely not one the focused. Ramone is better but not by much.
I hope the two of them get it together and start taking school, football, and life more seriously.
DekanGator writes:
Hate to say it guys, but I think you best choice for a new head football coach is Butch Davis?
GreerVol22 writes:
knum knuts
pdhuff#552644 writes:
I'm still mulling the impact of suspending a player who hadn't played in 5 games.
Does this affect Ga's game plan?
volmaniak writes:
I agree Butch Davis is the coach we need.HE is a good recruiter and a proven winner.
volfan#207874 writes:
Let's give Colquitt the opportunity to prove to us that he has given up alcohol and is now a born again Christian. Who among us has never made a mistake in judgement? Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
jasonn1970 writes:
Butch Davis would be a great hire, as would Bill Cowher, as I've heard mentioned. But realistically, can UT really afford Butch Davis? Carolina will no doubt up the ante since they now have a respectable football program for the first time in ages. And Fulmer's buyout will be a factor. As for Cowher, has anyone even heard he is interested in college coaching? Or is this just dreaming? Peterson looks like a good choice. But the point that Hawkins built the program is a valid one. Hamilton should be quietly starting the search already since it has become apparent that a large group of fans aren't going to come back as long as Fulmer remains.
GoVol writes:
One of the best coaches around is Vandy's Bobby Johnson. He doesn't get the respect or attention he deserves because he has a losing record at Vandy. If one really looks at the recruiting disadvantage he has at Vandy one can clearly see he gets the most out of his players and then some. Not just this year, but for several years now.
Much different than Fulmer. Fulmer coaches down...makes players too scared to make a mistake and then their athletic ability is handicapped.
mattucket#231689 writes:
What about Todd Graham from Tulsa? In one season at Rice he leads them to their 1st bowl game in 45 years! He has Malzone as his OC and certainly would bring him. This guy would turn us around so fast a la Bruce Pearl. His basic philosophy is . . . We want to be the hardest working, most disciplined, best conditioned team in the country. We want to be relentless in our efforts and we want to be physical. It's very simple, but it's very hard to get accomplished. What you get done on a daily basis is the key.
Check him out
http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/sports...
mattucket#231689 writes:
SJT18- I realize that this would be a long shot, but what about Tommy Tuberville from Auburn (as long as he doesn't bring Tony Franklin with him!) He dominated recruiting for so long in Alabama, but now Saban is getting all the talent in the state. Bama is on the up and up and LSU has such a fertile recruiting ground in-state that its going to be hard to beat every year. Mississippi is substantially better with Nutt and the Hogs are down this year but with Mallet at QB they'll be much improved. I think it might be time to jump ship and head over the the SEC East. He's proven he can beat Meyer and Richt. I think Auburn's glory years are on the decline.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Still like ol' Paul Johnson. Went thru mighty MSU like phooey thru a goose.
300 yds on the ground.
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