In the ever growing arms race of media outlets and individual journalists trying to break news, it seems  Randy Shannon to Tennessee as Defensive Coordinator should have already been announced by now.  The press conference should have occurred, and Shannon should be trying to give a last minute shot in the arm to the 2012 recruiting class.  "Sources" out of both Knoxville and Miami have leaked this "fact" to reporters who have "reported" it; yet it still has not happened.  Now I have seen reports that maybe the talk of Shannon being a slam dunk in Knoxville was a bit premature, and other candidates are still alive.

No matter who is hired to run the defense on Rocky Top, it's obvious that Randy Shannon is one of the top targets.  I would love to see him hired on Monday, January 9th, but most likely, Volunteer fans will continue to play the waiting game while Dooley collects all his info and organizes it using every Microsoft Office tool available in order to make a sound decision.

When the Shannon talk starting happening, I immediately thought of my friends and contacts who are Hurricane fans.  I know several fans of "The U", and all of them share the same passion, flamboyance, confidence and even cockiness that their program has been famous for since the 1980's.  One friend in particular is Aaron Flowers.  Aaron HAS TO BE the most die-hard Miami Hurricanes fan living in the state of Tennessee.  In fact, he may be the most die-hard sports fan I know.  Aaron is well versed in all sports but especially in college football, the NBA and boxing.  Those are his wheel houses, and the Canes are a clear cut #1.  Aaron is a very active participant on canestime.com as This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  I caught up with Aaron during the afternoon of Sunday, January 8th to get his thoughts on Randy Shannon.  CBC appreciates Aaron taking part in our Q&A.  Enjoy the interview!

The University of Tennessee's conditional release of DeAnthony Arnett has many football fans and pundits scratching their heads. Derek Dooley says Arnett can be released from his scholarship at the University of Tennessee, but he cannot go suit up for the Michigan Wolverines or Michigan State Spartans. 

I have read several solid pieces on this topic this week, most notably pieces written by Ryan Wooden of Knox Vegas Vols and Clay Travis of Outkick The Coverage.  If you have not read these articles, I would suggest doing so before reading this post further.  Wooden and Travis hit on the details, and I am not going to fully rehash. 

Done?  Ok, now proceed.

Last night the Vols received another commitment for their 2012 recruiting class from 3-star JUCO DB, Otis Jacobs. With the pledge of the highly coveted JUCO DE, Denico Autry to Dan Mullen’s Bulldogs still fresh on the Tennessee Faithful’s mind, this commitment is just what the doctor ordered. While it does not change how big of a loss Autry is for the Vols, it does help improve this recruiting class in a major area of need: speed. Anybody that watched the Vols play this year had to notice the huge gap in team speed against other SEC foes. You put the Vols in the Big East and they look like Oregon, but we all know life in the SEC is a different story.

As we told you here, Eric L. Taylor took the crown in our season long SEC pick 'em contest.  He put up a record of 83-14.  With the bowl season upon us we decided to wipe the slate clean and have another pick 'em contest with the bowl games. 

Sadly, the Vols aren't participating in a bowl game this year but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy some football games around the holidays.  Let's just all hope Tennessee's rivals lose more than they win this bowl season!

Now on to the picks....

December has not been good to Cuonzo Martin's Tennessee Vols.  They are 0-2 for the month which brings their season record to 4-5.  The worst blow came last Saturday in the form of a 74-70 loss to the previously 1-9 Austin Peay Governors.  What has to be considered one of the worst losses in program history is no way to kick off the holiday season.

The fortunes and the future of the Tennessee basketball program may change in a dramatic way in the coming days.  5-star power forward Jarnell Stokes of Memphis is set to announce his decision on where he will be attending college as early as next week.  The 6'8", 255 pounder is ranked as the 11th best player in the country and the 5th best power forward according to Rivals.com.  The fact that he is considering Tennessee would be enough to excite the Volunteer faithful, but this isn't your typical basketball recruiting situation. 

What a year it was for the Southeastern Conference.  All season long the guys at Checkerboard Chatter have been picking the games on a weekly basis in an attempt to ultimately come out on top as the most accurate prognosticator of SEC outcomes on CBC.  Congratulations to Eric L. Taylor who has brought home the crown.  After the SEC Championship game in which all 4 of our writers selected LSU, Eric had compiled a record of 83-14 on the season.  Not too shabby at all.

After a disappointing end to the 2011 season and some off the field turmoil, the Tennessee Vols have bounced back this week with some good news. In addition to hiring South Carolina RB Coach and former Vol RB, Jay Graham, Tennessee also picked up its 20^th commitment from FL 4-star WR, Alton “Pig” Howard today.

After the debacle in Lexington that closed out UT's 2011 football season, I came out pretty strongly in defense of Derek Dooley.  Since that time, there have been many speculations and probes (by others) into exactly what is hindering the football program other than a lack of on the field talent.  Tony Basilio caused quite a stir this week with his look inside the football program.  Citing a longtime member of the athletic department with knowledge of the inner workings of the football program, Basilio threw out that certain players (i.e. Tyler Bray and Da'Rick Rogers) have their own set of rules that don't follow in step with a strict big-time college football program. Half ass efforts in the training room, blatant disrespect for coaches/other players and a careless attitude are all things described in the Basilio piece.  Are these accusations true or false?  Since many bloggers, pundits and Volunteer fans don't have close access to the team, it's hard to tell for sure.  However, where there's smoke, there's usually fire so we can somewhat assume that a chief off the field problem is that certain "star" players are getting away with destructive actions.  These players, whether intentional or not, are putting themselves above the team and their teammates. (When a younger player cusses at a coach, the upperclassmen/Seniors usually squash it, but this team has a dearth of upperclassmen, which is another blog post itself.)

Welcome to the first annual SEC Chattys, the most highly anticipated awards ceremony of the college football season.  The academy (i.e. the four writers at Checkerboard Chatter) have voted and we are ready to announce our 2011 Chatty award winners.

We took a look back on an historic season in college football's greatest conference and have compiled a list of winners from our impressive group of nominees.  So now sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. 

Here are 6 links of interest for fans of the Tennessee Volunteers. Give Him 6! is a weekly feature here on Checkerboard Chatter. We try to put links to 6 articles or blogs that you will find informative and interesting. If you ever have suggestions for the weekly Give Him 6! just let us know.

This week we turn our attention to what fellow members of the blogging community are saying about Derek Dooley.  There are some really interesting reads this week.  In case you missed my rant on Dooley reaching "Rock Bottom" you can check it out here.

1.  The blog Rocky Topics lets loose in this heart-felt and personal take on the depths to which Tennessee football has sunk.

My Therapy

2.  Larry Scott at FeelsLike98.com writes that Derek Dooley's only real distinguishing feature in his coaching career has been his propensity to micromanage. 

Derek Dooley, Micromanagement and TPS Reports: How Corporacracy is Failing Tennessee 

3.  Knoxville sports radio personality Tony Basilio writes a pretty interesting article on his blog, Tony's Talking Points.  This sheds some light on the in-fighting between the 2011 seniors and some of the underclassmen.

A Look Inside UT's Program: Enter With Caution

4.  Ryan Wooden at KnoxVegasVols.com writes that Derek Dooley's time for accountability is at hand.

Accountability 101

5. How about a Rocky Top Talk double feature?  Will Shelton writes that Dooley needs to get it done in 2012 and Brad Shepherd writes that some former players comments are doing more harm than good.

It Has To Be Next Year
Former Players' Words Scarring An Already Injured Program

6.  Graham Watson of Rivals.com's blog Dr. Saturday writes that the loss to Kentucky changed everything for Derek Dooley's status with the Tennessee fanbase.

Kentucky welcomes Derek Dooley to the 'embattled' phase at Tennessee