Daily Beacon 110119 by UT Media Center

Volume 138, Issue 13 Friday, November 1, 2019 utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon

HOMECOMING 2019 Highlighting unviersity alumni from the last 50 years

HOMECOMING

The Daily Beacon • Friday, November 1, 2019

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editorinchief@utdailybeacon.com LETTERS POLICY: Letters to the Editor must be exclusive to The Daily Beacon and cannot have been submitted to or published by other media. Letters should not exceed 400 words and can be edited or shortened for space. Letters can also be edited for grammar and typographical errors, and Letters that contain excessive grammatical errors can be rejected for this reason. Anonymous Letters will not be published. Authors should include their full name, mailing address, city of residence, phone number and e-mail address for veriﬁcation purposes. Letters submitted without this information will not be published. The preferred method to submit a Letter to the Editor is to email the Editor-in-Chief. CORRECTIONS POLICY:It is the Daily Beacon’s policy to quickly correct any factual errors and clarify any potentially misleading information. Errors brought to our attention by readers or sta� members will be corrected and printed on page two of our publication. To report an error please send as much information as possible about where and when the error occurred to managingeditor@utdailybeacon.com, or call our newsroom at (865) 974-5206. The Daily Beacon is published by students at The University of Tennessee on Monday and Thursday during the fall and spring semesters. The o�ces are located at 1345 Circle Park Drive, 11 Communications Building, Knoxville, TN 379960314. The newspaper is free on campus and is available via mail subscription for $200/year or $100/semester. It is also available online at: www.utdailybeacon.com The Daily Beacon is printed using soy based ink on newsprint containing recycled content, utilizing renewable sources and produced in a sustainable, environmentally responsible manner.

Letter from the Editor: I’m glad you’re home It’s homecoming weekend, and I’m excited you’ve picked up this issue! Each year we love to share the history of UT and its many traditions, but this year I thought we’d spice it up. Instead of bringing you what you probably already know (I mean, let’s face it-- UT is built on tradition), we’re bringing you the stories of some of UT’s most well-known and loved alumni. Alumni featured in the issue and on our website include: -Astronaut Scott Kelly, Class of 1996 -Beacon alumnus and cartoonist Marshall Ramsey, Class of 1991 -Former UT basketball player Chris Lofton, Class of 2007 -Beacon alumnus and ESPN reporter Chris Low, Class of 1987 -Kara Lawson, Class of 2003 -Actor David Keith, Class of 1977 -Drew Holcomb, Class of 2008

-Coach Moore, Class of 1979 -Knoxville business owner Samantha Lane, Class of 2007 These alumni have all seen success in their time during and after UT, and we’re super excited to share their stories with you, partly because you may not really know them. From batting illness to ﬁnd a new perspective on life, to launching a career from the student newspaper, the history of UT is told through these astounding alumni who all seem to embody the UT creed. So, here’s to you old Tennessee, (their) alma mater true. Happy homecoming!

5 things to know about UT alumnus, astronaut Scott Kelly CALISTA BOYD Copy Chief

Some may know that retired astronaut Scott Kelly is a graduate of UT, but there are a few things you may not know about this alumnus who is known as the man who spent a year in space. He was in the Master in Aviation Systems Program. This program offers a combination of aerospace engineering, aviation technology and ﬂight test engineering for those interested in developing skills in aviation and aerospace. This advanced-degree is what motivated Kelly to go on to become an astronaut. Scott Kelly never actually spent any time on UT soil while earning his degree. Scott Kelly was stationed at the US Navy Test Pilot School while pursuing his Master’s degree. “They (UTK) had an aviation masters degree that gave credit for our work done at the US Navy Pilot School,” Scott said. This means that Scott participated in a virtual classroom before virtual classrooms were really possible. “I did the coursework remotely from the Navy’s ﬂight test center in Maryland,” Scott said. “This was before online courses were a thing, so we watched video tapes that were mailed.” Mailed video tapes are a far contrast from our access to online learning resources in current days. This long-distance learning is hard to imagine in our digitalized world.

Scott Kelly has a twin — Mark Kelly. Mark Kelly, also a former astronaut, is the twin of Scott Kelly. The Kelly twins participated in a twin study conducted by NASA’s Human Research Program during Scott’s year in space from 2015-2016. While Scott was stationed on the International Space Station for nearly a year, Mark stayed in the U.S. in order to be studied by scientists. NASA monitored both twins in order to draw conclusions on how the human body changes while in space. Some findings form the study were that Scott’s body mass decreased slightly and there was some change in gene expression. You can find more information about the result’s on NASA’s website Kelly visited campus in 2016 after his return from space. Scott participated in the 2016-17 academic year’s Welcome Week festivities by speaking at Thompson-Boling Arena. The First-Year Studies 100 program was centered around “Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight” written by UT associate professor of English, Margaret Lazarus Dean. Students had the chance to meet Kelly and get his autograph after his talk. Dean and Kelly collaborated in order to produce Kelly’s memoir of his year in space called “Endurance: My Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery,” which was published in 2017. The memoir details various experiences from his times in space, with an emphasis on the endurance necessary to face the isolation and risks that come with space travel.

Astronaut Scott Kelly visited UT on Aug. 16, 2016 for a meet and greet. File / The Daily Beacon Kelly’s advice for students is to “Stay focused.” Kelly has had an extremely successful career, and his endeavors in space have been a source of hope for many researchers. Kelly’s work has provided in-depth data on the human body and space, and his endurance in his missions have provided others with inspiration. His career goals were laid by his dedication in his education and dedication to his work. “My goals were just reinforced the further I got along in my education,” Kelly said on the root of his career development. As motivation for other students working towards degrees, Scott Kelly said, “Stay focused.” These two simple words are a reminder that with concentration and dedication, students get closer to reaching their career and academic goals.

HOMECOMING

Friday, November 1, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

Singer Drew Holcomb talks on his experiences and inspiration from UT BAILEY FRITZ City News Editor

With Nashville located just a few hours away, Knoxville has also become a hub of music entertainment. Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, a dearly-beloved Americana band, has some very close ties to Knoxville. The band was formed in 2006, and many of the band members lived in the same zip code, prompting the name Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors. The group has toured heavily, singing alongside many well-known artists like Susan Tedeschi, Ryan Adams, Los Lobos, The Avett Brothers, Robert Earl Keen and Marc Broussard. Drew Holcomb, the lead singer of the band, studied at the University of Tennessee in the early 2000s. He majored in the College Scholars program with an emphasis in history, religious studies and creative writing. “I was a pretty studious college student, so primarily I was there to get an education, but I was involved in a variety of on-campus organizations,” Holcomb

said. He pursued many non-academic experiences like camping, rock climbing, concert going, and spent many weekends in the Smokies and going on road trips to see my favorite bands. He also studied abroad twice, once in Edinburgh Scotland and once in Normandy for the Normandy Scholars program. “[I] loved getting to know friends from all over the place,” Holcomb said. He also heavily admired the faculty of the university. “My favorite part about UT was the incredible professors I was able to learn under. I had great experiences in the History and English departments, and I really enjoyed all the friends I made during my time there. I worked hard, but I played hard too. I think that is the key to a healthy college experience,” Holcomb said. As for Holcomb’s musical career, he attributes some of his experiences at UT to the musical success he has gained; he also began to write songs and dipping his toes into playing music during his semester abroad in Scotland. “I learned how to tell stories. How to listen. And I cut my teeth playing bars

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Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors perform at the Tennssee Theatre on Thursday, October 3rd, 2019 Kenneth Richmond / The Daily Beacon and clubs in downtown Knoxville. ... So, in many ways, I cannot imagine doing this career without my experience at UT,” Holcomb said. Holcomb had a very successful and developmental time at UT, but he was also lucky enough to meet his life-long partner Ellie, along the way. “Every time I drive into town it takes me back in time. It’s where I learned to

write songs, where I met my wife. So, I will always feel nostalgic towards UT,” Holcomb said. Holcomb also offered some advice to those still in attendance at the university. “Work hard. Play hard. Give people a lot of grace, you never know what someone is walking through,” Holcomb said. “Listen to other people, learn to see the world through their eyes.”

HOMECOMING

The Daily Beacon • Friday, November 01, 2019

‘Our days are truly gifts’: Finding a work-life balance GABRIELA SZYMANOWSKA Photo Editor

Maintaining a healthy work-life relationship isn’t easy. Whether you’re a student trying to finish assignments on time or an employee working the 9-to-5 grind, life can get pretty complicated. Just ask Samantha Lane, UT Knoxville alumni and founder of Origami Day, whose life took a turn after a surgery in 2014 to fix a chest wall deformity. “I am a very ambitious person and I really spent a lot of my life being a little bit of a workaholic,” Lane said. “I was doing that because that’s what I thought life was all about, you know, you finish school, you get a job, you work all the time and somehow that ends up being the perfect life.” After the surgery, Lane had several complications throughout recovery, which made her realize that she needed to reevaluate her life priorities. “That experience really shifted my perspective and made me realize our days are truly gifts,” Lane said. “Time is so valuable and so unknown, and I really felt like my priorities were off.”

Lane spent her formative years in a suburb in Chicago during middle school and high school before coming to UT in the fall of 2003. Looking back, Lane had plenty of fond memories about her time at UT, speciﬁcally living on UT’s campus in Clement Hall. “I’ll never forget my ﬁrst football weekend,” Lane added. “It was nothing like I’d ever seen before … so I’ll never forget sleeping in and not waking up to an alarm, but waking up to the sound of the Strip on game day which at that point included a man standing on a speaker singing ‘Rocky Top’ at the top of his lungs and then just looking out the window and seeing a sea of orange.” After Lane graduated in 2007 with a degree in public relations and a minor in advertising, she didn’t really know what she wanted to do, but her ambition was a driving force wherever she worked whether in higher education or marketing. While her 2014 surgery did help Lane shift her priorities, it wasn’t until 2017 when Lane went all in to start Origami Day after one of her sisters moved to Iowa to pursue her dreams. Lane, who is very connected to family, made sure to attend almost all of her nephews’ cross-country meets and T-ball games. With her sister moving away, Lane felt torn. She knew she would have only 10 days of va-

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Courtesy of Samamtha Lane cation to split between all her family and that it just wouldn’t be enough. So, Lane took the leap into creating a business to sell her products: planner books and weekly planning sheets. Now, she is able to balance her work and life to get the most out of her time. In addition, having Origami Day in Knoxville has provided an advantage, as Lane has found the city to be quite supportive of entrepreneurial businesses. “We love carrying items at Rala created by local entrepreneurs,” Nanci Solomon, owner of Rala in the Old City, said. “Origami Day is such a great product that helps you streamline your life and we are especially lucky that Samantha also holds time management workshops at Rala on an ongoing basis.” Beyond working with local businesses to help launch Origami Day, Lane has found a great partner and client in her alma mater UT. “I personally also love the access to the university, not just as a client, which the University of Tennessee is a client of Origami Day which I’m very proud to say, but also 100% of my interns to date have been UT students,” Lane said. “So I love being able to give back and help teach those students about life after college.” One of Lane’s past interns, senior in public relations Mariah Reid, worked with Lane last year and felt that she gained a lot of experience from her internship. “Working with Sam was one of the best experiences I have had, especially being an overwhelmed college student. Working at Origami Day led me out myself ﬁrst and be able to better manage my time,” Reid said. “I use the Origami Day products every day, and they work tremendously.” “From my experience with Sam and Origami Day, I now always have a plan for the week, which has allowed me to put myself in a better position for success and for me to spend time with those I care for,” Reid added.

Honors Leadership Program director Ashton Cooper highlighted the importance of connecting students with alumni like Lane, especially for students wanting to see what life after college can look. “It is beneficial for our students to see someone like Samantha who has experience starting a business or organization that is rooted in their personal values, and then to experience that growth first hand,” Cooper said. “As an Alumni of UTK, she is an example of how one can support the university in ways other than just monetary donations, plus she is a wiz in advising for time management.” Lane’s advice for students also goes beyond time management. For other students looking to start their own business, Lane says there has to be passion behind the work. “There are a couple of things that I think are really strong lessons. One is if you want to start a business, you have to have a passion for what you’re doing,” Lane said. “You have to really want to do it, because running a business can be very hard.” In addition to having passion, Lane said that running a business is one of the most educating experiences, and it can be one of the most life giving experiences. “Ultimately you are responsible for everything, so if you don’t know how to do it, you have to figure out how to do it,” Lane said. “So that’s the cool part is that every day I learn what I don’t know and then if I’m lucky, then I get to learn whatever that is that I don’t know.” Lane’s passion for Origami Day is expanding further as she is looking to grow the retail growth and her client base to nationwide clients like the University. “UT is a forever relationship, and it should be,” Lane said. “It’s just a matter of figuring out what are the different ways that that relationship evolves and grows over the years, but it’s not ever anything that should end with graduation.”

HOMECOMING Actor David Keith brings Volunteer spirit to big screen

Friday, November 1, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

CAROLINE JORDAN Managing Editor

Performing in over 100 productions over 42 years and counting, David Keith has brought his Volunteer spirit onto the screen in his success as an actor. Some of his most notable appearances are “The Indian in the Cupboard,” “Raise Your Voice” and “Major-League 2.” Keith was a theater major at UT from 19721977, all while working and attending school full-time with rehearsals and performances during the school year. “I have managed to work something ‘Tennessee Volunteers’ in most of the films; orange and white Adidas in “An Officer and a Gentleman,” a Tennessee helmet in the sitcom “The Class” and in “Law and Order SVU,”” Keith said. During his time at UT, Keith was a proud member of the Clarence Brown Company and accredits the theater to launching his career, as well as a sense of community with other students. In a program that started his freshman year, Keith was one of the first students to receive an Actors Equity card which admitted him to audition for Actors Equity Association plays. The association is similar to the Screen Actors Guild, in that it has competitive entry requirements. With the union card, members were also exposed to work with professional actors and productions cast out of New York- an obvious hub for acting. “Now the University of Tennessee Theater department is one of only 13 programs in the country where you receive an Equity membership with an MFA Theater degree,” Keith said. When he wasn’t on stage, Keith said he played on the Clarence Brown Theatre intramural softball team, as well as wall paddle ball and basketball in his free time. “Theater majors have very little time for other organizations i.e. fraternities, sororities, etc. I did put together a quartet with a big band and entered All Sing as an independent. We performed a Manhattan Transfer song called “That Cat is High” and won our category,” Keith said. As Keith still resides in Knoxville, he remains friends with many of his former classmates, praising the camaraderie and closeness of the Clarence Brown Company. While maintaining a busy schedule in his major and various productions he was a part of, Keith lived the phrase, “Vol For Life” from the time he was a student to the present. “I went to fewer football games while I was in college then I did before or since. (I worked as a volunteer equipment manager for the football team from 1967 to 1971). During a Saturday matinee of one play in which I had one line, I went on stage with a transistor radio hidden in my costume and the earplug hidden under my long hair. I listened to the game on stage and

Courtesy of David Keith almost missed my cue,” Keith said. The Keith family is a scholarship donor to men’s and women’s athletics. They try to attend every game they can, no matter the sport. Considering Keith’s degree and career, they also attend performances at Clarence Brown Theatre whenever possible. In over four decades of acting and involvement in the UT community, Keith still prioritizes happiness in those with whom you surround yourself and to take big chances without fear of failing. “A happy life is worth the risk. Theater students have already made that decision. To them I say, ‘never think of your career as the thing that defines you,’” Keith said. “It is a job. No more, no less. Your family, faith, friends, the people you love; this is what your life is, not getting or not getting a role.”

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HOMECOMING

The Daily Beacon • Friday, November 1, 2019

Spreading care and spirit: Alumnus Coach Dave Moore and his traveling Truckster ALEXANDRA DEMARCO Campus News Editor

On game days, holidays or perhaps any regular day of the week, Coach Dave Moore can be seen driving around Knoxville in his Truckster, a 1997 Buick Roadmaster adorned with UT gear. However, the story behind the animated car is more than the tale of just an enthusiastic fan. Born in Chattanooga and raised in Oak Ridge, Moore is an east Tennessee native who grew up cheering on the Vols and playing football himself. After he graduated from high school, Moore played football at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before transferring to UTK and finishing his degree here in 1979. Shortly after graduating, Moore became a high school teacher and football coach; he was a head football coach for 30 years and has worked at Clinton High School, Sunbright High School, Knoxville Catholic High School and Lenoir City High School. Moore was employed at Lenoir City High School when the 1999 Columbine High School shooting occurred. He was deeply affected by the massacre and felt called to action in order to prevent future copycat shootings. Moore believed that by addressing bullying, he would be able to help preemptively address some of the issues that lead to school shootings. “Most everything that’s traumatic or people respond in those kind of outrages is due to bullying, and they only take so much, and they want to retaliate against everyone,” Moore said. Moore then began a school program called “We Care About You” in order to fight bullying and inform students about how administrators greatly care about each and every individual student. “We care about every student non-judgmentally,” Moore said. “You don’t judge anyone, much less as a teacher and an educator. We have to care about every student that comes in our class.” Because of his experience with football, Moore then decided to target athletes with his care initiatives. He began the Careacter Star Athlete Program; the world “Careacter” is intentionally spelled wrong to reflect Moore’s belief that caring should be part of everyone’s character. Moore explained that the program targets not just success in physical sports matches, but success in life overall. “Life is the biggest game of all, so what’s going to win in the game of life is our character. That’s what’s going to carry us. It may not be 24/7 how much math we know, how much geography we know, but our

character, our personality, our demeanor, our attitude. That’s what’s infectious,” Moore said. The nationwide program emphasizes the importance of good attitude, character, community service, grades and performance in a well-rounded athlete. The program’s logo is a star, the five points of which are formed by the five pillars of being a Careacter Star Athlete. Schools across the nation select a Star Athlete of the Week based on the elements of Moore’s program. Moore has traveled to elementary, middle and high schools throughout the country to share his methodology. While creating the organization, Moore was close friends with Phillip Fulmer and Pat Summit, both of whom were employed at UT at the time. The two of them were instrumental in expanding the reach of the Careacter Star Athlete Program. In terms of the program’s influence at UT, Moore has worked with UT head coaches Fulmer, Lane Kiffin, Derek Dooley, Butch Jones and Jeremy Pruitt to bring the Careacter Star Athlete Program to the Vols. Moore’s prolific work as an educator has not gone unnoticed; in 2001, he was recognized as both the National Educator of the Year and the National Education Association Teacher of the Year. Along with the Careacter Star Athlete Program, Moore also runs Care 365, his 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year. The goal of Care 365 is to spread the message of caring and love to anyone and everyone every single day of every single year, Moore explained. “We should care about everyone, every day of the year, not just Christmas, Valentine’s, birthdays, etc., which we tend to do, but truly care about everyone unconditionally and non-judgmentally- that’s the key- everyday of the year. That’s not too much to really ask,” Moore said. Through Care 365, Moore travels around the country in his Truckster cars to speak with schools, firefighters, policemen, nursing homes, public officials and others about the importance of caring for people. He plans to have visited every state in the nation within the next 10 years. A Facebook page entitled “Tracking the Truckster” details Moore’s journey. Moore explained the role that being a Tennessee Volunteer plays in his endeavors. “I go representing Knoxville and the state of Tennessee,” Moore said. ”I don’t go representing myself, so I take that very serious. We are the Volunteer state, and I think that speaks for itself, that I volunteer my time and energy to give back and to show other states what our people are about.”

Coach Dave Moore shows off his famous Truckster, a gameday vehicle designed to offer opposing teams’ fans ride aroun d the university Dan Irvin/ Contributor Moore’s Trucksters are three cars that are decorated in the style of the cars from the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” series. A single dad, Moore has three childrenAdam, Andrew and Allie- and nine grandchildren, and the films are family favorites. Moore uses the colorful and enthusiastic cars to help spread his message of care and happiness. He also brings one of the Trucksters to campus on game days, offering rides to Neyland Stadium to fans of the opposing team, or whoever needs one, to spread the message of care and the Volunteer spirit. Currently, one of the Trucksters is decorated with extensive UT gear, which is a deviation from the vehicle’s usual attire. However, after UT’s loss to Georgia State at the beginning of the football season, Moore felt that UT needed some extra support. He decided to show his love for his Vols by coating his car in bright orange. In addition to decorations inspired by Christmas Vacation and the Vols, the Truckster is also donned with names of people who have greatly influenced Moore’s life, such as Pat Summit, President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. The car is also labelled with the names of people Moore wants to pray and care for, one of which is Jayme Closs, a 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped in 2018. At the time of her kidnapping, Moore travelled to Closs’s native Wisconsin and met with first responders, school officials and Closs’s grandfather in order to spread words of love, encouragement and care from Tennessee. East Tennessee resident Cissie Vaughan has volunteered with Care 365 and Moore

for about 16 years, and she shared her experience with the program. Vaughan began working with Moore during his Christmas Care initiative. Vaughan emphasized that Moore wants his non-profit to belong to the whole community. “These programs do not belong to him,” Vaughan said. “He may have come up with the idea, but he wants other people to also take them and run with them.” Vaughan discussed how influential the Truckster in particular has been on the UT community. Since decorating the car with UT gear, fans have been known to enthusiastically leap in the street and dance to the tunes of Rocky Top that Moore often blasts from the vehicle. “If you’re having a bad day, and you turn around and you see that Truckster, is it not going to bring you a smile and make you laugh?” Vaughan said. “Most of the people are laughing with him, but even if we get that one angry person who laughs at it, that’s still okay. They smiled, and then before you know it, they’re not laughing at it because Coach refuses to see an angry person.” Vaughan explained that it is true altruism that has led Moore to pursue service as his life’s work. “He’s a wonderful person, literally,with a huge heart, he has truly spent his entire life bringing kindness and joy to others,” Vaughan said. The Truckster and Moore will be making an appearance during Friday afternoon’s Homecoming parade.

HOMECOMING

Friday, November 1, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

‘I got a career from the Daily Beacon’: Marshall Ramsey reflects on time on campus KYLIE HUBBARD Editor-in-Chief It was 1980 when Marshall Ramsey saw his first UT football game. The Vols attempted to fight off the Georgia Bulldogs, who made the trip from Ramsey’s home state. Neyland had expanded to 98,000 seats, and despite the Vols loss, seventh grade Ramsey knew UT would be his college home. “I just looked at him (Ramsey’s dad). I said, ‘I’m going to go to school here,’” Ramsey said. “So I continued on, you know. I thought, ‘well I might even play football,’ but that was ridiculous. I should have known better on that.” Counting out a football scholarship, Ramsey did receive an alumni scholarship, gaining a one-way ticket to Knoxville for the fall of 1986. Ramsey found residence in Greve Hall, “which is thankfully not a dorm anymore.” Living on the third floor with no air conditioning, Ramsey found comfort in the leadership of his RA, Rusty Gray, who was also student body president. It was Gray who pushed Ramsey to try his hand at cartooning for the Daily Beacon, which led to a lengthy career at the campus paper. Ramsey told his advisor that he’d like to try out to be a cartoonist for the Beacon, but the advisor warned there may be one already. Ramsey tried anyways. Soon, the Beacon printed his cartoons every once in a while before Ramsey started a comic strip. The comic strip, which according to Ramsey didn’t find favor with the former Editor-in-Chief, landed Ramsey a daily cartoon. He printed the cartoon for the rest of his college career. “I wouldn’t be sitting here right now if I didn’t do the cartoons at the Daily Beacon,” Ramsey said. “I mean, I always give it 100% credit.” Ramsey’s day started at 6 a.m. when he’d get up, then go to class. Eating between classes, Ramsey would find himself in the Daily Beacon newsroom at 2 p.m. where he’d work on his cartoon until 5 p.m. From there, he’d help paste the paper, working until about 10 p.m. each evening. After the paper was finished, Ramsey would head to his gig on the Strip, where he’d play harmonica at a bar. This routine, which Ramsey followed almost every year of his UT career, was enhanced by the hours he spent at the Beacon, Ramsey said reflecting on the lasting friendships and connections made through countless pizza-partyprint nights and hangouts. “There would be papers where I could see tomato smudges on the papers and stuff like that. You know, along the cause they put the press with tomato pastes on them from the pizza,” Ramsey said. “But I loved it. It was just great.” Former Beacon Production Department Head Eric Smith remembers Ramsey’s cartoons fondly, adding that “he skewered a few sacred UT administration cows more than once” and didn’t back down from opportunities to depict

Courtesy of Marshall Ramsey

Top: First editorial cartoon published by Marshall Ramsey in the Daily Beacon. Bottom: Last editorial cartoon publisehd by Marshall Ramsey in the Daily Beacon. what he saw as campus and local issues. “I think he was, at times, surprised at how his body of work grew to so many cartoons. He kept the originals and saw them grow in quantity,” Smith said. “I can say that can be surprising, to one day wake up realizing one has created a mass of work, hundreds, thousands of images over a relatively few years.” On top of his time at the Beacon, Ramsey also credits his collegiate success to professors and advisors who helped him as he navigated a business major as a result of missing the mark on a required course for upper-level communications classes. “I always wanted to check them for wings cause I’ve always thought they were kind of angels because they were sent to rescue me,” Ramsey said. Graduating in 1991, Ramsey struggled to find a newspaper job, knowing that his passion lied in political cartooning. His post-college career led him first to Pope High School in Georgia, where he was a janitor who rolled around a barrel with his diploma attached. After a six-month “pity party” and a Sunday sermon about the parable of the talents, Ramsey decided to take charge of his life and enrolled in art classes at Kennesaw College. While at Kennesaw, Ramsey produced cartoons for the student newspaper and won the “Heisman Trophy of Political Cartoonists:” the John Locher Memorial Award. His time at Pope High School paid off when a woman he worked with recommended him for a position with the local paper in Marietta and when another set him up with his now-wife of 26 years. “I think I really learned the importance of work ethic,” Ramsey said. “And also I can clean a

tile floor better than just about anybody.” Knowing he now had a fall-back of tile floor cleaning, Ramsey began to take leaps and bounds on a career that has led him to different corners of the country. From Marietta, Ramsey took a position in Texas, where he got back to his roots. Producing three cartoons a week, Ramsey’s work was syndicated to reach an even greater audience. “I went from being a janitor to being in the New York Times within a two year period.” After two years in Texas, Ramsey moved to San Diego, where he was the creative director. From there, Ramsey went back to the South, where he spent 23 years at the Clarion-Ledger in Mississippi, which is a part of the USA-Today Network. During his 23 years, Ramsey was a Pulitzer Prize finalist numerous times and was eventually made partner. Ramsey also survived cancer during his Clarion-Ledger tenure, and with the help of his father, learned to turn his stories of failure into stories of success. “(My dad) said, ‘We’re going to make your story about how you beat cancer, not how you had cancer.’” “You’re going to go through some jobs, you’re going to have to work hard, you’re going to face a lot of disappointments and you might even fail,” Ramsey said. “But just make sure you learn everything you can at every step along the way because you never know when you’re going to use it and always reframe the story to where it is yours, to your advantage.” Smith, who has remained close with Ramsey since their time at the Beacon, noted that while melanoma cancer was scary for Ramsey, he thought it motivated him to live everyday to the

max after his survival. “He did joke about having to mow his lawn at night to avoid the sun and took death threats aimed at him over his political cartoons seriously but in stride,” Smith said. “He’s very self driven, and I do worry that he can burn himself out. Talking about this, I’m amazed that he’s done as much as he has, and so well, for so long.” And that’s just what Ramsey did when shortly after his survival he was laid off from the Gannett-owned Clarion-Ledger. “That turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m so grateful that they did that to me,” Ramsey said. “I will always be grateful to Gannett for cutting my pay and making me get out and hustle.” Hustling translated to radio show hosting, getting fired from said radio show, writing a book that sold 7,000 copies, hosting a competitor of the first station’s radio show and writing three more books. Ramsey currently produces cartoons for Mississippi Today, teaches at Mississippi State and was recently presented with an Alumni Professional Achievement Award. “I just learned resiliency, and I learned how to pop back up every time I fell down.” “The real world is not real,” Ramsey added. “It’s totally overrated. Now I’ll tell you what I mean: I don’t need be afraid of failure because it’s cause you’re gonna fail, but don’t turn it into a catastrophe. When you do learn from it, pop back up and you’re good.”

HOMECOMING

The Daily Beacon • Friday, November 1, 2019

Before career reporting for ESPN, Chris Low got start in journalism at Tennessee NOAH TAYLOR Sports Editor

Chris Low remembers staying up late to pick up a spotty 990 WNOX in his childhood Rock Hill, South Carolina home to listen to John Ward call a Tennessee game. The son of a Tennessee graduate, Low already had plenty of reason to attend UT, but those late nights listening to Ward elegantly paint a vivid picture with his legendary voice was among the biggest reasons. “I grew up in the Carolinas,” Low recalled. “Back then you didn’t see Tennessee play in the Carolinas, there was no cable. I listened to John Ward. That was sort of my introduction to Tennessee was listening to John Ward. You could get 990 WNOX at night. “That’s where I fell in love with Tennessee, listening to John Ward call basketball and football games at night.” Like many before and after, that love lead Low to Knoxville in the fall of 1984, where

he had hopes of following in the footsteps of Ward by pursuing a career in broadcasting at the University of Tennessee. His sophomore year, he got his feet wet on the print side of journalism, joining the staff of the Daily Beacon. The relationships built in the newsroom there have persisted throughout the years, even playing a part in him landing a job with ESPN years later. “I didn’t start working for the Beacon until my second year,” Low said. “My (senior) year I was the sports editor. I worked with some great people there; I worked with Joe Wojciechowski who is at ESPN. Joe is probably most responsible for me getting my foot in the door at ESPN back in 2003. “Joe is a great friend, and I’ll always be indebted to him for that.” But before covering college football and breaking big stories for the World Wide Leader in Sports, Low covered Tennessee athletics for the Beacon. It was at the Beacon that Low recalls some of his greatest memories, particularly from the Vols 1985 SEC championship season.

“The ‘85 SEC Championship season was magical,” Low said. “I think the two moments in that season that stuck out to me the most are Dale Jones’ interception at Legion Field in the win over Alabama, and then the Sugar Bowl where Tennessee just absolutely took it to Miami.” During his career, Low estimates that he’s been to more than 50 college football stadiums at least once, covering a lot of games from a lot of different press boxes in that time. But of all the venues, coaches, players and moments that he has experienced, the one that he remembers the most harkens back to his own Tennessee roots; the Vols’ 23-17 triumph over No. 2 Florida State in the 1998 BCS National Championship Game. For Low, who covered the team for the Tennessean at the time, that win meant something to everyone associated with the university and the state. “I’d say my best memory is the 1998 national championship Tennessee won out there in (Arizona),” Low said. “That’s probably right there at the top. It was big,

not just for the players, not just the coaches but to see the passion, the excitement, the emotion. “The whole state rallied around that team. It really captured the imagination of the state, certainly for everybody whoever stepped foot on that campus.” As Low reflects on a rewarding career that began as a student at UT, his faith reminds him of how grateful he is for the opportunities, experiences and most importantly, the people he’s encountered along the way. “It’s such a blessing to do what I do for a living,” Low said. “I remind myself that every time I go somewhere. I love going new places that I haven’t been before. I’ve been everywhere in the SEC, but that to me is the best part of it, to get to soak up a new gameday experience whether it’s on the West Coast, whether it’s up in the Big Ten, Big 12, that’s really cool. “You don’t take that for granted, you don’t take those experiences, and the people you meet along the way and the memories you create, I really try to remind myself not to take those things for granted.”

Kara Lawson’s career continues to shine on the basketball court and beyond EVAN NEWELL Opinions Editor

This summer, two Volunteer legends joined the Boston Celtics organization. One was Grant Williams, the star forward for UT basketball who was drafted with the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft. The other was Kara Lawson, who was hired as an assistant coach for the Celtics. At just the age of 38, Lawson has already had a remarkable career filled with accomplishments both on and off the basketball court. It all started when Lawson, a native of the Washington D.C. area, decided to play women’s basketball at the University of Tennessee in 1999. She found her place on the team early in her career, earning the starting point guard spot as a freshman under coach Pat Summitt. Coach Summitt, known for her intensity and fervor, pushed Lawson early on to become a leader, even though she had a very reserved personality at the time. Summitt especially wanted to make Lawson a confident, effective communicator. “I was a really shy kid,” Lawson told The Tennessean, “and she’d have me talk to the team just on random topics.” Lawson quickly took to this leadership role, becoming a standout on a very talented Lady Vol team. She was a gifted scorer, especially from behind the three-

point line, and during her four years at UT she never averaged less than 11 points per game. While she never won a championship with the Lady Vols, she helped lead the team to three Final Fours, ultimately falling to the UConn Huskies each year. Outside of Thompson-Boling Arena, Lawson was also an excellent student. Her senior year, she was an Academic All-American and received the Torchbearer award, the highest student honor at UT. In 2003, after earning her degree in finance and was selected as the fifth overall pick in the WNBA Draft. This was the beginning of a successful 13-year playing career in the WNBA. It didn’t take long for Lawson to do well in the league. In 2005, just her third year as a pro, she won a WNBA title with the Sacramento Monarchs. Her skills on the court earned her a spot on the 2008 USA Olympic team. At the games in Beijing, she helped Team USA take home the gold, leading the team in scoring with 15 points during the gold medal game. But in the midst of this incredible success as a player, she was working on another career — broadcasting. In 2004, Lawson joined ESPN as a women’s college basketball analyst. Over the next few years, she worked as studio analyst at variety of games, both men’s and women’s.

Then, in the 2006-07 NBA season, she became a courtside reporter for ESPN’s NBA coverage. During that season, on January 12, 2007, her colleague Tom Tolbert’s flight was delayed, and Lawson had to step in as color commentator for a game between the New Orleans Hornets and the Washington Wizards. In doing so, she became the first woman to call a nationally televised NBA game. It was an opportunity that happened purely by chance, but you can imagine that Lawson was grateful for the ways Pat Summitt pushed her years before. And all of this, mind you, was happening during her professional playing career. After years of both playing and commentating, Lawson retired from the WNBA in 2015 to focus on her career as a broadcaster. In 2017, she was offered a job as the color commentator with NBC Sports for her hometown NBA team, the Washington Wizards. This made her only the second primary female TV analyst in the NBA. Now, her roles have expanded beyond just basketball. In 2018, Governor Bill Haslam selected her as a member of the UT Board of Trustees, where she sits as the youngest member. After some coaching experience with USA Basketball, Lawson was hired this June as an assistant coach with the Celt-

Courtesy of Kara Lawson ics. She is part of a small but growing contingent of female NBA assistants across the country. With her athletic ability, focus and determination, Kara Lawson has managed to become a player, Torchbearer, gold medalist, commentator, trustee and now coach. Still under the age of 40, Lawson has a lot more opportunities ahead of her, and it will be fascinating to see where she goes next.

PUZZLES & GAMES

Friday, November 1, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

the daily beacon

crossword & sudoku

your morning coffee’s best friend. FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 31, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle LOS ANGELES TIMES CROSSWORD • Edited by Lewis Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce

STR8TS No. 1360

Easy

8 9 6 7 8 7 9 8 6 3 5 7 5 6 2 4 1 4 3 2 1

7 9 8 7 2 6 4 7 1 4 7 8 2 7 5 8 6 7 3 5 6

Previous solution - Tough

You can find more help, tips and hints at www.str8ts.com

9 6 2 8 1 5 5 6 5 3 4 4 2 7 1 4 3 3 2 9 8 8 9

3 4 3 2 2 1 9 8 5 6 6 5 7

2 1 8 9 7 6

How to beat Str8ts – Like Sudoku, no single number can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. These need to be filled in with numbers that complete a ‘straight’. A straight is a set of numbers with no gaps but can be in any order, eg [4,2,3,5]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

SUDOKU No. 1360

Tough

5 8

Previous solution - Medium

9 1 2

7 4 2 9 5 1 6 8 3

7 8 4 8 9

8 2 6

5 6 2

7 4

3 2 5

8 1 6

3 4

The solutions will be published here in the next issue.

8 6 9 7 4 3 5 2 1

4 3 8 6 7 5 2 1 9

9 7 6 2 1 4 8 3 5

5 2 1 3 8 9 4 7 6

1 5 7 4 3 2 9 6 8

2 9 3 5 6 8 1 4 7

6 8 4 1 9 7 3 5 2

3 1 5 8 2 6 7 9 4

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org If you like Str8ts, Sudoku and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store at www.str8ts.com

ACROSS 1 Spot for a salt scrub 4 Aromatic evergreen 10 Wind with nearly a three-octave range 14 Fresh from the oven 15 Collection of hives 16 Sullen look 17 Track 18 Halloween feeling in a warren? 20 Buffalo lake 22 Like the vb. “go” 23 Belly laugh syllable 24 Halloween feeling near a water supply? 27 Valleys 31 “Take Care” Grammy winner 32 “We’ve waited long enough” 34 Bebe’s “Frasier” role 38 Overlook 39 Halloween feeling in the office? 44 Enjoy privileged status 45 Poise 46 It may get the ball rolling 48 Trio in “To be, or not to be” 53 “Borstal Boy” author Brendan 54 Halloween feeling in the yard? 58 Angel dust, initially 60 “You wish, laddie!” 61 Put out 62 Halloween feeling in the loo? 67 Summer hrs. in Denver 68 Stood 69 Paparazzo’s gear 70 Mature 71 Lumberjacks’ tools 72 Gave it more gas 73 Finch family creator DOWN 1 Astute 2 Bartender, often

10/31/19

By David Alfred Bywaters

3 Fifth-century conqueror 4 Soap unit 5 Two (of) 6 Cuba __ 7 Brand of hummus and guacamole 8 Actor Millen of “Orphan Black” 9 Folk story 10 Wheeler-dealer 11 Feathery neckwear 12 CSNY’s “__ House” 13 Many “Guardians of the Galaxy” characters 19 Latest things 21 Rockies bugler 25 Sandwich source 26 “Same here” 28 Vehicle with a partition 29 Mideast potentate 30 Slowly sinks from the sky 33 Those folks 35 Confident words 36 Suit part sometimes grabbed

Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

37 Unhealthy 39 Nursery piece 40 Narrow way 41 Engrave 42 Backslides 43 Hitting stat 47 Advance slowly 49 Big club 50 Koala, for example 51 Game based on whist 52 Living room piece

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puzzles Wednesday. NewNew puzzles every every Monday and Thursday.

10/31/19

55 Japanese art genre 56 Carried on 57 Big name in Indian politics 59 Some GIs 62 Monk’s address 63 Cured salmon 64 Employ 65 31-Across genre 66 Covert information source

THE DAILY BEACON

HOMECOMING

The Daily Beacon • Friday, November 1, 2019

Former UT guard Chris Lofton talks time on Rocky Top, overseas RYAN SCHUMPERT Sports Editor

Chris Lofton spent his senior year at Mason County High School leading his team to the state tournament and earning the Mr. Basketball Award in Kentucky. But Lofton was just a skinny 6-foot 2-inch guard and didn’t earn offers from the states blue bloods. “I always dreamed growing up of going to Kentucky or Louisville,” Lofton said. “I wanted to stay in state, but things didn’t work out the way I wanted.” Instead, a state tournament performance helped Lofton catch the eye of a different SEC program 229 south of his hometown of Maysville, Kentucky. “My senior year, my team made it to the state tournament,” Lofton said “We played against a team whose coach played at Tennessee back in the day. I had a good game ,and he called Tennessee. Buzz Peterson was the coach at the time, and he came down, watched me play some pick-up

My freshman year we were 14-17, last place in the SEC. It was bad times. To go from that to my senior year being ranked number one in the country, it was a great feeling.

watched how they played and had a talk with him. …It just felt like it was best for me to stay and play in his system. I’m glad I did.” The decision was a good one. Lofton proceeded to turn himself into one of the best basketball players in Tennessee history, averaging 16.6 points per game in his career, including 20.8 his junior season. Lofton was a two-time consensus AllAmerican, a three-time All-SEC player, broke the SEC three-point record and was the 2007 SEC Player of the Year. All of this while he helped lead the Volunteer program back to prominence. When he looks back at his career, the coronation of building the Tennessee program is what he remembers the most. “My favorite memory has to be when we were ranked number one in the country,” Lofton said. “My freshman year we were 14-17, last place in the SEC. It was bad times. To go from that to my senior year being ranked number one in the country, it was a great feeling.” Despite his prolific career, it wasn’t without challenges. During the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Lofton failed a drug test. The failed drug test turned out to be the result of a tumor marker. Lofton was diagnosed with testicular cancer, and as he returned for his senior year only his parents and

CHRIS LOFTON UT ALUMNUS

games and offered me a scholarship.” The move paid dividends for Tennessee as Lofton contributed right away in Knoxville by averaging 13.2 points a game and earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team. However, Peterson wouldn’t get to reap the benefit of his recruiting spoils. After going 14-17 in the 2004-05 season, Lofton’s freshman year, Peterson was fired. Hired to replace him was a 45-year old Bruce Pearl who had spent the last five seasons leading the University of WisconsinMilwaukee program. “You know I liked Buzz (Peterson). He was a great person and a good coach,” Lofton said. “I was thinking about transferring. I had a lot of options. I was thinking about Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati and going back closer to home, but Bruce (Pearl) got the job and I did some research,

Courtesy of Chris Lofton Pearl knew. Lofton’s senior year didn’t go exactly as he envisioned as his scoring averages dropped by five. Despite this, Lofton didn’t make excuses or even tell his teammates about the cancer.

Beşiktaş were perhaps his best professionally as he averaged 17.5 and 15.9 points per game respectively. “My favorite place has been Turkey,” Lofton said. “I loved Turkey. I lived in Instanbul so there was a lot of Americans, lot of good food, lot of malls and movie theatres… I remember when I first got there like I really didn’t want to do anything, but as I got older, I was like ‘I need to take advantage of this stuff.’ You never know when you’re going to be back, so I started going to see sites and going places and learning different cultures.” After leaving Turkey, Lofton signed with Le Mans Sarthe, a French basketball team. In 2016, Lofton helped Le Mans win a French Cup and earned Finals MVP. Two years later Lofton was a part of another championship. This time helping Le Mans win a Pro A championship. “It was great,” Lofton said. “To win that championship and to be the MVP was like all the hard work paid off. Then we won it

File / The Daily Beacon “It was tough. It was a difficult time for me,” Lofton said. “Having a great junior year and coming back and I just wasn’t myself senior year. I just felt like I let my teammates down and I let the fans down and I let Knoxville down.” “It was difficult but as I got older and realized how many people I impacted through the cancer. People would send me Facebook messages saying ‘I just want to thank you for what you did. Playing your senior year through that and not telling anybody, not making excuses.’ Knowing that I inspired a lot of people. That makes it all better.” Despite a prolific Tennessee career questions around Lofton’s size kept him from being drafted in the NBA. However, Lofton’s basketball career wasn’t over. After graduation Lofton signed with Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi SK, a Turkish basketball team. “Different language, different culture, different foods, different lifestyle,” Lofton said about the adjustment to living overseas. “I went from flying a lot of places to my first year (overseas) we were busing places. When I go back to UT now, I still tell the trainers I worked with ‘Man, we don’t realize how good we got it until we’re gone.’” Lofton would play for Mersin for just a season but would return to Turkey in 2013 and play two seasons for Beşiktaş Basketbol. Lofton’s two seasons playing for

Courtesy of Chris Lofton again in 2018 when I was there so even better then. It’s been fun.” Lofton currently hasn’t signed with a team for the upcoming season but plans to continue playing. After his playing days are over, Lofton hopes to get into coaching. Lofton has been a frequent visitor in Knoxville in the 11-years since his graduation and watching a new crop of Vols accomplish some of the same things he and his teammates did has been rewarding. “It’s been great,” Lofton said. “I love my Vols man. I bleed orange and just to see them do good and be able to go there and

2019

HOMECOMING

Friday, November 1, 2019 • The Daily Beacon

FOOTBALL

PICK ‘EM

Evan Newell Opinions Editor (47-15)

West Virginia vs. Baylor Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State Michigan vs. Maryland Georgia 17 vs. Florida 23 Miami vs. Florida State Tennessee vs. UAB Oregon vs. USC

Kylie Hubbard Editor-in-Chief (44-18) West Virginia vs. Baylor Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State Michigan vs. Maryland Georgia 35 vs. Florida 28 Miami vs. Florida State Tennessee vs. UAB Oregon vs. USC

Noah Taylor Sports Editor (43-19) West Virginia vs. Baylor Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State Michigan vs. Maryland Georgia 24 vs. Florida 20 Miami vs. Florida State Tennessee vs. UAB Oregon vs. USC

Ryan Schumpert Sports Editor (42-20) West Virginia vs. Baylor Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State Michigan vs. Maryland Georgia 27 vs. Florida 20 Miami vs. Florida State Tennessee vs. UAB Oregon vs. USC

Caitlyn Jordan Sports Photographer (42-20) West Virginia vs. Baylor Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State Michigan vs. Maryland Georgia 28 vs. Florida 24 Miami vs. Florida State Tennessee vs. UAB Oregon vs. USC

Caroline Jordan Managing Editor (34-28) West Virginia vs. Baylor Georgia Southern vs. Appalachian State Michigan vs. Maryland Georgia 24 vs. Florida 17 Miami vs. Florida State Tennessee vs. UAB Oregon vs. USC

Tennessee set to face 6-1 UAB for homecoming RYAN SCHUMPERT Sports Editor

Tennessee (3-5) is set to host the University of Alabama-Birmingham (6-1) Saturday at Neyland Stadium for the Vols’ homecoming matchup. Tennessee enters Saturday’s matchup against the Blazers as 12-point favorites, but the Vols are 0-2 as favorites this season, and the Georgia State game proved Tennessee can’t show up and beat anybody. “We’ve got to stay focused no doubt,” junior running back Ty Chandler said. “UAB’s coming in, and they’re going to be trying to get a big win. They’ve got a good defense, so that’s something we’ve got to be ready for. We’ve got to prepare just like it’s an SEC opponent.”

This confidence level, it only gets bigger after games like that, just seeing how well we can really be. We still haven’t played our best football yet. DANIEL BITULI LINEBACKER

Jeremy Pruitt has plenty of knowledge on the UAB coaching staff as he’s coached with many of the Blazers’ assistants and knows UAB head coach Bill Clark from his high school days in northern Alabama. “We are playing a UAB team that I personally know a whole lot about starting with the head football coach and lots of guys on their staff,” Pruitt said. “I know all of them. They are all good football coaches.” “Bill was coaching at Piedmont High School when I was playing at Plainview for my dad. So, this goes all the way back to late 80s, early 90s. I’ve known Bill and Bill’s father, who was a high school football coach at Old Hatchet High School in North Alabama for a long time,” Pruitt stated. UAB will bring one of the best defenses in the nation to Knoxville on Saturday as the Blazers rank in the top 15 in every major defensive statistic. Most notably, the Blazers rank 5th in the nation in total defense giving up just 248.6 yards per game. UAB’s offense offers a solid passing game that includes a trio of talented receivers. Austin Watkins Jr., Kendall Parham and Myron Mitchell combine for 74 catches, 1,512 yards and 14

Starting Quarterback and Redshirt Freshman, JT Shrout, #12, prepares to take the snap during Tennessee’s game against South Carolina at Neyland Stadium on Oct. 26, 2019. Lucas Swinehart / Daily Beacon touchdowns on the season while recording 86% of the Blazer’s receiving yards. “Well they’re big, they’re fast; they run really good routes, great hands,” Pruitt said. “They create a lot of one on ones for them because they run the football so effectively. The quarterback does a great job of getting them the ball.” As impressive as UAB’s 6-1 season has been, the Blazers have done it against weak competition as UAB’s opponents have a combined 2-35 record against FBS opponents. Tennessee’s quarterback situation remains unclear as Brian Maurer recovers from a concussion, and Jarrett Guarantano had surgery on a broken left wrist Sunday. Pruitt said that both Maurer and Guarantano would be available to play Saturday as well as redshirt-freshman JT Shrout. “They’re all cleared to play. Today is the first day that Jarrett has taken some snaps, but they’re all ready to go,” Pruitt said. “How we play them, we have not decided yet.” In his weekly Wednesday presser, Pruitt shared the details of how they repped the quarterbacks Wednesday. “J.T. (Shrout) took the majority of the snaps there,” Pruitt said. “Brian (Maurer) took some too, (We) probably split those guys about 5040, and Jarrett (Guarantano) took about 10 percent. Some of that has to do with Jarrett’s hand, some of it has to do with (the fact that) he probably doesn’t need as many reps as the other guys right now, but we repped all three guys.” Tennessee is looking to win three of its final four games to reach a bowl game this season. The Vols are currently playing their best football of 2019 as they’ve won two of their last three games. “This confidence level, it only gets bigger after games like that, just seeing how well we can really be,” linebacker Daniel Bituli said. “We still haven’t played our best football yet and it’s really good knowing that going into this week — knowing we’re going against a really good team and just being able to prove to ourselves how good of a team we can be each and every week.”

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