Tampa Latest.. Friday

Yikes. Officially it's Saturday, but in reality my Friday hasn't ended. Long day in Tampa Bay. Met UT football players at 11am at the Tampa Convention Center. Eight players and two coaches were available for a thirty-minute interview opportunity. The players were Erik Ainge, Robert Meachem, Jayson Swain, Aaron Sears, Jonathan Wade, Marvin Mitchell, Turk McBride, and Ryan Karl. The Coaches were David Cutcliffe and John Chavis.

At times, I am amazed at their patience. For four days now the questions have been coming, and in many cases they're the same. By now most story-lines have been explored. How many times can Robert Meachem say he still has not made his decision about the NFL draft?

One of my more satisfying moments this week came when we visited the Tampa Bay Bucs practice complex. Head Coach Jon Gruden is a former Vol graduate assistant coach. He gave some pretty funny answers to questions about his UT experience.

As for practice today, most of the players were pleased about its short duration. Just over one-hour at the University of South Florida. With gameday closing in, the coaches are backing off a bit

Tomorrow (Saturday), the Vols are heading to the beach for another Outback Bowl social event. I do wonder about the wisdom of letting football players walk the beach on an 80 degree day-- just two days before the game.

Pack the sunscreen.