Tennessee
The Weekender: Tennessee Football Sticks with Regular Spring Game Format, Miami Hires Duke Assistant Jai Lucas and George Mason Baseball Has a 23-Run Inning
Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what’s next.
Tennessee Football Sticks with Regular Spring Game Format
In an era of college football where many teams are taking a different approach to spring ball, especially the spring game, it seems as though Tennessee isn’t following that same mindset as Vols head coach Josh Heupel announced on Friday that Tennesee will hold its spring game in the usual scrimmage format.
“It’s important in particular for our young players to get a taste of what it’s going to be like in the fall to play in front of a crowd, big stadium,” Heupel said. “We open up on the road this year. You don’t want that to be the first time they’ve played in front of a bunch of people.
“So that experience, it can create urgency, understanding what it’s going to feel like as they finish up spring ball and go into summer. At the end of the day, we have to accelerate their growth curve. A spring game in those settings is part of accelerating their growth.”
Whether it’s due to a longer season, the transfer portal or something else, many of the top programs across the country, including Ohio State, are changing the format of the spring game – and spring practice as a whole.
That said, it will be interesting to see what other changes are made in terms of spring ball in this new era of college football with the expanded CFP moving forward.
Miami Hurricanes Hire Duke Assistant Jai Lucas
With Duke favored to win the NCAA Tournament, it will have to do so without one of its assistant coaches, as Jai Lucas was named the head coach of the University of Miami men’s basketball team on Thursday.
While the hiring isn’t a surprise, the timing certainly is. Lucas leaves the Blue Devils less than a week before the ACC Tournament and in the middle of what could be a national championship run. Most hirings used to happen during the offseason but in the new age of college sports with the transfer portal and NIL, that will no longer be the case, at least in basketball.
If Duke were to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, its season would go until early April. With the transfer portal set to open March 24, Lucas would miss the first two weeks of the portal if he were to stay at Duke. Hence, he has decided to leave the Blue Devils after Duke beat North Carolina Saturday night for his first job as a head coach so that he will be with Miami when the portal opens.
“Timing, look, it’s not ideal. But there’s no other option,” Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said last Thursday. “This is the only thing that could have happened. Jai will coach our last regular-season game. And then he’ll have to move on to focus on his new job. And for us, we’re going to focus on the job that we have here, which is making a special run. Jai wanted to stay. This wasn’t a decision that Jai made. This is me and him working together.”
The 36-year-old is the son of former Maryland All-American John Lucas Jr., who was the No. 1 pick in the 1976 NBA draft. Lucas replaces Jim Larranaga after the 75-year-old stepped down in December in the middle of his 14th season with the Hurricanes.
George Mason Baseball Scores 23 Runs in an Inning
With the game tied, 0-0, George Mason rattled off a 23-run second inning against Holy Cross last Tuesday, breaking a Division I record that had stood for 42 years.
After the first batter of the inning grounded out, the floodgates opened for George Mason in a 23-run inning that had plenty of excitement:
- 11 hits (seven singles, four doubles)
- Eight walks
- Five batters were hit by pitch
- 19 consecutive hitters reached base either with a hit, walk, hit by pitch or fielder’s choice
- Five pitchers
The previous NCAA Division I record for most runs in an inning was 21, done by Valparaiso in 2010, Wichita State in 1984 and Penn in 1983.
It’s been a college baseball season full of plenty of runs so far, as Rhode Island and William and Mary combined for 58 runs (36-22) on Feb. 16, Oregon scored 35 runs in a game on March 1 and now this.
ICYMI
“Long Way to Go”: Ryan Day Wants Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair to Show Toughness, Leadership During Ohio State’s Quarterback Battle
Ryan Day says there’s a “long way to go” in Ohio State’s quarterback battle but wants to see Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair show toughness and leadership this spring.
New Ohio State Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia Wants to Put Players in Position to “Play Fast and Play Aggressive”
Matt Patricia’s defense will utilize a variety of packages, but his goal is to keep things simple for Ohio State’s defenders so that they can play fast and aggressively.
“It’s Your Job to Bring Value”: Will Howard Says Billy Fessler Taught Him “More Than A Lot Of Guys Could Have” Last Year and Keenan Bailey Praises Fessler’s Football Mind
Will Howard says Billy Fessler taught him “more than a lot of guys could have” last season and Keenan Bailey said Fessler is “one of the smartest football minds” he’s been around.
What’s Next
- 34 Days: Ohio State Football Spring Showcase
- 174 Days: Ohio State Football season opener vs. Texas
- 237 Days: Jim Knowles returns to Columbus
- 265 Days: The Game
Redshirt freshman kicker Grady Dangerfield enters his second season at Tennessee in 2026.
The 6-foot, 215-pound kicker appeared in two games for the Vols in 2025. He recorded 257 yards and three touchbacks on four kickoff attempts against UAB and New Mexico State.
Against the Blazers on Sept. 20, 2025, Dangerfield had three kickoff attempts for 195 yards. He also totaled 62 kickoff yards on one attempt versus New Mexico State on Nov. 15, 2025.
Dangerfield committed to Tennessee in Oct. 2024 over Navy and Virginia Tech. He was a Kohl’s Kicking five-star prospect and the No. 41 ranked kicker in the nation.
Dangerfield went to the Vols from James Island Charter High School in Charleston, South Carolina.
Tennessee will kick off its 2026 football season Sept. 5 versus Furman at Neyland Stadium. The season opener is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT (SEC Network+).
The Vols will also host Kennesaw State, Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky and LSU, while playing at Georgia Tech, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt during the 2026 campaign.
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Tennessee
Tennessee AMC theater worker, 85, receives $146K from strangers for retirement after viral video
A viral Tennessee movie theater worker, 85, was surprised with $146K as strangers rallied together to help her “enjoy retirement.”
Mary Ellen Eron was seen hauling a heavy black garbage bag and pushing a cleaning cart during her shift at the theater in Maryville, Tenn., which has since been viewed more than 13 million times.
“Let’s secretly help retire this beautiful woman. No one deserves to work at this age,” movie customer Brooklyn Green, who filmed the video, captioned the post.
Green launched a fundraiser last weekend after watching Mary, who has been a movie theater staffer for 45 years, hard at work – even though she’s a stranger.
“I knew nothing about her. I didn’t even know her name when I went to the theater,” Green told WATE reported. “I just decided that she was working so hard, and I aspired to be like her one day.
“Her physical appearance didn’t look too comfortable, especially since the way she was working so hard.”
Green set a target of $200,000 – and she raised $146,317 before pausing donations. More than 7,500 people donated to the charitable cause.
On Wednesday, Green posted the moment that she presented Eron, who helps the homeless and her local church, with the total figures from the crowdfunding page.
“Oh my goodness. That’s a lot of money,” Eron said as she realized the number on the piece of paper.
“That’s a lot of money and you deserve every bit of it,” Green said.
The clip also featured a message from Eron, who addressed the people who had contributed.
“Thank you so very much to all the wonderful people that have donated money to the GoFundMe,” she said.
“I’m overwhelmed and certainly blessed by the Lord and you wonderful people. Thank you once more.”
The theater’s manager revealed it will be Eron’s decision when she retires.
The Tennessee Volunteers have had their fair share of bad news as of late when it comes to the college baseball transfer portal, but luckily, they have received some great news.
The great news that they have received is that they will be returning one of their breakout stars from this past college baseball season, as he has no intentions of entering the college baseball transfer portal.
Trent Grindlinger Will Return to Tennessee
The player who is set to return to Tennessee is Trent Grindlinger, who was electric this season and is expected to be a future top 10 MLB draft pick. This is expected for the first draft that he is eligible for, which is the 2027 MLB Draft rather than this upcoming draft that will feature multiple Vols, including Tennessee ACE, Tegan Kuhns.
Grindlinger finished last season with a batting average of .345, while hitting eight home runs and only striking out 28 times. This would be an electric season for the talented Volunteers’ batter, and he is set for a season that could and should be even better than that, which would be good enough to consider for some major college baseball end-of-the-season awards. He is just one of the few players who opted to stay and return rather than enter their name into the college baseball transfer portal, but if they were going to return anyone, he is the player they would want to return in the field.
Had he entered the transfer portal, there wouldn’t be a single college in the nation that wouldn’t want to add him, as every college would want to add the elite prospect. Not only that, but he would become the nation’s No. 1 player on the portal more than likely.
Luckily for the Vols, though, they don’t have to worry about that.
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